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The Meatand Potatoes
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A COLUMNIST’S SECRET:
IT’S OK TO LAUGH
VOLUME 16 NO. 26 AUGUST 6 – AUGUST 19, 2021 FREEGUAM.STRIPES.COM SUBMIT STORIES TO: [email protected] FACEBOOK.COM/STRIPESPACIFIC
D i s c o v e r i n g G u a m ’ s p a s t
Latte structuresPAGES 6&8
Pole and thatched homesPAGES 7&9
A STARS AND STRIPES COMMUNITY PUBLICATION AUGUST 6 − AUGUST 19, 20212 STRIPES GUAM
ANDERSEN AIR FORCE BASE – The Vietnam jungle canopied overhead as the explosive ord-nance disposal Airman entered his bamboo hut, where a birth-day cake covered in blue and white frosting, and a group of teammates were waiting for him.
“I know that doesn’t sound like much,” said U.S. Air Force Tech. Sgt. Dylan Bivins, the NCO in charge of training for the 36th Civil Engineer Squadron Explo-sive Ordnance Disposal Unit. “I had gotten news that day that my cousin had passed away, and I was having a pretty rough time. The team made me feel really good in that moment.”
Bivins was an EOD Team Leader on a Defense Prisoner of War/Missing in Action Ac-counting Agency Mission at an undisclosed location in Vietnam, in early spring of 2021. Bivins led his team through a 32 day mission, and cleared more than 115,000 square feet of land for ordnance and aircraft wreck-age. His leadership said that his guidance ensured the safety of 117 DPAA personnel and local nationals.
The DPAA mission is to return service members from past con-flicts to the U.S., where proper burial ceremonies can be given.
“EOD personnel are primarily
on these missions in case any unexploded ordnance are en-countered,” Bivins said. “We are responsible for directing a safe course of action in the event any are found.”
Bivins worked alongside a U.S. Navy EOD technician, and together they would search for and set up new dig sites using metal detectors to locate new dig sites.
“Our metal detectors were useful in determining areas with a lot of aircraft wreckage in hopes that the area would also contain MIA personnel re-mains,” said Bivins.
Since 1973, the remains of more than 1,000 American ser-vice members killed in the Viet-nam War have been identified and returned to their families with full military honors.
“This is something I’ve al-ways wanted to do,” said Bivins. “All EOD techs that I’ve come across have absolutely loved it. It’s a chance for us to get away from our day-to-day tasks, po-tentially do some EOD work, and participate in a very humbling mission.”
Bivins said that one of the hardest tasks he and his team overcame was simply the weath-er. The heat made it difficult at times to complete the rigid labor needed. He recalls some nights trying to sleep and the weather either being uncomfortably hot or bracingly cold.
“Our welcome letter men-tioned that the mission would likely be the most grueling work of our life,” said Bivins. “I stayed at a base camp where we slept in small bamboo huts near our
worksite. The bugs were practi-cally unavoidable.”
Bivins’ mission in Vietnam gave him a different perspective on how EOD technicians work. He said he always felt prepared, but that there were moments that surprised him.
“It was a little bit of a shock when we moved some leaves and dirt and there was a UXO right under our noses,” Bivins said. “In Guam, we deal with UXOs routinely. The difference is we’re not the ones that discover them. We just render them safe and then take them to our dis-posal range.”
Those in the 36th CES/EOD were not surprised with Bivins outcome while in Vietnam. They said they knew that they were sending one of their best to com-plete this mission.
“Tech. Sgt. Bivins is one of our most proficient EOD techs at Andersen,” said USAFTech. Sgt. Kurt Ziobro, the flight chief for the 36th CES/EOD. “His vast experience encountering WWII-era munitions on Guam combined with his impeccable decision making skills make Sgt. Bivins a vital asset to the recov-ery of our missing heroes.”
Those interested in volunteer-ing for a DPAA mission should consult with the unit deployment manager. More information on the DPAA mission can be found on their website, www.dpaa.mil.
BY SENIOR AIRMAN MICHAEL S. MURPHY,36 WING
Andersen EOD tech completes DPAA Vietnam mission
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“It’s a chance for us to get away from our day-to-day tasks,
potentially do some EOD work, and
participate in a very humbling mission.”
– Tech. Sgt. Dylan Bivins
A STARS AND STRIPES COMMUNITY PUBLICATION AUGUST 6 − AUGUST 19, 20214 STRIPES GUAM
D uring challenging times, people say, “It’s okay to cry.” Society
universally accepts that, in order to overcome sadness, frustra-tion and even anger, one mustn’t bottle up these uncomfortable emotions. One must be granted permission to cry, without fear of judgment or reproach.
But what about laughter?People also say, “laughter is
the best medicine,” yet at the same time, we are expected to act “appropriately” in the face of suffering and hardship. Appar-ently, there is a fine line. I hate fine lines because I tend to cross them. If we make the wrong joke at the wrong time, we are relegated to being ... DUN DUN DUN ... inappropriate.
When my husband deployed for a year in 2008, I had an all-out, snotty blubberfest on a weekly basis to “cleanse” my stress. However, I learned that crying wasn’t an effective long-term strategy. By the seventh month of the deployment, I was drowning in endless minutia. My head swam with rational and irrational fears. Are the neighbors mad that the kids left scooters in the cul de sac? Did I pay the water bill? Are my teeth turning yellow? Am I an aw-ful parent for serving macaroni and cheese three nights a week?
Does my bunco group talk about me behind my back? Am I using the right sugar substitute? If I hate Skyping, does it make me a bad wife?
My weekly waterworks ses-sions weren’t enough to get me through the deployment — I needed a lifeline to lead me out of the chaos and back to solid ground. For me, that was laugh-ter.
At my children’s swimming lessons, I organized my scat-tered thoughts on a yellow legal pad. By the time they learned the crawl stroke, I had written four humorous essays about parenting, marriage and mili-tary life. Writing about my real-ity helped me sort my thoughts into what was truly important, and what wasn’t worth worry-ing about. Through this process, I found that crying about hard-ships in my life wasn’t nearly as therapeutic as laughing at the ridiculous details in between.
Socrates once said, “The comic and the tragic lie insepa-rably close, like light and shad-ow.” Writing and telling funny stories is my way of achieving my own sense of “mindful-ness” during times of insecurity, hardship and even tragedy. Our whole family uses humor for fun and as a coping mechanism to approach delicate topics, get
through awkward situations, deal with stress, and put others at ease. So rather than tell oth-ers, “it’s okay to cry,” I encour-age them to see the humor in car pools, chicken nuggets, juice boxes, minivans, and so-called Supermoms. There is so much to smile about — you just have to know how to see it.
“You tell the best stories!” I’ve been told. But my life is not
extraordinary. There’s nothing significant that sets my family apart from other military fami-lies. I’ve never been nominated for Military Spouse of the Year. I’m not academically gifted. I haven’t done anything to merit accolades of praise, swarms of sympathy or chants of disap-proval. I haven’t reached Nir-vana ... yet.
For the 28 years my husband
was active duty, I was a garden-variety stay-at-home mom and Navy wife with three kids, a dog and a good meatloaf recipe. If I had any unique quality, it was simply my ability to see fodder for funny stories in everyday life.
I honed my knack for sto-rytelling while writing on that yellow legal pad back in 2008, as a way to cope with deploy-ment stress. Two years later, I published my first humor essay in the Washington Post and cre-ated this column, “The Meat and Potatoes of Life.”
The secret I don’t tell anyone is that it was by pure accident that my home-grown therapy became my career. Writing was something I did to cope, but through the process, I became a columnist and an author.
That’s cool, because I’m all about bonus prizes.
As life continues to chal-lenge us all, I’ll continue to tell the funny stories that helped keep me afloat during stressful times. Sure, crying is good, but I’ve learned that sometimes it’s better to live, love, and by all means, laugh.Read more of Lisa Smith Molinari’s columns at: themeatandpotatoesoflife.com Email: [email protected]
A columnist’s secret: It’s OK to laughThe Meat and
Potatoes of LifeLisa Smith Molinari
People also say, “laughter is the best medicine,” yet at the same time,
we are expected to act “appropriately” in the face of suffering and hardship.
Apparently, there is a fine line. I hate fine lines because I tend to cross them.
D i s c o v e r i n g D i s c o v e r i n g
Houses of the Ancients
L atte structures are stone archaeological remains unique to the Mariana Islands. A stone pillar sup-ports a hemispherical capstone to form a latte. The
ancient CHamorus generally arranged latte in two parallel rows of four or more pairs to support their important rect-angular, steep pitched roof, pole and thatch buildings. Com-munities in coastal areas, river valleys, and a few upland ar-eas, seem to have competed to build larger and larger latte structures. The Spanish missionaries referred to the latte as casa de los antigos or houses of the ancients. Latte have become a significant icon in contemporary Mariana Islands architecture and serve as a symbol of the CHamoru people and their proud past.
Ancient CHamorus used latte as a foundation for wooden with thatch roof structures. Several archaeologists disagree on the date of the earliest latte. Some say that CHamorus built latte as early as B.P. 1200, others think it was not until B.P. 800, but these experts generally agree that CHamorus stopped building traditional latte houses by B.P. 300.
CHamorus inhabited Guam and the Mariana Islands at least 2,800 years before they constructed latte. Many experts regard latte and the cultural complex of tools and pottery as-sociated with them as a natural development of CHamoruo culture. Nevertheless, some are convinced that latte were the work of a conquering people who invaded the Marianas or perhaps another wave of migration.
Latte architectureLatte look rather like a huge mushroom with its top in-
verted. Latte is composed of a hemispherical stone cap set-ting on a rectangular or trapezoidal stone pillar. The cap is a tasa or cup. The pillar is an haligi. Usually latte are four or five pairs of stones, but there are also three, six and, oc-casionally, a set has two rows of seven pairs. Some of the houses are approximately twelve feet wide and forty-eight feet long. In a few cases, there were wings off to the side of the main axis. Viewed from above these latte structures took on the shape of a cross. In Guam the latte range from a couple of feet high to almost seven feet. Most frequently they are from four to six feet high.
