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and support personnel.  These operations were located at RAF Little
Rissington, RAF Bicester and RAF Fairford, UK.  Services functions at RAF
Upper Heyford were expanded tremendously.

As in all big and seldom-invoked operations, problems arose as the build-up
continued, but nothing that Chief Awalt and his team couldn't resolve.  No
matter how much planning and advance work had been accomplished, there was no
way to prepare for the unforeseen needs of the medical folks, and meeting some
of the requests under the limitations imposed by the contingency situation
presented quite a challenge.  But Chief Awalt and the other Services
professionals gave it their best effort.  Whenever it was within their
abilities, the Services folks came through.  In addition to feeding and 
billeting the medical and support staffs, the Services folks provided the same
services to transient crews and personnel going to and returning from SWA.

Housing and Community Services people supported the contingency hospitals and
aeromedical staging facilities within USAFE in several ways.  A contingency
support staff consisting of Lieutenant Colonel Bill Brady; Majors Courtney
Jordan and Gail Waller;  Captains Robert Puhala, Stephen Michael, and Karen
Gustad; and Technical Sergeant Jim Krueger was assembled to assist the
contingency operating locations and numbered air forces in meeting Services
needs.  The contingency medical facilities presented an enormous challenge
that called for billeting, feeding, laundry and mortuary support for the over
5,000 medical personnel and their patients.  The Services staff developed a
concept of operations plan to provide these functions.  Ninety-one thousand
dollars worth of food service equipment was sourced and shipped to
Zweibruecken, Lindsey, Sembach, and Ramstein ABs.

Sergeant Krueger and Captain Puhala performed a site analysis for the 609th
Contingency Hospital at Zwiebrucken Air Base Germany, to determine the food
service concept of operations for patients and staff.  Numerous problems
existed because there were no kitchens  in the hospital facilities themselves, 
there was a distance of several miles between the hospitals and the base 
dining hall, and the tremendous number of deployed medical personnel from the 
CONUS overtaxed the existing dining hall.  Captain Puhala and Sergeant Krueger 
came up with a unique concept for patient feeding that included outfitting the  
hospitals with basic cooking capabilities for preparing frozen foods and other 
simple items.

In addition, they transported large quantities of food prepared in the dining 
hall for the breakfast and dinner meals.  Diet technicians augmented Services 
personnel by preparing special meals that were needed by many patients.  To 
implement the concept, over $100,000 of food service equipment was processed 
from a stateside American manufacturer within a one week time period.  
Engineers installed generators at the hospital kitchen sites to provide the 
extra power.  The bottom line was that despite numerous obstacles, the 
facilities, manpower and equipment were in place for the January 15 deadline.  
After the ceasefire, the contingency hospital at Zweibruecken was dismantled 
and WRM equipment obtained from Sembach and Hahn AB was returned to 
maintenance for future use.  New equipment obtained from the states was 
distributed among Seventeenth Air Force (17 AF) food service operations that 
badly needed modern equipment.

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