European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 9, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday september 9, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 3 crisis in the Gulf Gulf role recharges doomed fort Dix fort Dix . Apr not too Long ago the future of fort Dix appeared Bleak. But the persian Gulf crisis has brought a renewed sense of purpose to the sprawling army base. Base personnel and critics of a plan to scale Back operations at fort Dix Are feeling just a bit smug now that the base is playing a major role in mobilizing army Reserve units for deployment in operation desert shield. A it shows the military importance of fort Dix a said rep. James Saxton r-. A if we Are to have a Large mobilization of National guard or army Reserve forces fort Dix is just the base for that. A this is the kind of thing that we said Over and Over again that fort Dix would be important for a Saxton said. The Hatchet fell on fort Dix last year when Congress approved a massive Cost cutting plan. A Federal commission recommended closing 86 military installations and scaling Back five More including Central new jerseys fort Dix located about 30 Miles East of Philadelphia. An army spokesman it. Col. Joseph Allread said the increased activity resulting from operation desert shield will not alter the ultimate Fate of the targeted bases. A it does no to change the base closure mandate which we have a Allread said. A when we come through this current situation they will still be moved towards  the plans Call for eliminating Basic training operations a Boot Camp a for army recruits at the fort by october 1992. The cutbacks were expected to trim the bases 3,800 civilian work Force by about a third. The base also employs about 8,900 members of the military. New Jersey politicians unsuccessfully attempted to derail the plan. But although the bases role in the persian Gulf crisis Isnit Likely to change the plan it has provided a validation of the bases importance a at least in the minds of those Labouring there. Capt. Dwayne Lacewell who commands an Engineer battalion placed on Alert said the mood at fort Dix is noticeably More upbeat these Days. A i think it should bring to Light that fort Dix has a viable Mission in the Force Structure a Lacewell said. The arrival of reservists at fort Dix last week was widely publicized and that said base spokeswoman Rebecca wriggle puffed out the chests of More than a few soldiers and civilian workers. A having a Chance to do something that you prepare every Day to do is a Good feeling a wriggle said. Fort Dix which was established in 1917, will remain an Active Center for Reserve and National guard training wriggle said and maintain its function of processing soldiers whose term of duty is completed. And fort Dix will continue As a mobilization Center for army Reserve  arrive with tales of terror despair Amman Jordan apr the 165 americans who stepped off a plane from Kuwait leaving behind possessions lives and even children have brought harrowing tales of life under iraqi occupation of the Oil Rich emirate. . Officials said the former detainees who arrived in the jordanian capital aboard a  iraqi airways Jet would probably be flown to Charleston s.c., on saturday. It was the first  flight from Kuwait which was overrun by Iraq on aug. 2. Most aboard were women and children but there were some Arab american husbands and a few other men. Elena Reyes of los Angeles described the last five weeks in Kuwait As  a i did no to know night and Day when they would come and Knock Down my door a she said. Reyes said she Felt a relieved but still worried. You left part of your life Back  another american woman Patricia Hammer originally from Denver described her foiled desert escape a frantic House to House search for safety and the pain of being forced to leave her children behind with her Patricia Hammer sex husband. And Mary Willett 35, of Chicago said of the situation in Kuwait a a it a a  the flight stopped Over in Baghdad where passengers obtained exit permits from iraqi authorities before leaving for Amman. On arrival the americans were taken to the Airport hotel to wait for the flight Home. State department spokesman Mark Dillen put the number of americans on the flight at 165 and said there were a few other foreigners on  in the group seemed overwhelmed by their experience eager to talk even if they did not give their full names. Elena Reyes and her children were among americans flying into Amman Jordan. Maureen Ald Kheel of St. Louis asked what advice she would give president Bush replied a go for it. Do something. People Are tired of waiting for something to  a people Are very tired of waiting every Day hoping for news of some military strike a said Ald Kheel who lived in Kuwait for 11 years and left