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File: 102896_jun96_decls6_0031.txt
Page: 0031
Total Pages: 64

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