European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - October 12, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Friday october 12, 1990 the stars and stripes Page 3crisis in the null desert duty yields invaluable training Germany based aircrews become More motivated by Vince Crawley and Dave Tarrant staff writers with the 12th aviation brigade saudi Arabia a . Helicopter units from Germany Are putting the Best face possible on their sojourn to the Sands of saudi Arabia. A even if nothing happens this is the greatest training exercise we be Ever had a said chief warrant officer 4 Randall r. Parkins an Apache Pilot from Hanau Germany. A so for those who Are worried about All the dollars being spent there a some fruit to it even if there is no  Parkins unit the 3rd army dives 3rd in 227th attack helicopter regt is one of several Germany based outfits that Are beefing up v corps 12th aviation brigade in the persian Gulf Region. Parkins said that his wife Nancy is a holding Down the fort in Hanau where she lives with their two children Ben 10, and Abbie 6. The aircrews in saudi Arabia Are a More motivated than they would be at just a Grafe Wohr rotation a Parkins said referring to the army a training Range in Bavaria. A there they know their lives depend on How Well they learn what they need to  if an aircraft has to make an emergency Landing out in the desert the whole unit needs to know How to get the Crew Back he said. A in Germany a Parkins said a somebody would walk to a Gasthaus and have a schnitzel while waiting for help to get  creature comforts though Haven to quite caught up with the training Pace. A email is just now starting to come in but there a no phone service a Parkins said. A a we re learning to improvise quite a bit a added chief warrant officer 2 Paul Kuklish a 30-year-old Apache Pilot from Tacoma Wash. A a we be been Able to get people to buy us fans and maybe a  but some things he can to replace. A i have four sons. In be missed two birthdays already and the 15th is our e  military rules done to allow the locations of . Bases in saudi Arabia to be published. But the v corps air Crews Are living fairly comfortably by operation desert shield standards. Most sleep inside on cots or air mattresses. Some even fashion furniture out of the old cardboard boxes that rations come in. Some use Nylon Parachute Cord to hang up their hand washed laundry to dry. Mail occasionally brings a monopoly game a chessboard or a deck of cards. Physical training or it is three mornings a week and includes lots of running volleyball and touch football. Many Crew members also exercise on their off time. Sometimes the Crews visit outposts where life is More primitive. There they might stay in tents or old cinder lock buildings that look As though they a been abandoned Long before the american arrival. A a in a satisfied a said sgt. Mark Gibbs of Shortsville . A usually when wed go out to the Field in Germany we had no showers and stuff. Here we have showers set up and we have portable  about the Only thing the 22-year-old Aerial scout observer misses Are his weights. Lifting makeshift Sand filled water bottles which some troops Are doing is not much of a substitute for the muscular Gibbs. But Gibbs who is with Wiesbaden a 5th so 6th Cav regt has no other regrets about his desert duty. A i think its great. I have no problems with it. These people Iraq think they can move into wherever and take Over the worlds Oil Supply. I mean someone a got to Stop  coming from the Cool and moist climate of Germany to the dry heat of saudi Arabia took some adjustment for the troops of these units. A at first you drink All these liter bottles of water and find yourself going to the toilet every 10 minutes a said staff sgt. Thomas Coleman 27, an Aerial observer who a also with the Wiesbaden unit. A a in a from Louisiana and in be been to the National training Center in California five times so i can fend for myself in this weather a he said. Spec. Lawrence Holloway has taken to calling himself Lawrence of Arabia. The 22-Ycar-old Apache Mechanic from Miami is a battalion commanders Driver from Hanau. Most of his unit the 3rd in 227th attack helicopter regt has stayed together since its activation More than two years ago. A a in a say we still have 80 percent of the original 100. So we know How to work together How to live together a Holloway said. As a non commissioned officer staff sgt. Bennie Wrotten is keeping track of morale. A let me just say i think morale could be better but i done to have answers on what we could do to make it better a he said. A a lot of mornings you get up you get a lot of laughter. Some mornings you get up you want to kill  in his time off a i write letters and sit Down and talk to soldiers try to find out what son their mind and keep them  an ammunition sergeant Wrotten is 33 and comes from West Memphis Ark. He a with the 3rd in 4th aviation regt from Mainz Fin then and is one of the 8th inf div soldiers attached to the