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File: 102896_jun96_decls6_0031.txt
Subject: DESERT SHIELD-STORM INTERVIEW
Box ID: BX001608
Unit: 101ST ID
Parent Organization: XVIII CORPS
Folder Title: DSS 101ST ABN DIV INTERVIEW CDR 101ST SG - C
Folder SEQ #: 83
Document Number: 2
DSIT-AE-103: COL Roy E. Beauchamp
C-OL BEAUCHAMP: Some of them were. Of course we had only a
few units at KKMC for a short period of time. But units
passing through, I'm sure they took advantage of that.
There were telephones at King Fahd initially on the
redeployment bank. There was a telephone bank at Log Base
CHARLIE. There was a telephone bank with the 3d ACR near An
Nu'ariya on the defensive phase. But coming back into
GUARDIAN CITY, we eventually acquired a telephone bank at
GUARDIAN CITY with about 110 telephones for the soldiers
there.
MAJ HONEC: This would have been in March of this year?
COL BEAUCHAMP: Yes, March.
MAJ HONEC: So the mail never really got well for your
support group?
COL BEAUCHAMP: Well, the soldiers would tell you that the
mail system was not as good as they thought it was going to
be. I told soldiers throughout, you know, that deployed
initially. And remember that these units are moving at the
same time we're moving, too. It's not like we're going to a
situation ... to an area where the post office is already
set up. The post office has to be moved in and it has to be
set up, it has to receive ... they have to receive your mail
and process it. Of course, we received an enormous quantity
of mail in the theater, "any soldier" mail.
MAJ HONEC: Yes, was that a problem? The great quantities
and packages, deluging the system.
'@OL BEATJCHAMP: Probably. I think the svstem was probably
overwhelmed with any "soldier mail" and packages that were
certainly well-intended. People in the United States were a
great solace to the soldiers. But I have to be honest with
have an "any
soldier" letter or a letter from your wife, what do you
think he's going to say?
MAJ HONEC: It's a foregone conclusion, sir. It's his wife.
COL BEAUCHAMP: That's right. But certainly that's a ...
when you're developing a theater like that so quickly,
you're bound to have some of those kinds of problems. But
we have to play close attention to that on future
deployments. We have to pay close attention to those kinds
of basic needs of soldiers. I think everybody understands
that. It's not a lesson we need to relearn. We need to
look not at the experiences of this deployment and see how
28
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Document 64 f:/Week-22/BX001608/DSS 101ST ABN DIV INTERVIEW CDR 101ST SG - C/desert shield-storm interview:10019616504029
Control Fields 17
File Room = jun96_declassified
File Cabinet = Week-22
Box ID = BX001608
Unit = 101ST ID
Parent Organization = XVIII CORPS
Folder Title = DSS 101ST ABN DIV INTERVIEW CDR 101ST SG - C
Folder Seq # = 83
Subject = DESERT SHIELD-STORM INTERVIEW
Document Seq # = 2
Document Date =
Scan Date =
Queued for Declassification = 01-JAN-1980
Short Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Long Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Permanent Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Non-Health Related Document = 01-JAN-1980
Declassified = 01-OCT-1996