The latte structures are found extensively throughout the main islands of the Marianas archipelago: Guam, Rota, Tin-ian, and Saipan. Some of the smaller islands in the Northern Marianas also contain latte. The largest standing latte is the House of Taga in Tinian, where capstones measure between 2.7 – 2.48 meters in diameter and shafts are 3.87 – 4.23 me-ters long. The CHamorus never completed what would have been the largest latte in the Marianas. Those latte elements remain in the quarry at the As Nieves in Rota. The northern most latte sets or structures are located on the island of Pa-gan.
In Guam, Fred M. Reinman, PhD was the first to com-plete extensive archeological documentation on the latte in 1965 and 1966. Reinman and his team identified nearly 140 archaeological sites many of which had multiple latte sets. One typical coastal site originally had eight structures with ten pillars and their caps. Although there are many excep-tions, CHamorus often placed the long axis of the latte sets parallel to a natural physical feature like the sea, a cliff, or a river. In northern Guam latte sets are frequently perpen-dicular to the cliff. A desire to take advantage of the East-Northeast trade winds, and perhaps some other phenomena associated with traditional beliefs, may explain this anomaly.
Ancient CHamorus constructed wooden and thatched roof A-frame houses on top of the stone pillars and cap-stones. These houses are generally thought to be for the high ranking or high caste families in the village. This caste com-prised of the matao or matua class and the lower ranking acho’at class. However, the largest latte in Guam are in the interior, which is reported to be where many of the low caste, or manachang, lived.
Some latte structures served as guma’ uritao, or men’s house. This was a meeting place for men and a living quar-ters for bachelors. Latte structures also sheltered ocean going outrigger sailing canoes called proas and may have served as a place to build the proas. One such cross-shaped shelter in Umatac is reported to have been large enough for canoes and sixty people in each of the four wings. Some re-searchers believe that latte without structures on them may
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have indicated a claim to the land. Latte sets may have also been used as platforms to store food.
Why did the CHamorus choose to build their houses on such substantial two-part stone pillars? Archeologists have suggested several possibilities: Stone does not rot, nor could it be eaten by termites or boring beetles. A raised floor has several advantages: it’s dryer, it allows air to circulate un-der the house, and in the taller latte structures, it provides a sheltered work space under the house, and a tactical ad-vantage in case of an attack. The two-part latte – pillar and cap, may have acted as a shock absorber and protected the building during an earthquake. The cap extending up and outward from the pillar may have reduced the number of crabs and vermin paying an unwelcome visit to the inhabit-ants and/or food storage areas.
None of these hypotheses explain why some of the latte were so large. In the hierarchical CHamoru society, perhaps inter- and intra-village com-petitiveness lead to larger and larger latte structures. A large latte structure would be visual evidence of the suc-cess of an extended family or village. A huge latte structure could have been viewed as tangible evidence the coop-erative or harmonious (inafa’maolek) spirit within a social group. It could have been a statement of strength and a warning to potential enemies.
Building latteMany archaeologists no longer
support the theory that the CHamorus used fire in the quarrying of latte. In the earliest stages of latte building, CHamorus found rocks that needed little shaping for the pillar. They frequently used beach rock slabs for the shaft. The cap was an inverted brain coral head taken from the reef as well as limestone and basalt that required only mini-mal shaping. As they needed larger and larger rocks, they quarried them from the sides of limestone outcroppings or cleared the vegetation and soil in an effort to find an area of faultless or desired type of limestone.
Next they laid out rectangular or trapezoid shapes for the haligi and circles for the tasa. Then with basalt tools they began to chip the stone. As the quarry men chipped the stone with basalt adzes and axes, they removed the rubble by hand or wooden shovels. Successive poundings and scrapings formed a trench around the outlines of the latte elements. After the quarry men dug to the desired depth, they began undercutting the stone from all sides. After many hours of hard work, they were left with only a narrow “keel” support-ing the latte element.
As they chipped away at the “keel” they had to shore up
BY LAWRENCE J. CUNNINGHAM, EDD,GUAMPEDIA
A STARS AND STRIPES COMMUNITY PUBLICATION AUGUST 6 − AUGUST 19, 20216 STRIPES GUAM
Latte structures
“Ancient Ruins of Columns Seen on the Island of Tinian.” Drawn by Jacques Arago for FrGuam Public Library System
Monoliths of the “House of Taga”, Tinianstanding but its tasa (capstone) is dacourtesy of Guam Museum
Chamorros used fire to quarry latte stones in an area with faultless limestone. The firewood is laid in the shape of the tasa (capstone) and haligi (pillar). Courtesy of Lawrence J. Cunningham/Bess Press, Inc.
Ancient Chamorros may have used a pole frame secured with rope to place the tasa on the haligi. Courtesy of Lawrence J. Cunningham/Bess Press, Inc.
Chamorros may have scooted and pulled the largest tasa up an earthen ramp to finally rest on the top of the haligi. Courtesy of Lawrence J. Cunningham/Bess Press, Inc.
Ancient Chamorro quarrymen chipped limestone with basalt adzes and axes, they removed the rubble by hand or wooden shovels. Courtesy of Lawrence J. Cunningham/Bess Press, Inc.
Quarrymen use a system of levers to lift the tasa from the quarry pit. Courtesy of Lawrence J. Cunningham/Bess Press, Inc.
A hypothesized means of transporting the haligi from the quarry is the bipod lever. The bipod lever is made of lashing two wooden poles, pointing them away from the latte, and pulling. Courtesy of Lawrence J. Cunningham/Bess Press, Inc.
G u a m ’ s p a s tG u a s t
Figure 1. Typical Pole and Thatch Home, Adapted from Fritz, 1904, Figure 1 by Julian R. Cruz.
Pre-concrete
T hroughout Guam’s history the most common type home was a rectangular pole and thatch structure with a raised floor. Today this type of structure has
been replaced for the most part by concrete homes. Even the ancient latte homes were pole and thatch structures, set on stone pillars. CHamorus built these structures with poles from local trees and bamboo. In most cases the wo-ven thatch was made from coconut (Cocos nucifera) leaves. Pole and thatch homes were usually lashed together with cordage. In Spanish and American times, people also used wooden pins and metal nails in building homes. Pole and thatch homes were remarkably strong, cool, and comfort-able.
CordageFilag, the twisted and braided soaked green coconut
husk fibers, make the best cordage. CHamorus twisted pokse’, the inner bark of the pågu (Hibiscus tiliaceus) tree into rope with machines that most families owned. During Spanish and US Naval eras, hemp and cabo negro were grown but not frequently used in making rope.
PolesCarpenters used line-of-sight to lay out a rectangu-
lar house. Frequently, the houses were four or five haligi (posts) long and three haligi wide. Builders harvested in-sect resistant posts and other wood for building structures during the time of the waning moon at low tide. Generally, they placed the posts no more than eight to 10 feet apart. A typical house in the middle of the 19th century was 24 to 36 feet long and about 12 feet wide. Small ranch houses might have only four posts.
The CHamoru houses had a raised floor, whereas the Carolinians in Guam built their houses on the ground. CHamoru builders used a fusiños which is a metal thrust hoe, to dig post holes in clay or sand. If the ground was harder and had rocks in it, they used a metal kubu, a dig-ging tool with a long straight blade and a heavy handle.
Before Spanish times CHamorus used a wooden dagau for this purpose. When bedrock could not be reached, the ground at the bottom of the hole was packed solid and a flat rock was placed in the bottom of the hole to support the post. Carpenters frequently used fire-hardened or kiln dried ifit (ifil, Intsia bijuga), ahgao (Premna obtusi-folia) for larger buildings and choppak (Mammea odorata) and gagu (Casuarina equisetifolia) for smaller structures. In addition to the main haligi, shorter posts called hotkon, supported the floor. They used ahgao, gagu, kamachilli (Pithecellobium dulce), and da’ok (Calophyllum inophyl-lum) for these shorter posts.
The carpenters used ifit, ahgao, gagu, kamachilli, and da’ok for the suleras, or floor joists. These were lashed or in more recent times nailed in place. The satge, or floor, was normally a few feet off the ground, but could range from two feet to twelve feet off the ground. The raised floor allowed cooling air to circulate under the house. Farm ani-mals were often penned under the house, as recommended by the Spanish Laws of the Indies.
Frequently the floor was made of split bamboo, betel palm (Areca catechu) or bravo palm (Heterospathe elata) logs. Builders used both the thick pi’ao lahi and the thin walled, spineless pi’ao palao’an. The split bamboo was
made insect resistant and stronger by soaking it in salt wa-ter and then drying it. In the best homes floors were made of ifet boards held in place with wooden pins. These floors were kept shiny with a burnishing cross-section of a coco-nut husk.
Approximately 5.5 feet above the floor horizontal beams called dotmiente supported the tieres or major roof rafters. Builders placed these beams in a cut notch or natural fork at the upper end of each of the foundation posts. They se-cured these beams by lashings or in later times with wood-en pins or large nails. To give greater stability to the roof carpenters lashed diagonal poles, asuguat, from the under-side of the high end of the center rafter extending to the underside of the lower end of the gable rafter. There were four asuguat, two on each side of the roof. Roofers lashed the asuguat to all the rafters it crossed.
Between the main foundations haligi there were smaller vertical studs or piderecho. They were given further sta-bility with diagonal wooden braces lashed into place. The studs supported the split bamboo, coconut thatch, wo-ven karisu (Phragmites karka), split betel palm, or even tabique walls. In the Marianas before 1900 tabique was a wet wall construction composed of thin strips of wood or bamboo laths plastered over with mud, clay, or mortar.
