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File: aaabm_08.txt
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people, and resulting in extremely uncomfortable conditions in the hot, humid
climate.  This created a critical situation for aircrews, who needed proper
rest to be able to perform their missions at peak ability.  At the request of 
16th Air Force, HQ USAFE programmers initiated the process to gain Title 10,
US Code, Paragraph 2808 approval and funding for emergency installation of
airconditioning in the dormitory.  Due to the nature of the job and the
funding required by law, project documentation had to be coordination through
CINCUSAFE and forwarded to USEUCOM for submittal to the Joint Chiefs of Staff
for approval.  Engineers from the USAFE Air Force Regional Civil Engineer
(AFRCE) division working with the US Navy Officer in Charge of Construction
(OICC), Madrid, quickly provided a design and the subsequent construction
contract that solved the problem.

Medical support was another key area where USAFE proved its worth.  The
medical support facilities  so urgently needed during contingencies, maintained
year-round in peacetime by base-level civil engineers, had to be brought out
from mothballed to fully operational status, a complex task.  Four of the
European theater contingency hospitals activated for Operation DESERT STORM
were revived by Prime BEEF teams at each of the locations.  Additionally,
aeromedical staging facilities (ASFs) were established at Torrejon AB,
Ramstein AB, Rhein Main AB, RAF Upper Heyford, RAF Waddington and RAF
Mildenhall.  Erecting tents or converting available facilities allowed for
flightline medical facilities to open in a minimal amount of time, going from
virtually nothing to staging facilities for critically wounded patients coming
out of the AOR.

In January, Lieutenant Colonel Steve Berendt, Mr. Buddy Horton, Mr. Bill
Spafford, Captain Ben Trotter, and Senior Master Sergeant Lawrence Hornback of
the HQ USAFE Directorate of Housing and Services deployed to RAFs Upper
Heyford, Fairford, Little Rissington, Bicester, Nocton Hall, Lakenheath and
Mildenhall in the United Kingdom to assess needs for contingency hospitals and
mortuary processing centers (MPCs).  In accordance with the Surgeon General's
war plan, RAFs Little Rissington, Bicester and Nocton Hall were designated
contingency hospitals, Fairford was designated as a feeding and housing area
for medical personnel coming in from other sites in 3 AF and the CONUS, and
Mildenhall was designated as an aeromedical staging facility.  Equipment for
the contingency hospitals was already in place, and a field kitchen operation
was brought from RAF Upper Heyford for RAF Bicester.  The team determined that
the best place to set up a MPC would be at RAF Lakenheath.  Mr. Spafford,
Captain Trotter and Sergeant Hornback coordinated the set-up and operation of
the MPC with 48th Services Squadron, while Colonel Berendt's job was to determine
the number of people needed from CONUS and where they would be deployed to.

Master Sergeant Jack Sipos of the HQ USAFE Housing Division deployed to the
United Kingdom to conduct site surveys of Casualty Collection Points (CCPs) at
 RAFs Upper Heyford, Bicester, and Little Rissington.  He assessed manpower,
supply and equipment needs to make those three CCPs operational.  All three
facilities had to be cleaned and stocked with equipment and supplies, obtained
from WRM located in the United Kingdom.  CCP personnel were augmented with 
individuals from RAF Chicksands and CONUS locations.  Within a week, thanks to


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