Word: duden
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O715 hours: The day is hot and humid. Lieut. Jo Duden, 29, of E Company's 2nd platoon, checks to make sure she has rations, insect repellent, water, then straps her gas mask around her waist. Her 30-lb. knapsack makes her look twice her normal size...
...Four platoons (200 troops) meet in a silent hollow for final briefing. Another 40 lieutenants, located elsewhere, are the "aggressors." Duden smears black and olive green camouflage paint on her face, then loads rounds of blank ammunition into her M16. "You each get 60 rounds," yells a commander. "They have to last you until tonight...
...platoon moves out toward the objective, a helicopter pad 800 meters away. Duden and the advance fire team climb to the top of a small hill while the rest of the platoon, headed by Lieut. Steve Darnell, pushes through the wooded terrain. All the soldiers creep silently through the underbrush. "It's pretty quiet," whispers Duden. "I just hope Darnell hasn't gotten us lost again...
...Duden crouches near the shoulder of a small dirt road, the objective only 100 meters away. From another platoon, gunfire breaks out. "Those idiots!" Duden grumbles. "This is a surprise attack, and now the aggressors know where we are." A fire team moves to a ridge, setting up machine guns to cover the platoon as it crosses the road...
...yells the platoon commander. The troops rush into an open field. Gunfire cracks in the air. The Marines capture the helicopter pad in ten minutes. While Duden helps guard the perimeter, the others disarm the P.O.W.s and search them for coded messages. "If we capture a female aggressor, we're not allowed to search her," Duden explains. "That's one concession they had to make...