Desert Thunder Guide

The Desert Thunder mission is split up into four sectors:
• Sector 1 - Insertion route
• Sector 2 - The Temple
• Sector 3 - The Road
• Sector 4 - The Town

Sector 1

Sector 2
Sector 3
Sector 4

Here's what you need
Primary Weapon: A low-recoil or high power assault rifle. AK Variants, M4 Variants
I do not recommend MG's even though they contain 200 ammo, their are plenty of ammo boxes around.
Primary Weapon #2: You can either go with a sniper (any) or a shotgun (any except for Double Barrel) or another AR
Vest: There is a lot of controversy going on about which vest to use. The answer is simple, the one that suits your gameplay.

--Walkthrough--
Sector 1
When you start, waste your grenade by throwing it somewhere with a bunch of enemies. You will most likely make it to the next part, therefore recovering your grenade. After you throw the grenade, come out and rush at the enemies.

Sector 2
After you recover/respawn (if you suck); clear the guys on the floor and the scouts on the second floor. Whatever you do, do not touch the gates!! Then, activate the doors with the black soldiers (don't touch any gates) and use your grenade. Just continue up the gates without activating the black soldiers. Sweep the doors to clear the area.
After the wall explodes, continue straight and clear the alley, but don't use your grenade.

Sector 3
After clearing Sector 2, clear out the people in the bus so you can hide there. Blow up the tank by knifing it until it goes on fire, then running away and then pistoling it. Now, clear the people infront from the cover of the bus.

Sector 4
Now, there will be chaos. You have a choice of 3 extraction points, pick either A or C. B is suicide, do whatever you can from getting killed.

Tips:
1. Be careful of grenades, enemies frequently throw them (even when they die)
2. Assault rifles (as mentioned before) are the best for this map as yellow boxes get frequently dropped.
3. You may see experienced players in the lobby before the game starts exclaim "No Gates" to the less experienced players. This means that inside the first building, no one should open the two objective gates on either side of the courtyard as they are optional to opening and aren't required for winning. Instead, one can shoot the booby trap mine on the left side terrace (located by it's trip laser) igniting a blast that destroys part of the upper terrace allowing players from the courtyard to make it to the upper floor without triggering the irritating extra guards from appearing when you open the gates. The Elite Soldiers in black still appear but can be easily defeated from a distance as they won't try to go down the stairs through the unopened gates. This strategy is extremely valid and useful on harder difficulties as the enemy pouring through the gates can easily overwhelm a not well organized team.
The "No Gates" strategy has recently been deemed a "bannable glitch."
4. Aim for the head as you progress.