European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 26, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 6 a a the stars and stripes saturday january 26,1991 War in the Gulf a British Fox armoured reconnaissance vehicle leads a Convoy heading North toward the Kuwait Border on thursday supplies for ground Force rolling along suicide Alley by the stars and stripes northeastern saudi Arabia a gis Call this two Lane Highway a suicide it s the Supply route for the massive Allied ground Force poised to attack iraqi forces. A trucks that collide break Down or pull off the Road get mired to the hubcaps in the treacherous desert Sand. Earlier this week an 82nd airborne div truck caught fire. The explosion of its cargo of artillery shells mortar shells anti tank weapons machine gun rounds and illumination hares turned the nighttime sky Orange. \ the truck burned for an hour blocking traffic in both directions on the heavily travelled civilian Highway. Reports from the scene included no mention of injuries. There were reports that a White Nissan truck that had been follow my the Convoy sped off just before the fire but officials said there was no direct proof of terror ism. A Quot a we have nothing to support that it was any Type of ambush a said maj. Baxter Ennis of the 82nd a we have no proof at All it was anything other than an accidental in another incident the same Day a kuwaiti truck and trailer loaded with Niall arms weapons tipped Over on the Side of the Road and a . Unit with a Crane to come to the Rescue. The 82nd�?Ts truck was one of scores moving men and equipment from the divisions 2nd brigade to a tactical staging area in Northern saudi Arabia. The trucks Are just a Small part of a massive Convoy that has been moving North for More than a week. Elements of the 101st airborne div the 1st Cav div vi1 corps and French forces were seen snaking North Ward. A / / \ a in my 14 /2 years in the military i have never seen anything like this a Ennis said. A it reminds me of that line from the. Movie a Patton a compared to War All other forms of human Endeavor Pale by a the troops said they arc glad to finally be moving North but the Prospect of a ground War weighs on their minds especially the possible use of chemical weapons. Twice in one hour thursday an Alert sounded and soldiers donned their Gas masks. A information for this article was gathered by Pentagon. Pool reporters on the scene in saudi Arabia. End move Heidelberg Germany a amps the last of nearly 4,000 army medical reservists arrived in Germany monday to augment the 7th medical come in support of operation desert storm. The 399 reservists from the 56th station Hospital in Richmond va., were the last in a deployment that began in december. The bulk of the reservists have been sent to the army a main hospitals in Frankfurt Lan Stuhl and Niernberg while others Are assigned to smaller hospitals and clinics throughout Europe. The reservists replace soldiers sent to the persian Gulf. The three main army hospitals have treated 2,503 service members evacuated from the Gulf Region for illness or injuries. The hospitals currently Are treating 146 service members. None of the patients has been treated for War related injuries said 7th medical come spokesman Bill swish. Or. V ,. A. -. The air Force Hospital at Wiesbaden Germany has treated 1,165 service members from the Region and currently is treat ing 11, said spokesman capt. Tom Gilroy. The army has started sending some to German physicians to make room for soldiers returning from saudi Arabia. Most of the referrals have been obstetrics and gynaecology patients. The Frankfurt and Lan Stuhl hospitals also have moved clinics to other locations in Case mass casualties arrive front saudi Arabia. V u to Wear civvies Frankfurt Germany a amps All service members going to Frankfurt International Airport Are strongly urged to Wear civilian clothes a Frankfurt military Community spokeswoman said Friday. The request applies to military members arriving and departing As Well As people picking them up or dropping them off Eva Kaiser said. Soldiers from the 21st replacement in who staff an american information Booth inside the Airport terminal switched to civilian clothes in August a unit spokesman said Friday. Waiting for iraqi planes to show up by the stars and stripes. Northeast saudi Arabia a fewer than 50 of Saddam 1 Hussein a a .700 combat air planes have been destroyed and analysts believe he May be saving them for a massive strike against ground forces. If so it will he pfc. Brian Easley s Job to shoot them Down. A i Don t think their equipment compares to ours a said Easley a 21-year-old stinger missile operator from Norman okla. Quot my Only concern is it. Col. Clifford Willis of Elpaso Texas commands Easley a unit the 2nd in 3rd air defense arty regt of the 1st inf div. He said his stinger and Vulcan Crews Alo will have to Deal with Iraq s 300 helicopters including French built Gazelle soviet Hind command and control helicopters. A they Fly in groups of five with four Gazelles looking for targets for their anti tank missiles while a Hind directs them a he said. �?o1 try to hit the Hind first. Without him they Are american Vulcan batteries fire a 20mm Gatling gun that can get off about 3,000 rounds a minute but with a Range of Only about half a mile. The missiles aboard the iraqi helicopters have a Range of about 7vi times that distance. A Range is a problem for the Vulcan a Willis said. A it is an old so a this stinger is what in a going to get the helicopters with a he said. The stinger is a heat seeking missile fired from a 5-foot-Long tube held on the shoulder. The Soldier Aims through a simple Peep sight and when he is on target a sensor gives him an audible signal. After the missile is launched it seeks the target without further guidance a a fire and forget weapon. On the other hand Willis said the iraqi helicopters w ill have to guide their missiles to targets. It is a without a doubt the Best ground to air missile in the world Quot Willis said of the stinger. Although Apache attack pilots believe they can Outing never iraqis soviet made heat seeking missiles Willis said there is no comparison Between the . And soviet versions. A there is no known aircraft that has the ability to evade a stinger a he said. stingers in the hands of Afghani troops played havoc with soviet helicopters in Afghanistan helping Lead to the soviet pullout. N5 and the Vulcan despite its Short Range can be elective on the Battlefield Willis said. A your purpose is not Only to destroy the target. If wre can get enough rounds into the air to make him stay away from the assets we Are protecting we have done our although he does no to want to underestimating his foe Willis said he does no to expect the iraqis to measure up to the soviet army that the americans have been trained to fight. A this pilots Are not Well trained and his aircraft Are not Well maintained a Willis said. A i expect him to try and take out the tanks from Long Range. But they cannot get standoff Range on the this article was compiled from Pentagon combat press Pool reports
