European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 22, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                S3 desert training sweating because our lives May depend on it a service member rushes past an a wac plane deployed in saudi Arabia electronic goodies High tech Aerial surveillance by Susanne m. Schafer associated press one Man who acts As America s electronic eyes and ears Over a Good part of saudi Arabia says the skies Are filled with a. Constant Stream of . Aircraft from. Operation desert shield. Quot there a just a whole ton of people up there Quot said Navy it. Mark Smith radar officer aboard an e-2c Hawkeye surveillance aircraft. A bit Clumsy in appearance but More High tech in performance Smith s twin engine Turboprop is adorned with a hat radar disk similar to the much larger Azacs airborne warning and control system planes that also have been deployed to saudi arabians defense. Smith and his colleagues Fly High above Northwestern saudi Arabia to search out any possible threat from the air or the ground to the Battle group of the Carrier Eisenhower sailing far below in the red sea. Because the Crew a with what its men Call their Quot electronic goodies Quot a can peer far into the skies they provide the Battle group with a Large envelope of Security. They can warn the ships of any missiles aircraft or vessels that might appear beyond the horizon undetected by the ships own radar systems. And today in the skies above saudi Arabia tension and activity Are High . Aircraft Are appearing Quot about every 30 Miles or so in a constant Stream a either inbound or outbound Quot Smith said. T to Crew might have 30 to 40 such Friendly targets to follow at a Lime. Some of them most probably Are the c-t30 transport aircraft recently allowed to operate out of the strategically situated United Arab emirates. The federation of Sheik Doms on the Southern Edge of the persian Gulf has now joined saudi Arabia in openly granting . Forces Access to its territory. Squadrons of f 16s, f-14s and f-5e Jet fighters a-10 bombers and the f-117a stealth fighter bombers Are packing the skies. The Pentagon has pressed so Many transport aircraft into service for the saudi operation that they be even turned to the civilian Reserve air Fleet or the use of some . Commercial aircraft. Quot As far As i can toil the iraqis Are staying on their Side and to re a Long Way away from them. That suits me just line Quot Smith said because of the heightened state of activity Smith said the carriers two Hawk eyes nil Mit in1 a the skies 2-1 hours a Day Quot we re Hying around the Dock and we Don t Stop any Mote said Smith during a 5 30 a m breakfast break on the earner. The Eisenhower and its air Wing had been scheduled to return stateside next month until the persian Gulf crisis diverted the ship to the red sea. Quot we re racking up a lot of flight hours now that we normally would t at the end of a deployment Quot Smith said adding that each Crew takes to the skies twice a Day sometimes six to eight hours at a time. The flying Dan t the High profile Fly boy Job held by the carriers Jet fighter and bomber pilots but the role is just As vital. And despite their grueling schedule the Crews must Fly with a High degree of alertness. Should an enemy aircraft appear their warning from the Hawkeye might be the first to Alert fellow seamen Manning the Battle groups air defense weapons Quot if we make an error a lot of people pay a big Price if we done to find somebody or something that s on the Way in Quot Smith said associated press t he sergeant is Halfway done with digging his first foxhole on his first night in the arabian desert when word comes to pull Back. He swings his shovel in protest until the reason transmitted by whisper makes its Way Down the line the platoon is out of position. Quot we re too far out in front of the rest of the company the sergeant says. Quot they could be firing and killing  the shovels Are put away Rucksacks Are quickly packed and the platoon within minutes makes a Short Retreat guided to a new site by a dim fluorescent signal flashed by a sister platoon several Hundred Yards away. Platoon 22 a the second platoon of the 82nd airborne div s 2nd brigade a digs in again. A few minutes later the company commander explains to a reporter that the platoon had taken position far enough out front to be hit by Friendly mortar and machine gun fire. The Captain Isnit Happy but shrugs it off. Quot he a our newest platoon Leader Quot he said. Quot it s Good to get him out Here to  the exercises gave the troops a Chance to practice on the first night the saudi government allowed american troops to train Long after Sundown. More such drills including some joint exercises with saudi troops Are planned i the first night of desert training witnessed by two reporters and a photographer demonstrated the formidable challenges american forces would face in a desert War in the Middle