European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 12, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Proper care can fend off diseases by Steven scholar Kaiserslautern Bureau most health risks to troops sewing in Somalia Are posed by contaminated water and tainted food said a preventive Medicine consultant to the army a 7th medical come in Heidelberg Germany. But if troops follow Standard practices health risks in the disease Ridden country can be Cut by As much As 85 percent or. Col Michael w. Benenson said. A a it a important that Only the food and water supplied by the military be consumed a Benenson said. A if a person eats or drinks local water or food they could experience some real health  other keys to avoiding infection Are personal cleanliness and Good health habits. A washing your hands frequently is the most Basic Way to help prevent the spread of germs a he said. Other areas of concern include upper respiratory infections insect bites heat injuries and exposure to malaria and hepatitis which Are rampant in Somalia. A colds and flu can be very serious because they lower the body a resistance and can make a person More susceptible to contracting other illnesses a Benenson said. A but because Active duty troops Are required to get the flu vaccine shot their chances of getting the flu Are lessened. But the flu vaccine is Only effective in about 80 percent of the people using it. A for those that still get the flu the symptoms should be less severe than if they did no to have the  the Chance of contracting an illness through casual Contact with a somali is slim Benenson said. Relief workers say aids and tuberculosis cases among somalis Are probably under reported. But in spite of the probable High rates of both casual Contact should not present any problems. A the aids virus is Only passed through sexual con if a person eats or drinks local water or food they could experience some real health  a or. Col Michael w. Benenson tact a Benenson said. A helping or touching a somali citizen  present a  threats of heat injuries and insect bites also Are causes for concern in a country where daytime temperatures routinely exceed 100 degrees and humid conditions contribute to muggy Days and the Breeding of disease carrying insects. If not treated promptly heat injuries can be fatal said or. It. Col Rene Sanchez chief of preventive Medicine at Lun Stuhl army regional medical Center in Germany. A heat exhaustion is the most Likely heat injury a person deployed to Somalia might experience Quot Sanchez said. A a it a important for a person to drink water almost continually even if they re not thirsty. Many factors contribute to heat injuries. Dehydration the level of personal activity and the amount of rest a person receives can All be contributing  to help Lessen the spread of disease by insects troops Are issued deet a Cream that is rubbed on the skin and repels mosquitoes for up to 12 hours. The use of Cream repellents the heavy materials used in Battle dress uniforms and Mosquito netting should help protect troops serving in Somalia Benenson said. Exotic diseases such As leishmaniasis a disease spread by Sand Hies can be controlled by using repellents. Other diseases troops might encounter include malaria hepatitis a Ami Beningo Coucal meningitis. Generally these can be prevented by inoculations that military members receive before they deploy to Somalia. Inoculations include those designed to prevent dip theria tetanus measles mumps and rubella polio Ami flu. Extra precautions for those going to a country where health care has Long been ignored include inoculations for yellow fever meningitis Anil hepatitis a a tuberculosis skin test and typhoid Booster Ami an anti malarial Tablet. Contributions to Somalia Mission j airmen in Europe support Bridge of Relief to Somalia q United states promised about 28,000 troops. The first group a 1,800 marines from three ship amphibious strike Force a has taken control of Mogadishu Somalia s capital. Washington has sent 200,000 tons of food so far and . Planes have airlifted supplies to Somalia and refugee areas in Kenya. . Aircraft also carried in about 500 pakistani peacekeepers. 16,000 marines from 1st Marine expeditionary Force Camp Pendleton Calif. A a 10,000 troops from army s 10th Mountain div Lightfort drum . A a naval Mobile construction in 40 from port hueneme Calif. A a naval Beach group 1 from the naval amphibious base at Coronado Calif. A a naval Mobile construction in 1 from the naval construction in Center at Gulfport miss. A a elements of the 30th naval construction regt from Pearl Harbor Hawaii. Q France about 2,000 troops expected. Some Relief supplies sent about 150 foreign legionnaires in Mogadishu. Q Canada 900 troops promised equipped with armoured personnel carriers and armoured fighting vehicles called Lynnes. So far pledged $20 million in Aid and three planes have helped Airlift supplies. O Italy will Send 1,500 or More troops by Christmas including marines paratroopers and support units. O Britain offered four transport aircraft and $7 million. About $49 million Given so far this year for