European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - November 28, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday november 28, 1990 the stars and stripes a a a Page 3crisis in the null crisis to alter . Military role forever continued from Page 1 the support elements. Additional Armor and artillery and mechanized forces. Four More Marine corps amphibious brigades More than 50,000 troops. More naval firepower to pulverize the beaches in Advance of Marine landings. More heavy bombers More assault choppers and troop transports More naval air support. More fuel food spare parts. More guns More troops More bullets More bombs. More hospitals. A you know and i know sir that if we have to push him out of Kuwait its going to take time and its going to be bloody. Do they know that Back in Washington a Schwarzkopf said. A they know a Powell said. The late october decision to nearly double . Forces was the most fateful turning Point of the persian Gulf crisis. It marked a change in the . Military posture and signalled a willingness to wage War a offensive War a to enforce the presidents demands that Iraq leave Kuwait. Everything until then was prologue. The consequences that flow from that decision will be enormous. Bush Hopes that the sheer size of the Force a nearly half a million men and women a will intimidate Saddam into withdrawing. But if it does not Bush says the inevitable outcome is War. Either Way the balance of military Power in the Middle East will be changed forever. The . Military too will be fundamentally altered in ways that now Are difficult to predict. When the crisis hit the . Armed services were in the midst of the most wrenching period of soul searching since the Vietnam War. They were under orders to shrink by 25 percent to scale Back their overseas deployments curtail training padlock bases kill new weapons and rethink their missions in a radically changing world. Pentagon planners sardonically joked that the . Military was taking More casualties on Capitol Hill than it Ever suffered on Europe s Central front. On aug. 1, the Pentagon a policy planning staff was wrestling with those questions putting the final touches on a major speech that Bush was to deliver the next Day in Aspen colo., laying out a new . Military strategy for the coming decade. A a we re entering a new Era a they wrote for Bush. A the defense strategy and Mili commander of . Forces in the Middle East Quot if we have to push Saddam out of Kuwait its going to take time and its going to be bloody. Do they know that Back in Washington a Quot the  the forces in place to pursue All options a including full bore land sea and air assault on the 43b,000-Man iraqi army in and near Kuwait and a drive toward Baghdad. Ruler of saudi Arabia Quot never before have we had foreign forces on our soil. But i have to put the Security and survival of the saudi people first. We Trust the United states. We know you will do what you  Tail a concept known As airland Battle will be tested for the first time. The High Quality High technology Volunteer services built up Over the past decade at a Cost of More than $1 trillion May be decimated by casualties and a Rush of Early retirements. A this experience is the Crucible for our defense posture for the rest of this Century and the first part of the next a said it. Gen. Henry Viccellio jr., air Force Deputy chief of staff for logistics. United states. We know you will do what you say. A god willing we will be  moments later Cheney Schwarzkopf and the others left the room. Cheney called Bush. Schwarzkopf called his Central come Headquarters in Tampa Fla. He ordered the 82nd airborne div to depart immediately for saudi Arabia. Perhaps most critical the military serv a a a pie a a a tary Structure needed to ensure peace can and must be different. And in this world America remains a Pivotal Factor for peaceful change. Important american interests in Europe and the Pacific in the Mediterranean and in the persian Gulf a All Are key reasons Why maintaining a Forward presence will remain an indispensable element of our  As those words were being written an urgent Rush of highly classified cables began pouring into the Pentagon. . Ana Allied intelligence agencies reported that iraqi forces on the kuwaiti Border were preparing for an attack. A it looks like its going to be a Long night a one official said. It proved to be More than 100 Long nights. And the a Forward presence that these Pentagon officials spoke of in their draft speech took on an ominous new meaning. Four Days later the decision was made to commit nearly a Quarter million . Troops to the defense of saudi Arabia and the Oil lifeline of the Industrial world. Virtually every weapon in the . Arsenal a Many never before used in combat a would be loaded on ships and aircraft and sent to the theater. # out of this adventure May arise a costly decades Long