Soldiers Adapt to Sleeping on the Move
March 22, 2003
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Filed at 4:33 a.m. ET
IN THE IRAQI DESERT (AP) -- It's not easy napping in a
Humvee rumbling across the Iraqi desert. Or in a shallow,
single-soldier foxhole. Or stretched out on chilly sand.
Still, exhausted U.S. soldiers are adapting to sleeping on
the move.
As the 101st Airborne Division sprints deeper into Iraq,
troops catch shut-eye when they can. Friday night was spent
in dusty foxholes dug into the Kuwaiti desert, each one
just wide enough, long enough and deep enough to hold a
single soldier.
Some tried to nap Saturday as the convoy trekked north.
Staff Sgt. Michael Vaughn eagerly stretched his aching
limbs during a break in the marathon roadtrip. He'd managed
to doze in the passenger seat of a truck for several hours,
wedged between ammunition, rucksacks and bottled water.
``It's not the most comfortable sleeping position,'' said
Vaughn of Newport Richey, Fla. ``It's left, right -- more
right than left.''
The soldiers have driven almost ceaselessly since tearing
across the border from Kuwait on Friday evening, a day
behind the first U.S. and British troops into Iraq. They
stop about every four hours for rest breaks.
Sleeping in heavy combat helmets -- required in the battle
zone -- and behind goggles that protect against the
relentless desert dust would be hard enough for most. But a
solid rest seems even more elusive amid the roar of trucks,
the clatter of gear and the tight quarters.
Units across the front are facing similar sleep
deprivation.
Members of the 18th Military Police Brigade slept in
Humvees and Army trucks, on cots or in sleeping bags tossed
on the sand alongside the vehicles. A light rain chased
some inside, or even underneath the bulky personnel
carriers, but some exhausted soldiers simply turned their
faces and slept in the rain, despite the constant drone of
equipment and blast of headlights. Many woke with grimy
faces.
Marines of a heavy helicopter squadron near Iraq fly day
and night across the desert delivering equipment, fuel and
ammunition to ground troops. Under threat of missile
attack, those at the secret camp are continually sent to
their bunkers by warnings, and they get little unbroken
sleep.
On Thursday, their unit lost eight British and four U.S.
Marines when a helicopter crashed in Kuwait -- the first
coalition casualties of the war.
Those who seem to have it worst of all are the infantry;
those with the 101st Airborne sleep in the back of open
trucks, up to 16 packed in cheek by jowl, resting with
their gear hanging nearby. Some get up during the night and
eat in the cabs of Humvees -- beef ravioli and shrimp
jambalaya.
Constant worries about chemical weapons also keep everyone
on alert.
Marines with the 1st Platoon, Echo company mechanized
infantry, sleep under the stars in the chilly desert, as
explosions are heard in the distance. They must rise
regularly to don gas masks.
As uncomfortable as it is, the ones that do get to sleep
are the lucky ones.
Pvt. Andrew Herzog, 19, of the 101st Airborne, spent a
night standing on top of his Humvee, an MK-19 grenade
launcher at the ready, wearing goggles and scarf to brace
against the 40-degree temperatures, howling winds and dust.
``It's not too bad,'' said Herzog, of Camden, Mich.,
snacking on peanut butter, crackers and water.
Copyright 2003 The New York Times Company. |
