European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 03, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Thursday january 3, 1991 the stars and stripes Pago 3crisis in the Gulf a v. R. . . A _. /. I ,. _. A. _ a Quot. A a ,. ,. _. _. New year s eve brings sober reflections by Ken Clauson Middle East Bureau Eastern saudi Arabia As the clock inched toward Midnight on new years eve pfc. Christopher Parnell sat atop a sandbag Bunker in saudi Arabia. His thick flak jacket gave Hin sonic Protection against the Chilly air As he looked from the softly lit Asphalt Road below to a string of hard Bright lights ringing a nearby Industrial area. Flatbed trucks loaded with armoured be hides lined the Road in front of him. From behind came the sounds of diesel engines and generators and occasional voices from the thousands of soldiers in the vast compound he was protecting a full yellow Moon Hung High in the sky. Parnell 19, is a cavalry scout with the 1st inf div fwd scout platoon. His unit based at Panzer Cavern in by Bingen Germany now guards a staging area for soldiers waiting for their tanks trucks and cannons to arrive by ship at a nearby port. Parnell draw 8 Bunker duty on monday. Head planned to be Home in the american heartland for the holidays Back with his friends in Harvard neb., a farming town of about 1,200 people he left 18 months ago. Head wanted to see what the world was like outside Small town America so he enlisted while still a senior in High school. He graduated in the Spring of 1989, and a few weeks later the army sent him out to fort Knox ky., then to Germany and now to saudi Arabia. A a it a been pretty much a Good time a Parnell said. A but every now and then i wish i would have done things a Little different. A i might have waited another year or so and might have chosen another mos. I wanted to be an accountant when i came in but they said i Wasny to qualified. I can to figure it. 1 took accounting the last two years in High school and had a 98 average a. ,. Ass Kon Clauson from left spec. Isidro Rodriguez pfc. Christopher Parnell sgt Todd Meier on guard. Every the army needed scouts so he became a one. A a a a a a a a a a a. Quot �.�����.�. A a a on new years eve Parnell cradled an m-16 As his thoughts turned to his friends Back Home the ones Between High school and the Legal drinking age who would look for someone to buy them a bottle. A a there a one area with a Small Clit far enough out of town so you done to disturb anyone a a he said. A you can have a Nice party out a. Inside the Bunker below ground level spec. Isidro Rodriguez 22, sat on a wooden Plank Bench in the dark and kept an ear tuned to the military radio. Rod Rigacz an infantryman and Bradley fighting vehicle crewman with the 1st in 16th inf 1st inf div fwd was sent to saudi Arabia to be a Driver at a port. �?o1 came Here to unload ships to drive Bradley off of them a he said. A but they said they had a guard Mission out Here so i volunteered. Unloading the ship 1 did no to get to see any lie and his fellow perimeter get a Little action stopping suspicious vehicles and checking out picture takes who seem Overly curious about the compound. Rodriguez is a Man of curiosity himself. He grew up in los Angeles and then went to school at the University of California at Santa Cruz for a year. Lie found that he Wasny to ready to Settle into College Hie so he hit the Road for a year and a halt 11av-Eling the Western states and Down the Pacific coast ending up in Guatemala. That Wasny to the answer either. But lie remembered watching Mai incs training on the Beach while he was growing up. A i saw All that training and thought a wow i could be part of a the army offered him a better package of education acne fits however so lie became a Soldier. Like most Vii corns soldiers in saudi Arabia he thought a lot about Europe on monday night. He talked about How operation desert shield had altered his holi Day plans with his British git i Siciu a a a its a he said. Quot we had plans to go to London for when lie looked through the bunkers wire mesh covered tiring port co Odd see fellow scout sgt. Todd Meier pull Back the coiled concertina wire Barrier on the dirt Road running Back to the compound. Mixed with a military truck Trottie were Oce Asiona 1 commercial 1 vans earning civilian food service workers Home. Meier 39, is facing his second War. I be was a 1st Cav div helicopter Crew chief in Vietnam in 