Most - about 5,000 - of the U.S. troops in Kosovo live in Camp Bondsteel. As military bases go, this one is remarkable. It took less than six months to build the 900-acre facility. It's surrounded by an eight-foot high earth wall, plus a wire fence. Troops and electronic devices watch the perimeter at all times. The base is self-sufficient when it comes to vital utilities. It generates its own electricity, purifies some half-million gallons of water a day and destroys waste via three incinerators. There is a fortified command post, a helicopter landing and maintenance area and ammo storage bunkers.

Prefab 32 by 92 foot "SEA (South East Asia) huts," costing $150,000 each, are used to house the troops six or eight to one of the four or five rooms in each. Other such SEAhuts also provide workspace. Most are air-conditioned. The SEAhuts used for living each come with bathrooms, showers and a 120-gallon water heater.

There are three dining halls (at least one is open at all hours), three gyms, two education centers, two chapels, two post offices, a cappuccino bar, jail, theater, post exchange (military version of Wal-Mart), library, food court (including a Burger King), volleyball court and several parking lots and vehicle maintenance areas. The $35 million hospital is one of the best-equipped in Europe. The camp now contains some 18 miles of roads (most unpaved) and more than 300 buildings. While there are shuttle buses to get people around, most of the troops prefer to walk - except in winter, when snowfalls of a foot or more are common.

While a civilian contractor is in charge of building and maintaining U.S. bases in Kosovo, nearly 2,000 Army engineers were involved initially and additional engineer units continue to work on the camp. Engineers leveled a hilltop (moving 150,000 cubic yards of earth) for most of the base housing. Engineers erected some 54 miles of concertina wire to protect the base, and a smaller one to the north. The smaller camp is a former Yugoslav military base that was spruced up for American use.

Camp Bondsteel cost $350 million to build and $50 million a year to maintain. Much of the "construction cost" consists of portable equipment that can be moved out when the base is closed. A lot of the annual maintenance goes into the local economy, as more than a thousand locals were hired to do all the maintenance (including cleaning troop barracks) and food preparation. Some non-American troops also are stationed at Bondsteel, like a 180-man civil affairs unit from the United Arab Emirates. There also are a number of American intelligence and civil affairs units that stay in touch with the local civilians and troublemakers. There's quite a bit of corruption in the local communities, and the gangsters in the area make the most of all the new goodies that can be stolen.

The amenities are necessary because the troops are not allowed off base unless on duty (or for some group tours). No alcohol is allowed on the base, and going to local villages for a drink is forbidden. The troops get hardship duty pay and hostile fire pay, which amuses the other military contingents in Kosovo.

They note that the Americans spend a lot more time guarding their base than any other NATO troops. Camp Bondsteel looks more like a fortress than any of the other NATO bases. But with the fiber optic Internet hook up to stay in touch with the folks back home, at least morale isn't much of a problem. What does rankle the troops, at least the combat troops, is the derision they receive from other NATO troops. It's not unwarranted. The other NATO contingents spend a lot of time out among the local civilians and get to know them better.

The non-American troops also spend more time out patrolling. The Kosovo rebel groups, fighting to expand Kosovo control into Serbia, Greece and Macedonia, prefer to operate in areas covered by U.S. troops. American soldiers put safety ahead of getting the job done. Officially, that's not the case, but in practice it is and the rebels take advantage of it. There will always be fewer U.S. soldiers on patrol and they will be more cautious in the face of possible hostile action.

All this is frustrating for American soldiers, who would prefer a little more freedom in the field and off duty. But fear of a media and political circus if anyone is hurt, or gets into trouble with civilians, turns American troops into prisoners in a gilded cage. On the positive side, American troops in Kosovo have fewer accidents and injuries than they would back home, where they could drive their own cars and party whenever they wanted to. But to many inside - and outside - Camp Bondsteel, the place looks and feels more like a prison than an army base.

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