European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - December 27, 1990, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 2 the stars and stripes thursday december 27,1990crisis in the Gull Gen Colin Powell turns the forehead of air Force sgt. Thaddeus Fernandez into a desk to autograph some saudi Money during a visit Friday to an air base in saudi Arabia. Fernandez is from Lackland fab san Antonio a us sir gis on four its on the conduct of War. The troops for the most part responded. They laughed at Cheney a jokes and roared approval of his promises that there would be no restrictions on them if combat began but none got the answer they most wanted and some such As airman re. Miller were unsatisfied t. A a a a Only two ways to go a Miller said disgusted. A either North to Kuwait or Home. Its All i want to staff sgt Armando Graham a hulking Security policeman screwed up face in disbelief when he heard Powell Tell pilots of tank killing a-10 jets that a a it a going to be fun if it Ever gets a a what amp he calling fun Quot Graham asked no one in particular. A a he a not going to be but later when the troops pressed Powell for snapshots and autographs Graham was right up front. Powell was mobbed like a Rock Star signing anything they put in front of him a magazines saudi currency a skateboard he used airmen a foreheads to Brae his pc v i o a the questions from service members were often searching and always to the Point. Among support troops a maintenance workers Drivers and engineers a they tended toward the big picture. Was the administration ready to leave iraqi president Saddam Hussein in Power if he withdrew could Saddam split the american led coalition with a partial withdrawal How would the military so total Force Quot concept combining Active duty troops and reserves survive the Longres tonally mandated budget reductions of the 1990s?, front line troops tended More toward the immediate in their questions. A sir is it possible for us to get the m60e2 machine gun a asked a member of the 101st airborne div. A where and How would a Light infantry unit be used against a main armoured threat Quot asked another. Powell reassured the troops they would have what they needed if it came to a fight with Saddam to a Challenge him in ways he a never seen before Quot the general said he remembered what it Felt like to wait. He knew , a the thoughts you re Given late a t night and How your stomach turns Over a stay with us keep being the professionals you be been so far a Powell said a and Well take care of your families until you get Home by Barton Gellman the Washington Post a a with . Forces saudi Arabia a spec Garth Flowers Bent deep in a newly dug Bunker hoisted a sandbag in one smooth pull and handed it to the United states ranking general. Absorbed in his labor amid the stunning explosions of 105mm howitzers Flowers had not heard the vips arriving. He mistook the outstretched handshake of Gen. Colin Powell chairman of the joint chiefs of staff for the reach of a neighbouring Grunt in the sandbag brigade. Flowers said his career passed in front of him when he saw the four stars on Powell a Battle fatigues but the general did not seem to mind. Smiling broadly he slammed the sandbag into a Bunker and wished the dazed artillerymen a merry Christmas. A i did no to even know who it was a said Flowers still. Talking to himself three , Powell frequently made that kind of impression on Star struck troops in two Days of visits to Forward positions last week the general communed mainly with the troops and largely left to defense Secretary Dick Cheney the daily diplomatic message conveyed with carefully modulated belligerence to travelling reporters with some service members Powell cracked jokes and posed for photographs with others he spoke quietly of fear late at night and a How your stomach turns Over . To All who asked and some who did not Powell answered the most urgent question with an absence of bravado a be ready for preparing for War aides said was the principal business of the two top . Defense officials in their five Day trip through the persian Gulf which ended sunday. Cheney and Powell spent Many hours in top secret consultations with theater commanders reviewing War plans and readiness reports in the . Central Comdr a War room in Riyadh. Cheney who has never uniform used digs at the Media and Congress to forge us against them links to the service members. A maybe we can ask the press Here to leave for a moment a he replied several times when he did not want to answer a question from the troops fused to be a congressman before i found honest work a he told an airman of the 23rd Tae fighter Wing who asked whether Congress would place political Jim Gulf brie Saf names no adviser for enlisted troops in Gulf Kelly fab Texas a chief master sgt. Paul Burchull has been named the senior enlisted adviser for air Force personnel deployed to desert shield the 26-Ycar air Force Veteran was appointed by the . Central come air forces commander it. Gen Charles Horner. Burch Ell said his Job would be to a visit All the locations where air Force people Are and find out what their con earns Are. Then i try to answer any questions they May a. So fur Burchull said the troops biggest questions have been when they Are going to fight and w Hen they Are going Home. Italy to add 6 fighters to its Force in Mideast Rome a Italy will add six fighter jets to the multinational Force in the persian Gulf an italian newspaper reported. Corriere Della Sera a Milan based daily said six jets from the italian air Force will Fly to the Gulf on Jan. 6. It also said that a Navy transport boat the san Giorgio will set sail for the Gulf on Jan. 3. No one was available at the defense ministry to comment on the report. Italy has contributed three frigates two Cor Vittes a replenishment Tanker and a Squadron of eight Tornado fighter jets to the International Force. A \. A 1 a. A a a the newspaper said that although the san Giorgio can carry an infantry battalion and combat vehicles the Navy intends to use it for ferrying supplies and not for disembarking troops. First desert weary troops arrive on Cruiser for ramp a Manama Bahrain a a. Woman in a Santa Claus outfit greeted the first group of soldiers to unwind aboard a cruise liner offering Western style diversions for persian Gulf troops. The Pentagon paid $31 million for a six month lease for the Cunard Princess which features a swimming Pool two Jacuzzi Tennis courts a nightclub bars and a 40-foot Marble dance floor. Military officials in saudi Arabia note there have been special problems in finding ways for . Soldiers to relax in a country where alcohol and mixing with the opposite sex Are forbidden the first group of desert weary soldiers boarded Christmas eve in Bahrain a Small Island nation in the persian Gulf. A the cruise ship represents a vital part of our ramp a program and will provide a much needed respite for the personnel who have been in the desert since the beginning of the operation a said Navy spokesman cmdr. Mark and women from All branches of the Kiili Tail will be rotated every three Days aboard the ship which can accommodate 800 guests. Entertainers other than the visiting Uso shows Are featured on the ship. Alcohol can be per chased on the ship at duty free costs. Physicians and clergy will also be assigned to the liner Cunard employees Are staffing the ship which w ill remain berthed while soldiers Are on Board. A second Cunard ship should be leased soon by the military officials said dutch citizens in Gulf receiving chemical gear the Hague Netherlands apr the dutch government is distributing protective chemical gear to its citizens in the Gulf the foreign ministry said. Oviver the past few weeks the dutch have sent 800 Gas masks protective suits and syringes a tilled with a chemical Gas antidote a to dutch embassies for expatriates in the Region according to foreign ministry spokeswoman Daphne Bergsma. ,. The announcement follows a government advisory issued last week asking dutch travellers and others who do not need to be in the Region to leave by Jan is
