Rocky Mountain News
After weeks of waiting, unit poised for war
By Ahmad Terry, Rocky Mountain News
April 10, 2003
WITH THE 1ST BATTALION OF THE 8TH INFANTRY, NORTHERN KUWAIT - Sgt. Sean Burns knows heat. After all, he's from Shreveport, La. But he's never experienced anything like noon in the Kuwaiti desert.
"I've never been this hot during the day, and I'm from Louisiana," says Burns, 33, who arrived to 110-degrees several days ago with his Fort Carson battalion.
He and his fellow soldiers - after being blocked by Turkey for weeks from entering the war from the north - are working feverishly to join the war in Iraq.
"I'm ready to head north," says Capt. Mack Tugman as he rides in the convoy back to camp with the last of the battalion's belongings from port.
The battalion is working on a 19-hour on, five-hour off schedule.
"We must do as much from 8 p.m. to 8 a.m. as we do from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m.," says Lt. Col. Phillip Battaglia.
Meantime, Spc. Matthew Shagula, 24, of Texas, and Sgt. Paul Michael, 36, of Michigan, take advantage of the relative coolness of night, catching a "combat nap" under the stars on top of a Humvee.
Copyright 2003, Rocky Mountain News. All Rights Reserved.