KUWAIT-IRAQ BORDER

Loading ammunition and feeling a burden

By David Kamerman, Globe Staff, 3/22/2003

have spent the last week living with nearly 500 US Army soldiers. Much of that time has been spent in lighter moments as we get acquainted.

But on day one of the second Gulf War, that changed. My tent is quiet now; the joking and laughter are gone.

The faces of the soldiers are somber, as they are issued ammunition. Only the click of copper-and-brass 5.56mm rounds being loaded into aluminum M-16 clips. The hollow, almost rhythmic sound echoes, as dozens of soldiers methodically fill allotted clips.

A skinny specialist sits across from me. He is 23, but with a shaved head he doesn't look a day over 18. His eyes are riveted on a sergeant first class with 20 years under his belt.

The sergeant instructs the younger soldiers how to load the clips with tracer rounds properly scattered throughout. The comfort an older sergeant brings to the young soldiers is immeasurable, as they know he has been where they are about to go.

On Wednesday, a Scud missile alert -- not a drill, but the real thing -- brought home the reality of war for the soldiers. They are being sent into combat, half the world away from home. None that I have talked to would choose to go to war, but they are willing to do their jobs, jobs that now weigh heavy on the shoulders.

This story ran on page A17 of the Boston Globe on 3/22/2003.
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