Training Soldiers at Fort Jackson is dirty business - particularly after recent floods.

Not only did the post's supply of drinkable water vanish as the result of damage from heavy rains, but the facility that laundered Soldiers' uniforms suffered a debilitating hit.

Soldiers in training continually crawl through muddy trenches under barbed wire at the Fit to Win course, sweat through physical training every morning, lie on the ground at weapons ranges or roll around in the dirt, practicing hand-to-hand combat -- in essence, getting as dirty as they can.

Once recent flooding receded and the Soldiers had drinking water drawn from Heise Pond and purified with thanks to Soldiers from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the issue of how to get Soldiers' uniforms clean became an issue.

The answer to that dilemma came when the 226th Composite Supply Company out of Fort Stewart, Georgia, rolling in with a Laundry Advance System, or LADS, and two tents to set up laundry services.

"It's great to see our Soldiers in action, doing the job they have trained in … particularly when they are helping out their brother Soldiers and civilians on our posts," said Col. Jered Helwig, commander of the 3rd Infantry Division Sustainment Brigade at Fort Stewart. "It's just a great opportunity for them to see how important their job is to the Army."

Every day, Soldiers march to the laundry collection tent and drop off a laundry bag each. Soldiers from the LADS inventory the contents and put it into a mesh bag with a number on it. All of the bags then go into the machines.

Once the laundry cycle has ended, LADS workers remove the mesh bags and send them to the laundry sorting area. They re-inventory the contents, then fold them and place them back in the Soldiers' laundry bags.

Later in the day, Soldiers return to the collection tent to claim their now-clean laundry.

"LADS can support up to 3,500 Soldiers a week with one bundle of laundry each," said Capt. Nicholos Pittmon of the 226th Composite Supply Company.

Spc. Michelle Melara, a mechanic with the 226th CSC whose job it is to service quartermaster equipment, operated the machine with her battle buddy, Spc. Synthia Palacios of the 473rd Quartermaster Company.

Soldiers who make up the units manage not only the LADS but water-purification and shower facilities when called on, Pittmon said.

They spend most of their time training because those services generally are contracted out after initial setup. Providing real-world service seldom happens.

"We have supported over 15 missions with this in my unit alone," Palacios said. "We support field missions for any of the services."

The LADS being used at Fort Jackson has a water tank, boiler, filters and two laundry drums. Each drum can wash and dry 200 pounds of laundry in 55 minutes.

"The best thing about LADS is it recycles the water," said Staff Sgt. Gene Rossin with the 473rd QMC.

Only about 100 gallons of water is lost through the drying process. The rest is boiled and pushed through special filters between cycles, resulting in clean water for reuse.

The LADS is the size of a typical tractor-trailer. Initially, its tank was filled with 450 gallons of purified pond water. The water then was heated to 450 degrees by steel plates; the air for drying passed over those same steel plates to get hot enough to dry the clothes.

The LADS operates for about 12 hours per day to manage two companies worth of laundry. Fort Jackson has about 60 basic training companies.

"The bottom line is, we have a mission," said Melara of the 226th CSC. "We smell like fuel, but we don't care because we do what we do for the good of the Army.

"The soldiers here have clean clothes, and that's important."