European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 4, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Thursday october 4, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 9crisis in the Gulf hostages getting radio postcards messages from loved ones aired by Voa it / a to att t_1. Washington apr a Chi having three grandchildren not two a Michelle is having twins a was the Joyful message to one of More than 900 american hostages in Iraq and Kuwait. A a you re in my thoughts constantly constantly families of those trapped in the Middle East began sending messages to their loved ones tuesday taping them on a hot line set up by the voice of America. A these Are radio postcards a Voa director Richard Carlson said. The families have been told to keep their messages personal to refrain from expressing political views and to avoid using last names so they done to tip off iraqi authorities searching for americans in hiding. A state department task Force has started calling the families and giving them the hot line number along with instructions on what Type of messages to prepare. One Call to Sergio a from the West coast of Mississippi a said a Missy will be coming Home for thanksgiving. I Pray you la be Here too. Love another was to Bob a from his Loving wife assuring him that the family was doing Well she added a a we re praying for your Safe return. We miss you very very much. Come Home there were also some cryptic messages. This one to Mike from Jeff said the caller had spoken to a mrs. W. In new York. Notre Dame has won its first three games. We think about you every _ starting thursday the 30-second greetings were to be aired on the government owned radio network. Voa will broadcast the messages in three five minute segments during each hour of the stations morning news program. Since the persian Gulf crisis began the station has increased its English and arabic language programs to 24 hours a Day. On the first Day the messages May be aired in a 15-minute segment. An estimated 600 to 700 americans a mostly men a Are believed trapped in Kuwait with another 300 to 350 in Iraq. Most of their families were allowed to leave. Iraqi authorities have rounded up about 100 americans and moved them to Industrial and military facilities As a human Shields to guard against . Attack. The rest of the americans in Kuwait Are hiding from House to House searches by iraqi Security forces. State department officials say Many of those captured were fingered by informants who led Security forces to their hideouts. In Many cases iraqi troops broke Down doors to get into apartments where americans were hiding in cramped quarters and suffering food shortages and uncertainty about their Fate. A special round the clock task Force at the state department has been keeping in touch with families in the United states relaying any available information about the hostages and referring families to support groups. Voa which broadcasts news and entertainment in 43 languages around the Globe said the personal messages Are a first for the station. The Only comparable project sent messages in Pashto and urdu the languages spoken in Afghanistan and Pakistan to refugee families after the soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. Within hours of iraqis aug. 2 invasion of Kuwait the iraqis began jamming Voas arabic language service along with the British broadcasting arabic service. But the jamming has eased considerably in recent Days and the English language broadcasts have not been disrupted. The Voa recently received permission from Bahrain off the coast of saudi Arabia to use medium wave transmitters for its English language service providing the closest facility to Iraq and occupied your own Oasis a gis find Many uses for the deserts most Timothy Kovacs left photo using his Hel precious commodity a water. Marine sgt. Met As a sink closes his eyes and Hopes for the Best As he runs his razor across his Chin. Soldiers from fort Stewart ga., take a water break while garbed in anti chemical warfare suits during desert ramp Daims at fighting next War Aberdeen proving ground my. A tropical chocolate a synthetic that tastes like the real thing but wont melt in the heat could be ready for shipment to the persian Gulf in time for the holidays. The All electric tank wont be. Military historians Are fond of saying that generals Are forever fighting the last War. The army Materiel come has the Job of making sure that does no to happen. The command which is responsible for research and development of gear used by the army is playing Host this week to an exposition of what the future May hold for the nations warriors. A the Soldier in the Field is our customer a said Edward Brown civilian Deputy director of the commands office of technology management and planning. The projects presented at this base 25 Miles Northeast of Baltimore Are in various stages of development from a wild idea to a concept on the verge of product the All electric tank which would use batteries or superconducting technology is one of those projects Way off in the future. Taken As a whole the projects represent the beginning of a shift from a near total preoccupation with the soviet threat to a realization the nation could face a myriad of military challenges in coming years. A the buzzword we use these Days is that instead of weapons of mass destruction we re looking to produce weapons of mass disruption a Brown said. The object said Brown is to create a smaller leaner but More effective Force that can fight a Small scale War in a Jungle As Well As it could a major tank Battle in Central Europe. To that end the army and its scientists Are pushing against the frontiers of science. In laboratories across the country researchers Are looking for military applications for the next generation of supercomputers and trying to harness recent breakthroughs in magnetics and superconductors. They Are working with corporations and universities on new fabrics to improve uniforms new materials to enhance tanks and personnel carriers and robots to reduce the soldiers exposure to danger. The scientists and managers gathered at Aberdeen envision an army in which the Soldier has a enhanced survivability and enhanced in the next Century the i on patrol May carry his own computer along with tastier rations. He May be wearing a. Self contained air conditioned uniform to protect him from the heat As Well As chemical weapons. Generals will be Able to rely on computers that produce corps level Battle plans in 40 minutes a task that now takes at least a Day. And those computers will be Able to give commanders a Range of options and Tell them when a Battle plan Isnit working Ana suggest appropriate responses. Officers will Brief their troops using to screens instead of pointers and paper maps on easels. The technology expo is designed to spark new ideas As Well As sell the nation on the importance of such work in an Era of budget cuts. A the decision was very specifically made to keep the ramp Das High As possible because that a the seed com a Brown said. A a that a the future. We re going to push the
