These are very tough conditions to work in. Check your soldiers' feet. Make sure they're washing their hands and shaving. Walking is tricky. Slit trenches dug for drainage around tents turn into moats.
Boots disappear into the bog, throwing soldiers off balance and into the muck.
Nearly everyone, from the brawniest infantryman to the smallest company clerk, has tumbled at least once. Many went down en route to the portable toilets. Until late Monday, the facilities were separated from the main camp by a wide quagmire that even the heartiest fear to tread at night. By evening, though, a private U.S. contractor had finished laying a gravel road. The workmen, who also will build a mess hall, bathrooms and showers, became instant heroes.