European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 19, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                May 2007 stars and stripes Mideast edition pages gis Battle bugs and bad Guys at Afghanistan Camp by Kevin Dougherty stars and stripes fire base Afghanistan its a Boulde strewn speck of a place just North of Asada bad on the Pech River Road in Kunar Long a peril Ous the Road has become far less so since the boys of company 1st 32nd infantry 10th Mountain Divi Sion arrived a year the marines primarily drove Only at Robert Stan the company said of the preceding Stanton gang took Over just after operation Mountain lion wound Down late last the plan was to establish a Bubble of Security along the Road and then push deeper into More Remote the Captain and the Only Way to effectively do that was to stick around Day and for the first few the sol when they we rent patrol Ling or sipping Tea with local Lead lived out of their aside from protective there want much to the fire As they Are the 3rd platoon established its Camp about seven Miles North of Asad Abad and named it fire base it is the first of a string of Camps running West Northwest along the River Road to Camp establishing semipermanent Camps was not the original 1st class Frank Han Doe said As he stood near a Boul Der the size of a compact we just ended up by the time the Advance team rolled up to 3rd platoons Camp earlier this 1st Tim to and his with local had built several makeshift Struc most have such As Bat Cave and mine the latest creation is simply called the new we actually thought about that one before we built Han Doe night patrol in afraid to go to my Hooch right just talking about said John Mccon a Forward observer and photos by Michael and stripes above John 3rd company 1st 32nd infantry 10th Moun Tain hands out pumpkin seeds to children at the Gate of fire base Florida in the sol Diers of 3rd platoon have mostly a Good working relationship with the locals along their stretch of the Pech left a Soldier shows the Flag while sitting in the gunners Turret of his Mcconnell and the rest of 3rd platoon Are about As Hardy As they come in it took a few weeks to acclimate them selves to the Altitude and but after spending More than a year they bound up and Down Hills with relative but including Mccon Are squeamish when it comes to the list of undesirables ranges from lizards and scorpions jackals and Mountain not Only do you have to worry about someone shooting at specialists Paul and Justin both of 3rd company 1st 32nd infantry 10th Mountain division get an evening workout at fire base Handoe you have to worry about a Mountain lion eating a couple of the soldiers claim to have heard local livestock shriek in agony in the dead of night while being mauled by a whenever Mcconnell retires for the he usually scouts out his quarters to ensure no eight legged creatures Are Lurk ing a different kind of patrol occurs a few hours when Sev eral soldiers head out on a night militants like to Lay Road Side bombs after so patrols of this nature Are intended to pre vent on this the Only significant action is a work Crew improving the unpaved River equipped with night vision Gog soldiers scan the Hills and Ridge lines for any nothing appears out of the Ordi nary Over talk turns to Home and the near staff Clint born in Africa to a pair of enlisted in the Marine corps Sev eral years after his enlist he returned to the civilian world but found it so he joined the All my jobs seemed Brubeck said of his civilian exp it was All about and i was safely Back at the night watchmen shuffle Back to their Dens to grab a few hours of a couple of them opt for a late night snack before turning off in the a melodic voice from a nearby mosque begins to arouse the Faith Ful for the predawn Tea and jihad a Pancake breakfast is Fol Lowed by a pot of Coffee brewed by Dan some in the platoon refer to him As inter National because of his globetrotting at he Al ready has been to Russia and much of Western the commander of 3rd Pla samples some of Bowens brew As he prepares for a meet ing with the wot apor District police to took Over the Pla Toon last four Days after its previous 1st for rest died along with another Soldier in a bomb to de scribed his predecessor As religious and a Man of Strong mor he spoke to but he could walk the an hour to and several of his men walk up to their dust Laden humvee and prepare to already a Gaggle of kids has congregated on the other Side of the concertina As they Al ways see Camp on Page 6 military services we do what we say say what we do from construction to maintenance from supplies to weve got it All located at Afghanistan Qatar Kuwait Iraq email us