After 1900, it came to mean a thin wall constructed of concrete on a framework of two by four inch wooden posts. In most houses the exterior and interior walls were one and the same. Where doors or windows were placed, the builders put horizontal headers between the studs. There were many splices and joints in the framing, so the build-ing could flex and better withstand earthquakes and strong winds.
Windows or bentåna were just rectangular spaces in the walls or small vertical spaces in the gables. Usually they were covered with ohan bentåna or shutters made of the same materials as the walls. Screens or window glass was not common. Shutters were hinged at the top and were held open with a stick. Many houses had a door at the center of each long side of the house. Some doors had metal hinges but often they were attached with lashings. Usually three or four wooden steps or a ladder led to the door. The steps led directly into the house or to a covered porch or kahida.
Frequently, houses had two or three rooms, but occa-sionally there were as few as one room or as many as four rooms. Typically they divided the house into a master bed-room and a room that served as a living room during the day and a bedroom for the children at night. A large house might have a living/dinning room, a bedroom, a storeroom and a workroom/nursery. The rooms were divided by sa-gualís or dindines, partitions that could be made of bam-boo, coconut leaf, karisu, or guågak woven from akgak (Pandanus tectorius).
BY LAWRENCE J. CUNNINGHAM, EDD,GUAMPEDIA
, with rocks, so it would not fall on the quarry men ey chipped the last of the “keel” away. At this stage, t or cap rested in its pit on supporting rocks and was be removed. Next, many workers pushed down on
pole levers placed under the latte element raising it ches at a time. In the space under the latte element men placed more supporting rubble. They repeated r and over again going around the latte element lift-nd filling in under the shaft or cap. At atte element rested above its former pit as completely filled with back fill mate-
ck rubble. The CHamorus probably used nd adzes to complete the final sculpting tte parts at the building site.e are several theories about how the
CHamorus were able to transport the latte. It is possible that many of the latte shafts and caps in Guam were either dragged with ropes or placed on litters and carried to the building site. For the larger shafts and caps, they probably used a bipod lever made by lashing the top ends of two good size wooden poles together. They position the bipod le-ver with the legs pointing away from the latte and the apex close to the shaft or cap. They attached a short rope to the apex of the bipod lever and tied the other end to the latte cap or shaft.
Next many workers pulled away from the latte on a long rope from the apex of the bipod lever. This force lifted the end of the shaft or cap off
und and pulled the stone toward the pullers. After ll they had to reset the bipod lever and repeat the over and over again until they reached the build-They probably put coconut frond skids under the
cap to make it easier to slide along the ground. It is by this process, the CHamorus moved the heaviest tte caps and shafts to the building site.am, strong workers lifted most latte shafts in place
hysical force, ropes, and perhaps with a pole frame e caps in place. CHamorus placed the largest end of
gi in a hole dug to the desired depth and supported it ng rocks on all sides. Finally they filled the hole with materials. CHamorus probably scooted and pulled
est tasa up an earthen ramp to finally rest on the top aligi. Once the cap was in place, they removed the ramp.parallel rows of three to seven pairs of pillars and
STRIPES GUAM 7AUGUST 6 − AUGUST 19, 2021 A STARS AND STRIPES COMMUNITY PUBLICATION
Pole and thatched homes
www.guampedia.com
SEE HOMES ON PAGE 9
SEE LATTE ON PAGE 8
reycinet’s Voyage Autour de Monde, Paris,1824. Courtesy of
n. One remains amaged. Photo
Figure 3. Haligi – Dotmiente Joint by Pamela Cunningham Earley.
Adapted from Fritz, 1904, Figure 1.
Figure 7. Tieres and Dotmiente Joint by Julian R. Cruz. Adapted
from Hornbostel, 1922-26.
Horkon – Suleras Joint by Pamela Cunningham Earley Adapted
from Fritz, 1904, Figure 1.
Figure 6. Section of a Sagualís or Dindines Woven from Karisu.
Julian R. Cruz.
A STARS AND STRIPES COMMUNITY PUBLICATION AUGUST 6 − AUGUST 19, 20218 STRIPES GUAM
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caps were in place, the workers lashed timbers in place probably with coconut fiber rope to form
an A-frame structure, which was thatched with woven or sewn palm leaves, pandanus, or per-haps swordgrass. The buildings are reported to have had several
rooms separated with woven mats and to have had walls and windows.
Many latte sites were de-stroyed or abandoned following the Spanish colonization of the Mariana Islands beginning in 1668. Foreign diseases and war-fare decimated Guam and the rest of the Marianas population. Through a process called re-ducción the Spanish authorities moved the CHamorus to orga-nized communities with church-es, converted them to Christian-ity, and taught them a European way of life. The Spanish moved the population to just six vil-lages. They built their houses on wooden posts instead of stone. In the abandoned villages all that has survived to modern times are the latte, the ancestral re-mains buried under and to the sides of the latte, some pottery,
stone, bone, and shell, artifacts, and the strong memory of the an-cestral spirits.
IconThe latte is now a significant
icon for Guam and the CHamo-ru people. Modern architecture such as the A.B. Won Pat Guam International Airport Author-ity, school bus stop shelters,
entrances to most of Guam’s villages, the Archbishop’s resi-dence, the governor’s residence, the University of Guam, Naval Station, the CHamoru Village, the Ricardo J. Bordallo Gover-nor’s Complex, and the Guam Legislature, just to name a few, make use of the latte motif.
Today with the help of a guidebook and the permission of the land owner, you can visit jun-gles with latte sites. Or you can visit the more accessible Sena-tor Angel Leon Guerrero Santos Latte Memorial Park or the latte in front of the Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Library at the Univer-sity of Guam. These latte were moved to their respective sites from the Fena River valley. Latte sites are protected by local and federal law. When visiting a latte site always show respect for the dead and for Guam’s proud past.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7
LATTE: A significant icon for GuamD i s c ov e r i n g
G u a m ’ s p a s t
Ancient Chamorro latte structure illustrated by E. Oliver from Freycinet’s Voyage Autour de Monde, Paris, 1824. Courtesey of Guam Public Library System
STRIPES GUAM 9AUGUST 6 − AUGUST 19, 2021 A STARS AND STRIPES COMMUNITY PUBLICATION
Call G.A.I.N. (Guam Animals In Need) Animal Shelter inYigo at 653-4246 or visit <www.guamanimals.org> for more information on adopting this pet. G.A.I.N. is ashelter-based humane society with a mission to prevent cruelty to animals, educate the public and promote good animal laws. Under Water World will donate one adult admission for every Pet of the Week adopted.
G.A.I.N. Pet of the Week
TinkerThis gorgeous cat has the most beautiful mesmerizing light blue almost silver in color eyes. Tinker is about six years old
her FURever home and family!
Between the main dotmi-ente on each side of the house there were kanat or large cross-beams. Between the crossbeams there were smaller suleras or ceiling joists.
Frequently there were no ceilings. A kamaroti or loft was often built of boards resting on the crossbeams. People used the kamaroti for storage. In houses with a kisami or ceiling, it was made of woven karisu or boards.
From the dotmiente, the forked end rafters or drilled and pinned rafters ran to the ridgepole or kabayeti. In small-er structures they used paipai (Guamia Marianna) for rafters. In larger structures they fre-quently used gagu or choppak. Before the ridgepole could be supported by the rafters, tem-porary towers at each end of the house held the ridgepole in
place. In the simplest structures the framing was sometimes done with the strong and insect resistant thick walled, spined pi’ao lahi or tituka’ (Bambusa blumeana) bamboo rather than wooden poles.
A steep pitched thatched roof was necessary because of the frequent rainfall. A framework or barakilan was lashed to the tieres. Frequently, builders used paipai (Guamia mariannae) for the horizontal barakilan. Next builders lashed bålas, laths of bamboo, betel palm, or light poles to the barakilan. Some-times barakilan is used to de-scribe the entire roof framework including the tieras, and the bå-las. Roofers tied the thatch to the bålas.
ThatchThe most common thatch
used in Guam was coconut leaves followed by nipa (Nypa
thatching began at the eaves by tying a horizontal row of hi-gai from one end of the house to the other. The next overlapping row began a few inches above the row below, until row after row, they reached the ridgepole. After thatching each side of the roof and the gables, the roofers covered the ridge with series of overlapping end to end freshly woven pupong.
To make each pupong the split halves of the coconut fronds were tightly woven into each other forming a wide pan-el with the heavy stems on the outer sides. The pupong were draped over the ridgepole with only the heavy stems holding them in place until they were secured with tokcha’, or thin sticks, running through one side of the pupong under the ridge-pole and then through the oppo-site side of the pupong.
During periods of strong winds or typhoons, the home-owner lashed his house down. They would place a series of hokse along the roof to keep the thatch in place. Hokse were
fruticans) and nette (Miscan-thus floridulus). The roofers harvested the longest lasting thatch, during the last quarter of the moon, at low tide. Depend-ing upon the weather and the in-sect population, the CHamorus replaced their coconut thatched roofs on average every one to two years.
Higai are the woven coconut leaf thatch used for roofing or for walls. A minimum number of higai even for the smallest homes was over 500. Women helped in weaving the higai. The coconut fronds were split along the midrib, each end of the frond was trimmed, the leaf-lets were diagonally plaited, and then the two sides were placed one on top of the other with the shinny side of the woven leaflets facing up.
Finally, the halves of each frond were tied together to form one panel for the roof. The builders stacked the freshly woven panels crosswise to dry. Once dry, they were ready to be tied to the bålas with pandanus leaf lashings called fågot. The
the tied thin stems of two whole coconut fronds draped over the ridgepole with one frond on each side of the roof. The heavy end of the coconut frond stems, hanging down toward the eaves, held the higai in place. In the worse storms houses were aban-doned for low A-framed pole and thatch structures on the ground called guma padju, or they sought the shelter of caves.
