June 13, 2007:
Even in Iraq, most of the troops are
combat support, and many work regular shifts, under pretty comfortable
conditions. This makes it possible for them to do what American troops have
been doing overseas for over half a century, take college courses. Many are
conducted in classrooms, via instructors hired by the University of Maryland,
which has been handling the program since the 1950s. But an increasing number
of schools allow courses to be conducted via computer (and before that by
mail). The Internet based courses are very popular. There's no count on exactly
how many troops are taking college courses in Iraq, but it's believed to be
several thousand. Most troops spend all their time in heavily fortified bases
(FOBs, or Forward Operating Bases), and while there are plenty of other ways to
spend your time, many see the studies as a worthwhile way to deal with off-duty
time. However, combat units, and some on-call combat support units, leave
little off-duty time for anything but eating, sleeping, getting ready for the
next mission, and maybe a little X-Box.