Desert Shield FM Awakens to Vietnam Echo
There was a little bit of Adrian Kronauer in the Navy chief petty officer who started the first live armed forces broadcasts in Saudi Arabia today.
“It’s 9:05 a.m. Tuesday, Oct. 9. Goooood Maaaaawrning Saudi Arabia,” bellowed disk jockey Rich Yanku, echoing the famous Vietnam War era disk jockey, who was portrayed by comedian Robin Williams in the hit movie “Good Morning Vietnam.”
“We really didn’t want to do a ‘Goooood Maaaawrning Saudi Arabia,’ but it probably would be anti-climactic if we didn’t,” said Navy Lt. Arnie Pon, a Bronx native who heads the unit making the live broadcasts from an air base in Saudi Arabia.
The first song on Desert Shield Network FM 107 brought the troops a little closer to home--The Clash’s “Rock the Casbah” about a fight over “boogie sound” in a traditional Middle Eastern city.
The general format is mostly rock ‘n’ roll or country music from 8,800 compact discs interspersed with news, sports and public service messages. Those range from pep talks on Saudi Arabian customs to the dangers of snake bites in the desert.
The team named their two trailers Camp Schmooz because Pon had been accusing them of “schmoozing,” New York slang for standing around gossiping.
About 80% of the estimated 200,000 troops deployed in Saudi Arabia should be able to hear Desert Shield FM if they have radios.
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