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thedrifter
03-15-03, 08:40 AM
March 14, 2003

Troops relax a bit

By Chris Tomlinson
Associated Press


IN THE KUWAIT DESERT — As President Bush gives diplomacy more time, U.S. forces near the Iraqi border for a possible invasion of Iraq showed signs of relaxing — just a little — on Friday.
Troops shed their combat gear and tossed footballs as leaders of Britain and Spain planned a last-ditch weekend summit with Bush to search for a way to win U.N. backing for using force to disarm Iraq.

The Army trained day and night to get into top form, and Marines worked furiously to complete their camps and unload massive amounts of ordnance in readiness for a call to war. In some cases chemical suits were unwrapped and live ammunition was distributed, suggesting that call could be close. Once taken out of their wraps, chemical suits are good for only 45 days.

While military commanders won’t say that a new easing in their posture is a direct result of diplomatic initiatives, the urgency in preparing for an invasion of Iraq did slow as Bush gave his allies Britain and Spain until Monday to win support for a U.N. resolution authorizing military intervention.

The men of the 3rd Infantry Division’s A Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment had been ordered Wednesday to start wearing their helmets and flak jackets whenever they were not sleeping.

A full combat load of ammunition was handed out to every soldier and practice missiles were replaced with the real thing, a sure sign hostilities were imminent. Soldiers also were instructed to open the foil pouches holding their chemical and biological protection suits, which have a shelf life of 45 days.

Officers and noncommissioned officers have been holding secret briefings, working out detailed battle plans.

On Friday, though, commanders downgraded the “uniform of the day” to floppy hats and T-shirts.

After practice-loading TOW anti-tank missiles in the morning, the evening gave way to touch-football. One squad, which had been training nightly in building searches, took the evening off.

Soldiers crowded around radios to learn what was happening in Washington and New York.

Bush planned to meet British Prime Minister Tony Blair and Spanish Prime Minister Jose Maria Aznar on Sunday at a hurriedly arranged meeting on an Azores island in the mid-Atlantic.

“We’ve done everything we need to do,” said Capt. Jim Ahearn, commander of B Company, 10th Engineer Battalion. “It’s just a waiting game now.”

The soldiers of the 101st Airborne Division, meanwhile, struggled to get all of their equipment ready in time. The air assault unit, which relies mainly on helicopters, is still waiting for most of its equipment to be unloaded from cargo ships.

The commander of the 101st’s 3rd Brigade, Col. Michael Linnington, said his troops would be conducting battle rehearsals this weekend.

Marine Maj. Gen. James Amos, commander of the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, visited his troops at a secret air base 33 miles from Iraq. Marines have been working around the clock to put the finishing touches on two 440-tent camps, and unloaded 5.5 million pounds of aviation ordnance — more ordnance than has been stockpiled in any one place since the Vietnam war, Amos said.

“We’re making history,” Amos told the Marines. “We’re training hard and we’re ready to go.”

A Marine Expeditionary Unit, or MEU, took a break in the desert. The troops are not on high alert, so although they have their gas masks with them, they do not routinely wear flak jackets or helmets.

At the camp communications center, however, a sign reads “No unauthorized personnel. Deadly force authorized” and it is surrounded by razor wire.


Associated Press correspondents Doug Mellgren, Kimberly Hefling and Alexandra Zavis in Kuwait contributed to this report.






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Copyright 2003 The Associated Press


Sempers,

Roger