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Mark in Saudi Arabia - Operation Desert Storm (1991)

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The Americans were invited to inhabit "Eskan Village" on the outskits of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We drove 20 miles to Riyadh Air Base everyday
Eskan Village was a town onto itself. The Saudis preferred that the Americans remain out of sight. We were their necessary evil.
The entrance to our "villa" at Eskan Village.

Our living room. Armed Forces TV was barely passable. Notice all the videos Dora sent us.
There were five of us in each villa, we each had our own room.
Thank Allah for the A.C.

The Eskan Village pool. I don't know about the Army or Marines, but us Air Force guys had it rough.
The Base Exchange (BX)
The Baskin Robbins and hamburger joint - sure beat the chow hall

Our kitchen - lots of Top Ramen and canned goods. Thank God for the "care packages."
Oh yeah, we worked a little too. Here's the command center where I worked - my roomie Woody is on the right
The Saudis brought out the camels for our 4th of July celebration

Of course I had to ride one to experience it
The main mosque in Riyadh - Americans called it "chop chop square" because every Friday at noon, if there was to be a public beheading (which there wasn't every week), that's where they'd do it. We waited around for an execution 3 or 4 different Fridays but never saw one. I'm glad now (who needs that mental picture dancing around in their head?)
We saw P.O.W.s released. Not! This is a stock photo sold at the BX

Ah yes, the Love Boat. The British parked the Cunard Princess off the coast of Bahrain and every week 300-400 G.I.s were flown down to the island to spend a few days of R&R there. The boat didn't move, it was a static bar/restaurant/club Med. After 2-3 months with no booze, the guys and gals were ecstatic to finally get some beer (belch)
I forfeited 5 years of sobriety on the Love Boat. My foundation was weak and I got sucked into the drinking frenzy. My choice.
They bussed us to a local resort from the Love Boat. For Muslims, those Bahrainians sure know how to party - check out the "pool bar"

Notice me trying to hide my beer - drunk and guilty at the same time. I came to the Love Boat alone and was adopted by a group of cooks from Dyess Air Force Base. These two were my best buds from what I can remember. My memory was fuzzy just a week later - I called them "that red-headed guy" and "that skinny dude". Nothing better than true friendship
The war hero
Exploring the flight line with my buddy Steve "Redman" Milby

A few of us took a ride on a KC-10 refueling jet, which flew a mission over Kuwait (Aug 1991, after the war). They let us peek into the cockpit for a minute.
The Battle of Baghdad, 1991. I wasn't there, this is a stock photo sold at the BX.
We arrived in Saudi on July 3, 1991. The next day the Saudi's hosted a 4th of July celebration for us, complete with camel rides.

Playing V-ball with some budes.
The KC-10 (Refueler) we flew in over Kuwait was one of two - here's the other one refueling an F-15.
Stock photo, 1991. Patriot Missle Battery

Stock photo, 1991. Creative graffiti courtesty of the Army's 7th Cavalry Regiment - this makes more sense after reading this.
Stock photo, 1991. I WISH I'd gotten that close to a Stealth fighter.
Walking onboard the Cunard Princess, a luxury cruise ship parked off the coast of Bahrain during Operation Desert Storm.

War Photos - Here are some photos I bought from the BX at Eskan Village - some G.I. took them and they sold them in sets to those of us lucky enough not to actually be in the line of fire. Most of these photos were taken after the Iraquis had already fled from Kuwait, leaving behind a trail of armament.

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The Americans were invited to inhabit "Eskan Village" on the outskits of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. We drove 20 miles to Riyadh Air Base everyday	Eskan Village was a town onto itself. The Saudis preferred that the Americans remain out of sight. We were their necessary evil.	The entrance to our "villa" at Eskan Village.
Our living room. Armed Forces TV was barely passable. Notice all the videos Dora sent us.	There were five of us in each villa, we each had our own room.	Thank Allah for the A.C.
The Eskan Village pool. I don't know about the Army or Marines, but us Air Force guys had it rough.	The Base Exchange (BX)	The Baskin Robbins and hamburger joint - sure beat the chow hall
Our kitchen - lots of Top Ramen and canned goods. Thank God for the "care packages."	Oh yeah, we worked a little too. Here's the command center where I worked - my roomie Woody is on the right	The Saudis brought out the camels for our 4th of July celebration
Of course I had to ride one to experience it	The main mosque in Riyadh - Americans called it "chop chop square" because every Friday at noon, if there was to be a public beheading (which there wasn't every week), that's where they'd do it. We waited around for an execution 3 or 4 different Fridays but never saw one. I'm glad now (who needs that mental picture dancing around in their head?)	We saw P.O.W.s released. Not! This is a stock photo sold at the BX
Ah yes, the Love Boat. The British parked the Cunard Princess off the coast of Bahrain and every week 300-400 G.I.s were flown down to the island to spend a few days of R&R there. The boat didn't move, it was a static bar/restaurant/club Med. After 2-3 months with no booze, the guys and gals were ecstatic to finally get some beer (belch)	I forfeited 5 years of sobriety on the Love Boat. My foundation was weak and I got sucked into the drinking frenzy. My choice.	They bussed us to a local resort from the Love Boat. For Muslims, those Bahrainians sure know how to party - check out the "pool bar"
Notice me trying to hide my beer - drunk and guilty at the same time. I came to the Love Boat alone and was adopted by a group of cooks from Dyess Air Force Base. These two were my best buds from what I can remember. My memory was fuzzy just a week later - I called them "that red-headed guy" and "that skinny dude". Nothing better than true friendship	The war hero	Exploring the flight line with my buddy Steve "Redman" Milby
A few of us took a ride on a KC-10 refueling jet, which flew a mission over Kuwait (Aug 1991, after the war). They let us peek into the cockpit for a minute.	The Battle of Baghdad, 1991. I wasn't there, this is a stock photo sold at the BX.	We arrived in Saudi on July 3, 1991. The next day the Saudi's hosted a 4th of July celebration for us, complete with camel rides.
Playing V-ball with some budes.	The KC-10 (Refueler) we flew in over Kuwait was one of two - here's the other one refueling an F-15.	Stock photo, 1991. Patriot Missle Battery
Stock photo, 1991. Creative graffiti courtesty of the Army's 7th Cavalry Regiment - this makes more sense after reading this.	Stock photo, 1991. I WISH I'd gotten that close to a Stealth fighter.	Walking onboard the Cunard Princess, a luxury cruise ship parked off the coast of Bahrain during Operation Desert Storm.