European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 7, 1988, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 10 columns the stars and stripes Richard Pyle stress a familiar problem aboard Navy ships editor s note the Pentagon inquiry into the shooting Down of an iranian civilian jetliner on july 3 is reported to have found that human error caused bythe stress of first time combat was a Factor in the guided missile Cruiser vincennes1 mistaken Downing of the plane. This is a report on the conditions aboard . Warships in the , Bahrain inexperience isolation and the need for a constant state of High Alert Are Factor that contribute to High stress aboard the . Warships in the persian before the guided missile frigate Jack Williams sailed into Battle april 18, its skipper cmdr. Edward Mann noted that Only two among the 225 men aboard had Ever been in combat himself and his senior chief Petty statistic is not unusual for a . Warship in the persian Gulf whose Crews average about 23 years Osage and usually include a few 18-year-Olds away from Home for the first officers say such factors As inexperience the per Sian gulfs oppressive heat isolation at sea and the de mands of staying at High Alert around the clock add up Toa High stress situation that can affect performance. Pentagon sources say the investigation of the july 3 shooting Down of an iranian jetliner with 290 people aboard by the Vincennes found human error apparently caused by stress in first time com Bat led radar operators to mistake the a-300 Airbus for a military attack was not the first time in persian Gulf operations that radar signals have been misinterpreted by radar an april 18 clash Between . And iranian forces the Jack Williams radar indicated it and two other warships were under attack by iranian silkworm anti ship missiles. The ships took evasive Maneu vers and launched anti missile . George b. Crist commander of . Central come later said analysis of computer tapes showed no hostile missiles were fired and the blips were the tracks . Missiles and what the Navy called hits on the sys thursday a Central come spokesman maj. Barry Willey said that study found no human error Lack of training or technical malfunction and the ships officers were justified in assuming they were under attack.. Officials would not comment on a report that one of the Jack Williams stinger anti aircraft missile operators was later sent Home suffering apparent psychological problems from his first combat exposure. He just kind of choked said a Navy s methods for dealing with stress begin with intensive training which officers say builds Confidence and includes other Means ranging from sports exercise and recreational diversions to personal coun seling.. Officers readily concede that such efforts Are not a routine that s already full of tension Sud Denly becomes something a lot bigger with real Dan Ger maybe shooting you can t predict How people Are going to react especially if they be never done it be Melissa Healy $1200,000,000 dollars Totton bogey off fore said one key element in coping with stress is to assure sailors they Are not alone in facing pressure said an other emphasize togetherness that everybody s part of a team the combat information team the gun Nery team the flight team whatever. The better your relationships the better you can function in a Situa ships promote a team concept As strenuously As the Vincennes does. Team 49," alluding to its Hull number appears on bulletin boards souvenirs and baseball Caps and is used by capt. Will c. Rogers Iii in addressing his say their biggest concern is keeping Crews in the High state of constant readiness needed in the Gulf where Short distances require fast decisions. The hardest part of the Mission is that you have to stay ready 24 hours a Day. There s no time really Tolet your guard Down said cmdr. Paul x. Rinn. Three weeks later Rinn s ship the guided missile frigate Samuel b. Roberts was nearly sunk when it hit an iranian tensions and boredom Are relieved As much As possible by recreational activities. Aboard the amphibious transport Dock ship Dubuque the Crew recently was treated to boxing matches and a Rock concert by a touring Uso s a great Way to let off steam said a Sailor after defeating one of his buddies in the Day s featured three round heavyweight . Ships have spent virtually All of their three month Gulf Tours escorting convoys or on patrol and Crist said one reason for deploying a multipurpose warship like the Vincennes was to allow others More time in officers say the entire Navy was badly shaken by the shooting Down of the iranian jetliner. However they say it has not caused any noticeable morale crisis and the general View is that in the same situation most commanders would act just As Rogers . Has to Call his Best shot based Oti the information flow he gets at the time. And live with that decision the rest of his life. That s what commands All about said the Dubuque s skipper capt. Alex g. Balian who won the Silver Star for valor in Viet Navy traditionally relies on chaplains and Doc tors to counsel those in need with psychological guid Ance available in extreme Navy officers said no special stress coun seling or Confidence building programs have been set up in the aftermath of the Vincennes affair. We Don t have a morale problem said one. Capt. . Center commander of the guided missile Cruiser Reeves and a Friend of Vincennes skip per Rogers recalled that when the Airbus was shot Down his ship was just two Days out of Home port in Yokosuka Japan bound for the talked about it then we put it behind us. Everybody understands that we have to get on with the Job he said. Pyle has covered the yearlong . Involvement in the persian Gulf for the associated press and sailed on several of the american ships Vincennes incident suggests inadequate training the failure of the men in the command Center of the Navy guided missile Cruiser Vincennes to accurately interpret data from the ship s Aegis radar system raises troubling questions about whether sailors and officers Are Able to take advantage of the Navy s com plex and sophisticated new War making machines. A Navy investigative team in a report still not made Public attributed the Vincennes decision to shoo Down a civilian iranian jetliner on july 3 to a Case of the jitters brought on by a fire fight with iranian Speed boats that had occurred minutes before. Although the sailors aboard the Vincennes had undergone a full year of training with the Aegis radar system including simulated combat they had never faced the psychological pressure of Battle and some experts wonder whether Navy training adequately pre pares sailors to Deal with the real thing. There was an error in judgment that May indicate need for additional training in some areas said sen. John Mccain a Ariz. When the technology breakdown it is often because of human officials have said the Crew of the Vincennes went through extensive preparation exercises for their mis Sion before the ship arrived in the persian Gulf to join the naval Force protecting commercial shipping there. The drills included a simulation of the approach of a hostile aircraft in skies also occupied by commercial flights. Nevertheless the approximately 35-Man Crew in the ship s combat information Center was Young and inexperienced in combat the investigators determined. Such a Crew ranges in age from 18 to 30 and in educational background from High school to graduate school. The Sailor who operates the spy-1 radar called the heart and soul of the Aegis system is typically a 21 year old Petty officer said one former Aegis system commander. The ship s tactical action officer who along with Vincennes capt. Will c. Rogers Iii has been named a party to the investigation is generally about 27. It gets pretty pucker out there said a officer who recently skippered an Aegis Cruiser into the Gulf. You can t compare that kind of stress to driving an 18-wheeler." while the officer called the men who served under him smart and enthusiastic he added that the Navy s primary preoccupation with a world War ill style clash against the soviet Union has not prepared sailors Well for duty in the persian Gulf where Poten tial aggressors Are mingled with peaceful commercial traffic. According to the Airbus investigation the ship s command Center Crew apparently misread the Aegis system s digital presentation on the Airliner after it took off from the iranian port of Bandar Abbas. While the slow moving aircraft was flying level in a Commer Cial air corridor the Crew unnerved by the earlier naval clash incorrectly concluded it was a speeding fighter Jet descending toward the ship. They failed to heed evidence that w9uld have suggested otherwise the panel has determined and gave Rogers the faulty information that prompted him to order that missiles be fired at the Craft. Lob Angeles times