The thatching party or bal-anggai was a major festive so-cial event that brought friends and family to the house at six in the morning for the roofing and for the obligatory feast. The home owner provided food, pu-gua (betel nut), tobacco, cigars, and tuba or stronger drink for the thatchers. There was shout-ing, singing, feasting, and drink-ing as the work progressed.
In addition to coconut leaf thatch the people of Guam used nipa and nette for thatch. The Spanish probably introduced nipa from the Philippines. It can last as long last 10 to 12 years. Today, the plant grows in limited and threatened quantities along many of Guam’s streams and wetlands.
Thatchers stripped the leaf-lets from the nipa stem, and folded each leaflet perpendicu-larly over a reed or thin strip of bamboo. To make a thatched panel or tågon, they sewed each leaflet next to one another on the reed with strips of akgak. These tågon were stacked to dry and eventually tied on the roof in the same manner as the higai. The ridgepole was covered with a pupong woven from nipa. In rare cases the tågon were made from pandanus.
Nette or sword grass lasted longer than any thatch, but it was not frequently used for wooden buildings, because it can cut and can cause itchiness. According to contemporary reports, nette was tied into bundles and also sewed on reeds to form tågon. The roofers attached the nette to the roof framework in the same manner as other thatch.
Out of use in present day Guam
Pole and thatch homes were common in Guam prior to the 1960s. Tin and concrete homes became the norm after typhoon Karen’s devastating winds in November of 1962. The most common thatch was woven coconut leaves. Most of these raised pole and thatch homes were linked by a wooden bridge or bátalan to an outdoor kitch-en called a kusiñan sanhiyon. In addition to these pole and thatch homes, there were simi-larly constructed outdoor kitch-ens, temporary shacks, ranch houses, outhouses, sheds, piers, stockades, chapels, shrines, arches crosses and even pens and fences.
CONTINUED FROM PAGE 7
HOMES: Thatching parties major social events
This is a reprint from Guampedia.com, an online resource about Guam history and the CHamoru people, used here with permission.
D i s c ov e r i n gG u a m ’ s p a s t
A STARS AND STRIPES COMMUNITY PUBLICATION AUGUST 6 − AUGUST 19, 202110 STRIPES GUAM
W e’ve said it before and we’ll say it again: The airport is one of the most bizarre places mankind has created.
You can drink without abandon in the morn-ing, wear a neck pillow as an accessory, and eat dinner for breakfast and vice versa with-out shame.
It is a place that seems lawless, but in fact, it is a place that works best if everyone fol-lows a few simple guidelines. Unlike hard rules, like not bringing a jug of milk through
airport security, many of the airport’s most important guidelines are unwritten.
This can be confusing, particularly if you haven’t been to an airport in a long time be-cause of the pandemic. So we’re spelling out the essential rules to existing at the airport to clear things up. It may have been a while since you’ve flown, and unlike riding a bike, you’ll be relearning the skills and finesse of traveling while surrounded by hundreds, if not thousands, of strangers.
Here are the basics to help you prepare for your glorious return to the inglorious airport.
BY NATALIE B. COMPTON,THE WASHINGTON POST
Dress for the elementsIt may be tempting to dress for the Bahamas if you’re
en route to the Bahamas, but the airport is not the Baha-mas. The airport is not West Hollywood or Miami or Cabo, either.
The airport is a cold, filthy place - just about the op-posite of whatever warm vacation destination is on your horizon. It is probably not a place for tank tops, crop tops, shorts and sandals. Commemorative Myrtle Beach board-walk T-shirt? Fine. Leather pants? Sure.
The reasoning has nothing to do with aesthetics. It is purely practical. Dress for the upsetting reality of what you are getting into: floors, chairs and bathrooms shared with the flying masses, as well as frigid airplanes.
And for the love of god, please keep your bare feet in your shoes.
Get to the airport earlier enough to get to your
We get it. You hate wasting time, and you really hate wasting time at the airport. You love the thrill of getting there as close to your flight as humanly possible. Good for you.
That tactic of airport arrival is perfectly fine when ev-erything goes perfectly. But what if you hit traffic on your way there? What if they only have two out of the four TSA security checkpoints open and the lines are snaking through the departures hall? What if you forgot you needed a coronavirus test to get to your destination and you have to scramble to find an XpresCheck ASAP?
If your risky planning means you will be begging fellow passengers to cut the line at airport security, you are doing it wrong. Running through the airport to catch your flight looks a lot less James Bond to the public. Arrive at the air-port early enough to account for things going wrong, then kill some time reading a book or getting your inbox to zero at your gate before takeoff.
Going back to the airport is going to be a jarring experience for many travelers who haven’t been in busy public spaces. We are still in the midst of the worst global health crisis in a lifetime. People have grown accustomed to social distancing.
With coronavirus precautions loosening, staying six feet from oth-ers may be fading from your muscle memory. Don’t let it. Not just for fear of infection, but because it’s unpleasant to be crowded by strang-ers under pressure.
You are going to get through airport security just as quickly wheth-er you’re standing two inches or at arm’s length from the person in front of you. You are going to get on your flight whether you swarm the gate or stay seated until your boarding zone is called.
Take a step back, keep a polite distance from other travelers and look up from your phone while you’re walking so you don’t smash into those other travelers who are also looking down at their phones.
And if you’re going to eat something that’s particularly fragrant or messy (a big bowl of soup? A saucy burrito?) make sure you’re keep-ing even more distance from others because it is incredibly uncom-fortable to have a stranger’s meal splashing on you or your belong-ings. (What you eat on the plane is another story - another story that we have a story for, actually).
Even though you’re the main character in your life, you are not the main character of the airport. The moving walkways - those magic people conveyor belts that get you through the terminals faster and with less effort - are there for everyone, not just you and your carry-on bag.
Do your fellow travelers a favor and keep it moving when you are on the moving walkway. Don’t want to hustle on the system built for hustling? Stand to the right, containing your earthly possessions, so that other people can pass by you without yelling, “GET OUT OF MY WAY, I AM LATE FOR MY FLIGHT.”
This rule also applies to escalators.
No matter how mad you are that Richard in marketing isn’t lever-aging client synergies, you do not have to yell at him at full volume while you’re sitting at Gate 3A waiting for your flight.
Send Richard a fiery email full of exclamation points. Shoot off a few texts in all-caps. Tell him over the phone in a hushed yelling voice. Whatever you do, remember that there are hundreds of other people around you that do not care what’s happening on your busi-ness call.
This also goes for loud calls of idle chatter, hot gossip and angry customer service complaints. Travelers are stressed out enough as it is; they don’t need a loud rendition of your life’s drama added to the already grating airport background noise.
It is a weird time to be traveling. There are new regulations to follow, tensions are running high. But you don’t have to throw a fit because things are different. Throw a fit because an airport gin and tonic is $21.
Need somewhere to direct your anger and frustration? The people working at the airport are not the ones in control over the situations making your travel day so horrible. Do unto others, turn the other cheek, et cetera. It is a bad look to be that guy freaking out at the TSA agent because the security lines are long. It is bad karma to lose it at a gate agent over mask regulations (which, yes, still exist).
Go back to the airport with the intention of being the unshakable traveler who will not let a few headaches get in the way of being a sane, reasonable human being. You live in a society, you travel in a society, and you are not the exception to the rules of the airport.
The completely correct guide to
being back in an airport
INFORMATION PROVIDED BYGUAM BOONIE STOMPERS
Boonie Stomps Guam
Aug 14 Malojloj Falls
Medium3 hours for 1 mile
Aug 21 Ylig to Taga’chang
Easy3 hours for 1 mile
We trek to a series of waterfalls and cascades in southeastern Guam. There is something for everyone to enjoy, from tiny tots playing in the cascades, to jumping, waterfall showers, and a rock slide for the more adventurous, or a hammock and swing for the more sedate. Bring: 2 quarts water, hiking shoes, gloves, swim suit, sun screen, insect repellent, lunch, and camera. Special conditions: Possible mud, short steep sections, possible mosquitoes.
Malojloj Falls
We visit the large Upper Falls for jumping and swimming fun. We then have a choice of walking down the river and on jungle trail (hard) or returning to the cars and walking down the road to reach the large middle falls, then take the trail down to the lower falls for jumping, swimming, and exploring. Bring: 2 quarts water, wet shoes, gloves, sun screen, insect repellent, lunch, and camera. Special conditions: Walking in water, slippery rocks and mud, and mosquitoes.
The perfect family hike! Get the kids out of the house to enjoy an easy, fun, and educational hike. We hike to Turtle Cove where the brave can jump from the head to the pool below, then walk along the flat reef with lots of swimming, snorkeling, and exploring of the diverse marine life and geology.Bring: 2 quarts water, get wet shoes, gloves, swim suit, sun screen, snorkel gear, and camera. Special conditions: Some walking in water, no shade.
Complete 10 Boonie Stomps
to earn a Boonie Stomp
T-Shirt!
