European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 21, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday August 21, 1990 the stars and stripes a Page 3the persian Gulf crisis. We .,4action in the Gulf Region a. While . Troops continue to pour into guard duty while a fellow g1 patrols. An Dick Cheney below left and saudi As saturday night on the Carrier Dwight d. Saudi Arabia gis already in place sat other 82nd i below right from the Distant defense minister Sheik Othman Eisenhower in the red sea also plans to inlay dig in among the desert dunes. A 82nd carries gear past a huge camouflage Al Hamaid tour the saudi air base in visit Bahrain the United Arab emirates 82nd airborne Soldier above takes up tent. Meanwhile Secretary of defense Dhahran on sunday. Cheney who spent and Oman. It i. Gulf sailors control life or death choices aboard the destroyer Scott apr the sailors aboard this guided missile destroyer control what their Captain Calls life or death a video games in their Mission to help tie the noose around iraqi Commerce. Young sailors closely studying an array of video screens puff on cigarettes. Swirls of smoke fill the air. Nearby a specially trained boarding party stands ready with hand held radios and shotguns. The Scott is on duty in the Northern red sea. Hours after ships in the Battle group of the aircraft Carrier Dwight d. Eisenhower confronted their first iraqi vessels saturday with shots across the bows of two tankers cmdr. Tom Corcoran is giving defense Secretary Dick Cheney and a Pool of Pentagon reporters a glimpse of the work aboard his ship. In the darkened High tech combat intelligence Center that is the warships nerve Center sailors peer at giant circular screens marked with Neon symbols. They keep track of any air sea or underwater threat to them or their Lead ship. A a it a a Little like being an air traffic controller in new York City or Chicago a Corcoran says. A these Guys Are playing an enormous video game with life or death  the threat of missiles mines or enemy aircraft could bring death to those aboard the Battle group As it spreads across this vital shipping Lane on the Eastern coast o f saudi a Rabia. Corcoran shows Cheney the rooms wide array of computers and weaponry guidance systems As he introduces Young sailors who Man some of the worlds most potent weapons. Memories of past tragedies Are in everyone a mind As Cheney views the close in weapons system control panel which directs a High Speed Cannon. A a it a a last ditch weapon but its so fast it can shoot the missiles right out of the sky a it. J a Daryl Hancock tells the defense Secretary. A they did no to use it on the Stark a he said recalling the May 1987 incident in which an iraqi exocet missile inadvertently hit the frigate Stark killing 32 american sailors. At other screens that glow Brilliant Orange in the darkened room sailors operate equipment to differentiate Between friends and foes. V murmuring into headsets and drawing nervously on cigarettes sailors follow aircraft along the commercial routes in the Region looking for any that stray from the known pathways. They look for any threat to the Eisenhower and its Crew of 5,200 or to other . Ships and their Crews. Corcoran a ship and the Eisenhower Battle group have been at sea since March. Once the Alert was sounded after iraqis aug. 2 invasion of Kuwait the Battle group went into an 18-hour frenzy to Arm and Supply itself for passage through the Suez canal and into the persian Gulf. Posted where it can Stop ships entering or leaving the crucial jordanian port of Aqaba the Scott became one of the first ships to play an Active role in president Bush a interception of iraqi shipping. Aqaba has been the one loophole through which Iraq has transported goods since a United. Nations mandated Trade embargo began. Most ships encountered by the Scott have been empty or posed no problem Corcoran says but a cypriot freighter carrying aluminium chromate and other chemicals bound for Aqaba was told not to continue and turned Back after an hour of radio communications the Captain says. Corcoran describes his Crew As a very very Alert but very confident and relaxed about what they re doing Quot aboard the Eisenhower Cheney tells sailors and marines that they Are involved in an International struggle for control of the worlds Oil reserves. Speaking of iraqi Leader Saddam Hussein Cheney says a if he succeeds hell control the world Economy. A it s Tough hard dirty  Cheney says. A but it is an enormously important deployment. I his May be one of the most important moments for this nation for the rest of this