By Linda D. Kozaryn
American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON -- Bosnia set the standard and now military officials
are turning their attention to improving quality of life for
American service members in Kosovo.

"I'd probably be telling a big lie if I said life is great in
Kosovo," U.S. Army Europe's Command Sgt. Maj. Riley C. Miller
told Pentagon officials here. "It's adequate, but soldiers
living there know that USAREUR does have an aggressive program
that will deliver the quality of life equipment and facilities
as soon as possible."

Riley, the command's senior enlisted soldier, spoke at a Quality
of Life Senior Executive Committee meeting in mid-September. He
briefed Rudy DeLeon, undersecretary of defense for personnel and
readiness, and other top officials on efforts under way in
Kosovo to support U.S. peacekeepers.

Despite dangerous, dirty and rough conditions, most service
members in Bosnia and Kosovo believe they are doing great things
for their service and their nation, Miller said. "If we want to
keep that attitude alive in those young men and women who we're
asking to work 12 to 14 hours a day, seven days a week, we have
to do everything in our power to ensure they have the absolute
best facilities we can give them. We must provide them with a
decent quality of life while they're deployed."

Military officials developed base camp facility standards in
1998 to ensure minimum quality of life standards were met in
Operation Joint Forge in Bosnia, Miller said. The standards
cover housing, unit and soldier support, as well as morale,
welfare and recreation facilities. These standards now guide the
development of facilities and support in Operation Joint
Guardian in Kosovo.

Construction at Camps Bondsteel and Monteith in Kosovo
continues. Morale, welfare and recreation specialists have
established temporary fitness and television areas. Army and Air
Force Exchange Service stores in trailers meet service members'
basic needs. Medical clinics are operating out of expandable
vans or tents. Camp Bondsteel boasts a full combat surgical
support hospital and Monteith has two medical facilities.
Chapels have also been set up in tents at both camps.

Military officials are constructing 168 wooden buildings known
as 'SEA-huts,' at Bondsteel and 64 at Monteith. Each Southeast
Asia hut can house up to eight service members and contains a
latrine and showers. All are to be completed by Oct. 1.

"We went into Bosnia and put tents up," Miller said. "Putting
tents up is not a cost-effective way of doing business." In
Kosovo, officials have set up temporary tents until SEA-huts can
be built. SEA-huts have a longer life span than the tents
initially used in Bosnia, he said.

At Bondsteel, U.S. forces are using various company and
battalion areas, while troops at Camp Monteith are maintaining
their vehicles in a former Yugoslav army motor pool. New motor
pools are planned for each camp, Miller said, as well as
maintenance facilities, administration areas, fuel truck parking
areas, wash racks and hazardous material collection points.

Most troop dining facilities in Kosovo are under tents. At
Monteith, a dining facility opened in a former Yugoslav army
facility in early September. Service members are alternating hot
meals and field rations, but the plan is to begin serving three
hot meals per day soon, Miller said.

While there are no education centers in Kosovo yet, construction
is planned. "We've got to have them," Miller said. "Deployed men
and women will tell you that there are two things that make off-
duty time bearable. One is good fitness facilities; the other is
continuing education."

Most of the fitness facilities in Kosovo are in tents or
temporary buildings, Miller noted. Bondsteel recently opened a
new fitness facility, the first of two planned for the camp.
These facilities "allow our young men and women to
constructively use the time they are not patrolling," Miller
said. "Good physical fitness, and the attendant facilities, are
vital to us."

Officials also plan to build sports fields, with basketball and
volleyball courts, horseshoe pits, and flag football, softball
and soccer areas. "Outdoor sports fields are not as high a
priority right now, because we're trying our absolute best to
build indoor fitness facilities to beat the winter," he said.

Military officials are also working on a pass program for
service members deployed in Kosovo. Soldiers are normally
assigned to the Balkans for 180 days or more.

As a result, U.S. Army Europe built a Pass Program, which is 96
dedicated hours in a site in theater where they can get a break,
Miller said. Soldiers serving in Bosnia can go to Budapest,
Hungary, or Makarska, Croatia. Military officials are exploring
opportunities for soldiers from Kosovo to go to Sofia, Bulgaria
on pass.

Bondsteel opened its first of two new recreation centers in
early September. The centers will feature telephone Internet
access, a theater area, a common area for games and a library.
In Bosnia, there are about 538 commercial telephones for about
6,000 people, Miller noted. In Kosovo, there are 57 telephones
for about 7,000 people. More will be installed when facilities
are built that will provide privacy and protection from the
elements, he said.
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