OPNS DESERT SHIELD STORM DIARY 807TH MASH

File: 970815_sep96_decls54_0019.txt
Page: 0019
Total Pages: 44

Subject = OPNS DESERT SHIELD STORM DIARY 807TH MASH

Parent Organization = ARCENT

Unit = VII CORPS

Folder Title = SUBORDINATE COMMAND HISTORICAL REPORTS-2D COSCOM-332D MED-341ST MED-912TH MED

Document Number = 3

Box ID = BX000308

vehicle, as well as aggravating the portions of the anatomy which
had so recently been immunized.

We are honing our skills in the nuances of desert living,
trying to puzzle out some way we can be moderately comfortable in
the absence of nearly every amenity we had gotten used to in the
United States. The sand is ubiquitous: in our food, in our
clothes, in our shoes, even in our hair and under our nails. No
amount of scrubbing ever seems to rid us of all of it. We also
learn that our entertainment is going to have to come from our
imaginations, as our only outside sources are Armed Forces Radio
and occasional short wave radio broadcasts from the British
Broadcasting Corporation. A talent show and an MRE cook off
provide two evenings of relief from the usual routine. MRE's
(iueals-ready to eat) are our rations, and come in 12 varieties,
People soon experiment in various ways of combining and mixing
them in an effort to break up the monotony. The lst Armored
Division sponsors a recreational afternoon with steaks on the
grill, hamburgers, and "near beer" (non-alcoholic beer). They
have brought their band with them from Germany. Up to now, they
have been used as couriers and guards, but today their jazz and
rock ensemble is in its glory, as they pound out hard driving
rhythm, interspersed with soulful ballads. Soon, people are
dancing, a BDU ball. Units arrived from all around, driving to
the large white tent as ships sailing to a central port from docks