Aug 07Tinago
Medium3 hours for 3 miles
Stripes Sports Trivia
Answers to Previous Sudoku:
trot and gallop 11 Japanese 52 Risk taker cartoons54 "CSI" evidence 12 Range rover57 Yellowfin, e.g. 13 Merry-go-round58 Annoyance figure, to a child60 Lysol target 18 One using T.L.C.61 Building toy 22 Receive at the 62 It takes two to door
do it 24 Trapper's ware63 Monthly check 26 Last part, in 64 Butcher's cut music65 Vacuum tube 27 Formally state
gas 28 Lofty speech31 Gear tooth
DOWN 32 With respect to1 "Is that a ____?" 33 "Ruse" anagram
ACROSS1 Zero in (on)6 Word after big
or buck10 Swit's sitcom14 End early15 Denver's co-star16 "Do ___
others..."17 Thanksgiving
centerpiece19 Seating section20 Royal flush card21 Charades and
such23 One of the
Spice Girls25 Cantankerous26 Wedding hiree28 Eliot or Frost29 Track shape30 Flower cluster32 Seek election35 Atlanta-based
airline37 Here-there link 2 Reedy 34 Twiggy digs 49 Unrefined38 "One of ___ instrument 36 Off the mark 50 Big name in
days...." 3 Plant with ears 39 Can't stand cameras40 Biblical boat 4 Coffee holder 42 Aardvark's 51 Short-legged 41 Housefly larva 5 Foggy state paradise dog44 Many moons 6 Like some 43 Basic belief 53 Nabisco favorite45 Coniferous tree missiles 45 Warhol piece, 55 Aborted mission46 Turn off and on 7 By chance e.g. 56 Auth. unknown
again, say 8 Mixed dish 47 Rock layers 59 Black gunk48 Confront boldly 9 Pekoe place 48 Someone in a51 Gait between 10 Part of "TMNT" cast
Crossword by Margie E. Burke
Copyright 2021 by The Puzzle Syndicate
Answers to Previous Crossword:
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16
17 18 19
20 21 22
23 24 25
26 27 28
29 30 31 32 33 34
35 36 37 38 39
40 41 42 43 44
45 46 47
48 49 50 51
52 53 54 55 56
57 58 59
60 61 62
63 64 65
C R A G T O P I C A B E TH A L O O P E R A S E A RO D O R P A P E R C H A S EC O N I F E R C H A T T YK N E L L T E D I U M
L A P N O N M E T A LS A L A M I G O O D I C EO N E E N L A R G E E R NM O A T A I R E R A S E DE N F O R C E D N E T
W O O D E D C H A P SA S S A I L O P T I M A LC H A R L A T A N S R O D EH A N D D O D O S S U R EE G G S A P O R T T R E K
STRIPES GUAM 11AUGUST 6 − AUGUST 19, 2021 A STARS AND STRIPES COMMUNITY PUBLICATION
Every Saturday, Guam Boonie Stompers offers public hikes to a variety of destinations such as beaches, snorkeling sites, waterfalls, mountains, caves, latte sites, and World War II sites. We meet at 9:00 AM in the Center Court of Chamorro Village in Hagatna. The cost is $5.00 for hikers over 17. Children must be accompanied by a responsible adult. Hikers should provide their own transportation. Guam’s trails are not developed. Weather conditions can make the hikes more difficult than described. No reservations required.For more information:www.facebook.com/GuamBoonieStompersInc or call 787-4238.
Answer
$2 million
AUGUST 6 – AUGUST 19, 2021STRIPES GUAMA TA
STE OF GUAM2
The Guam Premium Chocolate Factory is the island’s one and only producer of fine chocolates. A variety of chocolate products are
manufactured in a state-of the-art facility that is outfitted with top-quality machinery designed and built by engineers in the U.S., U.K., Germany and Switzerland—the same equipment used by Hershey’s, Nestle, Ferrero and Godiva.
The Guam Premium Chocolate Factory produces 108,000 premium chocolate-covered macadamia nuts every day and also makes chocolate-covered shortbread and asparagus biscuits. Guam Premium Chocolates are available at retail stores around the island including Pay-Less Supermarkets and K-Mart.
For a unique experience, visitors are welcome to tour the chocolate factory on weekdays. Call ahead to make
arrangements for a personal tour. (671) 633-6646Stay cool in the island heat in the most delicious way with a
Made on Guam Månnge' Pop. Månnge' is the Chamorro word for delicious, and these gourmet popsicles that are with natural ingredients including sweet local fruit are just plain delicious. Månnge' Pops are handcrafted in small batches and feature classic and seasonal flavors such as lychee, pineapple star apple and soursop.
Månnge' Pops are sold at Foody’s, select Pay-Less Supermarkets, Fizz and Co. in Hagåtña, and the Hotel Nikko Guam in Tumon.
Guguria is a much-loved local treat that is sometimes called “the Chamorro jawbreaker.” These small, hard, deep-fried
and sugarcoated cookies are made with just three ingredients: flour, sugar and coconut milk. Since 1965, Mariquita “Tita” Leon Guerrero has been making guguria using a family recipe that was passed down from her grandmother.
Tita’s Guguria is one of the most recognizable and best-selling Made on Guam products. It is a popular gift item among both tourists and locals and can be found in convenience stores and supermarkets such as Pay-Less and upscale shopping houses such as T-Galleria Guam.
Weaving Chamorro and Hawaiian culture together, Hafaloha is an Only on Guam brand that takes
shave ice to a whole new level. Hafaloha serves up soft, snowy Hawaiian-style shave ice, sweetened by flavored syrups and piled high over a creamy scoop of vanilla ice cream. With more than 40 syrup flavors to choose from, you can create your own masterpiece or try one of their bestselling flavors such as latiya (a Chamorro vanilla custard cake dessert), orange dreamsicle and strawberry shortcake.
Visit the Hafaloha shop at the Flame Tree Plaza across from Pacific Islands Club in Tumon.
2
Only on Guam sweets and treatsLittle things can make a big difference, especially when it comes to satisfying a sweet tooth. The smallest bites of these Made on Guam treats can turn a good day into the sweetest one.
GUAM VISITORS BUREAU
For more food stories, go to: GUAM.STRIPES.COM
G P i Ch l F i h i l d’ d
i i i i l
i i h l d l l h i i ll d
Guam Premium Chocolate
Hafaloha Månnge' Pops
Tita’s Guguria
STRIPES GUAMAUGUST 6 – AUGUST 19, 2021A TA
STE OF GUAM3
Nashville Hot Chickenfinger lickin’ good!
Howdy folks, it’s the Colonel here! I am excited to introduce you to KFC’s new Nashville Hot Chicken! I searched the world over to find the very best hot chicken recipe. Then I found in the last place I ever expected: Nashville. You are going to love it, folks! KFC’s Nashville Hot Chicken with its legendary blend of spicy and smoky flavor, will make your mouth tingle with tasty delight. KFC’s new Nashville Hot Chicken is available for a limited time at your favorite KFC location, so what are you waiting for?! KFC, it’s finger lickin’ good!
Hey, cheese lovers! This crust is for you!
Sbarro’s is proud to introduce our new Cheese Crust Pizza! Imagine delicious mozzarella cheese stuffed into the crust of our traditional New York Pizza dough then topped with more whole milk mozzarella and loaded with pepperoni slices! That’s enough cheese for even the cheesiest of cheese lovers! Sbarro’s Cheese Crust Pizza comes by the slice or a whole pizza pie! Sbarro’s Authentic New York Pizza and Pasta is available at Micronesia Mall and GPO food courts as well as via Good to Go, GrabNGrub and UnoGo. Grab your family and friends and have a pizza party!
AUGUST 6 – AUGUST 19, 2021STRIPES GUAMA TA
STE OF GUAM4
It’s time for another Cook like a CHamoru recipe! If you want to learn how to make Latiya, a local favorite dessert, follow the recipe below!
GUAM VISITORS BUREAU
• 1 can condensed milk• 1 can evaporated milk• 1/2 cup coconut milk• 4 - 6 egg yolks• 1 pound cake (store bought or homemade)• Cinnamon• Vanilla extract
Pound Cake recipe: • 1 cups salted butter, room temperature • 1 cups granulated sugar• 4 large eggs• 2 ½ cups all purpose flour• 1 tsp baking powder
1. Heat a medium sized pot over medium heat. Add all three milks and stir to
combine. Bring to a low boil.
2. Separate egg yolks into a large bowl. Whisk together.
Temper the eggs by slowly adding half of the milk mixture and continue to stir. Once combined, add all of the milk mixture to the bowl. Mix for 3 minutes.
3. Pour mixture back into the pot and set heat to low. Stir 3 minutes
on heat and 1 minute off the heat to ensure the eggs don’t scramble. Continue to stir until custard starts to thicken. Should take about 5-10 min.
4. Set aside to prepare cake. If using a store bought cake, cut in thick slices and place
down in a serving dish. Pour custard over cake evenly. Place in the fridge to cool for at least 2
hours. Finish with cinnamon.
5. If making the cake, preheat the oven to 375F.
a. Beat the butter until smooth with a hand mixer. Add the sugar and mix until smooth. Then add eggs one at a time.b. Add the dry ingredients to a bowl. Slowly add the dry ingredients to the wet and mix on
low until fully incorporated. Pour batter into a loaf pan or cake pan. Place in the oven and bake for 35-40 minutes or until the center comes out clean when poked with a skewer.
INGREDIENTS DIRECTIONS
On YouTube
BBQIN’ since 1994, Jamaican Grill serves up a delicious fusion of Jamaican JERK flavor and Guam - style barbecue. Tourists, locals, and the military community flock to Guam’s #1 BBQ Family restaurant because it’s not only tasty, but the portions are big! Awarded for our must-try ribs, chicken plates and platters, our menu is also available online for takeout. And, hey, we know money can be tight these days, so look for our regular special deals and discounts. You want a good meal, look no further than Jamaican Grill! We serve up some serious food! Ya mon!
Ya mon!Tasty food atJamaican Grill
Volume 8 Edition 39 ©SS 2021 AUGUST 6, 2021
Triplethreat
Coast Guard Sector Guam rebrands itself during cutters’ rare triple commissioning ceremony Page 2
The Coast Guard fast-attack
cutters Myrtle Hazard, Oliver
Henry and Frederick Hatch are
commissioned together during a
ceremony on Guam on July 29.
TRAVIS MAGEE/U.S. Navy
PAGE 2 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, August 6, 2021
COVER STORY
The U.S. Coast Guard renamed its
Guam outpost the Coast Guard Forces
Micronesia/Sector Guam during a rare,
triple commissioning of fast-response
cutters.
