In clear, searing weather one late afternoon, about two dozen troops in khaki camouflage uniforms, members of Mauritania's presidential security platoon, gathered near some trees at one end of a small windswept valley.
But with security still uncertain, platoons of light armored vehicles fanned across the area early today, beginning regular patrols in search of any lingering Taliban or Al Qaeda fighters.
The closest had four machine guns and one mortar and threatened the immediate security of the platoon.
It's become a domestic replica of Baghdad's highly fortified Green Zone, with a small army of well- armed private security guards supplemented by platoons of New York Police with submachine guns.
A veritable platoon of security guards monitors every aspect of the performance, and all judges have bodyguards who follow them from backstage to the judges' table.
With each year's festival counting on stars to draw attention, security is always tight, personified by platoons of beefy bodyguards in tuxedos.
(Tunnell's critics have pointed out that Gibbs was assigned to Tunnell's security detachment before joining the Third Platoon).
With the mute but mighty presence of a platoon of no-nonsense security guards formally attired in suits and ties, shoppers draped in minks and Rolexes mingled with tire-kickers in sweat suits and sneakers.
The trucks stopped, and a platoon of suits and security agents jumped out, and then, one long leg at a time, Diane Sawyer emerged, in fishing waders that were turned down at the top.
"Bravo" command group, consisting of two rifle companies and the 106 mm recoilless rifle platoon, assumed responsibility for security of the DAO Annex and its adjoining landing zones.
Mike Faessler, Kedahda's director of security, acknowledged that the company had two platoons from Colombia's army's 5th brigade "on loan" to protect an exploration operation in the region because the "security situation is pretty dicey".
