European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - June 15, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                              June 2007 stars and stripes Mideast edition pages s a sometimes you hit it sometimes you Alex Rivera a former l75th Ranger sergeant now on his second tour in Iraq soldiers with the l12th combined arms battalion and iraqi army troops search a House during a mid night raid in the Village of Nahir in Iraq Dyala last a raid on a nearby Village freed 42 men who had been kidnapped and were being held against their will by Al Aida fighters in an attempt to coerce them into joining the this raid turned up Only two ak47 rifles and an old photos by Drew and stripes american and iraqi troops question several men during the information gathered from a previous raid suggested that the Village could be the site of an Al Aida prison but and iraqi troops found Only sleepy villagers who wanted nothing to do with the raid but necessary task of War by Drew Brown stars and stripes Nahir Iraq mortar flares fall slowly through the Midnight casting an eerie glow Over the desert scrub As a group of and iraqi soldiers move toward a Village marked by the tall silhouettes of Date Palms in the theres no Moon the Village wrapped in electric lights from a nearby town shimmer on the giving off a weak Light that makes the ground glow in dogs howl furiously As the soldiers Rotor Blades thump loudly As helicopters Circle a handful of officers and sergeants from company 1st cavalry divisions l12th combined arms battalion gather briefly in the first House they encounter to consult their one of them barks out a few Sharp commands that Are echoed quickly Down the the soldiers begin moving a similar raid just a week earlier by the l12ths company d freed 42 iraqi men who had been kidnapped by Al Aida fight ers and held in a nearby Village in Dyala where some of the heaviest fight ing in Iraq has occurred in recent the men told troops they believed Al Aida had kidnapped them in an Effort to either coerce or convert them to their information collected during the operation suggested that insurgents might be holding people in other secret including Nahir there Are Only a few roads into the and because the threat of bombs is the troops have been flown in by Black Hawk helicopters in an air assault Mission that hearkens Back to the 1st cars Days As an airmobile unit in Viet and iraqi troops approach a startling a family that has been sleeping on wooden Beds pulled outside to take advantage of the Cool night at Only 89 its a Welcome respite from Iraq Sti fling where temperatures routinely soar to 115 degrees and a team led by Antwon of searches the House but finds the iraqis dont As if Treyve gone through the routine countless times a Man says thank you As they the soldiers search another House while a couple of iraqi troops look inside a a Man chuckles in a tired voice As the soldiers lift the covers on a bed in his my he in a woman lies quietly under a Mosquito a flatbed Bongo truck is parked out Side the first class Michael of orders the Man to get the keys and open Davenport asks if the Man has any Wear he has he seen any strangers around any Al Aida la the Man shaking his head and brushing his hands to As if wiping them Lal Adalala dont Tell me Daven port he tells his a sudanese Man who Calls himself to ask if the Man makes a lot of Money in his Tell him he can make a lot More Money tonight if he tells me where there Are weapons in this Davenport i dont know the Man Davenport asks if anyone in the Village will shoot at him if he and his troops walk through the Man Davenport asks if the Man is sunni or the Man replies that he is but that in this town sunnis and shiites live Ogeth stars and stripes or there Are no bad people he the americans come Here Many times be but find and so it for the next three As the soldiers search one House and the by this with flashlights slicing through the dark and with every dog in the Village All semblance of tactical Surprise is its a says Alex Riv of a former l7sth Ranger sergeant now on his second tour in sometimes you hit it sometimes you but As Long As we with no body then that he the soldiers search More than two dozen houses and the reactions from villagers Are almost All the As the troops approach some the men Are Al ready sitting waiting for their a at they feign sleep until sol Diers roust them from their the Black Hawks return after about three hours to pick up the two Cooks at a Kitchen at a Small outpost that served As a staging area serve steaming Fried hash Browns and Bacon to the tired and dirty its past 8 be fore they Roll Back to base where hot show ers and sleep email Drew Brown at  naughty or Nice you decide 1 Teh us what you want visit our website ship it and have it Waw fill i in i the ultimate chiming machine