European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 23, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 24 the stars and stripes thursday August 23,1990 missile wings inactivation Means Mission accomplished. Sisr Jim Derheim an Honor guard stands before a missile launcher during the ceremony at no Aschheim on wednesday. By Randy Pruitt staff writer Wosch Heim West Germany a it was a goodbye without tears. There were smiles handshakes and salutes. An air Force band played under a bight August Sun. The reason for the Celebration loomed in the background outside a Bunker Mobile transporter erect or launchers. In the event of War they would propel missiles with nuclear warheads into enemy territory. Now they Arentt needed. Neither is their Home at i Aschheim air station. On wednesday the air Force effectively closed the door to that Home by inactivating the 38th tac missile Wing. It was the Only remaining . Air Force ground launched cruise missile unit in Central Europe. Under terms of the 1987 intermediate Range nuclear forces treaty missiles and hardware at i Aschheim i of Greenham common in England and Comiso air station in Italy must be destroyed by May 31,1991. Sixteen missiles remain at i Aschheim. Sixteen were shipped Back to the United Stales on april 11, and 32 More were sent Back to the United Stales after that . Eric Schnaible a base spokesman said the last missiles will be shipped Back by the end of december. By that time All but a handful of the 400 people who still work at the air station will be gone too. At one time the base had 1,000 military personnel. A Onato has sort of decommissioned us a Schnaible said. A if we were to go to War tomorrow the 38th is no longer a viable deterrent Force Quot r maj. Gen. James e. Chambers the 17th air Force commander said the presence of the a Aschheim unit led to the decision to eliminate an entire class of weapon systems through arms control agreements. It is usually a sad Day when an air Force unit inactivates he said. A but this is not a time to be sad. It is a time you can be proud.�?�. ,. A a Rudi Geil Interior minister of the West German state of Rheinland Pfalz where i Aschheim is located thanked the Wing for its service saying today All those who criticized the nato dual track decision and saw it As an instrument of the cold War have been proven wrong. You have All contributed to our Security a a a a a a a a a the 125-acre facility at a Aschheim in the huns pick Region about 12 Miles Northeast or Hahn a will be used by the 601st tac control Wing which now has Headquarters at Simbach a. Also moving to the area will be two tactical control flights now based at Wiir Burg and bad Kreuz Nach. Air Force officials said no decision has been reached on the disposition of property at those two locations. Col. Richard Myers commander of the 38th Lac missile Wing said wednesdays ceremony marked the fifth time the unit has been inactivated in its 42-year history. Myers who is leaving thursday to be Deputy chief of staff for missiles at 15th air Force at March fab calif., said he would miss the people he has worked with for the past two years. In German Myers told the audience John a conc by said a i am a Well i am a from Page 1 about a report that the soviet Union still has 193 military advisers in Iraq despite the . Embargo the soviet Union has supported. Bush said he had no argument with the soviet response to iraqis invasion of Kuwait but was not familiar with the report on military advisers. A at this Point i would say we Are getting Superb cooperation from the soviets a he said. The president said that despite his concern about americans and other westerners held hostage by Iraq his administration will do what is necessary to news Brief enforce the embargo. A International Law must be enforced a he said. Although Bush said he still is conferring with advisers on . Military action to prevent Oil from coming out or supplies from going in to Iraq a we feel we have All the authority we need Quot to enforce the embargo. Bush said his inclination is to give the United nations a Little More time on the Issue. But he also said a a we Are prepared to intercept shipping As necessary. A we have the forces to Stop them right Bush said americans in Kuwait could seek Refuge in the . Embassy compound against the threat of being held by iraqi forces at potential military targets. A if citizens came to the embassy seeking support and help clearly we would do that a he said. The iraqis have ordered the embassy closed by Friday. Bush a order calling up the reserves did not say How Many reservists would be activated. Cheney said manpower proposals Are being prepared now and will be presented to him today. A i expect that we will not use the full 200,000 authority that a in the statute a he said. He would not confirm estimates that about 40,000 people would be called up by the end of the month. The