European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 8, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Monday october 8, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 3crisis in the Gul sandlot baseball a some marines find they can still indulge in the nations pastime in the saudi desert with a Little improvisation. Here an a handle is substituted for a baseball Bat. The blowing Sand Wasny to part of the game plan. Gulf briefs Eastern offers specials for Young dependents Washington a amps a to accommodate desert shield Eastern air lines has waived restrictions on military leave fares and will allow some Young dependents to Fly unaccompanied. Eastern a offer includes discounts of up to 50 percent on the unrestricted coach fare Purchase of tickets on a one Way basis no Advance Purchase requirements and fully refundable tickets officials said. Also Eastern will allow military family members Ages 5 to 11 to Fly unaccompanied. The policy change is intended to help military couples and single parents deploying from the United states to the Middle East who must Send children to live with relatives officials card company sends materials to troops Munich Germany a amps a when they heard that american troops in saudia Arabia were Short of writing materials employees at a German greeting card company decided to Kielp out. The Munich based company called m 44 Verag a Mph sent 500 samples of its English language cards and about 100 Christmas cards to desert shield commander Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf said Glenn Lockhart the company a american representative. Company president Jurgen Werner asked Schwarzkopf to distribute the cards where they were most wanted to give something to the army a said Maggie Tarantik a company Secretary. A a it a a Little bit i know but we wanted to give a bit of the cards which were sent thursday carry messages such As a hello hello a and a a everything a repair unit Battles desert enemies by Dave Tarrant staff writer with the . Forces saudi Arabia dust Sand and heat pose almost As much of a threat to . Helicopters As the massive array of iraqi weaponry lined up in Kuwait. To an infantry Man heat and Sand make life uncomfortable. To technicians charged with keeping helicopters flying they can become ruthless enemies of sensitive electronics and computers that operate the weapons systems aboard Apache gunships. So the brigade is a digging in to protect the valuable state of the Art machinery. A this is definitely an environment that requires adaptation a said it. Col. Paul Murtha executive officer of the brigade based in Wiesbaden Germany. A when you have a Blade moving at the Speed of sound and you have Sand in its path what a going to happen is irs going to act As an abrasive a Murtha said. In some cases Crews Are applying an epoxy sealant Over the Blades. Sometimes they add a protective layer of erosion resistant tape Over the leading Edge of rotary Blades. A that cuts the abrasion Down to nothing a Murtha said. Dust filters Over the chopper turbines separate and blow out grains of Sand before they hit the first stage Turbine Blades he said. A the Sand goes out As the air goes seven army Navy and Marine helicopters have crashed in the arabian Gulf Region in the two months since . Troops deployed to saudi Arabia. Three were army oh-58 Kiowa scouts and one a uh-60 Black brigade starts from scratch continued from Page 1 ters Murtha said maintenance problems have been Moor a the equivalent of broken ashtrays and burned out dashboard fights on automobiles. A things Haven to changed that much in terms of training Murtha said. A there Are adjustments but its not As though we had to Roll Over and make new helicopter pilots accustomed to sitting their aircraft Between Trees and hilltops suddenly have nowhere to hide. But that works both ways. A in world War ii the British used to talk about being Able to see the germans approaching for a Long enough time that you could still have Tea a the executive Ottimer said. A in essence we can do that with our optics restricted Only by the curve of the that Means his Crews also Are exposed. But a a there a hiding Here too a Murtha said. It just Isnit obvious. For instance helicopters can hide by staying Low in front of slopes he said. The brigades safety officer said the units philosophy on training is to Progress slowly in order to adjust to the a . A you crawl you walk and you run a warrant officer 4 Joseph Bailey. There a really no place that i know of a not even the National training Center in California a that do Sai dates environment that we re operating in a he for that reason commanders have imposed temporary Altitude restrictions in some areas that Are consid ered too dangerous to navigate. A if you re used to flying Over terrain where you have Trees highways mountains and Hills that constantly give you a contrast so that you can Deal with depth perception and then you go out into a terrain that a like a Pool table with no mountains no Trees you have to become trained a Bailey said. A was they Progress in their understanding of the environment in the visual cues a what tells you How High you Are and How you can determine which Way the wind is blowing in the desert a they get into the walk stage. Eventually they get into the run one of the brigades toughest problems Murtha said is keeping the people from burning out. The training Pace is much faster than it was Back in Germany so commanders have to keep a Fine balance Between grueling War preparations and excessive stress. Murtha whose parents were in the Navy recalled a cartoon head seen in All hands Magazine Back in the �?T50s. It showed a Petty officer blocking the doorway to the admirals office. The no was using his body to hold Back a horde of men with rifles knives and other weapons All straining to break past him. The caption Murtha said was a sir in be got the men in fighting trim. Not what the hell do you want me to do with them a for now said Murtha a a we re flying like crazy. There a been no accidents. And we re flying our Butts off Hawk a military spokesman said. But the Apache ah-64, which the general accounting office characterized As unreliable in a recent Tough report has not had any accidents reported. Murtha dismissed the Gao study issued sept. 28. It reported that Apache tank killers have a higher than expected rate of maintenance failures. The Gao said the choppers need repairs after an average of 2vi hours in the air during peacetime and might prove useless in a War. The 12th aviation brigade has a substantial number of apaches but under military rules for coverage of the Gulf operation the exact number cannot be published. A your maintenance Crews have a vested interest in seeing these Birds Fly a Murtha said. A if the aircraft does no to come Back be out of a Job. And the Pilot if he makes it will come Back and kick their Butts. A and if you lose All the aircraft then the enemy will be All Over you like a cheap the brigade is supported by an elaborate and self contained maintenance facility that resembles a trailer Park where Crews replace major components and do repairs and preventive maintenance. About 60 percent of the technicians work in about a dozen Large 10-foot-by-14-foot air conditioned vans partly for Comfort and partly because of the special tools equipment and the sanitary conditions required for the work. A a it a real Tough to drag us along on the Battlefield. We re not real Mobile a said maj. Lowell lovin 35, of Kannapolis n.c., whose 8th in 158th aviation regt is supporting the brigade. Should the brigade move Forward the unit can put together Mobile maintenance Crews he said. Inside the vans the Crews Deal with everything from navigation and radar systems to sighting and optical equipment. A most of our facilities Are capable of doing everything. They re completely wired up and environmentally controlled so that we can sit in Here and just about test or repair everything provided we have the equipment and expertise a said chief warrant officer Raymond Horn. A in Germany you got the moisture and the dampness a Horn said. A Over Here its the dirt and the heat and the Gritty so far no major adjustments have been necessary to protect the elaborate electronic equipment. A a it a obvious its going to take an increased amount of time to take care of them to keep the dirt off and All that. But i done to see any reason Why they work a he said
