European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 1, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                In stars and stripes Page 9 troops pull an afghan National police truck out of an irrigation ditch recently in Afghanistan Ghazi coalition troops have taken to driving Cross country in order to avoid antitank mines buried in local antitank mines Force gis to go offloading Taliban weapon of Choice makes dirt roads dangerous photos by Monte and stripes a with company 2nd 508th Para Chute infantry 82nd airborne sweeps for mines on a Road in Ghazi by Monte mown stars and stripes Afghanistan when it comes to navigating the rutted byways of Eastern offload driving skills Are a matter of life and roughly four months into their deployment in Afghanistan Eastern Ghazi troops with the 2nd 508th Parachute infantry regiment Are finding that the weapon of Choice among Taliban insurgents Here is the antitank they know its the Only effective thing Treyve got against said Aaron company d com they know we cant see too Well out of our vehicles and that there a Little they also know that they dont stand a Chance against us face to on the the explosives Pepper centuries old dirt pathways linking area a newly paved Highway connecting Afghanistan major population centers offers Safe passage to military Lehi so troops Here avoid unpaved their preferred route is to cruise Cross once you get blown up you learn not to use the same roads Over and said 1st Scott Leader of company is 2nd in its better not to use the roads at in the Span of a Little More than 24 hours the part of the 4th brigade combat 82nd airborne saw one Soldier killed and a handful injured after mines destroyed two humvee and an afghan National army pickup a monthlong operation now under Way South of the City of Ghazi has uncovered countless caches of according to a spokesman for task Force there Are still enough of the explosives in insurgent hands to complicate ground travel in Ghazis Andar a hotbed of Taliban a in to some it seemed As if insurgents were stepping up their use of the if you ask there getting a Little carried Matthew pm of Toms said one Roadside bomb a week was but this due to the threat of missions that involve travelling just a Short Dis Tance by Road Are instead routed across dust blown seven ton humvee that Are already straining under the weight of progressively stronger and heavier Armor kits lurch and shudder Over shallow wadis and amid boiling Clouds of during one recent spine Hammer ing trip across acres of Fields South of humvee Driver and Josh of gunned his vehicle through Waist High seas of mud berms and irrigation ditches while his passengers howled As if they were on a rollercoaster for his Neuser said that barrel ing through the Countryside was no big i grew up on a Neuser you just get the feel for this kind of just a few Days company is 3d platoon found itself on a Road that was rumoured to contain numerous Roadside after losing a hum Vee and a afghan National army truck on the the company summoned an explosives ordnance team to Clear a path to open Fields where trucks could operate More Josh of Black was driving the hum Vee that was destroyed that Gutowski was driving past a local Bazaar on a narrow portion of Road bordered on one Side by a deep Gully and on the other by mud Brick Gutowski said he heard a loud blast when the inside of the truck filled with smoke and Felt in a wet Greasy the blast destroyed the rear half of the but left Gutowski and his Turret gunner the Only of serious in it was Gutowski first one none Roadside even though he had served two prior deployments in he said he always figured that if he Ever hit a Roadside it would be in not i dont know if that was stupidity on my part or my just not knowing this he they set that mine up pretty Good they were Tricky about email Monte Morin at  product consultant Gas use Koh Lucius plelkartsfofsterhofi4 69124 Heidelberg 08000003104 boo Coo 3392 i2 7321803 customer service Gas Mandy Sayer Mandy Methuen Park Chippenham of modern classics Welcome to Dansk furnishings Over 25 years in Heidelberg your office design for your ergonomics for your Freeall 0800 too 3104 Taptik Mobel modern selected furniture from Scandinavia Italy exciting designs in solid tax free Friendly service with delivery and Taptik Mobel a Mph Rin Strasse 1 Rome Kreis Heidelberg Between Montpellier Bridge downtown