Army, Planning a Big Summer Trip, Stocks Up on Supplies at Local K Mart

HINESVILLE, Ga. — The Army went on a shopping spree at the Hinesville K mart last week and got a blue-light special on more than 24,000 items.

K mart Manager Wesley Bennefield said officials at Ft. Stewart, which began sending troops and equipment to Saudi Arabia over the weekend, telephoned him Friday to order items essential for the desert: 2,400 cans of bug spray, 5,550 bottles of skin lotion, 5,550 tubes of lip balm, 5,550 containers of foot powder and 5,550 bottles of suntan lotion.

“This has been a real treat. I’ve spent three days on the telephone,” said Bennefield, who had most of the items shipped to the base Sunday night from K mart’s Atlanta warehouse.

The Army also ordered an item the local K mart doesn’t carry: 174,000 gallons of bottled water. Bennefield said he had rounded up 84,000 gallons from bottled-water companies as of this morning and was trying to find the rest.