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Article: A day in the life of Alpha Troop's scouts: on the front lines in the Saudi Arabian desert. (Showdown in the Gulf)
- Article from:
- U.S. News & World Report
- Article date:
- October 8, 1990
- Author:
CopyrightCOPYRIGHT 1990 All rights reserved. This material is published under license from the publisher through the Gale Group, Farmington Hills, Michigan. All inquiries regarding rights should be directed to the Gale Group. (Hide copyright information)
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On the front lines in the Saudi Arabian desert Daybreak, 0500 hours: Specialist Daren Fitzgerald rubs sand from his eyes, then slides out from beneath the barrel of the 25-mm chain gun he's been sleeping under. Four other members of Alpha Troop's Third Platoon scout unit are rising from their own precarious perches atop and alongside their Bradley M3 cavalry fighting vehicle, which they're dubbed "Hellraiser."
It's the end of the 22nd straight night of what Fitzgerald jokingly calls "strategic sleeping" - no tents, no cots, certainly not the scorpion and snake-infested soft sand. Just sleeping bags on the hard metal surface of their M3 Bradley armored vehicle.
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