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File: aabfg_15.txt(14) (U) Medical records of deploying personnel should be screened prior to departure to ensure individuals with health problems or disqualifying profiles are not deployed. B. (U) Mobility Processing - Our Medical Readiness and Medical Logistics functions worked hard and put in long hours preparing for Operation Desert Shield. As a result processing - both personnel and equipment - went smoothly. Although time from initial recall to first flight was only three hours and fifteen minutes, the fact that personal affairs (shots, powers of attorney, emergency data cards, wills, etc.) had been taken care of allowed enough time for mandatory briefings, inventorying C-1 bags, and changing gas mask filters as well as attaching hoods. On the negative side three and a half weeks of two hour telephone standby, not knowing if the next day would be the day, was very taxing on many of our people. Augmentees on the mobility line could not answer routine questions about chemical gear; personnel were briefed only 70 lbs. of baggage plus a 15 lb. carry-on bag while orders stated excess baggage was authorized; and the third increment, which flowed two weeks after the initial deployment, received no briefings on the area of deployment, terrorist activity, etc. Finally, many units at our deployed location had been issued expired antidotes. Closer scrutiny during mobility processing could have alleviated this problem. C. (U) ATH Marshalling - The ATH marshalling process is not as cut and dried as many line functions due to the sensitive cargo and refrigerated items. Medical materiel was marshalled too far in advance. As a consequence, the prolonged exposure to the summer heat damaged some drugs and x-ray film. Last minute tasking to procure and build two decontamination pallets competed with medical materiel's time for finalizing and marshalling ATH supplies and equipment. D. (U) Trip Over - MAC provided airlift on C-5s and C-141s. Although some people complained of being cold, the MAC flight crews were very hospitable and made us as comfortable as possible. E. (U) Arrival - Arrived approximately O900 local. Although thoroughly briefed on the rigorous environment, many people still were not adequately prepared for the intense heat. The Deputy Commander for Resource Management and PERSCO representatives met us and we were efficiently transported to tent city to obtain billeting. Temper tent billets had not been properly erected and too few supplies for proper erection were immediately available to complete the job self-help. F. (U) Set up began the evening of 7 Sep 90 and we were open for business on 12 Sep 90. One night was essentially lost when environmental conditions forced tent erection to stop. All the work was done at night due to the intense daytime heat. Total set-up time was four nights. We would have benefited from an ADVON team. People experienced in site selection and expertise in ATH erection could have possibly resulted in a better ATH site without expenditure of
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