European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - August 28, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Tuesday. August 28. 1990 the stars and Stripe crisis in the Gall of continue to Cut personnel understaffed Navy marines increase numbers by Chuck Vinch Washington Bureau Washington a the Pentagon continues to Cut personnel in preparation Tor deep troop reductions next fiscal year making a net reduction of 3,786 serv acc members on the Active duty Rolls in july. The army which probably will take the biggest losses next year Cut 4,515 people in july the most Cuis made by any of the services. It is left with a total of 734,641 troops. The air Force lost 1,572 people dropping its total to 538,746. The Navy and Marine corps which have been Well under authorized strength for some time added personnel for the second month in a Row. The Navy increased by 1,534 people to 578,907, while the Marine corps added 767 troops for a total of 196,326. The defense department had 2,048,620 people on Active duty at the end of july which amounted to 68,535 fewer people than the same time last year. One lawmaker said pressure on the services to Cut As Many people As possible now to Lessen the Impact of Large cuts next year is ill advised when a massive military deployment is taking place in the persian Gulf. A a we re calling up nearly 50,000 reservists and arc about to freeze people on Active duty to meet a threat no one predicted a said rep. William Dickinson of Alabama the ranking Republican on the House armed services committee. A this is happening less than a month after the committee declaring the conventional threat to the United states dead slashed 129,500 from next years Active duty strength a he said in a statement released sunday. A the committee got it wrong a Dickinson said. A the iraqi invasion of Kuwait Only reinforces in my mind the fact that we Cut too far too fast for real world  one Public policy expert says Dickinson a views represent a predictable reaction from those lawmakers inclined to resist cuts in do fens spending a a a there a some posturing going on because next years budget is still in limbo a said Martin Binkin a military manpower expert with the Brookings institution a Washington think tank. The current crisis in the persian Gulf will strengthen the hand of the people who want to go slower in cutting the size of the military Binkin said. A but when the dust settles i think you re going to Sec a substantially smaller Force Over the Long term Quot he said a the Only justification for having a Force of More than 2 million people was the Warsaw pact a final Salute a Navy Honor guard escorts the Flag draped casket of Daniel m. Jones an electricians mate from a plane upon arrival at Bostons Locan Airport on sunday. The Wakefield mass., resident was killed by an electrical Shock a week ago White performing maintenance on the Cruiser Anli Laiu deployed with operation desert shield. Jones was the second Scricc Mcm bar to die in the persian Gulf troop buildup. Threat. You could have several persian Gulf situations and still not match that  a Dickinson argued that slightly smaller cuts Over several years make More sense than Large reductions in any one year. A we could have taken a far smaller Cut in fiscal 1991, about 90,000 to 100,000, and similar Cuis through 1995, and still achieved the Overall 25 percent reduction which both Dod and the committee envision a he said. The Senate has recommended a personnel reduction of 00,000 service members next fiscal year. The House Quot and Senate armed services committees will Mckee next month to negotiate on that Point and other differences in their respective versions of the defense authorization Hill. Apart from  dissent by Dickinson there was not much discussion of the recommended reduction of 129,500 personnel when the House committee put together its authorization Bill in late july a committee staffer said. A but with what a going on in the Middle fast 1 think it will be a different situation when we go into conference with the Senate committee next month Quot he  getting settled into their desert Home saudi Arabia up a a the american soldiers Are lost in the Sands a crackled the female voice speaking on the radio from Iraq. A go Home american occupation troops Home to your wives and children before you Are swallowed up by the Sands of saudi  . Marines deployed in saudi Arabia to protect it from a potential iraqi attack pay about As much attention to this sort of daily broadcast by a Baghdad Bertha As they did to a Tokyo Rose and a a Hanoi Jane a employed by earlier enemies of Washington. A makes you want to shoot whoever is at the Mike a sneered a Marine sergeant named Tony from san Diego. Quot so we Are occupying saudi Arabia and they Are just visiting Kuwait give me a beak will you a the first overnight visit by four reporters to units deployed closest to iraqi troops revealed a widespread desire among the troops to prove their military prowess against the armies of president Saddam Hussein. Military regulations prohibited describing their specific location w Ishin saudi Arabia. Saddam a , his Personifi cat t a i Nus mess it As Given Many  Emu saw  me first  pen aim. To again a male a fim Marine corps legendary Battle honors against a Clear Cut and formidable enemy since their humiliating 1983 Retreat from Beirut after More than 200 were killed in a suicide bomb attack on the . Marine compound. Grenada and Panama would be Mere skirmishes compared with this potential conflict and the typical marines Confidence is clearly rooted in knowledge that he is Well trained to use equipment believed to be Superior to that of the soviet supplied iraqi military. A you done to want to risk your life but you want to test your training a said a Lance Corporal from Milwaukee named John 26. A they have been telling us for years that the . Marine corps is the Best in the world and this could be our final exam. These ainu to nobody in the world that is invincible. But we could be the closest thing to  unlike the lightly armed airborne divisions that swiftly landed after Washington decided to commit troops to defend saudi Arabia the Marine expeditionary brigade arrived ready to fight a War on is own for 30 Days without resupply. The group which normally has about 16.500 men. Has sea harrier and Fa-18 ii items. Cobra helicopter  Armor artillery anti tank jeeps and a massive inventory of support vehicles to give the Force total mobility. Most of their equipment is like new having been stored unused for several years at the maritime preposition Force on the Indian Ocean Island of Diego Garcia. The marines Are scattered across the desert dunes ready for orders to Advance toward Kuwait or to defend saudi Arabia should there be an invasion by the iraqi Force estimated at More than 170,000 men and j ,000 tanks in Kuwait. Col. Carl Fulford said some . Special forces were near the kuwaiti Frontier to assist in directing . Air and naval fire support for troops from saudi Arabia Egypt m Oroceo and other Arab nations if Iraq invades. But he said his battalion of 7,000 marines scattered in an arc across a stretch of desert that cannot be named for Security purposes represented the effective front line of the . Ground forces deployed so far an estimated total of about 40,000 personnel. A the lethality of this Battlefield in the matter of one Day can outshine the entire Vietnam War Quot said Fulford who served in the Southeast Asia conflict. Saddam a Cha i missed his window of Opportunity a of Furd said. A one week or 10 dam ago he could has e occupied the area. Now he would have a real fight on his  his boast was repeated by the troops who to All appearances have made themselves at Home in one of the planets harshest environments. They have a gone to ground a living rough to acclimate themselves with the grime and heat that at noon usually rests at 113  is nearly constant during nighttime hours when the natural oven turns Down and dust will not indicate where the marines Are stationed. During Daylight the marines Are under orders to rest beneath camouflage nets cleaning their weapons and constantly guzzling water. Sustenance comes in a Brown plastic bag a a meal ready to fat a about 3,500 calories of fodder prepared sometime ago in my innate. There Are favorite mrs and scorned mrs but among the most desired Marine cuisine is a lurid concoction of a pork Patty cheese spread Salt i Tabasco sauce and crushed crackers All re hydrated into a Mushy n no with a splash of water. In the desolate Region there is virtually no local population and the marines go about then tasks unseen and unheard by Sam i i t Zens