Art of the American Soldier Art of the American Soldier - US Army ...

Camp Life
Be it in a tent, a barracks room, or a “hootch” carved out of the ground,
soldiers eat, sleep, tend to their belongings, and relax. An old expression,
“An army travels on its stomach,” holds true. often, the situations are
less than perfect, and soldiers have to “make do” and adjust to their
environment, even if it means finding a nearby rock, sitting down on it,
and eating their rations then and there.
A soldier in the field, although trained to fight, spends much of his or
her day in what can be construed as downtime. This is a chance for
repose, reading and writing letters, religious activities, sports, sleeping,
making telephone calls, mundane tasks such as mending clothes and
doing laundry, or getting involved in any of the other means of available
recreation.
If the soldier is lucky and assigned to a post or camp or near a major
metropolitan area, there are opportunities to sightsee and, perhaps,
shop. United Service organization (USo) shows did, and still do, provide
entertainment in remote areas. Service clubs were often available as
places one could visit to unwind.
An artist might unexpectedly witness these times, whether they were
illustrating a hardship or something joyful and, once again, save for
posterity a moment in time that has been shared by many soldiers.
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