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            supplies necessary to operate on an austere site had to be selected and
            placed on the three aircraft.16
            
            		An austere base was what Col Blair and his small band of Desert
            Shield volunteers found at Sharjah. Although located across the runway
            from a modern, international airport, the site made available to the 94th had
            ostensibly been a UAE reserve facility and was abandoned for at least five
            years. Met by one person from the US Embassy and an engineer who had
            arrived 24 hours earlier, and landing amid a temperature of 120-degrees
            plus with humidity of 90 percent, the group found they had to use combat
            off-loading procedures and unload the aircraft themselves. No equipment
            was available to assist in the off-loading. In addition, a large hangar
            supposedly ready for occupancy was already occupied--by pigeons, wild
            cats, rats, and insects. Encrusted with layers of filth, it had to cleaned out
            before it could be used. Everyone, regardless of rank, position, or sex,
            participated in the clean-up effort. Everyone also took their turns as
            security guards, since no security was available at the site.17
            
            		The day after its arrival, the unit was in operation and flying its first
            airlift missions. The problems seemed overwhelming. Fortunately, a
            number of important items could be obtained from the international airport.
            The unit contracting officer established contracts for a British airport
            catering service to deliver hot meals three times a day to the unit and for
            airport contractors to provide water and aircraft fuel services.18
            
            		One of the primary concerns was the purchase of mattresses for
            everyone. The first arrivals slept on Arctic sleeping bags on bare springs.
            Rat poison, bug spray, and cleaning supplies were also high on the list of
            needed supplies. Fortunately, those items could be purchased on the local
            economy. Of great assistance in those endeavors was a British expatriate
            who had been unable to return to his job in Kuwait when hostilities began.
            His knowledge of the language and local customs proved to be invaluable
            as he served as go-between for the Americans and the local merchants.19
            
            
-----------------------
               16 Rpt, JULLS, 908 TAG/CC; Cameron Intvw.
            
               17 Blair Intvw; JULLS Long Rpt, 94 TAW/DO, 24 Apr 91.
            
               18 Wills Intvw.
            
               19 lntvw, P.R. Stone with Maj Jim Cook, Sharjah Base CC, 30 Jan 91
            [hereafter cited as Cook Intvw].
            
            			
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