European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 14, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Friday december 14, 1990 the stars and stripes crisis in the Gulf it map a kuwaiti official flashes a a a a sign to a kuwaiti fighter plane on the runway at a saudi arabian air base of action spirits. By Ken Clausen. A. Quot. Middle East Bureau Eastern saudi Arabia Kuwait s tiny air Force practices attack missions every Day from air bases in saudi Arabia but the pilots never use live ammunition. Rumor has it this prevents impassioned aviators from starting an Impromptu War of liberation on . Senior officers however say they done to want to waste ammunition on practice runs a a it a Worth More to drop the ammo on iraqis instead of on Dummy targets a said it. Col. Muhammed Mubarak the so 19 commander. The pilots train frequently with practice bombs the same size and weight As live ones he said. Mubarak flies one of Kuwait a 20 surviving a-4 sky Hawks All with a free Kuwait printed in Large Block letters in English on both sides of the fuselage. He and his fellow pilots would like to bomb the iraqis Back to Baghdad. A i would like to get the iraqis out and kill them a a Mubarak said. A they have killed kuwaitis and a lot of other innocent people. There is no Way the iraqis can pay this Back peacefully they must be a the pilots morale is very High and of course they Are angry a said it. Col. Sultan Abdulla the squadrons Deputy commander and operations officer a they want their country Back. Most of them lost relatives one Way or the kuwaiti air Force in exile consists of about 90 people of whom an unspecified number Are pilots. One Pilot however said they have More fighter pilots than planes to Fly. Mubarak said they have about 15 French built Mirage fighters at a base in saudi Arabia along with some cargo planes and helicopters. He said 10 a-4 sky Hawks were left in Kuwait in maintenance Bays of although the iraqi military buildup along the Kuwait Border had been common knowledge the aug. 2 invasion nonetheless caught kuwaiti forces by Surprise the iraqi army swept into Kuwait so swiftly that Kuwait a pilots could Only fight Back for the first Day. So 19 flew to saudi Arabia on aug 3, when its air base in Central Kuwait was about to be overrun Abdulla said. A the unit did very Well a he said. A they fought All Day. We got convoys ammo trucks shot Down some helicopters and killed lots of soldiers Quot. The kuwaitis lost no aircraft although one was hit by a Sam-7 missile Abdulla said. When they left their air base for the last time its runways had been destroyed he said. The pilots took of from a narrow service Road that was less than two car widths from Edge to Edge he not easy for a Pilot who is trained on a wide Kuwait a fighter pilots were trained in America by the . Air Force and Navy. V a we have practice with the americans without any problem a said 1st it. Aii Al Yassen an a-4 Pilot. Every Day we practice with the americans the saudis All the allies. About three Days a week we the american Azacs a or airborne warning and control system aircraft. 1 the kuwaiti a-4s Are armed with rockets aim-9 sidewinder missiles bombs and 2 Jim Gatling guns Al Yassen said. In combat they provide air support to ground troops. V the maintenance Crews in saudi Arabia Are mostly americans working with a few kuwaitis. About half the Crews in managed to escape but the Fate of the rest is unknown one kuwaiti said. A kuwaiti air Force avionics technician said he was at the Airfield when it was overrun a the iraqis came with guns and tanks a he said. A they put All of us in the Center of the runway. They took Al of the officers to Baghdad a they said anyone with civilian . Could go. In a military but i showed them civilian identification a a he said he escaped through the desert to saudi Arabia with his wife and children but still has family members in Kuwait. About 60 american technicians have come from the United states As contracted maintenance Crews most Are . Navy these aircraft Are in excellent condition a said Frank Summers a former . Navy a-4 technician. The lust a-4 was produced in 1979, a these were the last ones off the line. They done to have that Many flight hours on them and they re in excellent shape. Quot a a a a. A it sometimes takes 10 to 14 Days to get parts but we re getting excellent kuwaiti pilots Hope for an Early settlement to the crisis if possible before Ramadan a month of moslem religious observances. This year Ramadan begins March 17. ,. A. A i think our feeling is not hidden to anyone a Abdulla said. A everyone knows we want our country Back we want our Back. We want the iraqis kicked out of Kuwait by Force and we Are willing to die for that. A i feel that Saddam will not withdraw from Kuwait and that War is imminent a he said. A i Hope to spend Ramadan in Kuwait. God Gulf briefs More details provided for using saudi help line Heidi 1 Berg. Germany a wifi vines have provided tur her inside tons on How families of soldiers deployed to saudi Arabia Ean dial Telephone. Information lines set up in army Eonni cities throughout Europe the helpful 1 Telephone system provides Community members with a single Point of Eon Laet for information. Family members can obtain such information As a there to turn for. Help with problems hours of Community facilities and sen ices and events. To Fearn the Fine from a civilian phone callers must dial the Community s civilian to military Exchange followed by 111. In 1 Leidel Herg. Lor example the number would be 06221-57-111. The line cannot be reached by dealing the three digit i vis prefix plus 111. When using a military1 phone callers should simply dial 111. Marine mom coordinates operation Moonbeam Washington a the Mother of a Marine serving in saudi Arabia wants to coordinate a link Between All deployed Servie members and their loved ones on christinas Day Wilh the Central focus being the Moon. V Anne Schiller Moth a of pee Brian Schiller with the 1st Marine div Hopes to rally interest in a project she Calls oper Ilion Moonbeam. A on Christmas determine your time zone and come out of your House and look to the Eastern sky for the Moon a Schiller said. A even if its hidden behind Clouds ills still there and its the same Moon our troops Yville lie watching at the. Exact statue moment As you while gazing at the Moon Schiller has chosen five Christmas carols to be swing emiling with Quot i Al there he peace on the other Lour carols Are Quot of come Allye faithful a a Joy to the world a a silent night and a we wish you a merry a coordinated times for operation Moonbeam Are saudi Arabia 11 . London 9p.m. New York 3 . Chicago 2 . And los Angeles noon. A Schiller is founder of an organization called of cration Over there. The Chicago based group has provided thousands of care packages and letters to the troops in the Middle East since its the i is troops to Alert stateside a n is merchants National Bank officials Are urging customers assigned to saudi Arabia to let stateside Banks know when family members Are Given a Power of attorney Over their finances. The notification is especially important when a family member left behind in Europe has been Given authority to write Cheeks on a stateside Bank account. If institutions in the states Are not no Titica when the Power of attorney is prepared it can Lead to trouble. Checks with unknown signatures May be returned unpaid and a $15 bad Check charge will be applied merchants Hank officials said. The problem can be easily avoided though. Account holders Sho old simply Send a copy of the Power of attorney and a letter of explanation to their Banks in the states merchants Hank branches have form letters that can be used to assist customers with the deploying Jan. 23 Raf Alconbury England Ami Nank aircraft arid personnel from the 10thtacfightcr Wing will begin deploying Jan. 23 to the persian Gulf Region in support of operation desert shield this will be the first deployment Ofa los from this base located about 60 Miles North of London. Forty a 10s Are assigned to the Wing. About 3,050 military personnel Are stationed at the base which also has assigned to it the strategic air Comdr a j,7th recon Wing which flies tr-1 surveillance aircraft
