European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 15, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                On Board the Independence by Nick b. Williams or. Los Angeles times. F fighter pilots and Crew on Board the . Aircraft Carrier Independence on station near the Mouth of the tense persian Gulf declared themselves ready for combat if the confrontation with Iraq explodes. But the Battle group s commander said monday he has received no orders to interdict iraqi shipping although Secretary of state James a. Baker Iii said sunday that . Forces Quot now have the Legal basis for interdicting shipping. For several hours a night the Carrier s f-14 tomcat fighters Are already providing air cover for the . Warships in the Gulf Navy officers told a group of reporters flown out to the Carrier. A a Well be Here absolutely As Long As we  and As Long As the president wants us Here Quot said rear adm. Jerry l. Unruh commander of Battle group Delta which is made up of the Independence its escort of cruisers frigates and destroyers plus support vessels. Asked whether the Navy had stopped any Oil tankers leaving Iraq or occupied Kuwait Unruh replied Quot we have been Given no directive to Stop any shipping. We Are not on a blockade  a in any Case Unruh said it is his impression that iraqi Oil shipments have Quot pretty much dried up Quot capt. Jay b. Yakeley Iii commander of air Wing 14, said that his pets have seen no iraqi a Craft since the Independence arrived on station a week ago he expressed Confidence in his Crew in the event of a clash with the iraqis Quot Many iraqi pilots Are combat tested against Iran in the 1980-88 Iran Iraq War Quot Yakeley said. Quot we know that. We know the Type of training they have they probably save some real Good pilots and some that Are not so Good Quot some Independence pilots told interviewers that they were More concerned about the threat of surface to air missiles than Aerial combat with the iraqis nevertheless the Young men who Fly the Carrier s tomcats f-18 hornets and a-6e intruders said they feel that they have an Edge. Quot any fighter Pilot Here feels that he can carry out his in the persian Gulf attack aircraft on the flight deck of the Independence Are ready for combat. Mission better than any third world nation Pilot Quot one said. Quot we re not warmongers but we re ready for action and we want to put our training to Good  on Board the command ship la Salle the reporters were briefed by rear adm. William m. Fogarty commander of joint task Force Middle East the standing american Force in the persian Gulf. The primary Mission Fogarty said is a to defend against an iraqi attack against saudi Arabia and to be prepared to conduct other operations As  . Officials in Washington say saudi Arabia is threatened by an estimated 120,000 iraqi troops in Kuwait and larger forces in Iraq. A Fogarty who described the Gulf undertaking As a Quot joint . And multinational Effort Quot said that no decision has yet been made on the Overall command Structure for the multinational Force which already includes British and French warships. Vessels from Australia Canada and several West european nations Are on the Way. About 50 Western warships Are reported to be in the Region or steaming there along with two soviet vessels that reportedly will not be included in they i Bir or a t rear adm. William m. Fogarty briefs reporters on Board the command ship la Salle. Combined command. The command Structure Quot is being put into Force right now Quot Fogarty said adding Quot it is being worked on. It is a matter of coordinating communications a the naval air Power in the Gulf will be supplied by the 31-year-old Independence which carries More than 80 aircraft of seven types. The attack aircraft include two squadrons each of f-14s and f-18s and a Squadron of a 6es. Support aircraft include a Squadron of ea-6e prowlers electronics countermeasures Craft e-2c Hawk eyes airborne warning and control planes or Azacs s-3a Viking anti submarine patrol Craft and sh-3h sea King helicopters. Fogarty would not rate the iraqi air Force but said Quot ill Tell you we re better that i  in response to a reporter s question Fogarty said that the Crews of the american warships were outfitted with protective clothing masks and antidotes for use in the event of a chemical weapons attack even though ships at sea Are not considered Likely targets for chemical attacks. Quot the fact that the iraqis have chemical weapons is disturbing to everybody throughout the world Quot Fogarty said a but we Are a trained Force. If they happen to employ them i feel confident we Are prepared to defend ourselves on the Independence which was steaming about 30 Miles off the coast of Oman outside the Gulf a bottleneck Strait of Hormuz Unruh observed that Quot this is a routine Mission for us to come up  cmdr. Robert Ellis commanding officer of the Independence told the Pool reporters Quot for a lot of Young people this is their first time away from Home and they Are facing these unknowns for the first  he said most of them Are 18 to 22 years old. In the Long War with Iran iraqi president Saddam Hussein a 510 planes quickly established air superiority in the Gulf Region. But in less than a week analysts say the multinational Force of american f-15 eagles and f-16 fighting Falcons and British tornadoes arid jaguars has seized the advantage the iraqis primary attack fighter is the French Mirage but they also have soviet Soukhoi and Mig jets including late models. A. Wednesday August 15, 19s0 the stars and stripes a a a Page 13