European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 29, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                The crushing wait morale sags in the desert by Dougla Jehl los Angeles times fed up with complaining in the ranks about heat boredom poor recreational opportunities and uncertainty about How Long they will be in saudi Arabia the commandant of the Marine corps bluntly dressed Down a group of american troops deployed near the front lines wednesday saying that he had no patience with such discontent. Quot there will be no morale problems in the 1 St Marine expeditionary Force because i say there will be morale Quot Gen. Alfred m. Gray or. Said in remarks to marines at Landing zone Foss site of a detachment so Forward based that its tents Are half buried in the Sand. Quot there also will be no boredom Quot said Gray who began his military career in the korean War. Quot suck in that gut Quot he told his troops Quot buy that  Gray known for his crusty de Meanor was the first senior . Commander to address what is becoming a serious problem the sagging morale among the tens of thousands of american troops deployed in the persian Gulf crisis. The rising level of discontent has become a source of serious concern for senior commanders. It Calls into question their ability to maintain a fighting Edge on troops that president Bush has declared will be in the Region indefinitely a As Long As it takes to counter iraqi aggression against Kuwait and restore stability to a strategically vital Region. Moreover flaring up less than eight weeks into the deployment it represents a potential embarrassment for the concept of an All Volunteer military which Pentagon officials like to tout As the key to producing the Best trained most professional Force Ever put in the Field by the United states. Quot George Patton would probably turn Over in his grave to hear any complaints or even talk of morale problems after just two months Quot said Martin Binkin a Brookings institution expert on military manpower Quot but its not wrong to worry about  grousing is As old As soldiering. And compared with the hardships and suffering that american troops have endured in the past conditions in saudi Arabia May not be severe. Nonetheless neither military commanders nor outside experts think that the present morale problems can be brushed aside. Binkin and others warned that Given the Uncertain Quality of the present stalemate and the Barren conditions in the arabian desert boredom and Quot losing the Edge Quot Are potentially serious problems. Quot its difficult not to have those conditions Blunt that Edge Quot said Joseph Zengerle who served from 1979 to 1981 As assistant Secretary of the air Force for manpower Reserve affairs and installations. The unanswerable question of How Long they May remain deployed seems to prey particularly hard on the minds of . Troops in the Gulf crisis. When Gen. Colin c. Powell the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff visited saudi Arabia he was besieged with soldiers questions about when they might go Home. In addition the fact that these soldiers Lack almost All the traditional recreational outlets makes it All the More difficult to manage the tensions that always build up among troops in the Field. Quot so its not just a question of boredom. Its boredom plus a Zengerle said. While the military successfully blunted earlier concerns by winning approval for free mail combat pay and the transmission of armed forces radio and television service radio news and sports programming commanders have made Little Progress on More enduring causes of discontent. In a setting in which alcohol is banned and saudi women off limits Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf the commander of . Forces in saudi Arabia has said that he has begun to seek ways to provide soldiers with a satisfactory respite from the desert. But the most direct solution to the problem a a regular system of providing rest and recreation trips out of saudi Arabia to neighbouring Bahrain for example or even farther afield a is not expected to be implemented for months. The Pentagon has publicly committed itself to such a rotation program but it has said that no specific commitments can be made now a sore Point for soldiers who say that the duty would be far More saturday september 29, 1990 tolerable if Only they knew when it would end. As the adrenalin charged Days of digging in against a possible iraqi attack gave Way to hours of endlessly repetitive work the evidence of discontent becomes steadily More apparent. On tents and Barrack Walls hand lettered signs complain of Quot no Beer no booze no  a piece of cardboard prominently displayed at a Marino sentry Post proclaimed Quot hotel saudi a you can Check in but you can never  moreover with across to troops tightly controlled by the military and most interviews monitored some soldiers have said privately that morale problems run even deeper than is readily apparent. A a in a trying to keep Busy so in a surviving Quot one army sergeant said. Quot but there a a lot of these Guys Here a already they be had  in his 45-minute Pep talk Gray who arrived at the site in a helicopter Convoy armed with door mounted machine guns hailed the Forward based Quot warriors As Quot the tip of the Spear Quot of a deployment that military officials hero say has reached More than 170,000 soldiers. But the Marine commandant his four stars glistening on the Collar of his desert fatigues Cut off inquiries about rotation and Relief from the outset of his visit. Quot i Don t want to hear any More questions about How Long you re going to be Here Quot he said. Indeed he warned he might just extend the commitments of marines whose enlistments expire. The stars and stripes a Page 13