What you need to know

In a study by the Department of Defense that was released on 16 March 2004, most soldiers who'd be interviewed said that the stress during their deployment was caused by now knowing how long they would be deployed, and by a lack of personal space and privacy.

As anyone who's previously been deployed to a combat zone like Iraq knows, is that it is nothing at all like living stateside. We might have our complaints with what the barracks are like stateside, and with having to share a room with others, but those complaints pale in comparison with living in overseas, only recently established camps, many of whom are still comprised mainly of tents.

There's less space - often camps are overflowing with troops. The worst at this point are the locations inside Kuwait that handle deploying and redeploying troops on their way to and from Iraq. Those camps are generally more crowded, and waiting times for restrooms, chow, the PX, and using the phone are often long.

You should be prepared for this before you deploy, or at least expect the living conditions not to be what you would chose if you had a choice.

When deploying to Iraq, you will generally deploy to Kuwait first for some additional training, such as the drive-by shooting range at Udairi Range, and also to pick up heavy equipment if your unit did not deploy with it. Needless to say, the camps in Kuwait are bursting at the seams, and a lot of soldiers comment that the conditions inside Iraq were a lot better. But, rest assured, you'll only be in Kuwait for a limited amount of time.

In both Iraq and Kuwait, a large number of locations still consist of tent cities, and many of the tents have been out there for over a year and are beginning to show the wear and tear, although more and more bases now are beginning to resemble bases stateside.

Privacy is also not easy to come by when you're sharing a tent with other people, and some soldiers use parachute cord and shower curtains to section off their part of the tent to have privacy. While some locations allow this and some commanders turn a blind eye, this also causes a very dangerous fire hazard.

Arrangements, however, vary by location. While it's true that a lot of locations have their troops living in tents, some units have been able to establish themselves inside buildings, such as warehouses inside Iraq. This allows for a little more space and overall better living condition since a building provides better shelter than a tent.

Regardless of where your unit is going to be housed, it never hurts to expect the worst (and hope it doesn't come true) than to expect the better of the situations. Plan ahead accordingly, if you can.