European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 30, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday december 30, 1992 Somalia the stars and stripes b Page 9liter by liter troops drink in Mission by Charles j. Hanley a special correspondent Bairoa Somalia a Here a the Marine poster for the somalian Campaign a sweaty bowed weighted Down dust choked Lance Corporal doing what he does most these Days chug a lugging from a tall bottle of Cool Clear water. Like a Camel caravan crossing the desert the . Military has to carry its water along As it treks Ever deeper into Somalia. Its a formidable task. In a place just North of the Equator where the temperature often hits 100, the get and dust cling and Shade can be As scarce As rain the marines and other troops Are finding that the pause that refreshes has be cd Quot one big nonstop Swallow. 1 guess in a up to 4 liners a Day a said Lance Cpl. Michael Koch 19, of Jeffersonville mo., As he brandished a near empty bottle at a guard Post in the Inland town of Bairoa. Koch and the other troops Are drinking bottled water flown in from neighbouring Kenya. Officers say four 1-liter bottles per Day per Marine seems about average. That totals 4.24 quarts. Water was a problem in the persian Gulf War too. But in saudi Arabia two years ago the americans could rely on sophisticated High volume saudi desalination plants for their Supply. In Somalia the water has to be churned out by Low servicewomen find no problem of discrimination Mogadishu Somalia apr women in the . Military Are finding that operation restore Hope is an equal Opportunity employer. Their gripes Are the same As the menus. A we shave and they done to that a about the Only difference a said Marine gunnery sgt. Jeff Vandervort of Camp Pendleton Calif. Bugs heat and boredom affect both sexes equally. For the men and women in this devastated country protecting famine Relief supplies the Issue of whether women should be in combat has had Little Opportunity to arise. There has been Little fighting except occasional exchanges of gunfire Between marines and somalian bandits. And because the marines escorting food convoys and patrolling cities Are from combat divisions they would not include women in the first place. The main Battle is against tedium and isolation since most of the land based troops never leave their military compounds. More than 18,000 . Service members Are in Somalia either ashore or on ships just off the coast. Some 300 of them Are women. The support people make the humanitarian Mission run smoothly tending to medical problems distributing mail maintaining the military a trucks planes and helicopters running the Airport control Tower. That routine gives the women plenty of time to Ponder whether they would want to go into combat a even if they were allowed to. A a you re going to die one Way or the other anyway so Why not die fighting for your country a said air Force sgt. Jeanette Winston of the 343rd missile Security so based at Malmstrom fab Mont. Although Somalia is a Muslim country the women have not experienced the discrimination that was widespread in saudi Arabia during the persian Gulf War. There has been no government police Force or organized social institutions to enforce the Law since the fall of dictator Gen. Mohammed Siad Barre two years ago. Western women draw stares in Somalia but so do Western men. Air Force maj. Rita Pfeifer a nurse recalled that in saudi Arabia she was forced to wait for a table at a restaurant until one was available at the Back out of sight of other diners. That a not a problem Here. There Are no restaurants. Volume military reverse osmosis water purification units caused Row us. Two of these units Are located Seaside in Mogadishu the somalian capital converting seawater into 1,000 Gallons of purified water each hour. The water is loaded into 900-gallon tanks three of which fit atop a semitrailer truck that hauls it in by Convoy 150 Miles Over the potholed Road to Bairoa temporary Homie to some 800 marines and other . Military  in a up to 4 liners of water a  a Lance Cpl. Michael Koch a a we be got an ample Supply of water. Just yesterday 8,100 Gallons enough to fill 30,780 liter bottles came in by Road a said Marine maj. Steven r. Peters 35, of Shoemakers Mill pa., a support services officer. The military medical team in Bairoa can attest that the water pipeline is working Fine. The team reports Only two cases of dehydration since the marines rolled into the town dec. 16 on their Mission to secure routes for delivery of food to starving somalis. The Rowau water is drinkable but the lingering hint of chlorine makes it unpopular with the canteen set. Instead the air Force flies in two pallets of bottled water to Bairoa every other Day. Why not use somalian Well water for some needs Petty officer 2nd class Patrick Malone a preventive Medicine technician peered deep