Tech Orders,

File: aacep_24.txt
Page: 24
Total Pages: 59

relied heavily upon different types of host nation support,
particularly in the areas of supplies, vehicles, heavy equipment,
and contract services.
Most Prime BEEF teams deployed with only their basic team kit
and few supplies or building materials. Even some teams such as
the 363d from Shaw AFB, which took additional pallets of "nice to
have" items such as plywood, nails, barrier cables, and airfield
lighting parts, found that these items became critical assets. The
engineers quickly consumed these items in accomplishing the myriad
special "taskings required to support the base. The supply system
was not fully capable to meet the engineer's requirements in the
first weeks of the deployment. The only solution was to go to the
nearest source for supplies. Sites near a population center and
hose personnel were permitted to go downtown were usually
successful in obtaining off-base support.
One of the keys to the Prime BEEF and RIBS' success was the
E & S personnel who in peacetime complained about how slow contracting was and how much
red tape was involved, were amazed at the responsiveness of the
contracting officers. Most sites even dedicated a contracting
officer to take care of the engineer's requirements. Engineering
supplies were often quite specialized, so an engineering
representative frequently accompanied the contracting official to
locate a source.
It was a challenge for Air Force engineers and Services
personnel to go into a strange town to locate supplies, not knowing
how friendly the local population was, and not knowing the
language. The host nation engineers, contractors on the base, or
US embassy representatives familiar with the area assisted the Air
Force. E & S personnel found the Yellow Pages were a good place to
start. A large hardware store in a nearby town was a godsend to
the engineers. Then the engineers and contracting located one or
two reliable and reasonably priced sources, they set up a blanket
purchase agreement. This permitted the engineers to obtain items
when required and saved countless hours and sometimes days.52
Fortunately, several large American heavy equipment manufacturers
had dealerships in the SWA so engineers could obtain spare parts and
filters. When the CENTAF supply system could not respond
satisfactorily or materials were not locally available, many units
gent directly back to their home base to obtain parts and supplies.
This was easiest for MAC and SAC units because their aircraft:
regularly flew to and from the states and could bring the needed
items to the deployed engineers.
Vehicles and heavy equipment were in short supply at the
deployed locations E & S at nearly every site rented vehicles and
heavy equipment from the host nation. At first, the host nation
contractors were reluctant to rent and demanded that a driver
accompany the equipment This was unacceptable because engineers
were working around the clock and wanted the equipment available
for the same amount of time. Many engineers complained that the
equipment they received was of inferior quality, but they were
often in competition with other bases or the local economy. Most