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Va. Guard soldiers 'get the job done' in Kuwait
Virginia National Guard soldiers 'get the job done' and keep supplies flowing to war zone
Date published: 4/5/2008 By Rusty Dennen THEY HAVE opin- Like soldiers immemorial, they're more Mostly, these Virginia Army National Guard soldiers try to stay focused--protecting a crucial port in Kuwait, and their buddies--as best they can. And count the days until they head back home. Last month, Free Lance-Star photographer Mike Morones and I spent two weeks embedded with Delta Company, 3rd Battalion of the 116th Infantry, out of the Fredericksburg Armory, in the Persian Gulf. I'm an Army brat. I never served in the military, but I now have a better understanding We bunked with the unit, ate in the chow hall, showered in the prefab buildings at Camp Arifjan outside Kuwait City. While they were on duty at a seaport nearby, we hung out with them at checkpoints and patrolled in Humvees. We had gotten to know some of the soldiers last summer during their pre-deployment training at Camp Shelby, Miss. This time, we spent time with a lot more. The closest they've been to Iraq on this mission was a military outpost near the border where some of them attended a concert by pop stars Jessica Simpson and the Pussycat Dolls. Still, each one of them knows that, if not for the supply routes they are guarding in Kuwait, combat in Iraq and Afghanistan would soon grind to a halt. One National Guard soldier who lives in Fredericksburg put it this way: "We don't pick the mission. We joke and have fun, but when the time comes for business, we get the job done." Their duty--at checkpoints and on patrol at sprawling industrial ports--is often numbingly boring. They smoke cigarettes and pound down Monster energy drinks and coffee to stay alert.
Date published: 4/5/2008
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