European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 6, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday october 6, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 3crisis in the Gulf shoppers find Little Oasis at Bob s in the arabian desert a no combat Force is completely Well equipped without a Stop at bedouin bobs one of a handful of makeshift convenience stores that have sprung up at desert base Camps in saudi Arabia. Bobs also known As Abdul a is an arabian shop about the size of a House trailer that has been set up at Camp Eagle a 101st airborne div air assault Camp that a better known As fort Camel. Bedouin Bob Sells soft drinks snacks tobacco transistor radios and the English language Arab news which is printed on Green paper. Pfc. Eric Brumbley assigned to the airborne divisions 2nd in 327th inf regt recently showed off a pack of cigarettes from bobs that featured the . Surgeon general a warning in arabic lettering. A looks like somebody was doing shorthand and operating a Jackhammer at the same time a said Brumbley a 20-year-old from Salisbury mass. Brumbley said the army is trying to get a real Post Exchange set up at the base Camp but he a been told that could take five or six weeks. Until then the nearest Exchange is at an air base to the South. That store Isnit much by stateside or european standards but the staff tries to keep essentials in Stock. One frequent complaint though is that customers usually have to wait in Long lines to get inside. Spec. Elvin Rios of the 28th combat support Hospital from fort Bragg ., said his outfit lets a group of 10 or 15 troops go to the Exchange at a time. A the Only problem. Is that its crowded and there a hardly anything left to buy a said Rios a native of Ayer mass. A magazines batteries and sodas Are often out of  gis who spend any time on the highways of saudi Arabia know that  run across an occasional Roadside convenience store. These places usually feature 18 gasoline pumps that dispense Only leaded Premium a at 55 cents a gallon. The merchandise inside is similar to that at bedouin bobs although baked goods Are also usually available. Many of the stores accept . Dollars even if the Man at the counter does no to speak English. Some rear area troops also get to go on unit sponsored shopping trips to saudi stores although such sprees Are limited to those who brought civilian clothes. The stealth shoppers Are briefed on How to spot a terrorist and then get bused to a mall. The most popular items on a recent mall tour were cassette tapes Arab headdresses and a what All Well dressed troops need a fake rolex watches. Vince Crawley Gunny sgt. A s bogey bait has these desert fish jumping amps Vince Crawley Marine pfc. Shane Eagen 20, from Silverton ore., carries a Load of snacks from a Mobile Field Exchange that stopped at his desert fighting  from Page 1 troneum Jelly Honey roasted cashews soft drinks cheese curls and 10-can Rolls of chewing tobacco. One of the top Sellers was gatorade. The thirst quencher proved to be so popular that it ended up being rationed then sold out. Kekipi refrigerated the soft drinks overnight before loading them on the trucks with the Hope that they wont be completely warmed through during the Long drive to the Marine positions. Customers lined up behind the trucks and shouted out their orders while marines inside Kekipi a trucks unpacked boxes and passed the goods Down. An empty gatorade Box served As a display Case for the items on Sale. Jackson is the units wholesale buyer. The Marine corps gave him $250,000 As seed Money the operation is now supposed to be self sufficient. Overhead is Low and there is no profit margin. A we buy it for what we sell it for a Jackson said. Sometimes the Exchange gets deals on treats such As saudi Watermelon but Marine food inspectors make sure such local Chow can be handled by american stomachs before it gets passed on to the troops. After the marines finished stocking up on bogey bait a Marine commander came up to thank Kekipi for showing up. A a that a my Mission a the hawaiian told the officer. A like i Tell everybody my name is Gunny sgt.  Many workers stuck in Iraq forced to Aid fragile Economy Nicosia Cyprus apr some foreign workers have chosen to remain in Iraq since the persian Gulf crisis began but others such As portuguese Stone masons and soviet oilmen have been held to avoid further damage to iraqis Economy. More than 500,000 foreign workers have been stranded in Iraq since it invaded Kuwait on aug. 2. The iraqis hold 2,200 westerners in Kuwait and Iraq strategic installations to discourage an attack by the .-led military forces. Some foreign workers have stayed willingly a pre in ring the certainty of a paycheck to unknown Job prospects at Home diplomats said. But the diplomats most of whom spoke on condition of anonymity said Many other workers who want to leave have found most avenues blocked by bureaucracy. Iraq suffering the effects of the  economic sanctions has kept Many workers in the country to keep the Economy running even diverting some to areas m need of a boost such As agriculture the diplomats said. About 4,500 soviet Oil Industry workers Are in Iraq and a foreign source in Baghdad said the iraqis Are dependent on them. _ a if they go no one else will come in to operate these Fields a the source said. Polish work Crews building roads pipelines and railroads also Are helping iraqis industries and projects Limp along. Many iraqi construction projects were halted when the . Economic embargo Cut off imports. Officials disagree Over whether such work violates the . Embargo and the responsibilities of the foreign workers. A was far As i understand working there would violate the sanctions a swedish foreign ministry spokesman Lars Olof Lundberg said wednesday. The British government is More flexible. A like Many governments we have concluded that it is unreasonable to ask people who Are essentially working , duress to Stop working and put themselves at risk a foreign office spokesman said on condition of anonymity. Officials said Many bangladeshis egyptians indians pakistanis and sri lankan Are being kept at their old  Holts shipment of free smokes by Janet Howells Tierney Washington Bureau Washington a the Pentagon has halted the shipment of free cigarettes to the troops in saudi Arabia after conceding that it violates department of defense health directives. Philip Morris Usa distributed 2 million Carlbo Ros last week to service members participating in operation desert shield sparking criticism from antismoking groups and some members of Congress. Pentagon spokesman Pete Williams said thursday that the cigarettes had been flown on a military aircraft in violation of a 4-year-old policy that prohibits such handouts. A a unit did mistakenly ship four or five pallets of donated cigarettes to troops in the Middle East without being aware of a Dod directive against such a practice a he said. The cigarettes were flown from Pope fab ., on a space available basis. Williams did not identify the unit that permitted the shipment. He said it will not happen again. In a related development the Brown amp Williamson tobacco co., in Louisville ky., said it had manufactured a a significant number of Kool milds and Richland Brand cigarettes for free distribution in saudi Arabia. The company produced the cigarettes after being told by a retired service member that there was shortage of smokes in saudi Arabia and then discussing the idea with unidentified officials at the Pentagon and fort Bragg  A we were asked to fill a shortage of a consumer product and we Are responding to that a said Patrick l. Stone a spokesman for Brown amp Williamson. Stone said the company is awaiting shipping instructions from the defense logistics Agency. However Agency officials said they would not be transporting the cigarettes. The Brown amp Williamson planned donation sparked the ire of rep. Richard Durbin Dill. A so american servicemen bored silly in the desert will be invited to pass the time developing a nicotine addiction a he said in a speech to the House. The gis in world War ii were Given free cigarettes and came Home hooked. Today we see Many of these same men and women in veterans hospitals battling emphysema lung cancer and heart disease. Of Brown amp Williamson really wants to help americans cause overseas Why done to they Send their lethal products to the iraqi army a or. Enrique Mendez jr., of the department of defense health affairs division said free cigarettes Are inappropriate in the military. A smoking undermines readiness on the Battlefield and is one of the leading preventable causes of disease and death among military personnel a Mendez said. A free distribution of tobacco products would seriously jeopardize the Progress we have made in reducing tobacco usage by our