European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 28, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Monday january 28, 1991 the stars and stripes a a a Page a War in the Gulf team relishes its role As platoon s Security Blanket by Dave Schad Middle East Bureau with . Forces in Northern saudi Arabia a two soldiers sit in a Small foxhole they have scratched in the Rock hard desert surveying their isolated position and talking about the sudden responsibility thrust upon them. Pfc. Mark Wise and pvt. 2 Glis crib of the 101st airborne div air assault operate their 30-Man platoon s most potent weapon a a m-60 machine gun. A a we re the platoons Security Blanket a Wise said proudly. The 2nd in 187th inf soldiers dug their foot deep two Man Hole on the unit defensive perimeter. The Pool table Flat desert terrain offers Little Protection from the cutting wind that makes nighttime temperatures feel close to freezing. Quot a hardest ground in be Ever seen a Wise said. So hard that soldiers in his platoon had already broken All their picks and shovels and were reduced to working with entrenching tools he said. Crib and Wise expect to stay put until they re told to Juippi aboard a helicopter and head North for combat. For now they keep their equipment clean and Hope the Allied jets passing overhead Dull the Edge of iraqis ground forces. The team that Calls itself the a mad dogs formed before the unit deployed to saudi Arabia in mid september. A your platoon has really drawn together a said Wise from Saint Clair a. A we were tight before the War started but its really been growing. Its hard to describe to an outsider but its almost a brotherly the soldiers take a of Pride in this teamwork said crib a native of Florence . A in this Job knowing your partner is just As important As knowing your weapons a crib said. A when our unit goes on the offensive we have to move with our platoon set up the gun and deliver fire to keep the enemy a head Down. That s where our teamwork and practice really pay crib predicts the 101st airborne a screaming eagles will get the attention he believes they be tailed to receive so Lar. Quot a it seems like All we hear on the radio and in the papers is stuff on the marines and the 82nd airborne div a crib said. A we want everybody to Knowin this Job knowing your partner is just As important As knowing your weapon a pvt. 2 Glis crib that we re Here and that we re crib said the Start of the War evoked feelings of Shock and Relief. Quot a the waiting was Over a he said. A it was like someone mashed the Button on a Stopwatch and started a countdown on when the ground attack would begin and we can go when he does head Home crib said he has a fair idea of what to expect. Letters from his father a Vietnam Veteran have described the Public a moods and attitudes about the War although his father describes peace protests he reports most people in the states Are backing the soldiers. A i guess you can to expect everybody to be behind us a crib said. A but that Sok. I imagine the yellow ribbons will outnumber the remembered a Richard Keeton pow Mia chairman for the Washington state veterans of foreign wars holds the pow Bracelet with the engraved name of Marine corps . Col. Clifford m. Acree. The 39-year-old Marine was shot Down in the persian Julf area on Jan. 17 and is reportedly being held by Iraq. Keeton has 350 bracelets for military personnel listed As missing in action or being held As prisoners of War in the Gulf conflict but says he has received requests for several depart on Wing and a prayer by the stars and stripes an air base in Central saudi Arabia pilots preparing to Roar off on another War Mission often see a chaplain standing along the flight line offering gestures of encouragement and Hope. A a in la give him the thumbs up to have a Good flight a said chaplain capt Michael Thornton. A and sometimes i May clasp my hands together to indicate to him that in a keeping him in my Thornton 35, a Church of Christ chaplain based at Span Dahlem a Germany said it is something he can do to give the pilots a boost. A it May be the last picture that they see and sometimes that May have a positive feeling with them that makes the difference Between a successful and an unsuccessful Mission a said Thornton of Kansas City Kan. /. The presence of chaplains in saudi Arabia has been a sensitive Issue since the Gulf operation began. . Authorities believe that the islamic populace is easily of fended by Western religious practices Quot and thus have denied Media requests to cover services among the troops. Yet the chaplains say they still can play a vital role in the conflict by acts such As the thumbs up Salute. A when i do it in a saying a you re coming Back a a a said air Force chaplain maj Raymond Hart 46, an african methodist episcopal minister from Marlton . Information for this article was gathered by Pentagon Pool Oporto is on the scene with the . Air Force in saudi Arabia a saudi checkpoints Stop up to 18 iraqis Sands of time by the stars and stripes with . Forces saudi Arabia -. Military authorities have confirmed local reports that up to 18 iraqis some with weapons have been intercepted and arrested at checkpoints Between Dhahran and the iraqi Border within the past week. However saudi arabian police officials in Nariyah a town along one of the major highways in the Region downplayed the reports. A senior saudi police officer attributed them to a recent investigation of a suspected iraqi who was seen carrying a weapon in the area. Eventually the saudi officer said the suspect was found to be a saudi citizen with a Legal weapon. He said 47 iraqi citizens have been identified in the Region since the iraqi invasion of Kuwait All of them bedouin shepherds who traditionally have moved their sheep Back and Forth across the Border without regard to diplomatic formalities. A they Are harmless a the policeman said. A to control the situation we have sent them Back across the he added that they were Given food and tents before being sent Back. Nonetheless . Military officials said they believed reports from guards at various checkpoints who had stopped iraqis and seized at least one weapon. It Wasny to. Immediately Clear whether any of the iraqis could be considered refugees or defectors checkpoints staffed by both military and civilian authorities have been erected along major roadways leading to the iraqi Border. Many of them Are choked with vehicles involved in the massive movement of troops and equipment to staging areas near the kuwaiti and iraqi Borders with saudi Arabia. Information for this article was gathered by Pentagon Pool reporters on the scene in saudi Arabia in the stars and stripes 40 years ago today. Jan 28,1951 a the . Government froze wages and prices in an emergency order designed to hold inflation in Check while More flexible controls Are readied.30 years ago today. Jan. 28,196f a the new . Ambassador to the United nations Adlai Stevenson said he believed president Kennedy would meet with soviet Premier Nikita Khrushchev if the soviet Leader attended the session of the general Assembly when it resumed beginning on March 7. .20 years ago today. Jan. 28, 1971 a defense Secretary Melvin Laird assured Congress that ground troops would be sent to Cambodia and that the cambodians a a a undersea no ltd10 years ago today. A a Brookings institution study urged an overhaul of the Quot out of Date military pay and retirement systems which it said had caused serious Quality problems for the armed services. V
