European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - July 16, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Pages stars and St hipe5 july 2007 troops push on despite heat and loads to carry Lack of water is All that can slow platoon in Afghanistan by Mark stars and stripes Nuristani Afghanistan its and the platoon has been up for a few Days a Black Hawk helicopter on a resupply Mission reported it May have been shot at by rocket propelled grenade fire from a location near the town of the helicopter was the Headquarters and head quarters 1st 91st cavalry regiments 20man recon Naissance platoon has been sent out to investigate where the Gre Nade fire might be coming while the platoons snip Erh Eavy squad patrols the town in the recon heavy led by staff Jonathan humps the Ridge line near looking for signs of enemy a such As fighting positions or Reg nose were looking for threats for signs that the enemy has been using the Wall it Doest take the squad Long to find on different Levels along the fighting positions have been some strewn with food wrappings from ready to others with fantastic views of the Road below and the sniper squad passing by in the its a Light Day compared to what the men Are used to less than five Kilometres to and a climb of Only feet in Eleva an hour into the every Man has sweat through the seat of his and some All the Way Down to their rated to Stop a the body Armor the men have been is sued provides very Little Protection from the sniper bullets and rugs favored by the nearby ene and while it cant Stop a my sniper the Armor and Stop heat from leaving the soldiers bodies while putting More weight on their if Wall had his he and his men would Wear Only bib like plate carriers and helmets for Protection while walking the Moun it should be the on ground commanders Wall said of the policy requiring All soldiers to Wear body Armor while on mis with a recon unit like you should be Able to drop some of the dead after his second from had one of his combat uniform blouses Modi cutting off the sleeves and having them sewn onto the Torso of a moisture wicking soon the rest of the platoon did the any efforts the platoon makes to drop weight or modify equip ment All have one goal conserve Andrew the platoons radio and Telephone of said when he goes its usually with at least five and carrying any More than that becomes too on one recent one sol Dier lost so much he passed out and needed three pints of fluid to get him going with All his radio from has one of the heaviest loads to carry Walls Normal gear weighs 87 he said that though its the Only thing that stops him and the rest of the Pla Toon men from going further and giving both the soldiers and civil ians in the Region better Protection is Lack of weve been without water be fore we had to drink Creek when youre that when youre willing to Deal with dysentery Wiswell walked away with a Scott from Salt Lake and a member of 1st 91st cavalry regiments Headquarters and Headquarters troop reconnaissance looks up the Mountainside on saturday in Nuri Itan the platoon was looking for insurgent activity in the area near the squadrons Home at fire base Hal full Camelback after the mis after three hours on the Ridgel Wall and his men came Down to meet humvee waiting As the trucks began to one broke a constant threat due to makeshift roads full of boulders and Sand up to nine inches since the vehicles Are Par Mored just like the ones in Iraq where the Road system is much More though the threat of Roadside bombs higher the afghan mountains Are wreaking havoc on tires and the More the More expletive we put on them there going to break Wall no matter How their gear hinders How Many pounds they How Many kicks they or How much weight they lose after six one Man photos by Mark and stripes after climbing a Alexander of 1st 91st cavalry regiments Headquarters and Headquarters troop recon Naissance scans a nearby Valley in Nuristani Afghani shortly after Sunrise lost 20 pounds the men wont then believe that patrolling mountains is working that ene Mies seeing sniper rifles in the hands of Young soldiers trained and ready to use them causes them to its one fact Wall said of the Impact the platoons mis Sions Are since weve gone up the the number of rocket attacks has gone where fire base where the men Call used to be rocketed at least once a week when they first now its More like once a the unit that the 191 replaced never went up into the Moun Wiswell the fact that the american with All their gear in Are walking High in the Hills astonishes the Friendly afghan soldiers and to Wiswell it also lets the bad Guys know that were that were will ing to go up there were eliminating Safe its really All we email Mark  i o cry the air Force Reserve takes care o its there for of fury Tor u better yourself and to bigger is right staff sergeant John storm is the noncommissioned officer in Coic with the 457th fighter Squadron intelligence fort Texas 0 air Foroe Europe Dan 4802326 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