European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 29, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 4 a a a the stars and stripes tuesday january 29,1991war in the Gulf British and . Military vehicles Cross the Northern saudi desert late sunday evening moving troops and equipment nearer to the iraqi  convoys travel Highway to nowhere Abu Badriya saudi Arabia apr during the Day lines of trucks sit parked and silent like bats awaiting dusk. At night they Roll into the darkness unbroken convoys heading North along a Road with Many names. Most of the names Range from unprintable English to unpronounceable arabic. Highway to hell is a Milder form Highway to nowhere is another Given by american Drivers who travel 10 or More hours mostly at night to deliver tanks As ammunition and other supplies to Al red Forward positions in the desert. The travel is at night because of nagging concerns about Saddam Hussein a battered but still sizable air Force. Since last week these concerns have translated into less traffic during the Day and More convoys by night when the iraqi air Force is less Able to find targets. But while the Distant threat of attack worries Allied planners it is the Monotony of the Road that weighs upon the Drivers. A a we be made the trip six times now and i it All looks the same a said Cpl. Gerry Campbell of new Matamoras Ohio who was hauling a 109mm howitzer to the front. Campbell and the army a other Long haul truck Drivers Are getting to know the six Lane Highway across the desert floor. Even at night the landmarks have become familiar. A there Are the beacons of Orange fire from the refineries scattered along the Road and the ghostly glow from a Gotham City a a towering petrochemical Plant that rises in the hazy distance like the menacing City in the movie  even the wrecks along the Side of the Road have become mileage markers. They Range from horribly smashed cars dragged to the Roadside years ago to new wrecks of military vehicles including two smashed buses and a tank transporter. Another Roadside attraction has been an my tank that overturned when it tumbled from the truck bed it was Riding. Many gis stopped to pose next to the tank. A the Road Isnit big enough for All this traffic. There Isnit room for All these wide loads a said sgt. Harvey Briggs who was driving his empty Rig Back to base for another run. There Are other complaints. The americans say the British hog the Road the British have the same complaint about the americans. Both Are contemptuous about saudi driving skills. A the Rule Here is the biggest vehicle has the right of Way a said Campbell. At night the Road is also dangerously hypnotic. The Long lines of truck headlights some stretching Over a mile can put you to sleep. The Only break comes from the occasional flyover of helicopters their red lights pulsing. If you re Lucky you might pick up country music on desert shield radio the sometimes elusive station manned by military personnel that is the Only familiar sound amid Static saudi commentators and Middle Eastern music. The Chance to get out and stretch comes at the spaced Gas stops a part Oasis and part convenience store a whose sodium vapor lights Cut the darkness after Long intervals. The Gas stops Are like Frontier towns with a varied cast of Quot characters. British troops the a desert rate Emblem on their uniforms Jostle with pakistani and Senga Lese troops at phone Booths to make Calls Home. Inside the stores . Troops carrying soda Candy and baked goods stand at Cash Register lines with bedouins in from the desert for provisions a id a polyglot of East asians contracted to drive locally owned freight haulers. Saudis who fled from towns on the Kuwait Border sleep in the Small attached restaurants waiting for a sign that it is Safe to go Home. A a 7-eleven this Isnit a said one Soldier As he carried his food Back to the darkness and his waiting truck. Jordan denies role in shipping scuds Amman Jordan up a Jordan on monday denied a saudi newspaper report that said iraqi scud missiles were being transported across Jordan to Iraq at night in refrigerated trucks. In a statement carried by the state owned Petra news Agency a government spokesman a expressed disbelief at the fabricated report.�?�. The daily Middle East an English language newspaper reported monday that iraqi scud mis Silas were hidden in Jordan and transported to Iraq by truck during the night a saudi radio station also broadcast the report. I a Jordan strongly condemns the broadcast it it of this fabricated report by the saudi radio station and considers it As a Clear form of provocation against Jordan a the official said. He said Jordan would pursue the matter through diplomatic channels but did not elaborate. Jordan has officially accepted the . Resolutions calling for Iraq to withdraw from Kuwait. But iraqi president Saddam Hussein is popular in the kingdom and Jordan has been lenient toward its neighbor. Relations Between Jordan and saudi Arabia have deteriorated As a result of the persian Gulf situation. Last september a saudi Oil company Cut off supplies to Jordan and saudi Arabia recently banned jordanians from entering the kingdom. Messages relayed by hams ease a Washington apr shortly after Iraq began lobbing scud missiles at Israel Luck Hurter of Newington conn., helped bring some peace of mind to a woman worried about relatives in Tel Aviv. A using a computer connected to his Ham radio Hurter dispatched a message to the besieged City that eventually found its Way to the woman a family. A they called her Back to say they were frightened but otherwise of a said Hurter Deputy manager of Field services for the american radio relay league an organization of 160,000 Ham radio enthusiasts. Ham operators Are probably Best known for relaying information following hurricanes floods earthquakes and other natural disasters. But some of the nations 400,000 licensed Amateur radio operators have assumed a new role during the persian Gulf War they re passing messages Between troops and their families and Between americans and civilian relatives in the Middle East. A a it a like a i mom in Mok a a said new York homemaker Ann Fanelli a member of the Navy military affiliate radio service or Mars. Each Branch of the military has a Mars network. Fanelli and other Volunteer affiliate members Monitor traffic on assigned frequencies and Forward messages Between families and service members. Operators pass messages by such traditional Means As voice Morse code and teletype but they Are increasingly using fax machines and digital communications systems in which computers capture and then either hold or automatically relay  and army Mars operators say they have relayed numerous messages but the Story has been different for air Force Mars affiliates. A air Force Mars has very few messages coming in a said Paul Lindgren a Long Island n.y., Retiree and an affiliate of that network. He said a station in saudi Arabia that had been sending and receiving messages has been out of operation since november. A in times past we be been Able to pass traffic to the area of conflict but we re not Able to this time a said Opie Pierson a spokeswoman for the. Air Force Mars Headquarters at Scott fab 111. The problem she said is that pilots and support personnel Are scattered across the Region. Nonetheless Pierson said the number of messages that have got through is a better than expected and membership in air Force Mars has increased by one fourth since aug. 10, eight Days after Iraq overran Kuwait. The Navy network has been More Active because operators usually can locate ships and because parents normally know the vessel on which their sons and daughters Are assigned. The operators have concentrated on relaying messages from rather than to the Gulf. Imagine several Hundred messages to the Gulf from families saying a How Are you a a explained Steve Czar Akowsky an Engineer from Stephens City a. They Don t mean nearly As much As 1u0 messages from the Gulf that say a in a fine.�?T. A