Bat Cave · ANP Hill · Now Zad 2009

THE BAT CAVE · ANP Hill · Now Zad 2009
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What reporters saw on this hill in 2009

The Associated Press wrote about ANP Hill in June and August 2009. Our video is from earlier that year, and a different company held the hill by then. Here is what they wrote, in short.

Marines slept alone or in pairs in tiny dugouts about four feet high. They called them Hobbit Holes.
The command post had a briefing room dug into the earth. An old Russian gun helped hold up the ceiling. One story calls it a howitzer, the other an anti-aircraft gun.
Guard posts, a tower, and a helicopter landing pad nearby to watch.
No air conditioning. Up to 125 degrees. Six hours on duty out of every 18.
A gym under a parachute.

“The underground briefing room is partly held up by an aging Russian Howitzer gun.”The Associated Press, June 30, 2009

Read story 1NBC News, June 30, 2009. Opens in a new tab. Read story 2The Gazette, Aug 18, 2009. Has a photo of the tower at night. Opens in a new tab.

A news photo that may match

On Aug 10, 2009 an AP photographer took a picture of a Marine climbing out of a tin-arch dugout on this hill. It looks like the tunnel arch in our video. Same hole? Not confirmed. That photo is not in either story above. It is in AP's photo archive.

The stories and photos belong to The Associated Press, so they are not copied here. This is a short summary. Tap Read story 1 or Read story 2 for the full text.