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CNN Live Saturday

A Look at Life in the Desert

Aired March 15, 2003 - 15:54   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


RENAY SAN MIGUEL, CNN ANCHOR: Waiting for war is the order of the day for U.S. troops in the Kuwaiti desert.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And it can make for some very long and frustrating days and some sleepless nights, as CNN's Jason Bellini found out first hand.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Life in the desert 101.

We've learned a few lessons in our first days embedded with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

Lesson one, the hard way is really the only way to make a morning cup of coffee.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As long as it's coffee in the end, that's all that matters.

BELLINI: Young Marine infantrymen -- the grunts, as they're called -- grunt to themselves as hump along with their 100 plus count packs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All clear.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All clear.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All clear.

BELLINI: You leave behind everything except what you need to survive and need to kill. War is something most look forward to, if only to kill boredom.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to do something. It's better than just sitting here in the desert.

BELLINI: The most important overriding lesson -- adapt, adapt, adapt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't have a lot of water. So it will stick to you spoon so it won't blow away.

BELLINI: As far as the food, just remember it's all mind over matter. Do you ever crave pepperoni pizza?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, definitely.

BELLINI: You learn to exploit that precious hour as the sun is going down. You never know what night may bring.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is my very first desert sandstorm and it's pretty strong. The sand is pounding against my tent. The tent isn't even protecting me from the sand. The tent's so thin that it's coming through the sides and the roof of my tent.

And if look here at my sleeping bag you can probably see some of the sand.

BELLINI: The Marines have an expression -- pain is weakness leaving the body.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's why we enlisted in the Marine Corps. That's why we are sitting out here right now trying to make a cup of coffee in the desert.

BELLINI: It's just another morning in the Kuwaiti desert. Jason Bellini, CNN, Camp Bulrush, Kuwait.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com






Aired March 15, 2003 - 15:54   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
RENAY SAN MIGUEL, CNN ANCHOR: Waiting for war is the order of the day for U.S. troops in the Kuwaiti desert.
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: And it can make for some very long and frustrating days and some sleepless nights, as CNN's Jason Bellini found out first hand.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

JASON BELLINI, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Life in the desert 101.

We've learned a few lessons in our first days embedded with the 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit.

Lesson one, the hard way is really the only way to make a morning cup of coffee.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: As long as it's coffee in the end, that's all that matters.

BELLINI: Young Marine infantrymen -- the grunts, as they're called -- grunt to themselves as hump along with their 100 plus count packs.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All clear.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All clear.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All clear.

BELLINI: You leave behind everything except what you need to survive and need to kill. War is something most look forward to, if only to kill boredom.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I want to do something. It's better than just sitting here in the desert.

BELLINI: The most important overriding lesson -- adapt, adapt, adapt.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: You don't have a lot of water. So it will stick to you spoon so it won't blow away.

BELLINI: As far as the food, just remember it's all mind over matter. Do you ever crave pepperoni pizza?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, definitely.

BELLINI: You learn to exploit that precious hour as the sun is going down. You never know what night may bring.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: This is my very first desert sandstorm and it's pretty strong. The sand is pounding against my tent. The tent isn't even protecting me from the sand. The tent's so thin that it's coming through the sides and the roof of my tent.

And if look here at my sleeping bag you can probably see some of the sand.

BELLINI: The Marines have an expression -- pain is weakness leaving the body.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: That's why we enlisted in the Marine Corps. That's why we are sitting out here right now trying to make a cup of coffee in the desert.

BELLINI: It's just another morning in the Kuwaiti desert. Jason Bellini, CNN, Camp Bulrush, Kuwait.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com