Call up will focus on personnel who can fill the jobs of Active duty forces on duty in the Gulf in such areas As cargo handling Airlift food and water handling surface transportation medical services construction and intelligence. The Pentagon said in a separate statement that some reserves called to Active duty would be shipped to saudi Arabia while others would remain on . Shores. It was the first time the president has activated the reserves since March 1970, when they were called up during a postal strike. Presidents have called up the reserves 10 times since world War ii. The 26,273 reservists called up by president Nixon in 1970 helped deliver the mail during the postal strike. The last mobilization of reserves for a hostile action occurred from january 1968 to december 1969 when then president Johnson called up More than 35,000 reservists to help with the Vietnam War. Soviet troops resume e. German withdrawals Neu Ruppin East Germany a amps a soviet troops resumed their pullout from East Germany on wednesday As a train loaded with red army tanks headed cast from Neu Ruppin about 30 Miles North of Berlin. The unilateral withdrawals which began in 1989, were halted earlier this year because of severe military housing shortages in the soviet Union. There Are 10,000 soviets stationed in Neu Ruppin according to adn the East German news service. Official statistics on soviet troop strength have never been released but Western experts believe there Are 380,000 soviets stationed in East Germany and an additional 750.000 soviet family members living there. The soviets plan to remove the entire division by the end of the year the news service said. However soviet officials fear there will be a shortage of containers and freight cars that might Delav the withdrawal. The soviets also plan next Spring to withdraw the air Force Ulm stationed in the town adn said. In May Neu Ruppin was the site of mass demonstrations by East germans demanding that the soviet air base be closed. Some 8,000 of the n 000 residents marched to protest the thundering soviet planes. More than 7,000 signed a petition sent to soviet president Mikhail s. Gorbachev demanding the base from Page 1 to defy Saddam a demand to close the embassy by Friday. Spokesman Richard Boucher said the decision was consistent with , Security Council resolutions and Quot also with our obligations to the american private the staff reduction was announced in a separate message for broadcast to americans in Kuwait by the voice of America and the British broadcasting co. It said a the iraqi government has from the beginning of this situation stated that diplomats Are free to leave Kuwait. We Are taking them at their word and have ordered the departure of All dependents and staff that do not have a Mission in Kuwait at this the broadcast did not say How Many of the 120 american diplomats in Kuwait City would depart a providing that Safe passage could be arranged. Britain the soviet Union and several other nations already had decided to reduce their diplomatic staffs in Kuwait but to keep their embassies open despite Saddam a order. He called for a shutdown by Friday with operations shifted to Baghdad the iraqi capital. A american citizens should be assured that we plan to have sufficient diplomatic staff at the embassy m Kuwait to look after their safety and welfare which remains our highest priority a Boucher said. The announcement made no reference to a Start reduction. It stressed that ambassador Nathame Howell and other american diplomats in Kuwada will serve our Community to the Best of their ability the broadcast meanwhile assured americans in Kuwait that a your welfare is Foremost in our thoughts. It added a we Are determined to continue working for your release the broadcast advised americans thinking of leaving Kuwait to a plan their route carefully a it said iraqi forces were under orders to Stop and detain anyone identified As a u.5. Citizen. A British citizen was shot and killed the broadcast from Page 1 helicopter gunships crowd the Tarmac and a steady Treani of . Military and chartered civilian aircraft drone in around the clock As the steady build up continues. On average an aircraft lands at the base every in minutes. On tuesday american c-141b Starli Fier transport planes were Landing at Dhahran roughly every Quarter of an hour. Some were forced to sit idling on the taxiway for up to half an hour awaiting a Takeoff that would vacate a parking Bay. One . Pilot stepping off a Star lifter after a seven hour flight from Madrid Spain said this was fourth visit to Dhahran in four Days. The saudi pilots at Dhahran flying British Maue Tornado fighters Only received the aircraft weeks ago. According to it. Col. Yahya Bahrani 39, commander of the Royal saudi air forces 29th so a we Are now operationally fully ready and i believe in the Long term Saddam will be shown that his invasion was a
