European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 1, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Monday october 1, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 3cjteig in the Gulf forces fighting desert doldrums they dream of autumn pizza Home by Vince Crawley staff writer with the 1st tac fighter Wing saudi Arabia a americans Are continuing their Battle against boredom and homesickness. Staff sgt. Dan Stettler pointed out that its autumn Back in the states. A i wrote Home and said i missed motorcycle Riding a said the 28-year-old f-15 Crew chief from Nisswa Minn. A a it a kind of hard to see the leaves change out Here. I miss autumn. I miss the bikinis on Virginia it was still summer when the 1st tac fighter Wing left Langley fab a. Pizza is what staff sgt. Sara Burhans Longs for. A i want to go downtown and have a pizza a big pizza a said the 28-year-old from Hampton a. What kind a cheese a she said. A lots of cheese. I done to eat meat. So its hard to eat except for the fact that the air Force does no to serve vegetarian Chow Burhans said her life Wasny to so bad Here compared with what she had expected. Others think differently. One airman who had a definite Case of the desert doldrums was one of the first service members Over Here. On this morning a his outfits 49th Day in country a he and two other airmen were having breakfast away from the flight line after working a night shift. They were avionics and Sheet Metal mechanics but they said they were having such a bad Day that they did no to want their names used. Other Days they said they feel better More quotable. A you caught us on a bad Day a one of the mechanics said. A a in a having trouble sleeping. As soon As i go to bed i could lie there from 12 noon to 6 . And not sleep a thinking about Home he said is what keeps him awake. Their original orders read 32 Days he said. They were told to expect 60 Days. And the military being the military they took that to mean they a be Here for 90 Days. Now their Bosses Are saying half a year. Maybe. A we done to want to sound like a Bunch of whiners and complainers a one of the mechanics said. But a we were really clinging to that 90-Day they said they a be satisfied if somebody could just Tell them whether they a be Home by Christmas. The airmen said they done to blame their leaders. A a they re trying. We understand that they re trying. As far As morale recreation and welfare they re doing the Best Job they can under the sgt. John Kinton a Cook was both optimistic and pessimistic about his desert plight. While cleaning up the dishes after an outdoor breakfast he seemed very nearly cheerful. A it can to get any worse a said the 24-year-old from Cleveland. A so there a no reason to complain. Because when i came in the car Force knew something like this would probably occur sooner or a realist he said he evaluated what he was getting into when he swore his oath of enlistment. A i just Deal with it by thinking in a dedicated to doing what i swore to do. Regardless of the consequences. I swore to do it a Kinton said. A a that a something i acquired from my father. When you swear something that a. A amps Vinco crawly sgt. John Kinton with the 1st tac fighter Wing in saudi Arabia writes Home daily. Honor. That a called being a he smiled. A not to sound actually said Kinton it could definitely be worse Over Here. A there could be a shortage of manpower. Could be working 18 hours a Day. Could be a Lack of rations misguided leadership. So there a so Many things that could be thrown into a contingency like Kinton who a in the wings services so writes daily to his wife Rachelle. A i think i might be leading the Squadron in the letters record a he said. A i done to want to boast but i get letters every Day from my wife. I think our loves add to that the fact that he a getting promoted in november and Kinton said life really get any better for me. Unless i win the winning Battle for troops morale continued from Page 1 Many say fighting would at least bring them Home sooner. A i thought when i got off the air plane it a be a hostile area a said spec. Peno Zamagni who was among the first soldiers into saudi Arabia. A it seems pretty Mellow for he arrived on aug. 13, less than two weeks after Iraq invaded Kuwait. A i did no to want to go a said Zamagni 23, a Patriot missile crewman. A i did no to want to leave my wife and go. It was pretty sudden but you be got to go when you be got to go. A i work at night a he said. A sleep during the Day and try to make the Days go Quick. In a not even looking at my watch Zamagni is with the 11th air defense arty brigade out of fort Bliss Texas. His wife Maria lives m Elpaso with their son Joseph and his Home is the san Francisco Bay area. He spends most of his time guarding his missile site. Sometimes he sleeps on sandbags sometimes in a House trailer the saudis loaned to his unit Btry b of the 2nd in 7th air defense arty regt. Carrying his m-203 grenade launcher he was standing at a shuttle bus Stop one morning last week waiting to get a ride Back to his outpost. A i was going to Call Home but its a four hour wait for the phones a he said. A a in a not Gonna wait. Ill come Back in the Middle of the As his bus approached he said a i think in a keeping my sanity pretty much. And they re making it better. They re getting us tvs sometime so things Are looking sgt. Michael Ragan turned 30 on sunday. A mortar Man with the 101st airborne div he was out in the desert Friday practising shooting mortars Oyer a Sand Dune that was about 50 feet tall. Talking about his birthday Celebration he said a a in la probably eat an Are. One of the Guys was talking about getting an Apple and putting a Small Candle in it. There ainu to much you can do. Maybe ill drink a non alcoholic he a tasted the saudi arabian non Beer. A a it a a Little bit like Beer. It has a slight taste of Beer. In a used to catching a Buzz off a Beer so it was kind of weird drinking that. My mind was saying a hey there a something wrong a Ragan from Virginia Beach va., does no to want fighting to Start. But he said a if its going to happen let it happen. A a in a not worried right now but in a sure if something comes Down ill Start worrying a Little bit a he said. A i done to know what the other Guy Saddam Hussein thinks Over there with All this Power we be got on Ragan is with the 1st in 187th inf regt out of fort Campbell by. In 10 months he a planning to get out of the army. A i got a Job lined up in the shipyard in Newport news if this thing does no to go Over 10 months a he said a if it goes Over 10 months ill probably extend to stay until its Over he said he a been a mortar Man 10 years so he can stay a Little longer if needed. A i done to like Iraq anyway what they Ragan said the unit chaplain had just Given out a stack of letters from folks Back Home All written to unknown soldiers. As in Many combat units the non commissioned officers told the men they weren to allowed to take a letter unless they promised to write the people Back. Ragan took two for himself. A they were from Little kids a he said. One was 7, the other was 12. A they said just that they re proud that we re Over Here and Hope we make it Back Safe a the sergeant said. A a they re proud to be americans. Basic proud stuff. You know ribbons flags flying he said one of his troops got a letter from a woman with two boys. Another got a letter from somebody a grandmother. One Soldier got a letter of encouragement from a world War ii Veteran. A one came from Virginia a Ragan said. A one from Iowa. Michigan. Illinois. All addressed to a an american in a Gonna make sure the it write Mem Brown a Supply specialist and the battalion self appointed enlisted spokesman said Mai a could go a lot faster than what it is. Its getting Here. They just can to get it distributed As fast a wed he and the others Are waiting for a Post Exchange to come to their base Camp but that won be for at least another month. Right now there just a tiny arabian shop Pette about the size of i House trailer serving Many thousands of people. Brown 25, said that every monday morning be fore the weekly battalion run his lieutenant Colo Nel sits Down with the troops to Tell them what going on and to ask them what they want to know. A we just sit Down and talk a Brown said. A Yoi done to feel any kind of he said these relaxed gatherings help keep peo pie informed and help Stop rumours. A a lot of rumours flying around. A whole