1970 but he got out of the army alter two years. I or the next eight years he was a construction worker a me Cha Iii a machinist and a mine wanker. A Oln glad 1 came Back Siirid the Tor Mer resident of . A a lie said he a teaching the Young sol diets things he Learned in Vietnam. Quot i try to clue them in on things that la keep you alive during Meier said. Quot simple things like staying awake and keeping you weapon clean. I taught them a lot about pen meters. They found in Vietnam that a sapper would probe your perimeter Tor two weeks. It your de Kusiw did no to change they would come in and hit you. But it your defences changed they would leave you alone. A Good perimeter can save your the father of three volunteered Loi desert shield duty Long Belore his unit was Quot deployed. A a in Miu the army because i w ant to be Here a a a few minutes Belore Midnight a truck dropped of the next. Gun id. Team. 1 lie men from the 8 . To Midnight shift passed into the new year while rolling along a Dusty Road on the Way Back to their tent. As they climbed out of the truck a few a minutes later a voice in the. Darkness called out Quot Happy new a yeah Happy new year Quot a incl an swered quietly. Quot and i Hope it s a better. a reservist turns tour into do it yourself project Quot. A. A. A a. A a a. A a. A i a a. A a a a a a by Deedee Arrington Doke Middle East Bureau r Eastern saudi Arabia a Jim Young was dumped unceremoniously on a pier when he arrived in saudi Arabia last september with nearly 200 other members of the coast guards 303rd port Security unit. A there you Are. Now you have to fend for yourself a he said the group was told. A i had the feeling wed be out in limbo from the beginning a recalled Young a reservist from new London wis., and a Carpenter by Trade. He was right. At first the whole Reserve unit was housed in one Large room with an antiquated Kitchen and a bathroom that had equally decrepit plumbing. Nicknamed stalag 2, in a reference to world War ii prisoner of War Camps the Home represented a the worst migrant housing you could find a said it. Cmdr. Gary Anderson the units executive officer. A month later they were Given better housing that could House four to a room. It lacked All. Furniture except Beds. But in four months Young a Petty officer first class has turned the living spaces into a Model self help project using scrap lumber inadequate tools and his spare time. In his few off duty hours he has designed and built bookshelves bed supports desks my other furniture for the unit members not to mention helping his saudi port Security counterparts repair their boats and digging us supplies for army neighbors. He teaches others in the unit to build furniture too. A everything has to be made. We have to scrounge everything a Young said. An Early project began As a Short bookshelf and ended up As a combination shelf and cooler w Hen Young had to construct furniture to fit around air conditioning ducts. As a result each shelf unit provides air cooled space where people can store soft drinks and other items. Then the Beds needed reinforcing. A Quot v a is amps Lynda Davidson Petty officer 1st class Jerry Bresnahan reads a letter in one of the Beds built by coast guard reservist Jim \ Oung. A these Beds were built for 50-Pound people a said Youngs Roommate Petty officer James Flagler. Since then Young has built or Werseen construction of a set of bunk be is a finished desk and tall bookshelves in addition to on the Job projects a other units depend on Young to ferret out nails and other hard to find items. A simple things everyone takes for granted they re very rare. Like tools a you la never get a tool a a said army spec. David Thompson of 30th quartermaster det. Young brought his own Hammer a folding measure and a tape measure from Home when he deployed. The Hammer and tape measure were stolen within three Days of his arrival. Because tools can be hard to come by Here at reasonable prices. Young who built his own House in Wisconsin Hopes the persian Gulf crisis ends in time for him to take advantage of two Home building offers he had before he deployed to the Gulf Region. Until then hell spend his few spare hours on various projects such As the Well used saudi owned boats around the Dock his uni operates from. T he bulk of his so called a Home improvement work is done. A a everybody a got everything now a Young said. A it he people who move in next will be in
