But you do dream of getting power-washed . So , yes , after a few days a shower was , shall we say , more than essential . For the Marines , however , it is a seven-month tour of duty in mud in the winter and dust in the summer . It seems very grim , especially when compounded by the fact that the Marines are wearing heavy body armor all the time . Ask them if it 's heavy to wear , the typical answer goes something like , `` It 's only heavy to wear until the bad guys start shooting at you . Then it 's OK . '' The young Marines know exactly how tough the fight they are facing in the coming weeks and months will likely be . Several of them told me security had gotten considerably worse in recent days . Their bases were being repeatedly shelled by insurgents , several roadside bombs had gone off , and local Afghan police had died at the hands of suicide attacks . Senior commanders usually have a more cheery outlook , but here in southern Afghanistan , everyone is cautious . Almost everyone is
CNN Pentagon correspondent Barbara Starr and photojournalist Peter Morris traveled to southern Afghanistan with Gen. James Conway , commandant of the Marine Corps . CNN 's Barbara Starr is on assignment in Afghanistan , where she says Marines are living in very tough terrain . HELMAND PROVINCE , Afghanistan -LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Our travels in Afghanistan continue . I feel like the title of this posting should be `` why I had to get power-washed in Afghanistan '' or `` the body armor is only heavy until they start shooting at you . '' OK , now I will explain . CNN photojournalist Peter Morris and I just wrapped up spending several days in southern Afghanistan with Gen. James Conway , commandant of the Marine Corps , touring the combat zone . The Marines are living in some of the toughest terrain there is . It is remote and often raining . That means dust turns to mud , and you find yourself covered in it from head to toe . Stinky , cold , wet , oozy mucky mud . The good news is , everybody stinks , so you lose any sense of self-consciousness about it .