European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 3, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Monday september 3, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 3 i Iii ?  in the Gulf desert Arena favourable for . Forces by the los Angeles times Alkhafji saudi Arabia a beneath the 190-mile Road that leads from Kuwait Down saudi arabians East coast is a Pool of Oil that Many believe to be the richest in the world. But at ground level in shimmering heat and a litter of abandoned cars the scene for hundreds of Miles is one of desolation. Camels Lope alongside the Road and onto it oblivious to the occasional car. Here and there in the distance a bleached bedouin tent rises out of the Sand. Herds of Long haired Black sheep stand in the unrelenting Sun. At Dawn before the Haze forms on the persian Gulf and obscures the View you can see reminders of How close the Region has come to returning to the troubles of the recent past the Gulf War Between Iran and Iraq. The prow of a sunken ship juts up out of the Blue water of the Gulf its Antenna angled accusingly toward Kuwait City where iraqi occupation troops have settled in. Now that trouble threatens to breach the saudi Border the Road which begins As a modest two Lane Highway and Broadens to three lanes about 100 Miles South of the Frontier has become the Gateway to this kingdoms riches. . Military men Call it a a High Speed Avenue of attack for the 1,500 iraqi tanks in Kuwait. But if iraqi president Saddam Hussein sends his army into this Bleak wasteland the coastal Road is More Likely to be the Road to hell. This is so not Only because the . Forces in the area would have the Edge in training technology and firepower but also because of the desolation of this land which would betray them to its defenders. A a Mcafee mosh Elah a no problem a Marine capt. Patrick Gould said. Gould a Blue eyed Marine from Des Moines Iowa commands the Forward most . Unit Here an anti tank company with truck mounted Tow missiles. The arabic phrase one of several Gould has Learned delighted a pair of saudi officials escorting two reporters along the Road. A this is a tankers dream come True a Gould said As he surveyed the open expanse of desert in the Clear Light of Early evening. A but most of All its a pilots dream come True and an anti tankers dream come True. Where else Are you going to find a shot like this a he said that his Tow missiles a or tube launched optically tracked wire guided missiles a Are accurate at nearly double the Range of the gun on the Best tank the iraqis have a the soviet t-72. Even if they Are equipped with protect under an unrelenting Sun . Marines on the front line in saudi Arabia reinforce their bunkers with sandbags. Tive a reactive Armor a which deflects anti tank shells by deflecting the blast the t-72 a a won to be a problem a he said. The army a ah-64 Apache attack helicopter and the ah-1 cobra attack helicopter used by the Marine corps and the army the marines Fa-18 Hornet fighter bomber the air forces f-16 Falcon fighter bomber and a-10 Thunderbolt tank killer a All Are Here in substantial numbers. If these aircraft can operate without harassment by the iraqi air Force they will find the iraqi tanks easy prey military officials say. Indeed a saudi official compared fighting tanks from the air to the saudis a sport of Kings a in which Falcons Hunt Down Hubbara bustards in the desert. Many commanders believe that the iraqi tanks Likely would succumb to the weak Nesses of their already faltering Supply lines. At the Border crossing Between Kuwait and saudi Arabia 20 bangladeshi labourers who had fled their Homes in the iraqi administered a Neutral zone said that they had been stopped by iraqi soldiers who had no food or water and demanded theirs. When seven refugees said that they had none they were shot the refugees said. If iraqi soldiers have such shortages on the coastal Road they will find the sparse settlements along the Way ill equipped to Supply them. Between Alkhafji and the massive a1 Jubal Oil pumping Complex about 150 Miles to the South there is just one settlement a ghost town of Tumble Down shacks with a single working Gas station and a modest grocery store plus a few sheep. A a he a have vastly outstripped his Supply lines by the time he got Here and we would own the air a Gould said. A in open terrain like this where there a no place to hide i just done to see the iraqi military even trying to come  nor would the iraqis be Able to hide at night. The Lead Marine unit prowls the desert after dark with night vision equipment. Vehicles men Ana features of the terrain retain the suns heat and show up red with this equipment. For now the More heavily armed . Forces would have the Benefit of warning if Iraq were to attack. Several encampments of Arab forces most of them apparently saudi Are scattered across Northern saudi Arabia. These Are Little More than a tripwire but they could provide Early intelligence on enemy  women keep kids close in their hearts Dhahran saudi Arabia apr with both their parents shipped off to saudi Arabia Tricia and Shaka Laroche Are desert shield a a orphans a their lives turned upside Down by the massive . Military deployment. Sgt. Carol Laroche 33, a transportation specialist with the army a 24th inf div says she cried the hardest when she left her two teen agers last week. A i did no to want to leave them and they did no to want me to leave a she said. Laroche is one of scores of military women who have left their families for an open ended time in saudi Arabia. They done to know when they Are going Home and they can to Call. The Pentagon Hasni to counted How Many women Are part of desert shield but the numbers far exceed women Ever sent on a Mission that could involve combat. About 100,000 . Troops Are in saudi Arabia so far. Women Are barred from combat but they work in dozens of support Fields a As nurses forklift operators maintenance Crews on Al 5 jets for starters. A my husband says a what Ever happened to the Good old Days when men went to War and the women stayed Home a a said air Force it. Col. Jane Valentine a 37-year-old nurse. Valentine with the 4th medical group of the 4th tac Wing said she has prepared herself psychologically to be away from Ashley her 5-year-old daughter for As Long As half a year. For Laroche the Call telling her to prepare to leave was particularly wrenching. Her husband Wayne also with the 24th inf div had left four Days earlier. She has no idea where her husband is or How to find him. Her children Tricia 16, and Shaka 15, were none too Happy about the situation. They Are moving to Washington d.c., to live with their grandmother. The mortgage on the Laroche family a House has been paid through december and the utilities have been turned off. If desert shield drags on longer Laroche said she will ask a neighbor to help out. Military women know to expect the unexpected so they plan ahead for their children Valentine said her husband Russ takes care of Ashley along with a baby Sitter who has Power of attorney. Air Force Mai. Kathy sue Higgins 33, a nurse said her husband George cares for Kyle 5. Higgins Job requires travelling half the year. She spent Christmas in Panama with the . Invasion Force but Hopes to avoid Christmas 1990 with desert shield. A Kyle does no to like it when i say i have to go work because he thinks i am going away a she said. When she returns Higgins said her son clings a lot More a a sign that he missed her. She keeps a picture of Kyle in the medical tent where she works. Even though she loves her career she thinks it might be Nice to have a Normal Job. A i missed his first walking step his first piano lesson a she said. Sitting in the desert Sands the women said they battled homesickness by becoming close to their colleagues. For All the hardships Laroche said she would never considering quitting her Job. Had she had a Good career a ooh yes a she replied