BY RUSTY DENNEN

CAMP ARIFJAN, KUWAIT

This is the first stop to thousands of troops heading into the Middle East. More than 300 soldiers from the Fredericksburg National Guard Armory are stationed there, providing security for this strategic post.

Back home, Camp Arifjan would be a medium-size city with restaurants, a hospital, movie theaters, ball fields and basketball courts, but with a population dressed mostly in military fatigues.

Long rows of squat command buildings, air-conditioned barracks and latrines sit end-to-end behind heavy concrete barriers.

At night it is an eerie place. Generators light up the complex, giving the desert a ghostly glow. Near the barracks, a softball game is under way with screams, shouts and laughter echoing in the darkness. Playing after dark is a must, daytime high temperatures are in the mid-90s already.

Coming here would challenge any seasoned traveler. Most soldiers take chartered flights with stopovers in Germany or Ireland, and can take 20-plus hours. For a civilian, it's a little easier.

A direct flight from Dulles International Airport crosses eight time zones and takes about 12 hours. The Boeing 777 passes directly over one of the most troubled spots on the planet: Baghdad, Iraq. Kuwait City is about 340 miles southeast of the Iraqi capital.

Before landing at Kuwait City International Airport, the jetliner makes a short swing over the turquoise-blue Persian Gulf. The airport is one of the most modern in the region.

Securing a visitor's visa is a several-hour affair, involving taking a number, waiting, then going to the counter again to secure a form. That's followed by more waiting. A visa costs $12--about three Kuwaiti dinars.

Kuwaiti men, many in traditional robes and distinctive red-and-white headdress, greet each other with kisses. Women, many in Western clothes, but others in more demure robes and veils, chatter in Arabic with children in tow.

The many American soldiers going in and out are purposely inconspicuous in civilian clothes until they arrive at Camp Arifjan.

In the terminal, there are prayer rooms for men who are called to prayer five times a day. Amid the Arabic shops, such as Al Sawari books and coffee, sits a Burger King and a Cinnabon.

It's a 45-minute drive from the airport to the camp. Along the way, Kuwaitis in jaguars and Mercedes Benzes whoosh past, far exceeding the 72 mph speed limit.

"There are some spectacular accidents," says Maj. Mary Constantino, a public-affairs liaison who meets us at the airport.

It takes half an hour to leave the airport parking garage as drivers jockey for position and fail to yield.

Along the highway she points out lights on poles resembling Christmas decorations. Those are from recent Liberation Day celebrations, commemorating when Kuwait was liberated in 1991 from Saddam Hussein's army by U.S. and coalition forces.

Out in the desert, more lights twinkle in the night. It's Kuwaitis who enjoy camping in the desert, with all the modern conveniences, of course.

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