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topic). Most of the W was disposed of through the host nations.
Throughout Desert Shield, BEE folks were preparing for their war-
time duties. Once the war started, this task consumed the
majority of the BEE's time.
    
EQUIPMENT - The lack of true industrial operations were fortunate
for us because both the ATHs and the ATCs were not well equipped
from an IH equipment standpoint. The popular phrase concerning
equipment was "austere but adequate". The ATH and SME were not
designed for long term sustainability. Some relief was provided
through the purchase of $105,000.00 worth of IH equipment using a
Japanese Funding Initiative. Attached is a copy of what
equipment was ordered. Because of the short duration of the war,
most of this equipment was never seen. The actual status of the
purchases is unknown.
    
ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS - Temperatures from August through
October were in excess of 125 degrees fahrenheit with a relative
humidity of less than 10 percent. The evening temperatures
remained above 100 degrees. Out of necessity, the majority of
heavy work was performed at night. During December and January,
the temperatures dropped to the mid seventies during the day and
low thirties at night with 30 to 40 percent relative humidity.
    
HEAT STRESS - There was a phenomenally low incident of heat
stress documented during the Persian Gulf War. The overall
incidence rate was 0.24 cases per 1000. This low incidence rate
was due to an acute awareness of the heat stress risk on
everyone's part, the excellent support given by unit commanders,
and a sound preventive medicine program.
    
ENVIRONMENTAL CONTROL UNITS (ECUs) - The life blood of all USAF
units was the portable ECU. ECUs are 37,000 BTU heat pumps. ECUs
were used to air condition everything from tents to prefab
buildings. Without ECUs to tame the desert, it would have been
almost impossible to meet our mission.
    
POTABLE WATER - As could be expected, water consumption was
unbelievable. Most individuals were consuming in excess of one
and half liters of water per hour. No surprise that potable
water was the most critical commodity in the AOR. Ninety percent
of the water came from in-country desalinization. The
desalinated water had a high mineral content which caused some
medical problems.
    
MORALE - The hardest job for the engineers and senior NCOs was
maintaining the morale of subordinates. Once the ATHs and
medical stations were set-up, most medical personnel had a lot of
free time on their hands. Being bored, severely restricted,
suffering cultural shock, separated from loved ones, and worried
about impending hostile action resulted in a big morale problem.
With a few exceptions, our folks did a super job despite never
 having received training to handle this type of a challenge.
    
 STAR PERFORMERS - All of the deployed BEE personnel should be
 justly proud of themselves for the amazing job they did while
 exposed to extremely hostile environmental conditions and under
    
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