task Force Here. His wife spec. Linda Wrotten is a Cook in v corps and is in charge of their two boys Ages 1 and 4. A a she a fighting that War alone a Wrotten said. Head just got a letter from her and it had taken Only four Days to make it Down from Germany. But other troops in the unit Haven to been so Lucky. A the problems with the mail still Haven to been worked out a he said. A a there a a big  one of his soldiers that Day had received a letter with a 2-week-old postmark. Wrote Cne a letter which had come that afternoon was still in his pocket still scaled a a until i can sit Down and rest awhile before i open  saudi Arabia struggling to double recruitment for Navy expansion plan aboard Tabuk in the Gulf apr the saudi Navy started 20 years ago in a county More comfortable with Sand than the sea is trying to recruit enough sailors to Field larger ships officers say. The Navy Hopes to double its recruits from about 3,000 per year so it can staff Large frigate class warships As part of an ambitious expansion Campaign they said. A was we get bigger ships we find it difficult to Man some of them fully a cmdr. Faraj Al Gathian one of four Squadron leaders in the Eastern Fleet that patrols the Gulf said wednesday. The Navy has taken a number of Steps to overcome the problem including heavy computerization on Board ships to pare the number of personnel needed an advertising Campaign that emphasizes the Navy As a career pay incentives and special attention to family needs while men Are at sea. A if you have a country with Long shores to have the shores protected you need a powerful Navy a said capt. Ibrahim Al mag Louth commanding officer of this Corvette class ship named after one of the 7th-Centuiy Battles of islam a Prophet Mohammed. The officers spoke while giving the Western press its first extensive tour of saudi naval facilities since iraqis aug. 2 invasion of Kuwait. Much of the tour was spent aboard the Tabuk watching exercises 70 Miles off the coast. The larger ships in the saudi Navy up to 10,000 tons Are stationed at naval bases along the Western red sea coast. In total the Navy has 7,200 men including 1,200 marines. It has eight frigates 13 patrol and combat ships and four mine sweepers. Its air Wing consists of 24 helicopters. A the saudi Navy has the capability to defend the coast in this Region. We have Good defensive equipment a said capt. Ibrahim aqqad flotilla commander and acting commander of the Abdul Aziz naval base in Jubal opened 11 years ago. The saudi Navy has not been involved in the interdiction and boarding of ships heading to and from Iraq but is monitoring traffic he said. The ships have been boarded by Western navies to enforce the  embargo of Iraq. The Navy has never fired a shot in anger even during the 1980-88 Iran Iraq War in which dozens of ships were attacked. It is one of the youngest of the navies in the Gulf and faces the daunting task of recruiting sailors in a largely bedouin society with no tradition of seafaring. Saudi naval officers aboard the Tabuk scan the Gulf Waters for mines while on patrol. A people were not familiar with the sea especially the desert Peop Gathian. A they feared tile a said Al e sea. They thought it was  the 37-year-old officer had to fight family opposition when he joined 17 years ago an experience echoed by Many Crew members. Women Are not allowed to drive in saudi Arabia so the Navy has set up services on its bases so provisions Are available without leaving Home. Buses shuttle children to schools through High school level on base and women can pick up the Telephone and order groceries delivered from stores. Frequent newspaper advertisements emphasize that the Navy is a career an incentive in a country that cannot find jobs for All its University graduates. A join the Navy for a better future a is one current slogan. Study in the United states for officers is another incentive. Navy salaries Are 5 percent to 10 percent higher than those in other forces with new recruits starting at $1,000 per month and getting automatic annual raises of about $100 a month during their years in training officers said. The Navy is also trying to Cut its manpower needs by stressing computers. One computer links All the radar systems tracking surface air and underwater threats to the Tabuk for example. The computer operator can fire All the weapons systems from the War room including ship to ship missiles anti aircraft missiles a rapid fire machine gun and a 76mm gun. The chief Mechanic can watch All the engine room functions with a computer. As a consequence a ship like the Tabuk can be staffed with a Crew of 75 instead of the Normal complement of 150, said Al Gathian. But the Navy needs As Many men As it can because it wants to beef up its forces with More frigates As Well As destroyers he said a 10-year-old Campaign made More critical by the iraqi invasion. A this area has been in crisis for a Long time and the Navy is trying to catch up with the other armed forces a Al Gathian said