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Soldiers tote more than weapons

Aug-16-2005 » Filed Under: 172nd SBCT

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By MARGARET FRIEDENAUER, News-Miner

Pfc. Matt Albertson killed time with a hand-held PlayStation game Monday as hundreds of soldiers waited to board a plane to the Middle East at the Joint Mobility Complex on Eielson Air Force Base.

He wasn't the only member of the 172nd Stryker Brigade Combat Team adding optional high-tech gear to the boots, fatigues and rifles they will carry into action in northern Iraq. Soldiers worked on laptops, listened to digital audio players and brought along DVD players.

Albertson said iPods and MP3 players are popular with troops because music can be a big morale booster. He and his buddies had compiled a variety of music to listen to while in Iraq, such as Black Sabbath and Disturbed.

"Stuff that gets you pumped up," he said.

Spc. Scott Ehret had another popular item among the 3,800 members of the deploying brigade--a digital camera. Troops have been told they should have Internet access intermittently so some plan on sending photos to friends and family.

Ehret entered the Army a year ago today and said he knew little about what types of personal items could make life more comfortable in Iraq. [...]


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