European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 21, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Sunday october 21, 1990 the stars and stripes Page 3crisis in uie Gulf us sat Gulf briefs my a1 tanks in Europe tagged for desert duty Washington a amps a several Hundred m1a1 Abrams tanks will be moved from warehouses in Europe to . Forces in saudi Arabia to import operation desert shield the Pentagon if. As the most recent generation of  tanks the Abrams has better chemical warfare Protection and its 120mm gun is More powerful than the mls 105mm gun officials said. The tanks from Europe were to be earmarked As excess after the expected implementation of a conventional forces in Europe treaty which has not been completed. . Officials said the nato allies would continue to count the tanks under a cafe treaty meaning the armoured vehicles could be destroyed if required after the Accord is signed. A spokesman for the Central come in saudi Arabia said the tanks would be moved soon All arriving in the Gulf by the end of the year. The . Government is also in the final stages of approving a Sale of 220 older m60a3 tanks now in War Reserve stockpiles in Europe to saudi Arabia Oman and  giving gis a Little taste of Home Washington apr there a no Home cooking in the saudi desert for american gis but some Are now enjoying the familiar tastes of cookies cakes and Kool Aid. The treats Are Courtesy of american companies and people who have donated a wide variety of food drinks games exercise equipment and other goods. They re being shipped to the arabian desert by the Pentagon a defense logistics Agency. Among the food items donated 20,000 3-ounce bags of pretzels from Atlanta 400 bushels of apples from Albany . 150,000 boxes of cookies from Reading Calif. 50,000 cans of sardines from Prospect Harbor Maine and 12,500 Pound cakes from Hialeah Fla. To Wash the goodies Down 2,000 cases of near Beer 11,000 cases of gatorade and 47 tons of juices. Also making the 7,000-mile trip to saudi Arabia Are 1,000 pairs of dumbbells from Opelika Ala. And 1,000 High visibility footballs from Chicago. One of the most ambitious mailings was a donation by the Chicago based retailer Montgomery Ward of 450 video cameras along with Blank recording tapes and return mail envelopes to enable soldiers to give the folks Back Home a picture of life in operation desert shield. People or companies wishing to Send items to the troops in the Middle East should Call the defense logistics Agency which determines whether the goods Are acceptable and arranges for shipment of approved items directly to saudi Arabia. The Agency screens donations through a special hot line phone number 703-274-3561.association s paperbacks to offer Oasis of Relief Washington apr the association of american publishers has announced plans to Send More than 200,000 paperbacks to operation desert shield forces in the persian Gulf. The titles will run from mysteries and adventure tales to techno thrillers the association said. Jack Hoeft chairman of the Trade groups paperback publishing division said paperbacks have been a link with Home for . Service members overseas since world War ii when 130 million specially printed armed services editions were sent to . Fighting forces. The books Are being contributed by Avon bal Jantze Bantam Berkley Dell Harper Collins Penguin Usa pocket books St. Martins press Warner and Zebra books. They should begin reaching . Troops by Early november. About half of the paperbacks will be put in Oasis packages being prepared by the United �?�iv1cfs pr8anzati�ns these Are gym bags that will also include writing paper audio cassettes and sunglasses. The rest will be distributed by the defense department to troops already in the persian Gulf and to those embarking for service there. A gis invade desert pm to snap up hot items by Vince Crawley staff writer with the . Forces saudi Arabia pvt. Lisa Hagele spent three years taking orders for Kentucky Fried Chicken in Cleveland before she joined the  to get out on her own. Now the 19-year-old commo operator is Back behind a Cash Register this time ringing up sales in an operation desert shield Post Exchange. The Gulf buildup Means that 200,000 customers Are now looking for junk food tobacco and batteries. When the Call for More Cashiers went out Hagele got detailed to be one of the two dozen or so gis beefing up the staff of the Exchange at an air base in saudi Arabia. The sleepy Exchange needed some beefing up. It used to have monthly sales of around $35,000 before desert shield troops began arriving. Now managers Are posting receipts of $2 million a month and sales Are sometimes More than $100,000 a Day a 100-fold increase. The 21/2-hour waiting times to get inside have been Cut to less than half an hour said Dan Kartanos the top Exchange manager in saudi Arabia. But tobacco was still being rationed last week. About $20 million Worth of cafes merchandise in More than 600 cargo containers is due to arrive in saudi arabian ports by the end of the month Kartanos said. More than 100 of these had arrived by oct. 10. All these millions of i dollars Are going to a the basics a Kartanos said. A a you re talking about toothpaste deodorant shaving  and tobacco. Chewing tobacco which Kartanos said is a Gold in them thar Hills for desert soldiers was recently being rationed to five cans per Soldier. Cigarettes were being divided up at two Cartons per service member. Those looking for More can take heart a 192,000 boxes of Copenhagen Brand Chew Are among the containers due in port this month. A and that a Kartanos said a should end the problem forever i  soldiers working for cafes said the hottest Sellers by far Are cameras and Walkman radios which have rarely been in Stock since the deployment began. One recent shipment of More than 1,000 radios sold out in less than two Days said staff sgt. Jackie Green a 32-year-old Supply sergeant from Fernandina Beach Fla. A sized batteries that Power Many Small radios Are also often out of Stock. Gis with connections get them sent from Home or else they find ways to buy them on the saudi arabian Economy. Soldiers working in the Exchange also patrol the aisles to find out what shoppers want. For instance there was a sudden demand Tor Brown military Boxer shorts a kind of underwear Seldom worn by peacetime troops in temperate climates. But the nerdy shorts suddenly became a hot item in the uncomfortable arabian Sun so cases of them began arriving within weeks. A they wanted it and we got it a Kartanos said. Since saudi citizens often Arentt interested in sales work Kartanos is hiring what he Calls a third country nationals from places such As sri Lanka Pakistan and the Philippines to help staff the store. They re also the worker bees in saudi civilian shops. Unlike the tactical buildup the cafes Gulf expansion is ahead of schedule. Plans called for a main Exchange to be set up within 60 Days but Kartanos said the one in saudi Arabia was running full tilt in two weeks. The Exchange service now has three stores in the country plus 57 Field Sites a which Isnit too  he said that 22 full time cafes employees All volunteers Are in country on one year contracts. Most of the Field Sites Are run by military units for their own troops. But the merchandise comes from Kartanos main store. Barbershops laundries and movies Are also in the works. Kartanos said the Exchange system has plenty of experience in Case the shooting starts. A a in a the Guy in charge of War for cafes a he joked. He a run shops in Vietnam and the Philippines and was an Exchange manager in Panama during the . Operation there. In that invasion artillery fire woke Kartanos up at 12 20 a.m., and he was open for business by 9. One of his staff a panamanian wore a red Cross uniform so he  get shot while rounding up employees for work. One delivery truck and a shop Pette caught some stray gunfire he said but no employees were injured. .3 hot rodder a Lance Chi. Greg Schmidt a Marine courier uses a to new Orleans uses the Cycle because of its Speed and Nia to Cycle for his rounds in the saudi desert. Schmidt from nerve ability across the terrain