Petty Officer Jason Muir of San Diego (left) talks with Spc. Chris Roark of Alexandria as they patrol the Seaport of Debarkation during a recent night shift.

At a ceremony at Camp Arifjan, several Delta Company soldiers were promoted while others received battalion coins and battle patches.

Spc. Robert Eastwood (left) of Partlow and Spc. Ryan White of Stafford break up the monotony of a day at the checkpoint with a push-up challenge.

Spc. Kamal Vashist of Second Platoon, Delta Company holds open a gate for traffic at the port near Shuaiba, Kuwait.

Sgt. Theron Smith of Lynchburg assigns duties to Virginia National Guard soldiers on a night shift in Kuwait.

Easter is another holiday away from home and family for Virginia Army National Guard soldiers serving in the Middle East; meanwhile the mission goes on

Date published: 3/23/2008

By RUSTY DENNEN

CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait

While families back home go to church and hide decorated eggs in the backyard, soldiers here are manning guard shacks, checking IDs or patrolling in Humvees in perpetual dust and 90-degree heat.

More than 300 soldiers assigned to the Fredericksburg Armory have been in Kuwait since last September.

"The routine is somewhat different on holidays," said Spc. Brian Britton of Montross, who serves with Delta Company, 3rd Battalion of the 116th Infantry's Second Platoon.

Those who are off duty can attend Easter services in nondescript, brown military chapels situated around the base near Kuwait City.

In a land where Islam is the state-sanctioned religion and mosques dominate the skyline, Christians are corralled in the confines of military bases--out of sight of the native population.

At Christmas, officers relieved some of the men at their posts, Britton says. "And at New Year's, they had a party" at the Morale, Welfare and Recreation center. "Otherwise it's pretty much normal."

"Normal" is a matter of perspective for the men and women who spend their days protecting the Seaport of Debarkation and another base known as Camp Patriot on the Persian Gulf. Some are up long before the sun rises above the barren landscape. Others work though the night on lonely outposts where burn-off flares from oil refineries cast a hellish glow.

A CRITICAL MISSION

Their mission is critical to the coalition war effort. Nearly all of the war material going into Iraq and Afghanistan comes through checkpoints manned by Delta Company. Two other units attached to the Fredericksburg Armory, Headquarters Company and Fox Company, do logistics, security and supply work at the port and Camp Patriot.

"A lot of guys look down on this mission" because it's not where the action is in Iraq or Afghanistan, said Spc. Robert Eastwood during a day shift at Delta Company's Hollywood checkpoint. "But I'm all right with it. It's safer and it's an important mission."

A fair number of Guard soldiers aren't complaining because they've already done tours in combat zones. Still, they don't let their guard down in Kuwait.

KUWAIT: KEY LINK It's no accident that the United States has a large presence in this tiny Persian Gulf nation. Since U.S. forces and their allies liberated the country after Saddam Hussein's incursion in 1990, Kuwait has been the Gulf's main staging area for troops and supplies. Since 2003, millions of tons of war material have passed through its ports and into Iraq and Afghanistan. About the size of New Jersey, Kuwait is bordered by Iraq and Saudi Arabia and has a population of about 2.5 million, including about 1.3 million foreign workers. Most nationals are Muslim, of which 70 percent are Sunni. Arabic is the official language, though English is widely spoken. --CIA World Fact book, U.S. Army MILITARY COMMANDSA LARGE SWATH Kuwait is one small part of the U.S. Central Command. The area covers 27 countries, four time zones and a population of 670 million stretching from from the Horn of Africa through the Arabian Gulf region, into Central Asia. As of February, threats have included Iran's quest for nuclear technology, al Qaeda, attacks and sectarian violence in Iraq, a Taliban resurgence in Afghanistan and political infighting in Pakistan in the wake of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. --U.S. Army TODAY: TOMORROW: Army, Navy serve side by side TUESDAY: Building relationships with Kuwaitis WEDNESDAY: Multiple deployments take a toll SERVING IN KUWAIT Units from the Fredericksburg National Guard Armory now serving in Kuwait include: Delta Company, Headquarters Company and Fox Company. They arrived in the Persian Gulf nation in September and will be coming home in about two months. Free Lance-Star reporter Rusty Dennen and photographer Mike Morones recently returned after spending two weeks with the soldiers. "It's been tough being separated from my mother. I miss her." One thing she doesn't miss: "Sand. It's everywhere. You breathe it. And the water here is not good for your skin." --Spc. Jessica Strickland, Fredericksburg, "Some days are good. Some days are low. It's a mental battle out here. Your mind starts wandering." --Spc. Jermany Ashton, Westmoreland County "When you're gone you miss a lot. My son Matthew made varsity soccer." --Lt. Col. John Epperly, Stafford County

Date published: 3/23/2008