OPERATION DESERT STORM UPDATE

File: 970107_sep96_decls16_0002.txt
Page: 0002
Total Pages: 5

Subject: OPERATION DESERT STORM UPDATE                                   

Unit: OTSG        

Parent Organization: HSC         

Box  ID: BX003205

Folder Title: OPERATION DESERT STORM UPDATE                                                                   

Document Number:          1

Folder Seq  #:         41



     .3. The first week or so of our field living at each site was largely dedicat
     to life support activities and security. '-Erecting tents was quickly
     accomplished, but the time consuming work involved the construction and
     fortification of bunkers and sandbagging of tents. Engineers had excavated
        es for bunkers, although their depth was less than ideal because they hit
         -ock at two to +our feet down. Everyone participated in the filling,
     tying, carrying, and placement of sandbags (about 40 lbs each) to fashion the
     bunker walls and to sandbag the sleep tents about halfway up the sides. This
     kind of work definitely builds upper body strength, but there are
     disadvantages. The "sand" in the bags is really dirt excavated from the
     engineer plowing. The dirt goes everywhere, and the clothing, hair, and skin
     of the workers gets very dirty. People with back problems have to be careful
     - a few people strained their backs, although I didn't. One characteristic
     malady of sandbag work is the effect of tying them an one's hands. Depending
     upon one's technique, many people, including myself, developed roughened and
     cracking skin at the sides of the distal interphalangeal joints - in my case,
     the thumb side of the index finger and the outer aspect of the pinky (if
     You'll pardon the expression) of my dominant (left) hand. The cracking of my
     index finger persists two weeks later and the dirt imbedded in the roughened
     skin of that finger is still there (I do wash my hands every day). LTC Har:
     has taken to taping the distal IP joints of all ten fingers.       During the
     sandbagging period, one moment of excitement came when the chaplain and I
     -Forcibly disarmed a female officer who was superficially cutting her neck,
     wrists, and thighs with a pocket knife while sitting in the latrine.       In the
     process I almost fell into adjacent latrine. The officer in question had '
al +or refusing to move forward with her unit.
     She was evacuated out after this incident.

     4. It has not rained +or about 2 weeks now, and I'd bet we've seen the last
     of the rain, although the rainy season is said to last into March. The rain
        e things chillier and messier +or a while, but it did keep the soil damp.
         the problem is dust. We've had two days when a brisk wind (about 20 - 30
     mpn) blew the dust around for about 5 hours, reducing visibility at ground
     level to a couple 04 hundred meters. Of course the particle size is very
     small, and the dust permeates anything. Although we keep our tent closed up
     as much as possible, the dust layers out on everything. Even without the
     strong winds, dust is a problem.     The dirt roads emanating from the paved
     road are heavily trafficked, and the dirt has been pulverized into a powder
     reminiscent of talcum powder. Just driving through it raises clouds that,
     depending upon the air turbulence around the vehicle, can blow against the
     side windows and layer out up to an inch high on the outer sill of the
     windows. One approach to the dusty roads is to lay down diesel fuel. That
     works, although one shouldn't do that too close to living areas, because the
     persistent fumes can annoy and, perhaps, sicken people. The 24th ID had that
     problem months ago. The soldiers who were detailed to laying down the diesel
     and some nearby tent residents complained of frequent headaches.

     5. We burnout our latrines. It works, though it takes much fuel. One
     problem we have is that good old, thick Diesel Fuel 2 is not readily
     available. More plentiful is a thinner fuel (? Jet A-1 ?) that works fine
     diesel vehicles, but burns a little too fast for the burnout techniques.
     burnout detail is really not too bad in this cool weather. My nose doesn't
     really take offense and the heat from the cans is really rather pleasant when
 overcome the sight a+ what is
     being burned if one is squeamish about feces. Don't get the mistaken
        -ession that I am regularly involved in this kind of work. On a few
        asions, I have provided professional consultation to soldiers an the
     burnout detail, even to the extent of pouring in the fuel and doing a little
     stirring. There have also been a few instances of my chatting with the det@
     soldier while basking in the warmth of the fire on a cold day.

Document 5 f:/Week-36/BX003205/OPERATION DESERT STORM UPDATE/operation desert storm update:01029715471617
Control Fields 17
File Room = sep96_declassified
File Cabinet = Week-36
Box ID = BX003205
Unit = OTSG
Parent Organization = HSC
Folder Title = OPERATION DESERT STORM UPDATE
Folder Seq # = 41
Subject = OPERATION DESERT STORM UPDATE
Document Seq # = 1
Document Date =
Scan Date =
Queued for Declassification = 01-JAN-1980
Short Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Long Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Permanent Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Non-Health Related Document = 01-JAN-1980
Declassified = 02-JAN-1997