RECREATION DOWNRANGE: ARMY MWR DELIVERS.

Imagine this. Your job sends you to live in a foreign country where the people speak little or no English, where you're housed on a five-acre plot of ground surrounded by concertina wire, living with hundreds of others like yourself in rows of dormitory-style tents heated by kerosene stoves.

You sleep on a cot and hang blankets for privacy. You build makeshift bookshelves from the wooden boxes that contained your instant meals. For showers and personal hygiene, you have to walk to a building down the road. But there are no paved roads between the rows of tents, only dirt that turns to choking dust in the summer, mud in the spring and fall, and an ice-skating rink in winter. Everything you need for daily living must be shipped in. There are no shopping malls, no fast-food outlets, no cinema complexes, and no amusement parks.

You can't leave this secure area unless you travel in a convoy on official business. When you do leave the compound, your business is dangerous and stressful and conducted in a hostile environment.

No need to imagine this scenario. In November 1995, if you were a soldier deployed to Bosnia or Hungary in support of Operation Joint Endeavor (OJE), this was reality. Nearly 8,000 soldiers are still in the Balkans carrying out the mission now known as Operation Joint Forge. While the living conditions have improved considerably in three years, the need for fitness and recreation activities remains as essential as weapons, ammunition, food, and water.

The old saying that war is a condition alternating between seconds of sheer terror and hours of sheer boredom is borne out here. And every commander knows boredom, homesickness, anxiety, fatigue, and idleness are his or her worst enemies behind the lines. Whether it was the Salvation Army sisters serving doughnuts on the battlefields of France in World War I or the Special Services personnel of World War II and Vietnam, Borate, Welfare and Recreation (MWR) programs were and are the commander's frontline resource for readiness.

Today, that resource is provided in the form of Department of the Army civilian employees: MWR specialists who deploy with units to deliver morale and recreation programs where the troops serve. There are currently 20 to 30 MWR specialists serving at a dozen base camps in Bosnia, delivering everything from aerobics classes to live entertainment to card tournaments and libraries. They are the latest rotation of more than 100 Army civilians who have served three- to 12-month tours since the MWR support mission officially began in 1995.

U.S. Army Europe's Nike Hester is a veteran when it comes to deployed MWR. A sports director stationed in Heidelberg, Germany, he's seen it all -- from southwest Asia to Africa to the Balkans and back. He traveled to Hungary and Bosnia with Army units as part of the advance Operation Joint Endeavor party that departed the day after Thanksgiving 1995. He was the first MWR specialist, one of very few civilians making up the 35-member team that paved the way for the forces of Operation Joint Endeavor.

"I was there to give the commander a realistic concept of where we could go in terms of supporting the quality of life for the troops, based on numbers of soldiers, political and military geographical concerns, and how quickly we could do it," Hester explained.

That Hester was in the advance party was quite different from the Operation Desert Storm (ODS) scenario, thanks to Army doctrine developed out of Lessons Learned from MWR operations in the Gulf War. Both Hester and Joe Pettoni volunteered for MWR duty in southwest Asia but didn't arrive until six months after the troops. "They weren't dying of bullets, they were dying of boredom," said Pettoni, MWR Mobilization and Contingency Operations specialist at the U.S. Army Community and Family Support Center in Alexandria, Virginia. "[Soldiers] went over there and got everything set up. Then they waited and waited and waited."

And that is exactly the kind of idle time that dulls the senses and grates on the nerves.

"You can send a physically tired soldier back into the Line, but you can't send a mentally tired soldier back into the Line because then he's a danger to himself and his entire unit," said Pettoni, echoing what every commander knows. Commanders conduct operations from field manuals and doctrine. Before ODS, MWR support was not to be delivered on the front Lines as part of war-fighting doctrine. After ODS, that changed. Field Manual 12-6 was developed as part of the Army's official war-fighting personnel doctrine, explained Ann Bergstrom, who heads up the MWR Mobilization team at headquarters U.S. Army Europe. The FM 12-6 serves as an MWR planning tool for commanders, setting timelines, describing the kinds of MWR programs and services that can be delivered, and providing staffing guidelines and a host of other details for commanders preparing to mobilize.

"As a plan to be followed, though, we found that the formal doctrine was obsolete the very first day of OJE deployment," Bergstrom recalled. "First of all, everything connected with MWR support moved faster than specified in the doctrine." Instead of sending the first civilians 30 or 60 days after the soldiers were deployed (as recommended in the manual), the first civilians deployed to 03E the day after the troops did. At several Locations, MWR specialists were on hand to greet the troops as they arrived.

