Hurry up and wait

NEAR KARBALA, Iraq -- Every day, they're told they'll be moving soon, but every day has brought more of the same -- waiting.

As other units fought near Nasiriyah and in Najaf, the men of A Company, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment washed their hair and enjoyed the desert sun.

Earlier this week, A Company, along with the rest of the U.S. Army 3rd Infantry Division's 2nd Brigade, dashed full speed across the western desert, intending to surprise Saddam Hussein's Republican Guard near the holy city of Najaf.

Now it appears it may have moved too quickly. Other U.S. troops in the invasion's main thrust have become bogged down by unexpected resistance along the way.

So the soldiers of "Attack" Company have been idling 50 miles south of Baghdad, waiting for the big battle to come.

They reached Najaf Sunday, covering more than 225 miles in less than 40 hours, one of the fastest penetrations of hostile territory ever recorded. After a night punctuated by artillery and tank fire, the 2nd Brigade was ordered to push their 2,500 vehicles northwest toward Karbala.

Attack Company's job was to protect the battalion's western flank. Capt. Chris Carter, the company commander, ordered his men to set their eight Bradley fighting vehicles 100 yards apart with machine gun nests between them.

After their first good night's rest in days, most woke Tuesday in good spirits. They shaved and cleaned themselves as best as they could with baby wipes.

Tuesday, when a sandstorm hit, the men retreated to their cramped Bradleys as winds reached 50 mph. The company positioned two Bradleys and an armored personnel carrier as a windbreak and stretched green tarps in the gaps.

Wednesday, the 3rd Division's 1st Brigade came under attack nearby, so two Bradleys kept watch for Attack Company constantly.

Inside their vehicles, gunners took apart their 25 mm cannons and their 7.62 coaxial machine guns, spreading the parts out in front of them. Using shaving brushes, toothbrushes and thick tissues, the men cleaned and oiled their sand-coated weaponry.

"I'm not sure how much sand this equipment can take," said Staff Sgt. Bryce Ivings, a baldheaded master gunner from Sarasota, Fla. "But I'm not taking any chances."

Talk of doughnuts

Later, conversation turned to food -- the kind you can't get in the desert.

"Have you ever tasted a Krispy Kreme doughnut as soon as it has left the assembly line?" Ivings asked. "Pure heaven."

Outside, visibility was zero. Soldiers tied strings around their waists and attached them to their Bradleys so they wouldn't get lost walking away to go to the bathroom.

The sandstorm broke just after midnight Thursday. A water tanker arrived, and the men rushed to wash. Although the temperature was in the mid-40s, infantrymen stripped to the waist and poured water over their heads, washing their hair for the first time in nearly a week.

In the distance, A-10 Warthogs swooped on Iraqi vehicles. Iraqi armored personnel carriers had been probing U.S. defenses during the sandstorm, and the sudden clearing of the skies exposed them to a pounding from the Warthogs.

Thursday morning, one of the Warthogs' missiles struck an oil pipeline, and an engineering unit set out to fix it, accompanied by one of Attack Company's Bradley's.

As they approached, a single Iraqi in civilian clothes walked toward them, hands raised in surrender. The infantrymen ordered him closer, but he refused. He looked over his shoulder repeatedly, then dropped to the ground.

The Bradley pulled back and called for reinforcements, but by the time it arrived, the Iraqi was gone. He may have been trying to lure the men into an ambush; two dust plumes in the distance appeared to give away two trucks speeding off.

Suddenly, from behind sand berms, several groups of Iraqis emerged waving white flags.

At the same time, a call over the radio: "Pull back, now!"

"We have made contact with people waving white flags," Carter replied. "We plan to investigate."

"Pull back now," an operations officer repeated.

Following orders, Carter coordinated a withdrawal.

Later, the battalion commander explained he thought Carter's men might have ventured too far north and exposed themselves to ambush.

As night fell Friday, Carter and his men heard reports that Republican Guard troops were moving toward Karbala and might test their defenses.

"Do you there will be a hell of a fight?" said 1st Lt. Eric Hooper.

"I don't think it will be a hell of a fight," Carter said, "but it will be something."