ON THE ROAD
OPERATION:
DESERT SKATE
Marine Lance Corporal Stu Smith
hails from Reno, NV, and should now
be on his way home from the Persian
Gulf. Stu's letters span a six-month
period and give us a personal look
into the war. We thank him for sharing
his experience with us.
Writer's Note: The events hereafter
are true, only the dates are out of
whack. After six months in the desert.
one day seems pretty much like all
NO
While all hell
broke loose
around his
detatchment,
Steve Beau
champ of
Loomis, CA.
hung onto the
ramp he and his
buddies John
Ward of San
Diego, CA, and
Robert Wells of
Santa Cruz, CA
built. The
soldiers
scrounged
wood from a
nearby garbage
dump and
borrowed nails
from the cargo
yard to con
struct their B
ramp with a 1
extension near
the Saudi town
of Dharan
the others.
August 24, 1990: Arrival in Saudi
Arabia. God it's hot. Next time I
microwave some popcorn I can say.
"Hey, be cool kernels, I've been
there. Wish I'd brought my board.
Platoon Sergeant said to pack only
"combat essential" gear, so my
board stayed home.
August 25-29: Stayed in warehouse
at Port of Jubail. Still hot as all hell.
Almost shot a Saudi worker while
on guard. Scared the poor guy half
to death. Heard a story about one
guy gunning another down playing
"Quick Draw." His weapon had
slipped off safe.
Marching to countries they've
never seen/Virgins with rifles,
a game of charades All for our
children's crusade-Sting
August 30, 1990: Left Jubail, went to
Camp Fifteen, an old worker's com-
pound outside town. Got settled in
rooms with air-conditioning. Sent
away for a board by mail order.
September 21, 1990: Left Camp Fif-
teen for the field (read: "the desert").
Last concrete I'll till Kuwait.
34 THRASHER MAGAZINE
December (sometime before Christ-
mas): Went on the mail run to the
DSA, the Division Support Area.
(After the war it's called "Didn't See
Action.") My board arrives. Cele-
bration held. Next day I try it out in
the back of a truck. Tricks include
ollie-to-troop seat and ollie-to-
tailgate (followed by a seven-foot
drop over the back into the sand.)
Smile for the camera. Click. Send it
to Thrasher. (Thanks, Kev.)
December 31, 1990: Visit British
communications detachment. Cele-
brate New Year's Eve with home-
made alcohol.
January 1, 1991, 12:01 a.m.: Blow
chucks. What a way to ring in the
New Year.
January 2-15, 1991: Getting better
at riding in a truck (learning to
anticipate the end of the truck).
Move from near the DSA to closer
to the Kuwaiti border.
January 15, 1991: The air war starts.
Spent the night in a trench built in
case of Scud attack. Continue
skating the trucks.
January 20, 1991: Skating out here.
is getting harder. We've sand-
bagged all our trucks so I can't
skate there. It's weird, I get real up-
tight when I can't skate. I guess
skating is an outlet, it helps me
relax. We built all our bunkers and
used wood for the ceilings so we
had some leftovers. I grabbed a few
pieces and built a little "skate area"
under one of our cammie nets. They
made me tear it down after about
six hours but at least I had some
fun. They told us that we would be
occupying Kuwait City so I should
be able to skate there. Isn't it weird?
I'm in the middle (or at least the
start) of a war and all I can think
about is places to skate. I think I've
finally "lost it."
Early February: Moved to within two
miles of the border. Tension is
higher. The trucks are all sand-
bagged in case we hit a minefield.
February 15, 1991: Move into
Kuwait. Doesn't look much different
from Saudi except for the wrecked
Iraqi vehicles and minefields..
Night of February 22, 1991: Arrived
at Kuwait International Airport. Fire-
fights occur. Prisoners are taken.
Airport is secured.
February 28, 1991: Get my board out
and skate on concrete. Feels great.
Almost like a dream. Reality is
there, though (I have to wear a flak
jacket and take another Marine to
cover me). Kuwait International
Airport is a great spot. Take away
the blown-up munitions and it could
be a street skater's fantasy land.
Banks, ditches, curbs and some
great stairs. Anti-aircraft implace-
ments are the ultimate obstacle.
Plan to come back and skate under
better conditions.
March 1, 1991: Leave the airport and
drive south, back to the DSA. First
step on my way home. Continue
skating in the trucks because
there's no concrete here.
March 8, 1991: Prepare to move to
Camp Fifteen. Anticipate heavy
skating; it's concrete. One step
closer to California. Special thanks
to Maria and Jonah for their sup-
port. See you in the States.
MID
Z
GEORGE
MATAMARI
MODELS
STREET
.
NEW
LIGHTER
RolleR
TRUBK
FULL
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