European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 22, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 6 a a a the stars and stripes tuesday january 22,1991 the aircraft Carrier Forrest a i based at May port Fla., is being sent to the Eastern Mediterranean. Forrestal sailors hurry to prepare for deployment Mayport Fla. Apr Navy families scrambled to pack belongings do laundry and say their goodbyes after a second Florida based aircraft Carrier the Forrestal received word it would join Allied forces in the m ideas. The Mayport based Forrestal and its Crew of about 5,300 will be deployed to the Eastern Mediterranean sea to help bolster israelis defences against iraqi attack a Bush administration source said in Washington. A several sailors who asked that their last names not be used said they were told sunday that the Forrestal would depart wednesday along with several smaller ships in the carriers Battle group. A a in a trying to get everything ready. In a not too thrilled with the notice they gave me a said Sean who was grabbing cardboard boxes at a grocery a store. A a a a. A a a a a a a a he said his family would move Back to Missouri while he was away. In the Jacksonville suburb where Many Forres Tal Crew members live laundromats were Busy and sailors lined up outside a self storage company to Stow cars and furniture. A a in a not really ready for Quot it but it has to be done i guess Lan As Reudy everybody else is a said Chris a Sailor who brought his wife and 8-month-old son to a grocery store to buy supplies. A a he a not going to be Here to see a lot of the things the baby does a said Quot the sailors wife carla."7 a i called the boat. Its been very hard to get through a said Angela Williams who was drying to reach her Fiance John assigned to the Forres talks maintenance detail. They were to be married feb. It. Some said they were eager to be a part of the action. A to be perfectly honest i wish we could get Over there and get it Over with and come Back Home a said a Sailor Danied Gary. Mayport a other Carrier the Saratoga is already in the red sea along with the John of Kennedy and the America. The carriers Ranger Midway and Theodore Roosevelt rotate w within the persian Gulf  in the Gulf pilots give thumbs up to Brand new missile editors note this article is based on information gathered by Pentagon Pool reporters aboard the aircraft Carrier John f. Kennedy. By the stars and stripes in the red sea a Navy pilots Are hammering iraqi targets with a new missile  greater Protection from ground fire and the Chance to see the results of their Handiwork on television. Pilots from the aircraft Carrier John f. Kennedy Weie the first to use the missile which is equipped with a video camera in its nose during Friday night raids on Iraq. The videos have become a popular attraction on the ships on Board television station. One video sequence taken by the standoff land attack missile or slam is so Clear that the Shadow of a ladder leaning against the targeted building is visible just before the missile hits and the screen turns to Snow a i done to think they knew what hit them Quot said a Pilot of an a-7 Corsair who was part of a two plane team needed to lire the missile. An a-7 flies High Over the target while its Pilot zeroes in on the target on a video screen. When ready he gives the go ahead for a Pilot in an a-6 intruder Well out of enemy Range to fire the missile. The target Friday was an Industrial facility considered important to iraqis War making capability said capt. John p. Gay commander of the John f. Kennedy. Rear adm. Ridley d. Mixson commander of the red sea Battle Force said saturday that raids the night before were the first time slams had been used in combat. The weapon is so new that the a-7 Pilot who asked that his name not be used said his team of six fliers went through a crash course when the missile arrived in the red sea in August. The development of the system was accelerated specifically for deployment to operation desert shield pilots said. The slam has a computer memory that carries the location of the target giving it great accuracy. Pilots like it because it can be fired from High altitudes out of Range of ground air defense weapons. Friday nights target was heavily defended yet All of the planes returned safely to the Kennedy. A if they a had to go Down Low it would have been a Tough very difficult target a said Gay a Veteran of Carrier launched attacks during Vietnam. A we took such a beating at Low altitudes in Vietnam a he said. A that is really when the cry for a standoff attack weapon started. You no longer have to go Down to a Low Altitude to deliver  the slam carries less punch than a conventional bomb and critics have said that makes the missile less , Gay said it would be hard to convince pilots who appreciate the accuracy and Long Range capability. A to keep us out of the threat envelope Why not spend that Money i would much rather be standing off than having myself or the a-6 inside the threat envelope a the a-7 Pilot said. A a a a a a. A a plus the accuracy reduces collateral damage a he said re furring to unintended damage to civilian facilities. A. A. A a a a. A r a freighter from Norfolk va., carry ing military equipment passes through the Suez canal in route to the persian Gulf. Exports at Suez canal official says Cairo Egypt up a persian Gulf Oil producing states have All but halted exports of Oil because of the War Between Iraq and the  allies the chairman of the Suez canal authority said monday. A fifty one vessels have crossed the Suez canal monday among them Only one Oil Tanker coming from the Gulf Region a chairman Mohammed Ezzat Adel said in a statement. A a this Means that Gulf Oil producing states have slopped pumping Oil since the War erupted last. Thursday a he said. The Suez canal is a strategic waterway for navigation in the Middle East especially for tankers carrying crude Oil to Europe Japan and the United states. Adel denied a news report that the Suez canal authority had swept the canal for mines that might have been planted by pro iraqi terrorists attempting to Block navigation. A there has been no reason to conduct such a search because the navigation in the canal is running naturally without any obstacles a the egyptian official said