CAMP VIPER, Iraq - The sandstorm started at about 9 a.m. Tuesday and refused to let up.
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On this day at Camp Viper, the 319th Transportation Company would come to understand life in the desert as never before. Two members in particular, Spc. Jeffery Key and Spc. Tracy Murray, had a long night ahead of them.
The two mechanics for the Augusta-based Army Reserve unit were assigned by their lieutenant to stay with a broken-down truck and a tank. As night fell, they were still waiting in the cab of the truck, enduring the most horrendous sandstorm the unit had seen since arriving in the Middle East.
Fierce winds blew sand in sheets, which raced across the desert floor like vaporous ghosts. Sand covered vehicles, gear and soldiers. It got into eyes, nostrils and ears, up shirtsleeves and between teeth.
Hands felt like sandpaper.
The specialists spent the day in the truck, which needed a new alternator and a control box and sat parked near the command center.
Just as the storm began, 1st Lt. Daniel Perugini and a convoy of about 16 trucks left the site to set up tents at a new, less crowded area of the camp.
At dark, the two still didn't know where the lieutenant was. Both said they were not miserable or nervous.
"These things happen," Spc. Murray said. "We're trained for it."
They tied a camouflaged tarp outside the driver's side window to reduce the amount of sand blowing in. The tarp rattled violently in the wind, and the 13-year-old truck windows wouldn't close all the way. The wind shook the frame of the 5-ton truck.
Ahead of the truck, a group of medical trucks disappeared and reappeared as the wind weakened and strengthened.
The world outside looked post-apocalyptic - nothing around but trucks, tents, fuel tankers and flying sand.
In the cab, the two dreamed of returning home.
Spc. Key, 37, of Augusta, is a maintenance technician at Fort Gordon. He is married with no children. He wondered whether his dogs will remember him when he comes home.
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Marine Pvt. George Rivera struggles against the wind during a severe sandstorm at Camp Viper in the Iraqi desert.
MICHAEL MACOR/ASSOCIATED PRESS
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He talked about taking his godson and goddaughter to Funsville and eating dinner at Nacho Mamas.
Spc. Murray is a machine operator at Kimberly-Clark. He is married, with a 1 1/2 -year-old daughter and a son due to be born in April, which he's sure he'll miss.
He talked about cooking on the grill for his family and longed for the chance to order a Hennessey at Soul Bar.
"This is what keeps us going," Spc. Murray said.
"Two months, that's what keeps me going," Spc. Key said. "Even though I might be here longer. Two months."
At 1:15 p.m., the specialists discovered that Sgt. 1st Class Jose Machado had been sitting between the tires of the tanker about 50 yards away all morning and afternoon.
At about 3 p.m., through the windshield, they saw two figures in the distance, both armed. One lay down in the sand, aiming his rifle in the prone position. Spc. Murray strapped on his goggles and ventured out to ask what was going on.
When he returned, he said the threat level at the camp had been elevated. Iraqi soldiers had been reported in the area.
Spc. Murray began taking apart his M-16 and wiping out the dust, which by now covered everything in the truck - the console, the steering wheel, the gearshift, and the chemical suits both men had been wearing since they left Kuwait.
Spc. Key sat in silence, his rifle between his knees.
"I'm going through different scenarios in my head, in case you're wondering," he said.
Sgt. 1st Class Machado said another 319th soldier was somewhere in the vicinity of the command center about 100 yards away from the truck and tank.
Marines there gave the soldiers who had been left behind extra water and pre-packaged Meals Ready to Eat.
Earlier in the morning, Spc. Murray called his wife, Kristy, on a reporter's satellite phone so she could set up a three-way call and contact a staff sergeant still at Camp Coyote in Kuwait to report the status of the vehicles.
Before he hung up, his wife told him about the convoy that made a wrong turn in An Nasiriyah and the Americans who were killed, captured and put on television.
She also told him allied forces were 50 miles away from Baghdad.
"I wonder what Saddam's doing right now?" Spc. Key asked. "I wonder what George W. is doing right now?"
"I wonder who's winning March Madness?" Spc. Murray asked.
They settled down to sleep, spending the night in the truck.
Through the windows they could see nothing but distant lights and sand.
At 9:30 p.m., the sandstorm gave way to a thunderstorm and rain. Sgt. 1st Class Machado sought shelter from the weather underneath the empty fuel tanker.
Spc. Key assured everyone that the rumbles and flashes of light were thunder and lightning, not enemy artillery.
