Tech Orders,

File: aacep_43.txt
Page: 43
Total Pages: 59
      





                                      43
                .
      office was gulet. The staff had worked for five month Lo assist
                                           . ~ _
       level ~ & S forces to perform.
      At the sites, Englneering and Service personnel were ready--
      equl~ment and materiel were dlGper~ed, MREs ~tockplled, Nlnl-
      morgues establl~hed, per es al and Structural pretectie was
      complete. Many went out to watch the aircraft launch on their
      float ml~s10ns. At gaff, base personnel gathered in the outdoor
      recreation area constructed by the engineers to watch Lhe F-llls
      take off. E & S troops helped build bombs, writing personal
      messages for Saddam Hussein on them. With other combat support
      personnel, ~ & S personnel manned the survivable recovery centers
      and damage control centers, ready to recover their base. Pclme
      RIES teams surged to provide food service around the clock.
      F1refighters went to twelve-hour shifts to support coalition
      A1r.Forces. Integrated combat turns (ICTs) with hot pit refuellog
      operations, regulated continuous fire protection. As combat sorties
      increased, so did the 1p-flight and ground emergencies, barrier
      engagements, and malfunctioning ordnance responses. Firefighters
      also extinguished fires or initiated preventive actions on armed
      aircraft with a variety of problems resulting from battle damage.
      At one base, KK~C' the firefighters responded to 157 in-flight
      emergencies and 785 ICT standbys during Desert Storm.
      RED HORSE personnel had constructed security berms for the
      U.S. Army Patriot batteries at Riyadh AB, King Khalid International
      Airport, and near Eskall Village. They also rigged front-end
      loaders to assist in the reloading of the batteries, reducing the
      reload time from forty-five to five minutes. In mid-January, RED
      HORSE formed bomb damage repair teams capable of responding from
      Riyadh within four hours notice. These teams were ready to assist
      the sites that needed heavy repair in case of attack. On 17
      January, the 820th team deployed to KKMC to complete the integrated
      combat turn project abandoned by the contractor. The team stayed
      at HKMC for several days assisting the Prime BEEF team, ready tag
      assist other bases. RED HORSE personnel were tasked to recover All
      Al Salem AB, Kuwait to minimal standards for C-130 traffic and
      construct a tent city. Ibis became unnecessary wiLb the rapid
      collapse of the Iragi Army. ~itbin a few days of the beginning of
      the air war, it became apparent that there would be no major air
      attack on the sites. Ibe greatest danger remained the possibility
      of chemical weapons or the occasional Scud misslle.100
      At nearly every site, the Air Force was without contract
      support. althea the workers did not report for work once
      bostilltles began or the base was closed to them. E & S personnel
      had expected this and planned accordingly. Troops picked up tbelr
      laundry -before 15 January, Food Service personnel performed the
      cooking or KP duties performed by the contractors, and engineers
      ensured that functions such as trash service were accomplished.
      At Jeddab AB, additional large frame aircraft meant extra work
      for the engineers. They removed runway lights and signs and
      replaced them with bean bag lights along the edge of the taxlways
      so the large frame aircraft could operate. They also installed an