her husband behind. A i done to want War but its inevitable a said Sandra Williams who said she was from Ohio but gave no City. A a you re dealing with a  the americans in the group were among the first airlifted from Kuwait. A handful of . Citizens in Kuwait were flown on an iraqi airways flight to Baghdad last week escorted by civil rights Leader Jesse Jackson. Most other foreign evacuees have had to Cross the desert to Baghdad to catch flights out. Hammer described the fear filled Days that followed the invasion. At first iraqi jets streaked Over rooftops to frighten the population she said. Later patrols and roadblocks had people cowering behind locked doors. A people Are now terrified hiding and they done to know what to do next a Hammer said. After the invasion she joined a jeep caravan to try a run for it across open desert to saudi Arabia. A iraqis shot at us and then our escorts abandoned us in the desert a Hammer said. A then some bedouins saved our lives and got us Back to  her kuwaiti landlord brought food until word went out that arabs would be executed for helping foreigners. She found another place to hide with other americans. Finally the flight was arranged. A this morning i dressed up in a Black veil like an iranian shiite woman and made my Way to the pickup Point a she said. Hammer who spent eight years in Kuwait had to leave behind her two children Alia 14, and Issa 9. She said she had just divorced her kuwaiti husband and he refused to let them go. A now that its Over i done to know what i will do. I left everything. I left my children my  she stopped. A How can i put those two in the same sentence a her strength faded and tears gathered in her eyes. A i have nothing left nothing at  out a Way out at desert Beach party by John King associated press Champion City saudi Arabia a the paratrooper recalls stepping off the plane last month among the first gis to reach saudi Arabia. A instant sweat. It had me wishing we were Back in Panama a the 24-year-old North carolinian said asking that his name not be used. A but we were pumped ready for instant War. Our feeling then was that War was inevitable a he said interviewed at the Camp first called All american City and changed to Champion City because of saudi objections. Now uncertainty has replaced inevitability. With no enemy to fight the desert heat and deepening boredom Are the most com Mon foes. Morale remains generally High among . Troops but keeping it High As operation desert shield drags on could be a daunting Challenge exacerbated by saudi customs that prohibit alcohol and discourage women from venturing into saudi communities. �?othey7 need to Tell me when in a going Home a air Force staff sgt. Kenneth Williams said. A a in be got a wife and two  among the troops a whether air Force personnel sleeping in air conditioned tents army infantry in trailers or marines under the desert sky a come the usual complaints the food the heat the slow mail service and the shortage of recreational facilities. A a there a not a whole lot you can do and there a no time to do it in anyway a air Force sgt. Chris Jessen said during a break from working on an Al 5 Jet. Every unit seems to have an entertainer or comedian among the ranks. At the 82nd airborne one of the men entertains the troops by reciting lines from old War movies. And a member of a Security patrol at a saudi air base hopped out of his vehicle the other Day during a sandstorm to etch a message on the Sand crusted Back window a Beach party �?T90,�?� the Soldier wrote. A a tide a out a Way  after weeks of grumbling a mail system is taking shape. But that Means some soldiers without letters have to watch others savor theirs from loved ones. Military chaplains Are trying to collect and evenly distribute mail addressed to a any Soldier any Sailor or any  air Force officials believed they scored a morale boosting coup when they won time for the troops a even women a a at an $80 million saudi military recreational facility that includes a swimming Pool Bowling Alley weight room and other equipment. Some women Are upset that they have to enter through the Back door because of saudi sensitivities. A being Able to get the ladies in there at All is amazing a said air Force spokesman it. Col. Tom . The military brass is also trying to do More for morale. Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf the commander of desert shield has toured several Camps. And word is circulating that Gen. Colin Powell chairman of the joint chiefs of staff May soon visit. The . Consulate is trying to help out by arranging a Talent show. A a we la have to do some different things to keep up morale a said col. John Lemoyne of the 24th inf div Mech. A everybody would probably like a cold Beer right now but that a just not the name of the game Over