The service’s commandant, Adm. Karl
Schultz, announced the rebranding of
Sector Guam during the July 29 commis-
sioning of the cutters Frederick Hatch,
Myrtle Hazard and Oliver Henry.
“This change signifies a different oper-
ational construct than how we’ve operated
beforehand. Today, these [cutters] are so
capable that we bring expeditionary capa-
bility to the region that we haven’t had
before,” he said during the livestreamed
event.
Schultz in October 2019 said that placing
the three cutters in Guam is a response to
“coercive and antagonistic behavior from
China.”
During the ceremony, the admiral
echoed former national security adviser
Robert O’Brien, who said in October that
the Guam-based cutters are expected to
help police China’s illegal fishing in the
region through fisheries patrols, enhanced
surveillance and enforcement efforts with
U.S. partners in the Western Pacific
whose own capacities are limited.
“Coastal nations worldwide seek to
strengthen their coastal forces and to
whom do they look? They look to our Coast
Guard as a key strategic partner,” Schultz
said during the ceremony. “Many small
nations lack the capacity to protect their
vast waters, to protect and thwart those
threats from sea and to protect their rich
maritime and natural resources.”
Rear Adm. Matthew Sibley, commander
of Coast Guard District 14, explained the
roles the cutters are expected to fill.
“Coast Guard Sector Guam has already
started routinely deploying these fast-
response cutters over 1,400 nautical miles
from Guam to counter foreign intelligence
collection, combat illegal unregulated and
unreported fishing, execute search-and-
rescue cases and deliver vital support to
remote island nations,” he said during the
ceremony.
Sibley said the cutters’ homeport,
Guam, is more than a strategically impor-
tant island for the U.S. It also presents a
unique area of operations for the Coast
Guard to conduct exercises and utilize
new assets.
The fast-response cutters are designed
for missions beyond the traditional
search-and-rescue work for which the
Coast Guard is best known. Armed with
four, .50-caliber machine guns and a re-
mote-controlled, 25-mm cannon, the $65
million vessels may also be used for drug
interdiction, defense operations, maritime
law enforcement and environmental pro-
tection.
They can reach speeds up to 28 knots
and remain at sea for five days, giving
them a range of more than 2,500 nautical
miles, according to the Coast Guard.
In December, the Navy, Marine Corps
and Coast Guard issued Advantage at Sea,
a tri-service naval strategy responding to
China’s “revisionist approach that aims at
the heart of the United States’ maritime
power.”
Beijing’s strategy hinges on the use of a
multipronged deployment of ships from its
navy, coast guard and maritime militia “to
subvert other nations’ sovereignty and
enforce unlawful claims,” the report said.
The report suggested that a more robust
Coast Guard presence in the Western
Pacific could provide joint force com-
manders greater flexibility in responding
to China’s “gray zone” confrontations that
remain below the threshold of armed
conflict.
Coast Guard SectorGuam rebrands itselfduring commissioning
BY ALEX WILSON
Stars and Stripes
TRAVIS MAGEE/U.S. Navy
Coast Guard commandant Adm. Karl Schultz presides over the rare commissioning ofthree fastattack cutters during a July 29 ceremony on Guam.
[email protected] Twitter: @AlexMNWilson
Guam lifted many of its CO-
VID-19 restrictions after pass-
ing a key vaccination milestone
in the fight against the coro-
navirus pandemic.
Under an initiative dubbed
Operation Liberate Guan, the
U.S. island territory reached its
goal of vaccinating 80% of its
adult population, according to a
statement July 29 from Gov.
Lou Leon Guerrero’s office.
By executive order, Guerre-
ro’s office rescinded limitations
on social gatherings, canceled
social distancing guidelines
and allowed local businesses to
reopen at full capacity.
The order applies to dine-in
restaurants, bars, gyms and
fitness centers, places of wor-
ship and nonorganized contact
sports, Guam’s Joint Informa-
tion Center said.
“I would like to thank our
hard-working men and women
behind the scenes at our vacci-
nation clinics and private med-
ical clinics, our entire medical
community … and especially
all those who have been fully
vaccinated for contributing to
this great success,” acting Gov.
Josh Tenorio said in the state-
ment. Tenorio was standing in
for Guerrero who was traveling
off-island, a spokesman in her
office said.
Tenorio urged the remainder
of the island’s eligible pop-
ulation to get vaccinated.
Mask policies on Guam, how-
ever, remain in place, accord-
ing to Guerrero’s statement
and another from Joint Region
Marianas. Fully vaccinated
individuals are not required to
wear masks indoors or out-
doors while on base, according
to the joint region’s policy.
The Defense Department on
July 28 mandated the wearing
of masks in high-risk areas to
combat the highly transmis-
sible delta variant of CO-
VID-19, the coronavirus respi-
ratory disease.
“The recently signed DoD
policy does not require any
change to our mask policies at
this time, unless a command
implements more restrictive
guidance,” a post on the Joint
Region Marianas Facebook
page said. “JRM will continue
to take prudent measures to
limit the spread of COVID-19
and will vigorously assess our
COVID-19 policies to ensure
we are protecting our person-
nel and the local community
while maintaining mission
readiness.”
Joint Region Marianas, An-
dersen Air Force Base and the
Guam National Guard did not
immediately respond to email
requests seeking further in-
formation.
Approximately 96,000 adults
on Guam have received either
both doses of the Pfizer or
Moderna vaccines or the John-
son & Johnson single-dose
vaccine, according to Guerre-
ro’s office, which cited data
from the Department of Public
Health and Social Services.
As of July 30, Guam had
recorded 8,541 coronavirus
cases and 143 deaths, accord-
ing to the Joint Information
Center.
Guam takes step toward normalcy after 80% of people vaccinatedBY MATTHEW M. BURKE
Stars and Stripes
MARK SCOTT / Guam National Guard
Spc. Michael Marsh, of the Guam National Guard, administers a COVID19 vaccine to a member of thecommunity at the Port Authority of Guam, in June.
[email protected] Twitter: @MatthewMBurke1
Friday, August 6, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 3
MILITARY
The military is finding new
ways to use technology to help
commanders make better, faster
decisions on the battlefield with
software that brings together and
analyzes information such as
radar data from across the
world, Air Force Gen. Glen Van-
Herck, the commander of U.S.
Northern Command, said.
NORTHCOM just finished its
third global information dom-
inance experiment, which
brought together all 11 U.S. com-
batant commands in July to
practice sharing information
across the world, VanHerck told
reporters at the Pentagon on
July 28.
Participants used software
tools designed to analyze, syn-
thesize and share information
across all combatant commands
to help commanders work to-
gether to make better and faster
combat decisions.
Some of the tools use artificial
intelligence, something that
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin
recently called “one of the [De-
fense] department’s top tech
modernization priorities.”
He said in a July 13 speech
that he sees AI as key to prevent
future conflicts as China — the
primary “pacing threat” for the
United States — increases its
efforts to develop such tech-
nology.
Still, “humans still make all
the decisions” in the technology
used for the global information
dominance experiments, Van-
Herck said. The AI in that soft-
ware collects and digests impor-
tant information from across the
world on which commanders
need to base their decisions.
“Certainly, machines can pro-
vide options,” VanHerck said.
“For example, if you … develop
deterrence options that utilize
force structure such as airplanes
or ships, the data can have the
information of the readiness, the
availability or the capability of
those ships available so any
options you create, you’ll know if
they’re available immediately.”
While VanHerck said the soft-
ware could make a significant
impact, the information being
analyzed has already been avail-
able.
“It’s not new information, it’s
information that today is just not
analyzed and processed until
later in the time cycle,” he said.
“All we’re doing is taking it and
sharing it and making it avail-
able sooner.”
Though the information al-
ready exists, VanHerck said
using software to synthesize data
allows decision-makers extra
time to take preventative actions.
“All too often we end up reac-
ting to a competitor’s move, and
in this case it actually allows us
to create deterrence, which cre-
ates stability by having aware-
ness sooner,” he said.
VanHerck said he hopes to
field the software “sooner than
later so that we can collaborate
and create decision space and
deterrence options for our senior
leaders right now.”
“I believe, in the near future,
that we can kind of build the
bike while we ride it,” he said.
“We can use a new paradigm —
a new way going forward — and
field these capabilities across the
combatant commands today and
develop the tactics, techniques
and procedures that oftentimes
take us years to develop through
developmental testing [and]
operational testing.”
[email protected]: @CaitlinDoornbos
New software could allow more time for combat decisions
JACKIE SANDERS/Office of the Secretary of Defense
Air Force Gen. Glen VanHerck, commander of U.S. Northern Command, shown at the Pentagon in March, said Wednesday the militaryis finding ways to use technology on the battlefield.
BY CAITLIN DOORNBOS
Stars and Stripes
“I believe, in the near future, that we cankind of build the bike while we ride it.”
Air Force Gen. Glen VanHerck
U.S. Northern Command
Joint U.S. Army and Air Force exercises
centered on Guam are intended to keep
adversaries guessing about how America’s
armed forces would defend and attack
during a conflict, a top Pacific Air Forces
official said Aug. 1.
“We know one thing for sure is that
they’ve studied the way that the U.S., our
allies and partners have employed force
when it’s been necessary,” Lt. Gen. Jon
Thomas, deputy commander of Pacific Air
Forces, told reporters during a conference
call that also included Gen. Charles Flynn,
commander of U.S. Army Pacific.
“[Adversaries] believe that we’ll con-
centrate and will build large mountains of
sustainment and supply, and then we’ll
wait to go forward,” Thomas said. “We
know that we can’t wait to do that, nor can
we give them that opportunity, and so thus
we’re preparing to operate in a different
way.”
This summer’s exercises are doing just
that.
The Army is now in the midst of the
Guam-based Pacific Forager 21 exercise,
which involves about 4,000 U.S. personnel
who rapidly deployed to the theater.
