Article: Backstory: US Marines 'invade' the Pop Tucci diner; A US Marine unit trains in three North Carolina towns to prepare for civil affairs duty in Iraq.(FEATURES)(CURRENTS)

Byline: Bill Sasser Correspondent of The Christian Science Monitor

TRENTON, N.C. -- After a frigid night camped under pine trees at an airfield, the convoy of 20 US Marines rolled into this sleepy town just as businesses were opening. The rumble of their Humvees unnerved some local residents. Even more jarring was the sight of the soldiers leaping from their vehicles with weapons.

In the parking lot of the Zion Lodge, a marine scanned the quiet street from behind a .50-caliber machine gun. One elderly man seemed shaken at the sight of marines striding into the Realo drugstore.

Yet this was no hostile invasion. As final preparation for a one-year ...

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