The Road to Safwan: The 1st Squadron, 4th Cavalry in the 1991 ...

Coming Home 237
There was also a service station outside of Khobar that provided
contract meals. The military had arranged with the contractor
to wash and prepare a number of HMMWVs for shipment.
Each driver brought the vehicle to the station and
stripped it and then helped them wash it. The contractor provided
meals there in a fairly civilized way with tablecloths, silverware,
glasses, and waiters. At night the contractor ran a
disco and provided near beer. All ranks were welcomed at this
service station.
About ten minutes from Khobar there was a public beach.
One day, Wilson and some of his officers drove their assigned
Chevy Suburban out to spend a day of relaxation. Unfortunately,
they got the Chevy stuck and were unable to push it out
of the sand. All had a good laugh as a local contractor rounded
up a bulldozer to pull the squadron’s “staff” car out of the sand.
Another beach was in operation down the coast at a place
called Half-Moon Bay. It had originally been leased by the
British and was still open for American use. Soldiers boarded a
shuttle bus and found themselves deposited at a very nice resort
with, in addition to the beach, pools, a movie theater, bowling
alley, and pool tables. As a concession to Saudi customs,
men and women, many from the corps and division staff, did
not swim together. The soldiers watched the movie Look Who’s
Talking 2 and snacked on free food and soft drinks.
As the troops packed their gear and cleaned the billets, they
had numerous briefings from the military police and customs
authorities. Wilson placed a troop commander in charge of each
flight and ensured they understood the rules. Troopers were
forbidden to bring home any acquired weapons, optics, Iranian
products, and of course, drugs. The word was that if any contraband
were found in your unit during the final inspection, it
would go to the bottom of the list for the flight home. There
were also plenty of stories on how previous commands had
tried to smuggle out weapons and equipment. These stories
came with accounts of the punishment, in addition to the delay,
that each soldier received.
Then the waiting was over. The soldiers looked great as
they formed for one last inspection. All seemed lean, tan, and
more mature and looked impressive in their pressed desert