European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 17, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse A monday. December 17,. .1990 the stars and strikes Page 3crisis in the Gull a amp 5 Al Sci a so Ksir i in i Volt j m of if x Marine Cpl. Rudi Necoechea right of Tucson Ari shares treats and mail from his father with Chi. Marcus Luthiger of Las vegas left and Corley of Jay okla., in the saudi desert last week. Deluge of mail for troops leaves postal staff swamped by David Lamb los Angeles time sin saudi Arabia they Are working around the clock on 12-hour shifts and they still can to catch up. The mail keeps arriving in Volkswagen sized cardboard containers and Bright Orange bags More than 100,000 pounds daily for americans men and women who w ill spend Christmas in the arabian desert. T. A at the 1241st postal co the loading Dock is piled head High with the Orange bags marked a a priority the More than 120 postal personnel with the company have a hard time keeping up with flights and at times the parking lot beyond the Dock is so filled with mail there a no room for vehicles. Longtime sergeants say they can never a member an outpouring of such support for service members abroad a Many of the letters Are simply addressed to a a any they speculate that some of it May be a residue of the guilt from the Vietnam War Era when americans did not embrace the nations fighting Force the Way they had in other wars. / a next to bullets mail is the most important thing in the army a said the 1241 St so commander capt. Larry Bullock a reservist who directed a vocational school before the persian Gulf crisis. For service members mail Call ranks just ahead of a hot meal As the biggest morale Booster of the Day. It is the antidote for loneliness boredom and fear. Even in the most Forward units mail is delivered at least once a Day usually about two weeks after it is posted in the United states. In addition to family and friends it comes from letter writing campaigns organized by civic clubs schools Community organizations and veterans groups. A a in a getting packages from people i done to even know a said it. Brent Frazer of Swanzey n.h., at a Patriot missile site. Quot How they got my name i done to have the vaguest Many of the Christmas packages and toiletries that Are readily available to the troops. A a we re awash in junk food a a said one Leatherneck hot unhappily. It Quot a other packages contain hardcover books tape decks and other Bulky gifts that to riots constantly on the move can neither carry nor ship Back Home. A a in la bet we get a Hundred letters a Day addressed to a any soldiers in just this unit a said sgt Brad Mitzelfelt of los Angeles at a Forward Marine position. A a in be started exchanging letters with a 15-year-old boy who a really interested in aircraft. He updates me on the news. Naturally in be heard it already but he thinks we re not getting any news at All out Here a a saudi arabian customs official spot checks mail arriving in the country but the saudis cultural sensitivities have not been offended a except for Contis rated Playboy magazines and an occasional bottle of liquor or two which usually arrive broken. The biggest problem caused by the troops is their penchant for mailing Home souvenirs of Sand which can disable automated postal sorting machines in the United states. A a a a a the volume of mail has become so huge in saudi Arabia that a new Igloo like Apo Var military Post office is being built in the desert. The 1241st is one of four postal companies in the Gulf and 12 Apo numbers have been assigned to operation desert shield. A a a a a v. _ Quot after 12 hours Here you re Blurry eyed. The last thing you want to do when you get off duty is write letters but i do a said sgt. Patricia Walton whose parents two children and eight Brothers and Sisters Back in Greensboro no receive a steady Stream of letters from her. A a Tito i rail lab Rill Vince Crawley. With the . Forces saudi Arabia from putting their water bottles in socks to making furniture sets out of ration boxes gis Are using Good old american know How to Cope with desert life in saudi Arabia. The sock trick is. A variation on an old theme seasoned hot weather veterans know to keep their doth canteen covers wet so that evaporation will Cool the water inside. V a a a. Trouble is the army Issue l a tart canteens Are Loo pint sized to handle a desert thirst. Some the baggy 2-Quarl canteens by most gel their 1120 in those 1.5-liter plastic hollies that ordinarily Aie used by yuppies and people with Lead plumbing. Some front line troops of tire 24th inf l in claim that they re the ones who discovered that wet army socks can be stretch Dover those big bottles i hat have now become a Symbol of desert shield the practice has spread across most of the army front and into the Marine locations. These Days the temperatures Are in the Balmy his but Back in August when Artemon heat was into Era Hie rather than just uncomfortable people from the 82nd Day b tried tii e i r pee Iotis water reserves in tie Sand during i he rela live Coti i of die Eai by Nio f m n g. That Way it stayed drinkable throughout the Day. Radios Fritziny out in the August and seple her heat were also cooled w Ith evaporation usually by placing a wet cloth on the top. Ione enterprising Crew of maps fashioned an air vent that they called a it he scoop out of plastic water hot ties an Are Box and Duel tape they routed the airflow across their la Univee dashboard so that it would blow behind the radio Coo ing it. Spec. Roge r St a re ing of the 16th my brigade told a unit newspaper that he got the idea from air Ems he made Back when lie raced cars in Oklahoma. Quot a v. V. A. Another part of daily life is the Are Field rations they come in sturdy boxes about the size of a briefcase and soldiers Are discovering that the empties area Good Start on sectional furniture t one Are Case standing upright can make a functional night stand. With some work it will even have shelves to hold the books and magazines that might be sent from Home or donated by passing Oil Ivor Kors. More sections can be and Jed to the night stand As space permits. Someone from one of the v corps aviation units out of Germany even made an Are Chest of drawers. And soldiers Tell of w Hole furniture groups a chairs tables dressers a All made out of cardboard. Some people have Access to Wood a really Lucky or resourceful outfit already has wooden floors in its base Camp tents. Wooden tent frames Are a popular defense against sandstorms and some people have built tables from scrap lumber retrieved from the cargo ports others buy Wood from lumber companies in saudi towns. A a a aaa a. A not just rear area people Are getting Thistle makings for one picnic table travelled ail the Way to a Supply sergeants tent near the 24th inf div s front line and u nearby helicopter Batia Tjonn a bivouac area was resp Len. Dent in Wood. Quot. A. Of course those whose jobs require them to move around must often Settle Lor cardboard which is More a easily an emergency a
