Tech Orders,

File: aacep_05.txt
Page: 05
Total Pages: 59

       and at Field 4, Eglin AFB, Florida, conducted by Det 2,
       Headquarters, Air Force Engineering and Services Center (AFESC).
      At Field 4'  & S contingency teams had prepared to fight in the
      European scenario concentrating on skills such as rapid runway
      repair (RRR)' damage assessment, and operating a Harvest Eagle
      field kitchen. The beddown activities practiced were limited to
      hardbacking General Purpose tents and familiarization with
      equipment such as the reverse osmosis water purification unit
      (ROWPU). At Sheppard Technical Training Center, Texas' enlisted
      civil engineering personnel in the power production career field
      were trained on electrical generators, but with little hands on
      experience. Engineering officers received three days of field
      training at Det 2 during Officer Field Education, a portion of the
      Air Base Combat Engineering Course at Air Force Institute of
      Technology (AFIT): RED HORSE units train during peacetime by
      completing various construction projects at deployed locations.'
      
       PLANNING FOR OPERATION DESERT SHIELD/DESERT STORM.
      
      While the seeds of the Gulf War were planted centuries ago,
      The ability to support Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm air
      operations began in the 1978. The loss of Iran as a friend in the
      region' the threat of Soviet intervention, and the economic
      importance of the valuable oil resources led the United States to
      begin working with various Arab states for the future use of bases.
      In particular' as the United States began selling aircraft and
      communications systems to Saudi Arabia, they also worked with the
      Saudis in constructing air bases and other infrastructure to
      support the purchases. In 1974' a Department of Defense survey'
      developed at the request of the Saudi Arabian government,
      recommended a phased modernization and industrialization program.
      Included with various weapons systems agreements was an extensive
      air base planning and facility construction program. The U.S. Army
      Corps of Engineers and the HQ Air Force Logistics Command (AFLC)
      Foreign Military Sales Construction Engineers designed and
      constructed several bases including three major bases--Dhahran,
      Taif, and Khamis Mushait. Through the various Peace programs
      (Hawk' Sun' Sentinel' and Shield), the Saudi Arabian government had
      state-of-the-art facilities available in August 1990. The Saudi
      government had also pursued its own airfield construction program
      for civilian' royal family, and military use. The massive annual
      pilgrimage to Mecca required extensive aerial facilities and the
      Saudis have never been known to limit the scope of their
      construction projects. They used the best engineers to build their
      facilities and they built them big. In August 1990' the US Air
      Force had a military engineering presence in Saudi Arabia
      on the Peace Shield program. A group of eighteen engineers, part
      of the HQ AFLC/Logistical Support Group Engineers, operated out of
      Riyadh. 8
      The Air Force bad begun making plans in case of a contingency
      in Southwest Asia for several years. This planning was manifested