The Original Game Plan

"We deployed an initial force of 27 civilian MWR professionals. On paper, the original game plan called for recreation programs to be operated out of Large tents at three camps in Bosnia and one in Hungary. Each tent would be open 24 hours a day and would feature areas for watching television or videos, playing games and amusement machines, working out on fitness equipment, and browsing through small paperback Library collections," said Bergstrom.

What really happened was that in addition to operating out of the three main tents, MWR personnel operated out of 50 other facilities ranging from permanent buildings to massive German-style festival tents. Instead of having the Luxury of working as a team in one location, they were scattered throughout the area.

Sending civilians to serve with soldiers isn't as simple as it sounds. Deploying civilians must go through a mini-basic training where they Learn to fire a weapon and use gas masks; they Learn the wartime Geneva Convention rules and are taught tactical information about the military mission as well as geopolitical, cultural, and security issues. They are issued battle dress uniforms, helmets, and tactical gear. Upon their arrival, they must Live, eat, sleep, and work side by side with the soldiers they serve.

All the MWR civilian deployees to the Balkans were volunteers. From December 1995 until April 1997, volunteers were recruited from the MWR staffs of Army communities in Germany. But that personnel pool soon grew too small. Even though most deployees chose to extend their 120-day tours of duty, there were MWR facilities and programs back at the home station that needed staffing.

The call went out for volunteers from installations in the United States. In April 1997, the first group of 10 stateside MWR personnel processed through Fort Benning, Georgia, en route to Operation Joint Endeavor. Paula Rodriguez, a 43-year-old sports and fitness manager from McAlester Army Ammunition Plant, was in that group. A grandmother of three, married to an Army reservist, she admitted to being "scared to death when I first came down here. I had no idea what I was coming to." Paula was assigned to Camp Colt in Bosnia. After getting over the culture shock of seeing Bosnians drawing water from wells and "doing things you would expect to read about in a history book," Paula focused on her work, finding it very rewarding. She also gained a great deal of insight into what it means to be a soldier.

"I wear the battle dress uniform because I support the soldier. The uniform is a symbol to me; it's the symbol of a soldier. I had no idea how intense [soldiering] was and how important those little things are, like why you wear a flack jacket, why you wear a helmet.

"My pleasure comes from seeing the look on their faces when they get an insignificant gift, such as a T-shirt, and that's the highlight of their day. When they come up to me and say `thank you.' That is the most enjoyment." The MWR specialists work 14- or 16-hour days to keep recreation facilities open from 6 a.m. until after midnight, and sometimes 24 hours a day. There is no clock-watching or timecard-punching. Soldiers were not only customers; they also supplemented the staff. As Bergstrom described it, "A small army of soldier volunteers kept MWR facilities open round the clock, taught classes, and formed groups to entertain others. We found what a tremendous amount of talent exists out there in the ranks."

"Hot" morale programs include fitness equipment, telephone services, television and videos, and live entertainment.

The first celebrity show arrived just a week into operations. Within seven months, the troops had been entertained by 14 USO celebrity shows; 13 Department of Defense touring shows; and scores of military bands, local national troupes, and soldier-produced shows. Visiting entertainers included comedian Sinbad, Sheryl Crow, B.B. King, Charlie Daniels, Rick Orozco, Ronna Reeves, and Mary Chapin Carpenter. The MWR specialists serve as escorts and coordinate with the units for transportation and logistics.

All of this is a team effort. MWR specialists work with military units (sometimes multinational), civilian contractors like Brown and Root, and the Army and Air Force Exchange Service. John M. Wood III, another ODS veteran, compared it to his specialty: theater. "Theater is a very collaborative art. It's an exercise in team-building. It mirrors the Army's philosophy on teamwork.

"Our job is to provide a standard of living comparable to the standard of living the young soldier is sworn to defend. We try to do that with recreation programming that runs the gamut from entertainment to contests. We run horseshoes, soccer, and volleyball tournaments."

The need for rest, recreation, entertainment, and fitness isn't limited to the enlisted ranks. Everyone, from generals to privates, recognized the value -- and took advantage of -- MWR programs. Support for the MWR program came from the top officer, Maj. Gen. William L. Nash, and the top non-commissioned officer, Command Sgt. Maj. Jack Tilley, in command of the 1st Armored Division, the first large troop contingent deployed to OJE in 1995.

Keeping the Soldier Focused

"MWR in Bosnia contributed directly to our capability to accomplish the mission as well as take care of soldiers doing the job," Nash said. "You've got to keep the soldier focused -- focused on his job, focused on taking care of himself and his fellow soldiers. It requires a holistic approach. MWR fits into that overall picture. It is taking care of folks so they do a great job for you."

