European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - January 31, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Thursday january 31, 1991the stars and stripes Pago 7war in the Gulf i 1 Media Pool naval resupply a Sailor aboard the combat store ship Niagara l urls gives hand signals to the Crew of a ships Landing platform. In this Way the Navy continuously resupplied its Large Fleet of . Navy Cii-46 sea Knight helicopter As it comes in to pick up supplies from the vessels operating in the persian not Likely to bog Down ground action by Rob jacodz1nski Middle Hast Bureau near the iraqi Border air Force weathermen say the late january Rains Are the worst in years but not had enough to stall a ground War. A there with the cavalry bad weather is to. A a a a a. A. T. More an inconvenience than a Rui it Drance a said air Force capt. Ray Clark a meteorologist deployed with the Vii corps�?T2nd army Cav regt. Clarks team ordinarily based at Feucht army Airfield Germany travels with the regiment and advises the commander on the local weather. The team prepares five Day forecasts by using its own instruments arid meteorological information received from throughput the world. The cavalry provides reconnaissance and Early warning to the Vii corps. It is the eyes and ears of the corps commander. The regiment deployed to the desert front Nurnberg in december. Clark Hom Belton mo., said Northern saudi Arabia usually averages one Thun Der Stortv in january but had seven this year. The rain fog and Low Clouds May continue into february the 32-year-old Captain said a the storms turn dry desert Lake Heads known As wadis into wide shallow Ponds that trap the unwary sometimes a heavy cargo truck becomes mired resembling a Metal Dinosaur in a tar pit. Clark said the regiment s i tanks and Bradley fighting vehicles have few problems with the mud and bad weather. But he said the helicopter Squadron is hampered by rain and fog. A. A at Home aircraft need 500 feet of Visi i Lily and a 1,600-foot ceiling a Clark said. This month Cloud cover in saudi Arabia has dropped to 1,500 feet and a thick fog often covers the desert. Clark said that during War some flying restrictions can be eased. Quot a. ,. A a a he added that helicopter pilots prefer to Fly Low in the Flat desert about 20 feet Oil the Sand but said Clear weather would allow them to fire their weapons at greater Range thus avoiding ground fire. The helicopter Squadron has ah-1 cobra attack helicopters and Ull-61 Black i Law Utility to kill enemy tanks from a distance the regiment relies heavily on close air support from a i Thunderbolt jets. Bail \ weather could Hurt Siuch support said air Force master sgt. Raindy prevail 38, front Charlotte , prevail is attached to the regiment As an air Liaison sergeant. Quot High now the a los Are not getting a lot of because of Low Clouds and fog prevail said. Quot they want to stay at a higher Altitude than the Clouds allow so they can shoot from a Long Way away and expect probable hits a striking ground targets from 10,00 1 feet keeps of surface anti aircraft fire. Prevail said. The jets could Fly Low level gun runs at about 3,000 feet but would need supporting artillery barrages and rocket salvos to suppress anti aircraft fire. A a a a. Tankers said they prefer the wet weather to the Bone dry heat of Early Winter a a it a actually better for our track thu Sarid is wet and More dense arid Pur tanks a ride smoother and Don t throw the tracks As much a said sgt Joseph Holcombe 31, from Atlanta. Holcombe is a gunner on an Mia Abrams tank with the regiment. A. A Wiik the rain there a also no dust Cloudt it a. Firing signature alerting the enemy to their presence i Holcombe said. Clark noted that Clear weather can be an advantage or disadvantage depending on the operation. Quot fog can mask your movement but if the enemy can t Sec you you can to see him a Clark said. And a if we re not kicking up dust he s probably not in to by Rob Jagodzinski Middle East Bureau near the iraqi Border a life in the northeastern arabian desert has been better than spec. David Keb expected. �?o1 thought wed really be roughing it when we came out Here a a Quot said Keb 21, a tank gunner with 3rd so. 2nd army Cav regt. Quot but we re getting sodas some hot meals and saudi cakes. So its not too a Border duty is nothing new to the cavalrymen. For 45 years after world Warll the regiment patrolled the Iron curtain on the Borders of East Germany and Czechoslovakia. Now the unit has taken up positions along the iraqi Border in preparation Tor an Allied ground offensive to tree Kuwait. They done to know the Date of the push but because of their Mission of reconnaissance and Early warning the cavalrymen will Likely be some of the first . Troops to Contact iraqi Armor. A the brigade sized unit employs ml1 Abrams tanks Bradley fighting vehicles m100 self propelled howitzers and other heavy Armor to get its Mission done. An aviation Squadron Wittway i cobra attack helicopters complements the unit. Since tankers mus the ready to move out quickly Many of them sleep next to their tracks. A this right Here is kind of like a luxury a said sgt. Rick Woody As he looked Over his outfits Plush poncho shelters a stretched from the ground to the treads of my tanks a and the hand scrubbed uniforms that flapped from clotheslines tied to main gun barrels. A a a we have hot meals once in a while the mail is coming now and we have a Shower a said the 27-year-old tank commander from Montandon. A. The Shower that the 3rd so member re tarred to was a watering can. Quot to take a Shower you have one Man stand on the tank and dump water on you a Woody explained. A it s Chilly if you done to heat your water Woody pointed out that when the ground War starts his Squadron will leave such comforts behind Quot nce we go Well be living on the might not be As bad As it sounds since the tankers become quite attached to their 63-ton, 1,500-horse-, Power Quot Cadillac a As the Drivers cad them. Most four member tank Crews think enough of the s1.8 million Iron beasts to give each a name. There so amazing Grace a dubbed so because the tanks performance amazes its Crew. And there Are Quot the four i horsemen Quot an Abrams platoon whose name refers to the four steeds no the Bible s Book of revelation on whose backs Rode War famine death and a figure believed to it i symbolize Christ. Other tank monikers include Quot Ace Quot Quot armageddon a Quot whispering death and Quot legion of a a the legion of doom was a championship wrestling team Quot Woody explained. Quot they were big bad Guys 1 used to watch them every saturday in the
