The Daily Tar HeelThursday, August 30, 1 9901 9A
American troops work out ways to beat Saudi
Arabia
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From Associated Press reports
UHAHRAN, Saudi Arabia This
volleyball game, like those on Califor
nia beaches, is played in the sand. But
there's no ocean in the Saudi desert, and
the troops at play are wearing boots and
bulky uniform pants.
Several miles away, at another camp
for American troops, the helicopter
mechanics are just getting up as the sun
goes down if they were lucky enough
to catch some sleep during the scorch
ing hot day.
Further down the road, some Marines
are adopting an Arab custom, covering
their heads and necks, mostly with T
shirts, to block the sun.
To beat the heat and the boredom,
American troops are sleeping during
the day, working at night and trying to
organize recreational activities to make
a far-away place a bit more bearable.
The helicopter mechanics are among
a growing number of troops who do
their work at night to escape the heat of
day, which often reaches 120 degrees.
One maintenance worker, 35-year-old
Gary Stutz from MacGuire Air Force
Base in New Jersey, says he and his co
workers slowly are adjusting.
He says the Air Force is helping by
getting the men desert uniforms and
lighter boots, with a cloth upper body
instead of leather.
Three weeks into the deployment of
troops , some say they're geting used to
the heat. Others say they never will.
Air Force Sgt. Alan Wagner of Dav
enport, Iowa, is among those who say
they are beginning to get used to it.
"It was unbearable at first," he said.
After arriving, Wagner said he worked
40 hours and nearly passed out. "I don't
normally sweat, but I was getting dizzy,"
he said.
Military hospitals and medics are
treating dozens of people a day for heat
related ailments, mostly minor cases of
dehydration.
Some troops are out in the desert
during the day, training under the hot
test sun to get acclimated.
Others are taking some steps to ease
the load on the weary troops. At the
82nd Airborne camp, physical exer-
udget
cises primarily walks and jogging
are done in the early morning and late
afternoon.
"We found that water consumption
went way down when we started doing
it that way," said Maj. Baxter Ennis, the
division's public affairs officer. "We've
learned to adjust, to get the guys used to
the climate but then to try to do most of
the other work at times other than the
middle of the day."
from page 1A
serials and a reduction of other library
materials, he said.
Financial aid disbursement delayed
Eleanor Morris, director of scholar
ships and student aid, said Monday the
most immediate impact of budget cuts
on her office was reduced staff and
resources. She said her staff was affected
more than other departments because
they have to follow strict federal
guidelines.
In recent years those regulations have
become more extensive and more
complicated, although the student aid
office has not received extra staff to
meet the increased demands, Morris
said. If the office fails to meet them, it
would have to repay federal monies or
could lose the power to loan further
funds.
The office is doing more work with
the same number of employees and
therefore cannot deliver money as
quickly or as efficiently as in the past.
Morris said those delays could be as
long as 30 days, but would not affect
students' status for registering or start
ing classes.
The delay could affect whether some
students have money to eat or pay rent,
she said, but mainly would mean stu
dents would be short on pocket money
for a while.
Maintenance and housekeeping
curtailed
Charles Davis, director of the
Physical Plant's housekeeping depart-
- f ias-SA " .aA... - , mt-ftMiwm,,, n ., i
Southern culture
Debbie Bosworth, a junior transfer from Boston Col
lege, explains the Yogurt Oasis menu to Ben Browning,
DTHS. Exum
Cristina Heggarty and Denise Dickenson. The Yogurt
Oasis opened on Franklin Street in May.
ment, said Tuesday that his department
was already feeling the effects of the
budget crunch through a 30 percent
reduction in staff which would have a
significant effect on the entire campus.
At least 80 vacancies have accumu
lated in the department since the hiring
freeze went into effect in January, Davis
said. That freeze prevents department
heads from replacing vacated positions
at any level in the department without
permission from state personnel offi
cials. "What it does is it cuts do wn the daily
routine," Davis said. "Now we're hav
ing people do what two or more people
used to do and obviously it's not getting
done."
Davis said he had to write justifica
tions to fill the vacated positions and
only one out of four justifications filed
received a favorable response.
"We cover the entire campus, we're
in everybody's office, we're in
everybody's kitchen, so to speak," he
said. "It will have an effect on everybody
in this campus. If you don't get the
quality of housekeeping, the campus
will become a health risk."
Davis said he was particularly con
cerned about the health risks of research
wastes disposed in labs that his staff
cleans. "Everything is safe when we do
it normally, but I have no idea what
could happen if we're not able to do it
properly," he said. "Unless someone
steps in and says 'enough,' we are going
to have some major problems.
"We're at the point where we can't
afford to have more vacant positions. If
it continues, the staff and administra
tion of the University would have to
take on some of the housekeeping responsibilities."
iWtt dWill fan itma
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