Accommodations, Field

Field Accommodations Based on Environment

Field accommodations can vary greatly by the environment in which the operation is taking place, and those conditions will have a massive impact on the quality and availability of field accommodations. In hostile, forward combat areas, the field accommodations are very austere, relying primarily on what each service member can carry. Logistical limitations due to great enemy threats prevent the movement of large or supply-intensive equipment directly to the forward line of troops. This results in the creation of forward operating bases or logistical support areas, which are large cantonment camps designed to house supplies, maintenance facilities, and other logistical requirements in a centralized location near the combat troops but far enough away to avoid significant threats. Many of these logistical areas are created around runways, making the airfield/logistical area a massive field base. This is a common situation in Operation Enduring Freedom, where bases are built around airfields and house large logistical facilities. This was also common during Operation Iraqi Freedom. As the threat environment improves, many forward troops build combat outposts that provide them with a small living area that consists of basic accommodations. Combat outposts can vary greatly by their location, which affects logistical resupply and equipment availability options. Many combat outposts in Operation Enduring Freedom have billeting tents, a command and control or headquarters tent, and a field kitchen. Some are able to set up hygiene services, although the amount of water required to run the equipment is often a factor. In prolonged conflicts at major bases, such as the case of Operation Enduring Freedom and, earlier, Operation Iraqi Freedom, many field accommodations services are contracted. For example, the hygiene, food service, and billeting requirements aboard Al Asad, a massive base in the Al Anbar province of Iraq, were provided predominantly by a company called KBR. All services were provided by civilians and civilian companies contracted by the Department of Defense.

Elements of Field Accommodations

The key components to field accommodations include those basic elements that satisfy standard military needs, such as shelter, food and food preparation equipment, hygiene services, and fundamental equipment to facilitate morale and troop welfare. Field accommodations imply that the equipment and facilities are temporary in nature and used in an environment where the site must be self-sufficient (limited or no host nation support available). Field accommodations are used in training evolutions in the United States and overseas away from primary, permanent bases, and they are used during actual military operations, including operations in armed conflict, humanitarian operations, and peacekeeping operations. While each service may use a different manufacturer and size of style of equipment, based primarily on mission requirements and field testing results by its service members, the elements of field accommodations are standard throughout the military; that is, each service will have shelter and food and hygiene equipment, although they may not be the same color or produced by the same company.

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