Training scenarios include an 82nd
Airborne operation; a bilateral airborne
operation with the Japan Ground Self-
Defense Force and 1st Special Forces
Group; a live-fire exercise with Apache
attack helicopters; and multidomain oper-
ations involving the transport over land,
air and sea of Strykers, the Avengers sur-
face-to-air missile system and High Mobil-
ity Artillery Rocket Systems, the Army
said.
The Air Force is wrapping up the Pacif-
ic Iron exercise, during which aircraft and
about 800 airmen from Pacific Air Forces
and the Air Combat Command deployed
quickly into the Indo-Pacific region under
the Air Force’s new operational concept
called agile combat employment.
The concept employs a “hub-and-spoke”
system of established and remote air
bases and prepositioned equipment that
allows quick and unpredictable deploy-
ment of air assets.
Thomas described Pacific Iron as “our
largest and our most comprehensive exer-
cise to date to exercise” agile combat
employment.
“We’ve demonstrated the ability to
move forward to the second island chain
26 F-22s, 12 F-15Es and four C-130s here
… on Guam or nearby,” Thomas said.
Meanwhile, the Army is honing its own
operational concept, multidomain warfare,
during Forager, Flynn said. Under the
concept, the Army is part of a joint force
with the Air Force, Marines and Navy that
is capable of engaging and defeating ad-
versaries in all domains — air, land, sea,
space and cyberspace — in both “gray
area” competition and armed conflict.
Both generals emphasized that the exer-
cises taking place demonstrate the ser-
vices’ concepts “at scale.”
“There’s a whole host of work that gets
done as concepts are being developed,”
Flynn said. “But when you actually bring
real forces together in real time, and they
really have to sustain and they really have
the command and control and they really
have to conduct operational maneuvers at
distance and at scale —I think that’s
where their greatest incremental learning
goes on.”
One reporter pointedly asked Flynn
whether the U.S. Army could rapidly de-
ploy “in case Taiwan is invaded by Chi-
na.”
“The Army is always able to rapidly
deploy,” Flynn said. “And we have a range
of forces out here in the Pacific —from
forcible entry forces, to motorized forces
to sustainment, communications, cyber,
electronic warfare, intelligence, security-
force assistance — all ranges of capa-
bilities within the Army, that can move at
speed and at scale, to conduct operations
across the region.”
Guam drills provide‘at-scale’ test of newoperating concepts
BY WYATT OLSON
Stars and Stripes
DANIEL PROPER / U.S. Army
Soldiers from 1st Special Forces Group and members of the Japan Ground SelfDefenseForces Group parachute during a joint airborne operation on Andersen Air Force Base,Guam, on July 30 during Exercise Forager 21.
[email protected] Twitter: @WyattWOlson
Friday, August 6, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 5
MILITARY
KAISERSLAUTERN, Germany —
Defense Department schools overseas
will continue to offer free meals to stu-
dents through June 2022, school officials
said Thursday.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture
granted the extension, said Stephen
Smith, a spokesman for Department of
Defense Education Activity–Europe.
Officials with the Army and Air Force
Exchange Service, which provides meals
at 76 school cafeterias throughout Eu-
rope and the Pacific, said breakfast and
lunch will be free at the DODEA
schools. The meals are also available to
students learning virtually, said Chris
Ward, an AAFES spokesman.
DODEA schools overseas first offered
free meals in November after gaining
USDA approval to participate in the
program, which was started to provide
relief to families during the coronavi-
ruspandemic. USDA subsidizes the
meals for all children, regardless of
household income.
“This is a tremendous benefit to mil-
itary families,” Air Force Chief Master
Sgt. Kevin Osby, the Exchange’s senior
enlistment adviser, said in a statement.
AAFES served an average of 17,700
meals per day during the 2020-21 school
year, including “grab and go” meals for
students in remote classes.
To participate, students must have a
DODEA student ID number and meal
account through AAFES, the Navy Ex-
change or Marine Corps Community
Services. No action is required to receive
free school meals for students who al-
ready have an account, AAFES said.
Parents may set up accounts at their
local military exchange customer service
area.
Free meals at DODEA schoolsthrough new school year
JULIE MITCHELL/AAFES
Students at overseas Department of Defense Education Activity schools, like these inNetzaberg, Germany, in 2016, will be eligible for free lunches through June 2022, theArmy and Air Force Exchange Service announced.
[email protected]: @stripesktown
BY JENNIFER H. SVAN
Stars and Stripes
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan —
A handful of the current Japa-
nese and American inhabitants of
this Air Force installation in
western Tokyo gathered to send
a message to their peers in the
future.
Col. Andrew Campbell, com-
mander of the 374th Airlift Wing,
presided over the burial of a time
capsule outside the wing head-
quarters — an event, he said, that
marks a special time in Yokota’s
history.
“As we dedicate this time cap-
sule, to commemorate the 2020
Olympics hosted by Japan, we
continue to battle the COVID-19
pandemic,” he said. “The games’
delay reflects the pandemic’s
drag on every aspect of our mis-
sion and personal lives. I’m
proud of what this wing and our
community has accomplished
despite the pandemic. This com-
munity’s resilience is the source
of my optimism for the future.”
Items donated by organizations
from across the base went into
the large, stainless-steel box,
including a wrench, a wooden
sake drinking cup and 3D-print-
ed replicas of 2020 Olympic
medals. There were also CO-
VID-19 vaccine vials and copies
of Stars and Stripes newspapers
with reports from the past year
on how the military was affected
by the pandemic.
The capsule was later closed,
sealed and buried, with a plaque
laid over top by the 374th Civil
Engineering Squadron. It will not
be dug up and opened until Ja-
pan hosts another Summer
Olympics.
More than 50 people, including
Col. Takashi Izuhara, command-
er of the Japan Air Self-Defense
Force Operations Support Wing,
and deputy commander Col.
Yasuhiro Uchi, assembled for the
event.
“It’s an awesome opportunity
to be part of history, and the fact
that we’re here with our Japa-
nese brothers and sisters cele-
brating the Olympics and we’ve
found a way to preserve that
memory for the future,” said Col.
Julie Gaulin, 374th Airlift Wing
vice commander.
The July 29 event also left an
impression on Airman 1st Class
Justin Young, 26, of Baton
Rouge, La.
“I am excited,” he said. “I hope
I’m still alive when they do open
it, but I hope I am able to witness
this being opened by the next
generation of people that are
going to be on this base at that
time.”
Time capsule honors special moments in historyBY JUAN KING
Stars and Stripes
PHOTOS BY JUAN KING / Stars and Stripes
Leslie Jones, the 374th Airlift Wing historian, places Stars and Stripes newspapers into a time capsule atYokota Air Base, Japan, on July 29.
A time capsule at Yokota Air Base will not be opened until Japan hosts another Summer Olympics.
Replica 3D printed Olympicmedals were placed inside thetime capsule.
[email protected]: @JuanKin58785131
PAGE 6 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • Friday, August 6, 2021
MILITARY
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan —
Security forces at the home of
U.S. Forces Japan recently put
on a day of basic training for
fellow service members interest-
ed in how the air base is kept
secure.
For some, it was an immersive
experience. About a half-dozen
airmen were pepper-sprayed as
part of the event sponsored by
the 374th Mission Support Group
on July 21.
“The big thing we want to do is
immerse the younger airmen and
noncommissioned officers across
the group,” Master Sgt. Dock
Caudill, a quality assurance lead-
er at the support group compli-
ance and standardization office,
told Stars and Stripes during the
training.
This was the fifth event since a
program began in March to fa-
miliarize airmen on base with the
work done in other units. They
are scheduled for the third
Wednesday of each month, Cau-
dill said.
He said this type of training
gives the newer airmen a sense
of what working in other career
fields is like and helps them to
better understand what every
squadron in the group brings to
the fight.
Previous training on the base
involved the civil engineering
office, the communications
squadron and logistics support
squadron, Caudill said.
For the 374th Security Forces
Squadron event, subjects on the
agenda included escalation of
force, hazardous traffic stops and
the application of pepper spray.
The airmen who volunteered to
be pepper-sprayed said they
looked forward to the experience
but would hopefully have to en-
dure it only once.
For that portion of the daylong
event, volunteers were sprayed,
then asked to negotiate an obsta-
cle course with a dummy version
of a weapon while shouting or-
ders to their comrades.
This monthly training coinci-
dentally lined up with the Navy’s
security exercise, Citadel Pacific,
which took place in July at Navy
bases across the region.
“It’s kind of like what the Navy
does, where everyone is a fire-
man,” said Master Sgt. Charles
Bell, the superintendent of plans,
standardization and evaluation
for Yokota’s security forces
squadron.
The monthly sessions aren’t
meant to make anyone a subject
matter expert, but to familiarize
them with certain aspects of the
job.
“Within the group there is a lot
of cross-utilization,” Caudill said,
“so with these events it’s a good
opportunity for airmen to net-
work, which is an added benefit
to the program.”
Cross-training puts airmen in peers’ bootsBY THERON GODBOLD
Stars and Stripes
JUAN KING/Stars and Stripes
Maj. Matthew Stillman, commander of the 374th Security Forces Squadron, practices making an arrestafter being peppersprayed during training at Yokota Air Base, Japan, last week.
[email protected]: @GodboldTheron
YOKOTA AIR BASE, Japan — A new
produce supplier for the Defense Com-
missary Agency may mean more choices
at base grocery stores in Japan, according
to the commissary officer at the home of
U.S. Forces Japan in western Tokyo.
Coastal Pacific Food Distributors, based
in Stockton, Calif., on July 18 assumed the
contract to supply fresh fruits and vegeta-
bles to 14 U.S. commissaries in Japan,
Gene Davis told Stars and Stripes.
