Tech Orders,

File: aacep_25.txt
Page: 25
Total Pages: 59
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       engineers were grateful for anything they could obtain. While most
       sites were allotted a certain number of dump trucks, endloaders,
       dozers, etc., they often arrived on site inoperable or quickly
       broke down because the seals and belts had dry-rotted in storage.
      Also, the equipment was too small for some of the engineer's large
      scale projects. Earth moving operations, such as weapons storage
      areas required many large vehicles to complete. The magnitude of
      some of these areas was noteworthy.  At Jeddah, the engineers moved
      more than 150,000 cubic yards of earth and created more than
      400,000 square feet of weapons storage area. The availability of
      a large scale construction industry in the region enabled Air Force
      engineers to complete this type of work on time by contracting it
      out or renting equipment.
      Prime RIBS Food Service personnel relied heavily on the local
      economy for the availability of food. Every site bad plenty of
      MREs available, but the troops quickly tired of them. The Services
      representatives on the HQ SAC Battle Staff worked with the Air
      Force Commissary Service to push B Rations (dehydrated and canned
      products not requiring refrigeration) to SWA. Planeloads of B
      Rations began leaving Langley and Dover AFBs within days of the
      initial deployment. These were distributed to the sites as they
      established their 9-1 Kitchens. As mentioned above, Services
      personnel were anxious to supplement their MREs and  Rations with
      fresh food products off the local economy. They sought out local
      vendors and sources for these products.  Catered meal service was    
      also common at several sites. At Eskan Village in Riyadh, catered
      box lunches were provided for the mid-day meal. Beddown sites that
      were co-located with international airports often used the airline
      catering service for some of the meals. Proper sanitation and the
      security of the food supply were constantly stressed. (55)
      Contract cook and mess attendant support augmented Air Force
      Services personnel at approximately half of the sites. Host nation
      assistance was generally limited to UPS serving' and ration
      handling services. Three sites, Jeddah, Khamis Musbait, and Tabuk
      were totally host nation contract feeding. Security and sanitation
      were mayor concerns  contractors were used. The potential
      for food sabotage and food-borne illness existed throughout the
      deployment. The use of contract food service workers required
      constant supervision by Services personnel. They trained the
      contract workers in sanitary food handling methods, but language
      and culture were barriers. The workers were were country
      nationals and few understood English or Western sanitation
      practice.
      Although measures were taken to prevent foodborne illness
      (FBI) or sabotage of the food supply, approximately 2,500 CENTAF
      personnel experienced acute gastroenteritis in fifteen FBI
      outbreaks. Major General Robert A. Buetbe Jr. Command Surgeon,
      HQ TAC, blamed the reliance on host nation feeding for the large
      number of FBIs, "I know you [General McAuliffe] worked hard during
      Operation Desert Shield to get airlift for field kitchens.
      Unfortunately in most cases our bases relied on host nation
      feeding. We paid a price for not having our own food