U.S. troops battle adversity to patrol wasteland separating Iraq and Iran

[Judi Lynn]

U.S. troops battle adversity to patrol wasteland separating Iraq and Iran
By Patrick Quinn, Associated Press, 10/1/2003 02:20

CAMP ANIMAL, Iraq (AP) Sgt. Jason Prosser squinted in the blinding sunlight as he wiped the sweat and grime from his forehead. Before him was the harsh and trackless desert, behind him a small group of Bradley fighting vehicles swaddled in camouflage netting. A few Abrams tanks broiled in the midday heat.

''It's pretty basic here. We have cots, we sleep in Bradleys or in the tanks. There are lots of problems with other things as well,'' Prosser, 24, from Noble, Ill., said recently as a light wind blew through the tiny forward operating base at the Iranian frontier run by the 1st Squadron, 10th Cavalry.

From above, Camp Animal resembles a washed out postage stamp left lying on a featureless wasteland. Inside its defensive berms, several dozen soldiers barely flinch as two Blackhawk helicopters churn up a storm of sand and heat while lifting off an impromptu landing zone marked by a piece of blue cloth.

''It's austere but those are the demands of this mission. The people who live here, they live under austere conditions,'' said Capt. John Due, 27, from Houston.

Temperatures on a recent day soared above 120, relatively cool compared to the nearly 140 or more recorded in the area since May, when the 1-10 Cavalry took over the area. Soldiers often sleep in cots in the open desert to cool down at night. There is no running water. Latrines are cleaned by setting them afire. To ward off sand fleas, some soldiers tie flea collars around their boots. (snip/...)

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