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File: aaabm_09.txt
Page: 09
Total Pages: 22

the diligent efforts of Sergeant Sipos and the augmentees, two CCPs became
operational and one was brought up to ready stand-by status.

Glitches discovered during activation of the dormant hospital facilities were
quickly diagnosed and solved by USAFE's Headquarters engineering experts.
Captains Douglas Tucker of the Operations Division and Carlos Cruz-Gonzales of
the Programming Division designed repairs and obtained the necessary parts to
repair operating room ventilation and heating malfunctions at the Zweibrucken
AB contingency hospital, and coordinated setting up heating and water supply
functions at the aeromedical evacuation staging facility built in Hangar Two
at Ramstein AB.

Captain Tucker, Chief Master Sergeant Dennis Mc Avoy, and Staff Sergeant
Charles Underwood, all of the Operations Division, again jumped in to save the
day when the entire X-ray wing of the USAF hospital at Wiesbaden Air Station
(AS), which was shut down because asbestos construction materials had been
used in it, was needed for potential use during DESERT STORM.  Captain Tucker,
Chief McAvoy and Sergeant Underwood formed an emergency asbestos removal
team, gathered necessary equipment, went to Wiesbaden and worked straight
through for over a week to remove all the asbestos.  The hospital was able to
open fully functional in a fraction of the time and at a fraction of the cost
than anything less than this team's efforts provided, to receive and treat 
patients from SWA.

To provide other essential services, USAFE Prime RIBS personnel set up
billeting for medical augmentees at the four contingency hospitals and at four
aeromedical staging facilities, using tents, hard billets, and unoccupied
military family housing units.  They also set up facilities to feed patients
and medical staff from field kitchens and emergency hard kitchens, and set up
two mortuaries and ancillary support, as well as MPCs at each of the four
contingency hospitals.

The HQ USAFE Directorate of Housing and Services deployed several personnel to
the United Kingdom (UK) to augment 3 AF during DESERT SHIELD and DESERT 
STORM.  Chief Master Sergeant Dan Awalt deployed to RAF Upper Heyford to help 
manage contingency hospital food service support at RAF Little Rissington and
RAF Bicester.  The hub of all Services functions was RAF Upper Heyford, with
the 20th Services Squadron (20 SVS) having overall responsibility.  Initially,
there was a great deal of apprehension about the possibility of having to
provide support to potentially large numbers of American casualties from the
war in SWA, and preparations were carried out with urgency.

Upon arrival at RAF Upper Heyford, Chief Awalt was assigned to the 20 SVS.  No
medical personnel had yet arrived and no additional facilities had been
established to support the food service requirements.  Mr. Mike Hertlein of the
20 SVS had done a tremendous amount of preparatory work, having rations
pre-ordered, equipment purchased, facilities identified, etc.  His foresight
and hard work laid the foundation for a successful transition to fullblown
contingency support.  Prime RIBS team deployed from CONUS units to RAF Upper
Heyford to augment in-place Services personnel from that base, as well as the
many USAFE augmentees already on board.  A total of more than 190 Services
folks were deployed from CONUS and USAFE.  Chief Awalt, as the overall Food
Service Manager, directed the opening of dining facilities at several
locations to support not only potential patients, but several thousand medical

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