European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 10, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday october 10, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 3crisis in the War s no game but desert shield is now Baltimore apr you be seen game Aims to teach another More so persian Gulf Between Iraq and the unit every time. But Herrman said the real it on television and in the papers now Bering lesson. Driving Iraq out of sued states and its allies. The Board is a Challenge for the . Player is to defeat there a the Board game a desert wait without heavy . Casualties re map of the Gulf broken into octagonal Iraq while keeping losses Down. Shield. Quires patience a and a Little Luck. Armchair generals who Hunker Down a there is a lot of Force on the other with the $40 game which was due to be Side of the line. You just done to go after shipped to stores tuesday will learn them head on a Herrman said. It. A mfg Furro in in Matr a Frt that iraqis brute Force is no match for . Technological superiority the games maker says. But Mark Herrman a defense department consultant who designed the desert shield is actually an update of a 1983 game by Herrman called Gulf strike in which the premise is Iran invading saudi Arabia. The game of desert shield simulates sections. The game pieces Are cardboard rectangles representing troops and armaments. Players do Battle moving Back and Forth Over the octagons with a die and game cards to direct the outcome. The game gives the . Side a technological advantage and is set up so that unless the iraqi Side shows a Napoleonic game for Avalon Hill game co., said his in living room safety the standoff in the gift for strategy the United states wins Herrman cautioned prospective players that his game is not a three Day War. A this can take time a he said. And even if the . Player shows proper patience and tactics there is no guarantee against heavy Battlefield losses. A War is always Chance a Herrman said. Army chief of staff visits desert shield troops an airbase in saudi Arabia up a the army chief of staff Gen. Carl Vuono paid a morale boosting visit to army units across saudi Arabia but offered no indication of when they might get rotated Home Vuono arriving at a position of the 11th air defense arty brigade from fort Bliss Texas for Brief remarks before returning to Washington told the troops a you did what we asked you to do and what we asked you to do was deter iraqis and defend saudi  later in answer to questions from reporters he said the soldiers a will be the first to know when they can rotate Home. But he offered no suggestions about a timetable for unit rotations. Vuono visited every  the country including the combat forces closest to the Kuwait Border and said he was impressed with the training and readiness of the units. He also defended the record of the ah-64 Apache helicopter saying it was a the finest attack helicopter in the world. Its exceeded our expectations in terms of its readiness. We knew this was a harsh environment. We re ready for it and that helicopter is doing a Superb  the chief of staff also said he was pleased at How Well the system of flying soldiers in just As their gear was due to arrive by ship had worked. But he said a things never go exactly according to  a number of soldiers far closer to the front have complained to reporters they have had to eat vacuum packed meals called res a meals ready to eat a for As Long As 30 Days and have seen Little freshly cooked food. Hot meals typically consist of tinned entrees and vegetables that have a three year shelf life. Vuono was quizzed about the food complaints and insisted a we done to know about anybody having to eat res for 30 Days. A everywhere in be been today and in be been As far Forward As you can get. They Are getting a mix of res and t Gen. Carl Vuono the army a chief of staff Speaks with pfc. Roger Pankey of St. James mo., while visiting troops in saudi Arabia. Rations Flaree trans that Are heated on freshly cooked local food products ing a decision several years ago to use cat steam tables and they Are getting a hot meal we Are serving hot meals a said eng services at bases Vuono said we steam tames Ana Iney Are Geum j a t00k that into account some time ago and Mhz my Nice that kind of thing. And questioned about the apparent provided additional Cooks to All of our a where we can serve an a ration Lack of trained Cooks in the army follow units. Open terrain makes Engineer s Job difficult a Ini in can i Arabia for a nov by Vince Crawley staff writer with the 12th aviation brigade saudi Arabia a if fighting starts capt. Bill Vickers Job will be to put minefields and tank ditches on the desert floor. These Are age old military tricks to slow Down the enemy or at least make him change course. Sort of like corralling tanks so brigade helicopters can get a cleaner shot at them. A the terrain Here is so wide open that it makes planning obstacles that much More difficult a said Vickers a 29-year-old Elpaso Texas native. A a it a easy to negate the effectiveness of an  in saudi Arabia the problem is that there a enough space for an attacking tank Force to simply drive around whatever a been put in the Way. Still the diversion can be of some use he said. A if you cause the Guy to disrupt his movement then the obstacle is  As american tank Crews Are discovering the desert does no to always give free passage to tanks. Tankers like to use a was much hard surface Road As possible and go Down the High Speed lanes a Vickers said. So it would be logical for a commander to place obstacles along roads. Tank ditches for one will work. And they done to necessarily have to be real. As Long As a Tanker even thinks he sees a tank ditch hell probably swerve to avoid it. A a it a a conditioned response a Vickers said noting that fake tank ditches have worked Well on Maneu vers in the United states and Germany. A and it will work here.�?�. Minefields Are another thing Vickers can put in the ground. When the first tank gets blown up an armoured column will probably keep pushing Forward. But when the second one goes the Crews Start thinking twice he said. Up until a few weeks ago Vickers was a company commander for the 547th engr in in Darmstadt Ger Many. Then he got called to saudi Arabia for duty with v corps 12th aviation brigade making Vickers what he believes is the Only Engineer officer assigned to an army aviation brigade. Used to working alongside tanks Vickers said he s had to expand his thinking to include the third dimension of helicopter warfare. He accompanies commanders on Aerial surveys of possible Battleground and they Tell him their Likely strategies. Vickers then figures out what it would take to Herd the enemy a forces into the aviators Sites. Vickers was disappointed to lose command of his company. A command is something special especially for engineers a he said. A a it a what you look Forward to your whole life moving up through the ranks. But the Job he a doing in the Gulf seems enough that he a going to suggest combat engineers be made a permanent part of aviation staffs