36 minutes past the hour now. simulating war in the california desert. that s what they do at the national training center at ft. irwin, california. i spent a week in the desert a year ago as the first brigade prepared for their mission in iraq. well, their mission is about to wrap up. they have been in iraq about a year now. we re going to check in with them as they wrap up. but first, let me take you back to my story from a year ago and that training mission in the california desert. for the 1st brigade of the 3rd infantry division, it was shaping up to be a very bad day. as the convoy wound its way through the desert canyon, it