East. And it provided journalists the first Chance to spend extended time with some of the Young men who would fight that War. They Are a diverse group from throughout America a some eager to fight some terrified by the Prospect. But All share a similar Hope that the crisis will soon be resolved either through combat or diplomacy 1 we re Here sweating because our lives May depend on it Quot said one private who carried a 50-Pound pack through 95-degree evening heat. Quot but it s really not up to us our lives Are in the politicians hands Quot the Sun was just beginning its descent when the three platoons began the exercise walking in a a shaped formation roughly three Miles into the seemingly endless arabian desert. As the Sun dropped off the horizon a Herd of camels traipsed past the curious americans. The need to carry More water makes the soldiers packs extra heavy. During a break a 20-year-old medic from Newburgh . Lightens his pack a bit by taking a few gulps. The infantrymen he is there to help drop into a circular perimeter their weapons aimed across the darkening terrain. A finding the courage is Tough a its scary out Here Quot the medic says. Quot but you be got to Swallow that and go out and do  inside his bag Are Needles with antidotes to certain chemical weapons the medic prays they will not be needed. Quot we just want to go Back to the states and be with our kids Quot he a says. None of a dozen soldiers interviewed under the sparkling. Desert sky has any idea when the trip Home will be. Some ask aloud whether they will make it. Most Hope diplomacy convinces Iraq to leave Kuwait a few would rather take on Saddam Hussein a forces now. A Quot if it would get us Home faster then let s go kick him out of Kuwait Quot one private says Quot what we have now is hurry up and wait. It s  ,. It is so dark that one can move around virtually unnoticed so quiet that whispers can be heard. Much of the talk is Idle chatter. Quot the sky is just like the sky Back Home Quot one Soldier says to his companion in a two Man foxhole. The response Quot but it just Isnit the same unless i m sitting a out on my Back  few Yards away another Soldier tells a passerby Quot my wife is having our baby in five weeks. I wish 1 could just say hello a radioman with the medic begins a sentence saying Quot if Saddam does t pull out of  the medic completes the  be squished like a . The men Are barely in their Foxholes when they Are instructed to head Back to their transport trucks a nearly three mile walk in the pitch Black night. Those in the Back of the line can see the shadows of just the few men ahead. In training one sergeant says soldiers have been known to Stop thinking a tree several feet ahead in the darkness is the Man they Are supposed to follow. Quot that cuts you off from the front Quot he says. Quot and if you get Cut off you  a the saudi desert has no Trees but the going is treacherous in that they must be there and Are ready to fight to defend the saudi kingdom. These Are the troops a airborne paratroopers a who arrived first when there was Little firepower to Back them up. Quot when they called us out we thought we were going to drop right into a War Quot the medic says. Helicopters on night flights pass in the distance a reminder of How much . Firepower is in the Region. As they wait the 82nd airborne forces train about 12 hours a Day. They have some complaints a the Lack of mail is the biggest a but say morale is High. They complain largely because there is Little else to do. A Ranger from the 82nd airborne div patrols the saudi wasteland. Air f 1 f Secretary of defense Dick Cheney with Sheik Othman Alho maid saudi defense minister for military affairs at Dhahran air base. A Page 14 a a a the stars and stripes continued from Page 13 Baghdad. The iraqi debt to Moscow has been estimated at anywhere from $5 billion to $20 billion. Some . Analysts suspect Kremlin conservatives Are not entirely dismayed at the Prospect of the United states and its nato allies mired in a Middle East quagmire. Japan. In past crises Tokyo has been cautious to the Point of timidity in dealing with Arab countries. But with growing self Confidence the japanese people Are looking to assert their influence in ways other than raw economic clout. Prime minister Toshiki Kaifu stresses his close Persona ties to Bush a Bond that strengthens the japanese Leader s political hand. Japan a country with modest defences of its own has an obvious interest in the Success of collective action to Rebuff Iraq s aggression. Tokyo also has tried to protect itself by stashing a five month Reserve of Petroleum in tunnels on the Southern Island of Kyushu. On the other hand All japanese Oil is imported and 70 percent comes from the Middle East. If the United states appears to be on the losing Side in the Gulf  or if a gory War begins japanese enthusiasm for the embargo could Wane. And if Saddam woos Back some Arab support japanese discomfort