humanitarian Aid. Q Japan considering donating unspecified Quot logistical support Quot for troops. Earlier $27 million Aid program announced. Q Belgium will dispatch 550 q Tunisia says it is ready to participate paratroopers for a year. Troops ready but has not specified what kind of Aid to leave on 48-hour notice it will offer 0 Egypt pledged Between 300 and 600 soldiers. A by Kevin Dougherty Kaiserslautern Bureau the number of . Air forces in Europe personnel involved in operation restore Hope reached 149 Friday and 71 air mobility Conul airmen stationed in Europe also have been sent to take part in the humanitarian Relief Mission. A not since the Berlin Airlift has there been a Bridge like this a said am spokeswoman maj. Ann Simpson. Though there arc obvious differences Between the two missions such As duration and distance both boil Down to moving tremendous amounts of supplies in the air for purely humanitarian purposes Simpson said. A Fleet of c-5 Galaxy and c-141 Star lifters is shuttling Between the United states and Africa eight to 10 times a Day said it. Col. Mike Gannon an air Force spokesman in Washington. The trip takes about 21 hours and covers a distance of More than 7,500 Miles from the East coast of the United states to Somalia. In comparison to the Airlift of forces and Materiel to the persian Gulf for operations desert shield and storm the Somalia Mission involves a greater distances and Bare Bones facilities in Somalia Gannon said. In saudi Arabia the military had More of an infrastructure at its disposal. Eighty seven transport planes Are taking part in the Somalia operation. The majority of those planes Are starting at either March fab Calif., or griffiss fab ., Simpson said. The planes Are ferrying personnel and supplies from Camp Pendleton Calif., and fort drum . Planes Are refuelled off the Northeast coast by Kc-135 Strat tankers and again Over the Atlantic Ocean West of Spain by tankers from Moron a Spain Simpson said. The transport aircraft land and change Crews at a location that Simpson would not disclose but sources identified the site As Cairo Egypt. From there the c-5s and c-141s depart for Mogadishu Somalia. The return trip from Somalia begins with a refuelling Stop on the ground at either Addis Ababa Ethiopia or Djibouti. There is a Crew change in Cairo before the planes embark on the Long journey Home. Kc-135s from Lajes Field in the azores replenish the transport planes Over the Atlantic with enough fuel to make it Back to the United states. The planes Are then recycled through the system. A aircraft done to like to be stopped and started a Simpson said. A they  Simpson likened the Mission to the Berlin Airlift because it involves moving so much Over an obstacle for humanity a Sake. A in Berlin it was the corridor a Simpson said. A there it is the  sixty three of the Safe personnel Are at Moron a Spain 51 airmen Are at Souda Bay Crete Greece 34 airmen Are in Somalia and one person is in Kenya. The personnel at Souda Bay Are supporting a Tanker task Force according to Doug Moore a Safe spokesman. A we Are responding to a tasking to a request for help from Central come Moore said. A when they come to us with a request we fill  in addition there Are 71 am personnel stationed at Safe installations who also have been sent to support restore Hope Simpson said. The majority of the personnel Are from Ramstein a and Rhein main a Germany. Simpson said she did no to know the exact distribution of the 71 airmen but at least 24 of the 38 am personnel from Ramstein Are in Cairo while All 27 am personnel from Rhein main Are in Somalia according to spokesmen at the bases. The other six were unaccounted for at press time. The Ramstein airmen Are with the 608th Airlift support group. Ten of the Rhein main airmen Are with the 4th Mobile Aerial port so while 16 Are with the 362nd Airlift control a. There also is one intelligence airman with the 362nd in  tapping students to act As interpreters by new Day Washington a the army which has found Only nine somali speakers among its ranks is trying to recruit up to 100 somalian students in Washington to serve As interpreters for army units deployed to the famine struck country. The army mailed letters last weekend to 250 students in the nation s capital and by thursday 100 somalis had inquired about the 90-Day tour a though not All of them were students and some called from As far away As Canada. Bpm corp., a suburban Virginia consulting firm that recruited 600 kuwaitis to accompany . Troops in the persian Gulf War is processing the Calls for the army. A a we be gotten Calls from doctors engineers and an a Ray technician a said a bpm official who asked not to be identified. A most of the Calls Are word of Mouth a my brother told me my Uncle my  he said Many somalis a Are saying they wanted to go there and help and just did no to know How to go about doing  he said the recruits do not have to be students but must sign on for at least three months at $2,000 a month plus a $1,000 Bonus upon completion of the tour. A Marine corps spokesman said that Branch already has dispatched All the interpreters it needs to Somalia