European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 15, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                July 2007 stars and stripes Page 9 a Long Day on patrol in Mahmud Yah americans and iraqis slog Doort door South of the looking for insurgents by Drew Brown stars and stripes Iraq loading up on ch47 chinooks in the mid dle of the night and doing an air assault into a Rural stretch of the iraqi Countryside int part of the traditional Job description for an but that exactly the kind of Mission that sol Diers with the 10th Mountain divisions 2nd Bat 15th Field artillery regiment have been doing in Iraq for nearly a a few night about 250 of slowed ground was deeply rut along with 150 troops from the 4th 6th iraqi army i conducted an air assault raid into a Remote farming area below part of the so called Triangle of death South of the last Large scale operation there took place in Intelli gence reports suggested that insurgents were again operating freely in the the chinooks touched Down in a Field around 3 lets lets go voices As the troops filed quickly out of the once they got their Bear the soldiers of Battery b moved toward their assigned Sec a group of farmhouses scattered along a Road and a but it want an easy the Moon want up and their night vision devices distorted depth the recently Ted and hard on the Knees and an irrigation ditches Cut across the Fields every few Hundred some were deeper than at least two soldiers fell in already Diego of new said As they reached the first he carried a Large Metal Detector disassembled in a Ruck sack on his he leaned for Ward at each shifting the weight Forward on his it was clearly not an easy the and iraqi forces were looking for men on a list of suspected forces would secure the outside of each while iraqis conducted the actual but there were no men at the first Only a dozen or so women and asleep on the Flat trying to take advantage of the relatively Cool night a cell phone began to hallo hallo an iraqi Soldier an but apparently there was no they stopped around to wait for a few men smoked cigarettes silently in the some one they began again at Daybreak an hour at the next an iraqi Man emerged from to speak to the soldiers As they came onto his the troops checked his he want on their but the iraqi troops had him on an iraqi Soldier bound the product consultant Gas use Koh Lucius Ilse  Leikarts Forster Hof 69124 Heidelberg 08000003104 08000003392 172 722 1803 customer service Gas Mandy Sayer Mandy  Methuen Park Chippenham of 707 455 modern classics your office design for your ego i ergonomics for your future i Freeall 0800 0003104 save 10 with promo code bw95e 8aiqon and Rappelt Skotch Davis mans hands behind his Back with thick plastic his Small family stood in the watching the mans wife and a teenage daughter began protest ing one of his a Young began to his Mother wrapped her Arm around the boys the Man said nothing As he was led his family began Wail ing hell be dont a Soldier assured hell be Back one of the daughters followed the soldiers to the Edge of the prop hurling curses in their she continued to scream at even As they passed another an iraqi Soldier turned and raised his Rifle quickly at the she turned and began to voices in English and Ara Bic yelled for him to the sol Dier dropped his Rifle and the troops stopped again around mid morning at another waiting for helicopters to resupply them with by this the Sun was fully up and the temperature had already topped 100 in said shrug Ging off his in past said another the troops spread out through the House and around the any where they could find it took a couple of hours before the helicopters the soldiers were grateful for the Many of both iraqi and were the soldiers began moving again shortly before they stayed off the Road As much As possible because of the threat of Roadside As they moved across the iraqi troops fanned picking and Munch ing fresh Squash and they reached the next about 800 meters soldiers fell Down it had been about 10 hours since the Mission and the temperature was now Well past 110 James of Al complained of feeling a Franklin Agu of told him to lie Down and loosen up his flak undo his shirt and prop an iraqi woman asks troops with Battery 2nd 15th Field artillery Why her husband has been and iraqi forces were conducting a sweep of a Remote farming area South of looking for although the Man was not on the he was apparently on the iraqi army list of suspected As the Man was led the family began wailing the Young woman on the left followed the hurling curses at Drew Brown stars and stripes up his feet on some drink Aguilar pouring a purple powder into a bottle of he said it would help restore electrolytes in Vermetten they began moving again after a Short they could see the paved Highway where trucks were waiting to pick them but the trucks were still about a Kilometre and despite the fact that humvee were moving up and Down the the trucks  come any they always do this to said staff Barry of they never bring the trucks to Battery b had been walking for the soldiers trudge the remain ing distance across a White Salt the ground was baked hard and cracked and littered with unexploded take of picture of said shuffling its Piti but Ive got too much Pride to that one thing about this Pla said nobody Well All push ourselves until we it was half past noon by the time they reach the but whoever sent the trucks haunt sent enough of the soldiers jammed in on top of one packing the this is the part of the plan they didst Brief you one sol Dier now you know there was no overhead and the temperature was pushing past 115 soldiers guzzled water and poured it Down the Back of their necks to try to Cool even if it was for just a few in the Back of one it was a tangle of arms and tired bodies and some 45 minutes the con Voy finally lurched to a by the time they reached the base at the soldiers had been gone for slightly More than 12 soldiers got off the cleared their weapons and began slogging toward the bar Racks in groups of two and the Barracks shimmered in the afternoon like a Distant email Drew Brown at