32                                U.S. MARINES IN THE PERSIAN GULF, 1990-1991


                                                        Photograph by author
A Marine of the 2d Reconnaissance Battalion takes shelter by an observation post on the
berm, 17 February 1991.

would be needed to approach these lines; and so, when the reconnaissance teams
moved into Kuwait, they did so on 100t.1ls
    Four reconnaissance teams walked over the berm on the night of 17
February. They moved to initial positions, remained for a few hours, and then
progressed farther into Kuwait during the 18th. On the same day, two additional
teams crossed and occupied positions of the earlier teams. The mission of these
teams was to act as a radio-relay for their comrades farther forward. As noted
above, they were using HF radios with limited range. Two other teams set up
on the berm itself, to provide an overwatch for the operation. They were
equipped with the long-range electrical optical system which could see farther
than the standard spotting scopes, and with thermal-imagery night-sights of the
modular universal laser equipment.119 Over the next four days, the teams
reported enemy movements, concentrations, and activities.
    The frag order also tasked the 6th Marines with providing an extraction
force for the reconnaissance teams. This planning proved fortuitous; in the early
morning of 20 February, Team 1 was apparently discovered and approached by
30 enemy troops and five armored personnel carriers (APC). Under the cover
of an AV-8B air-strike and artillery fire, the team withdrew from its position and
was extracted by the LAl company attached to the 6th Marines.1~ From their
own poSition nearly three kilometers away, the members of Team 2 observed the
extraction. Because of communications difficulties, Team 2 had been out of radio
contact for nearly 24 hours. Then, to complicate the situation, a friendly artillery