European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 17, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse Thursday december 17, 1992 Somalia the stars and stripes b Page 9 no random letters to troops advised Washington apr the Pentagon is asking the Public to refrain from sending mail at random to . Forces in Somalia so family members will be Able to get letters to their loved ones a spokesman said tuesday. A the mail is now flowing to Somalia. But the capability to handle mail is still limited a Pentagon spokesman Pete Williams said. During the persian Gulf War people sent letters addressed to any Sailor airman or Soldier and it was distributed randomly to the troops. However Williams said the operation in Somalia is just beginning and is unable to handle any crush of mail. A this is not the time to be sending a any Serviceman Type of mail a Williams said. The troops headed for Somalia have been Given the military Post office numbers they should use and provide to their families for sending mail Williams said. Those forces previously in the Region a such As the sailors or marines aboard the ships off Somalia a will continue to get their mail through their Normal addresses Williams said. Malaria poses Little danger to troops expert stresses by Steve scholar Kaiserslautern Bureau a Rumor that various strains of malaria Are particularly dangerous to service members deployed to Somalia is a unfounded a says a doctor at the Federal centers for disease control in Atlanta. Certain strains of the Viva malaria and Ovale types of malaria can prove to be drug resistant and hard to treat. But according to or. Carlos Campbell chief of the cd cd a malaria Section a most of the strains that Are difficult to treat Are found in Southeast Asia. Somalia is not known to have these drug resistant a if people have the idea that malaria poses a danger to service members in Somalia its unfounded because the medications provided should Stop All forms of malaria that exist there Campbell said. If preventive measures Are not taken the Falc Parum Strain poses the most possible danger to those serving in the East african nation. Unlike some other types Falc Parum a which is present in Somalia a can be fatal if not treated. A the other three types Viva malaria and Ovale can make you very ill but Falc Parum can be fatal. Fortunately the preventive Medicine being used is very effective and it is very unlikely that any service members should contract Campbell said. The most widely used treatments to present malaria Are me Loquine a Tablet taken weekly and doxy cycling a Tablet taken daily in varying dosages. Both medications have Side effects ranging from dizziness to causing extreme sensitivity to Light. Quot people with a Job requiring a High level of dexterity and coordination particularly pilots should not take me Loquine because it can cause Campbell said. Quot they should probably be taking doxy cycling. Quot people taking doxy cycling should use sunscreen and try to stay Clear of continual exposure to the Sun. Regardless of the medication Thev take Thev should experience few if any Quot Campbell said that a with everything we know the people serving there Are very Well protected. The emphasis is on prevention. Taking medication and using Mosquito netting is Campbell emphasized that rumours of the need to quarantine returning service members Are also in Italy prepares copters for trek to Africa by Gary Miller Mediterranean Bureau Livorno Italy a soldiers and contract civilians scrambled to finish erecting a 180-foot maintenance tent at Livorno sport before army helicopters bound for Somalia began arriving at noon wednesday from Camp Darby a nearby army Post. The tent will be used by aviation units assigned to task Force 5-158, a 650-member Force consisting largely of soldiers from v corps units and the 7th medical come who will leave for Somalia before the end of the year. A a we be been told to be out of Here by noon whether we re done or not a said Jerry Quinn Lead Man of the 20-member Lockheed Crew that began building the steel and fabric a Clamshell tent monday. Base officials called in the contractors a members of a 183-person Lockheed Crew assigned to Camp Darby to maintain wheel and track vehicles a because they Are the resident experts after having recently assembled a 360-foot Structure for themselves an army spokesman said. Originally intended for shrink wrapping the helicopters a plan that has since been abandoned the tent will instead provide maintenance space for the 31 helicopters slated to be loaded aboard the ship american Falcon scheduled to arrive saturday. The aircraft include 16 ch-47d Chinook and 15 uh-60 Black Hawk helicopters. Along with the Lockheed employees service members from a variety of units helped erect the tent. A we were in the Field and they told us wed be getting on a plane to help these men put up a tent a said spec. Daniel Amaya of co a 94th engr in in Vilseck Germany. Amaya was one of 12 soldiers from the unit sent to Livorno to help assemble the tent. The soldiers will probably return to their unit Friday Amaya said. Members of cob 70th trans in from Mannheim Germany prepared stands to hold helicopter Rotor Blades for the chinooks from cod 502nd aviation regt which arrived at Camp Darby at noon tuesday. About 1 . Wednesday chinooks began taking off from Camp Darby a carnival Field where they had re military and civilian personnel from Camp Darby Italy erect a maintenance tent wednesday in the port of Livorno Maine overnight for the five minute flight to Livorno. As pilots and Crews shuttled the helicopters to the port soldiers there removed the aircraft rotors and moved the choppers aside. The aviators who were driven Back to Camp Darby were to Start the process again and continue flying until the 16 chinooks were at the port said sgt. 1st class Phil Tegtmeier spokesman for the army a Southern european task Force. It takes the soldiers about two hours per aircraft to remove the chinooks two sets of Blades said sgt. 1st class Van Johnson of the 502nd. Johnson said the Mannheim based soldiers who arrived in Livorno on monday will spend about 10 Days in Italy before most return Home. But sgt. 1st class Glen pose will be aboard american Falcon headed for Somalia. A a in la be going on the boat to Check tie Downs and make sure aircraft Are still tied Down daring the said Posey a maintenance platoon sergeant with the 159th medical co air ambulance in Wiesbaden Germany. Posey helped Load some of his units helicopters on ships in Rotterdam Netherlands during the persian Gulf War and also has helped put them on c-5 Gaius transport planes. The american Falcon is scheduled to depart l. Of on tuesday. A Black Hawk copters head for Somalia today by Kevin Dougherty Kaiserslautern Bureau Ramstein a Germany a the last of the 15 uh-60 Black Hawk helicopters scheduled to depart for Somalia from Ramstein a today As part of task Force 5-158 have arrived at the air base and were being readied wednesday for transport by aircraft. Ten medium lift army helicopters departed from Hanau Germany for Ramstein on wednesday afternoon said it. Col. Dick Bridges v corps spokes Man. The 10 Are from co a 7th in 227th aviation regt. The 10 Hanau helicopters were preceded by five Black Hawks that arrived tuesday from co a 7th in 158th aviation regt in Gie Belstadt. The helicopters Are scheduled to be loaded onto c-5 Galaxy aircraft and c-141b Star lifters today for transport to Somalia Bridges said. Mechanics were adjusting helicopter Blades in order to fit them into the transport planes which will also carry personnel and equipment from the army aviation units. However Bridges said the departure could be delayed past thursday. An additional 31 european based helicopters Are being deployed to Livorno Italy where they will be loaded onto ships bound for Somalia. Fifteen Black Hawks from the 421st medical evacuation in in Wiesbaden Germany the last to depart for Livorno left wednesday. They will be used by personnel from the 159th medical co based in Wiesbaden Germany. The task Force primarily is composed of the 12th aviation brigade which headquartered at Wiesbaden the Civ member task Force consists of units free v corps and the -7th medical Coe members of the task Torce ire expects to leave for Somalia around the end the year. The helicopters flown to Ramie from Hanau and Gie Belstadt Are Tuii aircraft outfitted with two Long Range. E eternal fuel tanks. The tanks Mcrea Ese helicopter s maximum Range from 51 nautical ads to n a an it Bridges
