STORIES FROM THE DESERT

File: 970529_sep96_sagwi1_0005.txt
Page: 0005
Total Pages: 9
Subject = STORIES FROM THE DESERT                                         

Parent Organization = XVIII CORPS 

Unit = 101ST ID    

Folder Title = ANNODOTES OF THE WAR                                                                            

Document Number =          2

Box ID = BX001611






             Spc. Stuart C. Suchland
             C. Co. 1/187th INF
             798-6701

                 In early December the 187th made another rotation out
             into the desert. We traveled up from King Fahd international
             Airport to a place we nicknamed "Opryland". When we arrived
             our commander told us about the seasonal winds called "Shamals"
             He said we would have to dig in pretty deep because the unit
             would be out there until early January. I did not realize
             what "pretty deep" actually meant.
                 At that time I was the platoon leader's RTO. The Lt.,
             two FISTers, and I made up most of the headquarters section.
             During the first few days the Lt. was kept fairly busy so that
             left the FISTers and I to dig the hole, and this was a very
             ambitious hole.
                 We mapped out the hole on the ground. It had to be large
             enough to fit four soldiers and all their gear with room to
             sleep. The hole also had to be deep enough to stand up in.
             I did not think to get the actual measurments. Roughly, the
             hole was at least 18ft long, 8ft wide, and just shy of 6ft
             deep. It took four ponchos and two white tarps, which were
             much larger than a poncho, to cover the hole. We used every
             piece of 550 cord, every tent stake and pole, and every bungi
             cord we had. We used MRE boxes filled with sand for steps.
             All told, it took about five days to finish the work.
                 Orignally, it seemed the hole was a bit extreme. However,
             by mid-December I was glad we had put all that effort into it.
             The Shamals were bad on several occasions. The wind was so
             strong it even picked up the extremely heavy desert sand.
             There were times I had to follow the land line to the company CP
             because I could not see it even though it was only 600m away.
                 Its hard to imagine living like that even now. Living
             in a hole,eating food from plastic bags most of the time, when
             you combine that with the fact that we had already been in the
             gulf since September you can begin to see just how difficult
             life was. It got to the point to where we wanted to fight
             because we knew that there was no other way for us to go home.


















             Iraqinfo.WPF                 -5-