"I think MWR is really important because of the isolation and restrictions we had in Bosnia and the stress soldiers needed to release," Tilley agreed. "Everybody has to relieve stress, including the general. Your leaders have to identify the kinds of things soldiers need to do ... that is basic leadership for commanders."

Anecdotal information and informal feedback told the Army that soldiers were appreciative, and commanders felt MWR was (and is) "mission essential." To validate that feedback, Community and Family Support Center officials conducted a customer survey at six sites in Bosnia and Hungary between August and November 1997. Eighty percent of respondents said they used MWR activities and facilities either daily or weekly; 96 percent reported they were "satisfied" or "very satisfied" with the programs provided. And more than 90 percent rated MWR as "important" or "very important" to psychological well-being, fitness, and unit morale.

More than 60 percent said paperback books were an important MWR service. Since deployment began, the Community and Family Support Center Library staff has purchased and delivered more than 5,000 book kits -- 125,000 paperback books -- to units in Bosnia and Hungary. The staff also provides 833 subscriptions to the weekly Gannett publication Army Times. At the height of deployment, MWR employees distributed 10,000 free copies of the European Stars and Stripes, a daily U.S. newspaper produced in Germany.

All of this support, however, comes at a price. Part of the cost of the mission was supported by congressionally appropriated funds. For fiscal years 1996-98, the cost of equipment and supplies has totaled $5.3 million. Delivering the daily Stars and Stripes has cost $2.6 million. There is also an extensive rest and recuperation program and the Fighter Management Pass Program, which grants soldiers a four-day pass to visit Budapest. Often their families will meet them there for an all-too-short reunion.

A typical day in the life of an MWR specialist at Eagle Base in Tuzla starts early, before 6 a.m., with the opening of the recreation center's fitness area. Equipment includes cycling machines, treadmills, stair-steppers, and free weights.

After breakfast in the dining facility, it's back to the recreation center, where programming continues all day and night.

Movies run three times a day and, in some locations, soldiers can use their own VCRs to view their movies on 52-inch monitors. The Army and Air Force Exchange Service provides first-run movies, and relatives send soldiers movies by mail.

Tournaments for All

Later in the afternoon, there will be aerobics classes led by either a volunteer or a member of the staff. Tournaments are held in every imaginable competitive activity: billiards, cards, chess, table tennis, volleyball, and basketball. Another very popular activity is Magic the Gathering. Wizards of the Coast donated hundreds of thousands of dollars worth of cards so soldiers wouldn't miss a game while away from home.

"We try to provide recreational opportunities both during the day and at night, depending on what shifts the people work," said Kathleen Cole, a veteran of several Bosnia tours who now teaches at headquarters U.S. Army Europe's MWR Training Center.

There are prizes -- everything from MWR logo merchandise like caps, yo-yos, and T-shirts to merchandise and trophies provided by sponsors that include AT&T and the Army and Air Force Exchange Service. There are refreshments to serve, even if it's hauling ice and bottled water to combine in a big jug so soldiers have cold water to drink after they work out. Sometimes it's mixing and serving powdered beverages or making popcorn.

On certain evenings, there were preparations for live entertainment: lining up chairs, setting up a sound system, and hanging banners. There was a live show at least once a month -- more during the holidays. The most recent success is a series of touring comedians called Laugh Force. "It's been extremely popular because comedy is the way to go. It's very easy logistically, and the troops just love it," Cole said.

After cleanup, which usually is completed around midnight, an MWR specialist might fall finally into his or her cot for a few hours of sleep. What time isn't spent programming is spent planning, coordinating, and arranging for supplies, equipment, transportation, and whatever else is needed to operate the programs. That's the schedule -- seven days a week, 365 days a year.

During the holidays, there will be trees to decorate, music to play, skits and shows from overseas to prepare for, and VIPs to host. "We always try to make everything special during this season," Bergstrom said. "We've had good support in terms of donations of Christmas trees, decorations, and gift packs. We try to get out to every little group of soldiers, no matter where they are, with our sleigh and Santa that we've used for three years. We have a wooden sleigh that we put on a palette-loading system. Then we arrange to go out with a convoy on Christmas Eve and Christmas Day."

While perhaps not as primitive, similar MWR programs are being delivered daily all over the world wherever soldiers and their families are stationed -- Saudi Arabia, Central America, Korea, and Japan. And as long as soldiers are in the Balkans, MWR will be there.

"This is an ongoing operation, and we will be here for quite a few more years," Cole said. "People forget; we are still here."

Ann Bergstrom, George McNamara, and Kathleen Cole contributed to this story.