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File: aacep_16.txt
16
a billeting plan. Prime RIBS personnel who had been using the
automated Services Information Management System (SIMS) found
themselves reverting to the stubby pencil and index card system.
At many sites, billeting served as the base locator system, making
accuracy a critical issue. For security reasons, Services
personnel recommended against billeting people in units. However,
most commanders preferred the convenience and cohesiveness of unit
integrity for billeting purposes. The initial billeting plans were
quickly overwhelmed as more personnel arrived at the sites and had
to be accommodated.
The Air Force used a wide variety of facilities. Some
personnel lived in hotels and resorts while other in tents. Upon
arrival in theater, many troops used hotels if they were available.
After only a few weeks, the terrorist threat forced people on to
the bases. The majority of Air Force people lived in TEMPER tents,
but many others lived in several types of shelters. Riyadh AB was
home to a set of EXPs, known as Cabin Village. Several bases had
host nation facilities that were used by Air Force personnel. At
Riyadh, housing for the thousands of military personnel had to be
located. The answer was Eskan Village, a massive housing
on the southern edge of the city. The Saudi government had
o-originally built the for the Bedouin people of the region.
However, they were unwilling to give up their nomadic ways and the
buildings sat vacant for several years. The structures were multi-
bedroom villas in both single story and high rise configurations.
The Saudi government offered the complex to the United States
military in mid-August. Air Force engineers and contractors
prepared the buildings for occupancy by installing air
conditioners, repairing broken pipes, and cleaning the rooms. The
village became home to several thousand personnel deployed to
Riyadh.
The type of food service facilities varied greatly. Air Force
personnel ate in tents, hotels, and fixed dining facilities at the
alter. For the first few weeks at many sites such as Riyadh and
Jeddah, Air Force personnel lived and ate at large modern hotels.
The hotels simply served buffets for each meal. By late August,
General Norman H. Schwarzkopf ordered all troops out of hotels and
on to a base because of the terrorist threat. Initially,
Services personnel fed the troops using Mobile Kitchen Trailers
(MKTs) at several sites. These were expandable, self-contained
field food service systems designed for preparation of A and B
rations as well as tray rations for approximately 250 personnel.
Mounted on a standard 1.5 ton trailer chassis and designed to be
towed behind a vehicle or air-transportable. The Air Force quickly
discovered the MKTs limitations in a desert environment. The
plowing sand interfered with the sanitation and palatability of the
food. Harvest Falcon kitchens replaced the Mans, which Services
personnel used for bakeries, back-up feeding, or remote area
feeding such as flightline kitchens. HQ AFESC developed a new
fully-enclosed mobile kitchen trailer, which was tested at Eskan
Village in April 1991. 29
The Harvest Falcon 9-1 kitchen was the most common dining
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