[thedrifter]

Marines Turn Germ Warfare Kit Into Showers

Tue April 15, 2003 10:36 AM ET

BAGHDAD (Reuters) - In a 21st century twist to beating swords into ploughshares, U.S. Marine chemical warfare experts have been adapting their gear to provide a little luxury for war-weary troops camped out in Baghdad -- hot showers.
With fears of an attack by chemical or biological weapons subsiding, Marine specialists have turned pipes designed to wash down contaminated tanks into an outdoor steam room, giving soldiers their first shower in almost a month.

Jets of warm water spurt from overhead pipes in a polythene tent -- giving eight Marines at a time one minute to get wet, one minute to lather themselves with soap, and one minute to rinse.

Germ warfare officers have mixed feelings about the Iraq war, with their frustration at not having had a chance to test out their training balanced by relief that their comrades were never "slimed."

"Everybody's always going to be disappointed that they didn't get in the big game," said Chief Warrant Officer Mike Golliher, a nuclear, chemical and biological weapons specialist who helped rig up the showers by Baghdad's Martyrs' Monument.

"We're like that 911 force you dial in case of emergency, but it's good that we didn't get used," he said at the facility, set up to wash Marines of the 1st Tank Battalion, camped in a car park.

"Everybody's liking it," he said. "It's just a little morale booster I guess."


Sempers,

Roger