PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - As troops prepared for their deployment to Haiti, many were told to bring laundry soap and expect to be doing laundry in the sink. Thanks to the 16th Quartermaster Company, deployed from Fort Lee, Va., the laundry detergent is unused and the troops are able to enjoy clean laundry on a regular basis.
"When you come out here and you don't have clean clothes, you're going to feel like crap," said Spc. William Ozee, laundry and shower specialist, 16th QM Company.
Ozee is one of several Soldiers who provide laundry services for the troops deployed to assist with Operation Unified Response. His company deployed to Haiti in February and they haven't had a slow day yet.
"We stay pretty busy; time flies," said Pfc. James Johnson, laundry and shower specialist, 16th QM Company.
Johnson said when his company first arrived they were in charge of all the pick-up and drop off points for laundry. After that, the company was put in charge of cleaning and sorting the laundry.
"I think we do a pretty good job," Johnson said. "Everybody likes to have their laundry done."
In one week, the Soldiers wash roughly 60 loads of laundry, but it all depends on how many troops turn in laundry. From inprocessing to outprocessing, a load of laundry takes them roughly 90 minutes.
"You start out by inprocessing all the clothes," Johnson said. "You have one team that goes through the bags and you recheck all of the [clothing] that [troops] put in their bag."
Inprocessing and checking pockets allow the Soldiers to make sure all items are accounted for before going through the wash. The washing and drying process takes about 65 minutes.
Each load is put into a mesh bag and typically contains either one uniform or a mix of tops and underwear. If a laundry bag contains more than one uniform, multiple mesh bags are used. The company is also very specific on how to wash the clothes.
"We have our own detergent, we don't let people use their own," Johnson said.
Johnson said letting people use their own detergent could ruin the machines.
After the inprocessing and cleaning, the clothing is sorted out once again to ensure all the items are accounted for.
"I think we're doing a good job," Ozee said. "We haven't had any major complaints yet."
Ozee admitted his job isn't the greatest and he doesn't always enjoy it, but someone has to do it.
"It's a good service," Ozee said. "If there wasn't someone to do laundry, I think it would be a lot rougher out here."
Although they have the dirty job of sorting laundry that has been out in the Haitian heat, the Soldiers of the 16th QM Company understand their job has a big impact on the service members of Joint Task Force-Haiti.
"It's a pretty big morale booster to have clean clothes to wear," Johnson said.