DeCA announced the $32.6 million
contract award to Coastal Pacific in
March, according to The Packer, an agri-
cultural industry news site. The term
began in May and is good for two years,
with three one-year options if perform-
ance indicators are met.
Coastal Pacific already supplies deli
and bakery items and sushi to commissar-
ies in Japan, Davis said.
The new contract calls for a wider va-
riety of fruits and vegetables such as Sat-
suma sweet potatoes, raspberries, black-
berries, Swiss chard and yellow squash,
he said.
Contracting with a company that has
partnered with American bases overseas
for several years will mean easier commu-
nication between supplier and vendor,
Davis added.
“Coastal Pacific better understands the
American consumer market while also
providing local, cultural foods,” he said.
“It’s a bigger, American-based operation
that still has capabilities to source local-
ly.”
Coastal Pacific Food Distributors sourc-
es Japanese produce from Yokohama,
Davis said. The company has stateside
facilities in California, Washington and
Hawaii, according to its website.
For the past five years, Inner Harvest
Japan supplied produce to U.S. commis-
saries in Japan. Its contract recently ex-
pired, prompting the change, said DeCA
spokesman Kevin Robinson.
“I'm not comparing one contractor with
another,” he told Stars and Stripes via
email. “What I will say is that the Defense
Commissary Agency remains committed
to providing our military families with
safe, fresh, quality produce at the most
favorable pricing for our patrons. We
closely monitor our suppliers to ensure
they adhere to these standards.”
The commissary agency is still working
on finding new produce suppliers for
Guam and South Korea, Robinson said.
Commissaries in South Korea contract
with California-based company EKK
Investments.
DeCA has spent as much as $48 million
to ship $25 million worth of produce over-
seas, according to Davis.
He said sourcing from local farmers is
the easiest way to keep costs down, but it
can be challenging to find a supplier large
enough to stock 14 stores that is also will-
ing to contract with a U.S. government
agency.
Representatives from Coastal Pacific
Food Distributors were not available for
comment this week.
Neither Davis nor Robinson would say
how the Coastal Pacific contract would
affect produce prices.
“Under this contract, the prices on some
products may increase or decrease, de-
pending on such things as product avail-
ability and seasonality,” Robinson said.
Most seasonal items, such as straw-
berries, still won’t be available to pur-
chase year-round, Davis said. Japan em-
bargos items such as apricots, peaches,
plums, pears, potatoes and cabbage from
the United States.
Davis said the primary goal with the
new contractor is to keep customers satis-
fied with a mix of familiar favorites and
local produce that may be foreign to some.
“We are 5,000 miles away from your
local grocery store, but we try our best to
make it feel like shopping at home,” he
said.
Commissary shoppers inJapan may see more produceoptions with new supplier
BY ERICA EARL
Stars and Stripes
ERICA EARL/Stars and Stripes
Coastal Pacific Food Distributors, based in Stockton, Calif., has assumed the contract tosupply fresh fruits and vegetables to 14 commissaries at U.S. bases in Japan.
[email protected] Twitter: @ThisEarlGirl
Friday, August 6, 2021 • S T A R S A N D S T R I P E S • PAGE 7
MILITARY
Max D. Lederer Jr., Publisher
Terry Leonard, Editor
Robert H. Reid, Senior Managing Editor
Doreen Wright, Guam Edition Editor
Scott Foley, Revenue Director
CONTACT US
633 3rd Street NW, Suite 116, Washington, D.C. 20001Editorial: (202) 886-0005
Advertising: (202) 886-0014Additional contact information: stripes.com
This publication is a compilation of stories from Stars and Stripes, the
editorially independent newspaper authorized by the Department of Defense-for members of the military community.
The contents of Stars and Stripes are unofficial, and are not to be consid-ered as the official views of, or endorsed by, the U.S. government, includingthe Defense Department or the military services. The Guam Edition of Starsand Stripes is published jointly by Stars and Stripes and this newspaper.
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© Stars and Stripes, 2021
In the waning days of the U.S.
presence at Bagram Airfield,
Afghanistan, Marine Corps veter-
an Justin Modeste knew the can
of energy drink he had was valua-
ble and rare.
“Probably the remaining sup-
ply of red Rip It in the country,”
he wrote in a post shared to sever-
al Facebook groups where the
base’s denizens bought, sold and
traded various goods. “Act now to
get your hands on the last few
drops of this nectar from the gods.
No lowball offers, I know what I
got.”
The post included a photo of a
short, opened 8-ounce can of the
fruity energy drink that has
fueled U.S. wartime operations
since 2004 by the tens of millions
and has become a staple for
troops, veterans and contractors
alike. His asking price: $500.
“It was indeed my last can of
Rip It,” Modeste said in a phone
interview in early July about the
photo he’d jokingly posted weeks
earlier. He’d planned to snap the
photo before popping the can’s
top and downing half of it, “but I
couldn’t wait to dig in.”
Energy drinks and tobacco
became hot commodities as base
residents hunted for diminishing
supplies in the hectic weeks be-
fore the U.S. left, seemingly over-
night, in early July.
Many went from dining at
bountiful cafeterias to subsisting
on Meals, Ready to Eat, but Army
culinary specialists were sent in
to serve up hot food at least
through June 25.
Tastes of ‘Camp Cupcake’A group of four Army cooks
recently returned to Kuwait after
spending several weeks running
the North Dining Facility on Ba-
gram. Other cafeterias had been
closed and civilian contract work-
ers sent home.
“We were feeding over 2,000
soldiers,” said Sgt. Nicole Hall of
the Army Reserve’s 310th Sus-
tainment Command, quoted in an
Army statement in July.
On 12-hour shifts, they served
up scrambled eggs, steak, vegeta-
bles and “everything you could
possibly think of,” Master Sgt.
Lloyd Cossey said in the state-
ment.
Throughout much of the war,
the cafeterias on forward oper-
ating bases Modeste called “Camp
Cupcake” hosted steak and lobster
dinners on Fridays. Modeste was
partial to another delicacy Ba-
gram’s dining facilities served
those nights: “the best mac and
cheese known to man.”
Toward the end, the troops
were happy just to have hot
meals, Hall said. “Their favorite
meal was the grilled cheese.”
Meanwhile, planes never stop-
ped coming and going, said Staff
Sgt. Steve Augusten, another
cook, in the statement. Bomb
disposal crews were doing “con-
stant controlled detonations,
explosions all the time.”
With more than 95% of the
withdrawal complete, the mil-
itary has hauled out over 980 C-17
cargo plane loads of gear, U.S.
Central Command said. But as
creature comforts became rare at
the air base that served as the
U.S. logistical hub north of Kabul
for nearly 20 years, contractors
began to complain, said Modeste,
who’d deployed to a similarly
“cupcakey” base in Iraq on one of
several overseas tours during his
8 ½ years in the Marines.
He’d been conditioned for
Bagram’s final, spartan days
during an “eye-opening” deploy-
ment to Helmand province over a
decade ago. His team lived on
MREs and took solar showers
during long stretches at an obser-
vation post atop an “unlivable
mountain” in 2009 and 2010.
“It could be worse,” Modeste
would remind himself this sum-
mer.
Last ‘trickle’ of
energy drinksInto mid-June, Facebook
groups such as “Bagram Yard
Sale” and “Bagram Craigslist”
had ads offering random items
such as duct tape, power cables,
foot lockers, TVs, tools, micro-
waves, gym equipment and per-
sonal Wi-Fi devices.
One user jokingly offered an
MRE, labeled as a “stool harden-
er,” for $1,000. Another adver-
tised a bike with ape-hanger
handlebars, billing it a “chick
magnet” likely to net marriage
proposals.
“Make an offer,” the user
wrote. “Free to an American
soldier.”
As exchanges and dining facil-
ities closed, things got dicey for
those with energy drink and to-
bacco habits, some of whom turn-
ed to these groups offering to buy
cases of Monster or Red Bull,
packs of cigarettes and logs of dip.
Others offered their dwindling
supplies in trade.
Modeste’s “last can” ad came
after years of being supplied
“cases and cases” of the Rip Its
that typically filled drink coolers
at the dining facilities, he said.
He’d first tasted the tantalizing
beverage in Iraq, where he’d stuff
his cargo pockets with it — his
personal record was smuggling
out 12 that way.
“That was my life force,” he
said, adding that the habit “trick-
led into contractor life” when he
arrived at Bagram in 2014 to
support the counter-rocket, artil-
lery and mortar systems.
Rip It was adopted as the ener-
gy drink of choice to be supplied
at dining facilities in 2004 “be-
cause it was the most cost-effec-
tive,” Army spokesman Wayne
Hall told Stars and Stripes in late
2018.
In the decade from 2009 to
2018, the Defense Logistics Agen-
cy shipped more than 175 million
cans of it to U.S. Central Com-
mand — $165 million worth —
data DLA provided to Stars and
Stripes shows.
It’s also sold by the case or by
the can in the coolers of higher-
end Kabul grocery stores and the
stalls of the bustling Bush Bazaar,
likely pilfered from military sup-
plies.
While it’s available in the U.S.,
often in discount retailers like
dollar stores, Modeste says it’s not
the same as the stuff shipped
downrange.
Grilled cheese, energy drinksfueled pullout from Bagram
BY CHAD GARLAND
Stars and Stripes
NICOLE HALL/U.S. Army Reserve
Army Reserve Sgt. Nicole Hall, deployed to Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, withthe Indianapolisbased 310th Sustainment Command, stirs chili at theNorth Dining Facility at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, in early July.
NICOLE HALL/U.S. Army Reserve
Army Reserve Master Sgt. Lloyd Cossey grills steaks at the NorthDining Facility at Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan, during his 29dayassignment there that ended July 2 as the base closed.
[email protected] Twitter: @chadgarland
CHAD GARLAND/Facebook
Facebook user Rob Fisher showsoff the last two Rip Its he was ableto get his hands on at BagramAirfield in late 2020.