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Wake-up call

Feb- 1-2004 » Filed Under: 3/2 SBCT

I was sure we posted this article when it was originally published on January 5th, but I couldn't find it in our archives, so here it is. Thanks to Carol for the link.

[Link to Full Article]

By Matthew Cox
Times staff writer

SAMARRA, Iraq — The 5-foot tall masked Iraqi man guides the night patrol, leading the C Company soldiers on foot into the midnight-dark of neighborhoods here in the core of the Sunni Triangle.

Hundreds of meters to the rear and out of sight, several Stryker combat vehicles slowly roll along while maintaining radio contact with the foot patrol as it heads in on a mission to hit insurgents where they live.

The force of about 100 soldiers from 5th Battalion, 20th Infantry Regiment, moves out in a wedge. They trudge through the muddy lots and lanes that separate the buildings, scanning the rooftops and horizons for any sign of guerrilla activity. The residents here are under a 9 p.m. to 4 a.m. curfew, but this city 60 miles north of Baghdad is a roosting place for hostile forces.


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