could increase Japan also badly needs iranian Oil and most analysts in Tokyo agree would be susceptible to iranian pressure should it occur. Turkey. The government of president Turgut Ozal found itself trapped Between its Western allegiances and a longstanding policy of regional neutrality. Wed esd. Though Ankara has tried hard to avoid antagonizing Baghdad in the past the two neighbors already were at Odds Over a turkish plan to build a Irge hydroelectric project on the euphrates River whose Waters the two countries share that enmity has grown considerably Seco Turkey Cut iraqi Oil pipelines to the Mediterranean 3"a. A member of nato Turkey recognized that failure to Hoed the embargo would badly damage its ties with Haj West and perhaps permanently preclude Ever becoming the 13th member of the european  Ankara officials estimate the sanctions against c0uld Cost Turkey $2.5 billion this year including a soon million fee from Iraq for servicing the pipelines. Turkey also gets 60 percent of its crude imports from Iraq the turks Are going to pay for this More than an body Quot a House armed services committee staff to  said. Quot they re going to be screaming within a it or id  Washington has promised military j Dion and compensation the turks will be waiting 1 j Lor both 1 a. The Gulf crisis is Quot a heaven sent Opportunity no to burnish its International credentials Quot a n  in Beijing said. Quot it s a Chance for or show that it is a Good International citizen no it needs very much Quot after the massacre in men Square last year. A economic ties with Iraq Are minimal except a arms sales and Beijing would like Washington Quot a Tiana men inspired sanctions and retain a a red nation Trade status Beijing s most a 22, 1990 of immediate concern is the Impact the crisis could have on the asian games which would include athletes from Many Gulf nations set to begin in China on sept. 22. But China views its adherence to sanctions in terms of lining up with the world majority rather than adhering to . Wishes according to chinese officials if other countries abandon the sanctions China could also or if the United states initiates military action China could distance itself from Washington and the West Egypt president Hosni Mubarak remained silent for 30 hours after the invasion aug 2, reportedly weighing the Many pros and cons of his predicament before decrying the iraqi aggression. A . Diplomat in Cairo cites the extensive economic and military relationship Between Egypt and the United states As Quot Long distance stuff Quot that will keep Mubarak aligned with Bush. Egypt owes More than $50 billion in foreign debts including $12 billion to the United states. As an Oil exporter Egypt earns an extra $70 million to $ 100 million per year for each $1 per barrel increase in the world Price. But foreign Exchange income from remittances earned by hundreds of thousands of egyptian workers in Kuwait and Iraq Are expected to drop by $1 billion or More a protracted crisis in the Middle East will hurl the $2 billion egyptian tourism Industry. Less certain is the Impact Saddam will have with is new Quot voice of Arab Egypt Quot  station that exhorts the egyptian masses to topple Mubarak and with 5.0-00 troops now deployed in saudi Arabia military officials m Cairo Are recollecting nervously their unhappy experience in the Yemen civil War of the 1960s, when 80,000 egyptian troops ended up lighting for years. But having cast his lot against Saddam it is hard to see How Mubarak would Back off officials said West Germany. Like the japanese marry germans appear ready to ease away from the Quot global abstention Quot imposed by postwar military restrictions and specific constitutional curbs on non nato military involvement spelled out in West Germany s Basic i a after initial hesitation Chancellor Helmut Kohl has indicated he wants to help bolster the Armada assembling to enforce sanctions against Iraq Bonn wants Washington to understand according to Kohl s advisers that a reunited Germany will do its part in International peacekeeping efforts West Germany receives less than 15 percent of its Oil from the. Gulf and Only two percent from Iraq and Kuwait a yet West German sources warn that Lime is a critical Factor european support for sanctions could ebb As a higher Oil prices begin to Hurt economically even i he robust German Economy is at risk largely because of the huge costs of reunification Bush administration officials say they Are aware or this Complex weave of concerns around the world for now he strategy is to urge International Urty plug any leaks selected in the embargo continue the military buildup and squeeze Saddam As Quick and Home fun As possible Quot we re going to have to have steely nerves As ibis thing plays  a senior Senate Staft a do  Ladd am probably has four to six Rno its of s a of and he s  to see who blink a first hat s the quest on who blinks Quot. R the stars and stripes it Pago 15