commitment to police the Region with Large standing forces not unlike the armies the United states has maintained in South Korea and Europe for 40 years. The Basic War fighting doctrine that now guides the american Mili the massive commitment goes Back to a decision made on aug. 6. It was 8 20 . In the saudi Royal family a private Council room in the summer Palace. King fahd who had cautiously directed the modernization of a traditional Sheik Dom was about to make a decision that would forever change his insular desert Domain. Fahd listened in brooding silence As Cheney and Schwarzkopf presented their plan to land a Quarter million . Troops m saudi Arabia. Intelligence photographs were displayed. They showed that at least 100,000 crack iraqi troops were in Kuwait taking up positions near the saudi Border. After the americans completed their remarks according to three participants the King said to his son Crown Prince Abdullah a the kuwaitis waited too Long. As a result no longer is there a  a ooh yes there is father a the Prince said. Fahd retorted dismissively yes and the entire nation is living in our hotel  he then turned to address Cheney and the rest of the Small . Delegation a we accept your proposal a he said on the condition that the americans solemnly Promise to respect saudi sovereignty and withdraw the troops when they Are no longer needed. A never before a fahd said a have we had foreign forces on our soil. But i have to put the Security and survival of the saudi people first. I believe that president Bush is a Man of his word. We Trust the . Military training doctrine and hardware will be sorely tested in the coming months no matter How the crisis ultimately ends. The desert the sea and the enemy will teach Many lessons whether they Are Learned will be the True measure of this massive exercise of american might. Already the United states has Learned that it lacks sufficient Airlift and sea lift to move a Large Force quickly to a Distant conflict. From that lesson will come a costly new commitment to pre position huge stocks of War fighting equipment in the Middle East. Pilots have Learned How easy it is to become disoriented in the barrenness of the saudi desert. New training requirements and routines will result. Reserve and National guard troops have Learned that their pay and benefits come at a High Cost a realization that Many believe will Lead to fewer volunteers. The Pentagon a bet the farm on the ability of the services to rely on the National guard and reserves in time of crisis a senior defense official said. A a we la know at the end of All this whether it works. Ices 15-year investment in people will face a searching examination. In no area has the military expended More Money More Energy More self criticism than in preparing its men and women for Battle. Civilian and uniformed officials All contend that the military of 1990 is the High est Quality . Fighting Force Ever assembled. Soon perhaps the nation shall see. Schwarzkopf is achingly aware of the Burden he bears. A ground War in the desert he said last month a could last a Long Long time and kill an awful lot of people. I guess ill say this there Are a lot of these people that keep saying a we ought to go Over there and do this. A we ought to go Over there and do that but they Are not talking about being with us when it happens. A the a we that they Are talking about is the hundreds of thousands of american soldiers sailors air Force and marines. We ought to think a Little bit about what the Cost is going to be. Not Only to us but to the enemy  Cost the president has yet to address the St of desert shield which will one Day expensive new weapons irom the Apache helicopter to the m1a1 tank to the f-117 stealth fighter and a thousand smaller systems will be tested in real life conditions. So far military officials in saudi Arabia said they have held up Well. But until called into actual combat their performance remains in question. Multi jillion Dollar decisions on How to equip the Force of the future will be made based on this experience. E be measured in lost lives and lost treasure. And it also May rend the fabric of the armed services which have been painstakingly stitched Back together after the trauma of Vietnam. Military and political leaders agree if president Bush leads the nation into War he must forcefully state his goals and meet them at an acceptable Cost. A the Impact on the american military and the people will be directly related to the number of casualties a says sen. John Mccain r-ariz., a former Navy Pilot who was shot Down and taken prisoner in North Vietnam. A if the casualties Are Low it will have an enhancing effect. If we get bogged Down in some kind of a tank War. The american people will be very dissatisfied. A we not Only have to make sure we win this one but we have to make sure we win so we can fight another one if we have