and hard into a local Well recently and concluded a no  As part of his regular testing for water Quality Malone compared a pct i dish of water taken from a Marine latrine against a Sample of local Well water. The contaminated latrine water showed a greyish smudge of bacterial growth the local water grew a bacterial stain As Black As an inkblot. A no wonder there a so Many sick people a Here a said Navy it. Rafael j. Del Vicchio c Diego a preventive Medicine officer. The americans Are so wary of the native water that they Are washing equipment with the water trucked in from the coast. Not that its being wasted. The marines have had to learn the Art of the two minute Shower standing under jury rigged pipes 10 marines at a time Are Given a 30-Sccond soak a waterless 30 seconds to lather up and 60 seconds to rinse. That a once a week a maximum. And that a More than enough Lance Cpl. Koch said. A you just get dirty again anyway a he said taking another gulp. Around of san espresso Pate Cognac help italian Force Amble into town by Mark Fritz the associated press Gail Alassi Somalia a with espresso in their canteen cups and Cognac in their meal rations the italian army Cut a stylish if rather leisurely Swath through Somalia an old Colony with a Long memory. As part of the .-led Force trying to feed the african nations poor the italians were assigned to journey to Gaila Lassi secure it and make sure food and Medicine can be safely delivered. Part of the Convoy got lost on the Way. A truck Driver fell asleep and smacked into a tree. Vehicles broke Down. There were More than a few rest stops in the blazing heat As Well As dips into rations including pasta Pate and Cognac. Small contingents of . Air Force Marine and army personnel assigned to help grimaced griped and grinned under the blazing Sun As the 45-vehicle armoured Convoy lurched from Mogadishu to Gail Alassi spanning the 100-mile trip in a the somalian villagers reach out to an italian paratrooper for food. A geez this is the slowest Convoy in be Ever been in a Dious 14 hours sunday. West Convoy. Said . Army spec. Kevin Buckner during one of Many delays along the rutted bumpy Road to Gail Alassi. During one delay italian Mai. Gennaro Fusco danced up to a reporter and offered a sip from his canteen cup of Rich espresso. A a we la get there if my men done to kill me first a laughed the officer a Grin splitting a jaw covered with three Days growth of Beard. The Convoy slowed to another halt As it neared Gail Alassi this time so two truckloads of italian news Media personnel could zoom to the front to capture the a a taking of the town where residents waved and offered no resistance. When it was Over italian Gen. Bruno Loi insisted All went Well and defended the length of the journey which was hampered by rough roads and slowed by the four civilian aia trucks that went along. A the Mission has been successful a he said. A it was a Good performance considering that the maps were outdated and the roads were  the italians were the most controversial addition to Les Pread clan the multinational Force trying to make eight somalian regions Safe for food deliveries after wide fighting and looting. Italy colonized part of what is now Somalia in the 19th Century but relinquished the territory in 1960 in the face of a relatively Broad based Independence movement. Italy also helped finance the government of president Mohammed Siad Barre whose 21-year Rule was ended by civil War in january 1991. A the somalis hate the italians a said Abdi Shlyam 26, As the Convoy snaked through the Village of Gar Solo. Actually the italians Are disliked largely in regions controlled by forces most opposed to Siad barrel regime. Somalia still contains Many italian City names in some regions italian is the second language. Along the Way somalis gathered on roadsides and waved though Small arms fire was heard in one town. . Marine maj. Dan Lizzul whose parents were born in Italy and who married an italian woman while stationed in Naples was assigned As a Liaison to the italian Convoy. A we had dinner with the officers before we started a you know wine and a Coffee liqueur a said the Bronx native. A it was  the journey was a bit of a chore to . Army it. Jim Worthington a platoon Leader of a military police contingent providing Convoy Security. He said his unit spent two Days before the March waiting for the italians to decide How to go about it. Worthington a Stocky bulldog of a Man said his unit counselled the italians on spreading out the Convoy so they would not be an easy target. A that Wasny to even part of our Mission a he said. A they  fight their Way opt of a wet paper  another headache a somalian truck Driver kept trying to sabotage a Relief truck hoping it would be left behind so he could sell it. Then there was the Section of Convoy that drifted off somewhere. A they May still be lost a Worthington said