European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 7, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 6 the stars and stripes thursday february 7,1991war in the Gulf foes along Border playing risky cat and mouse game by the stars and stripes with . Forces saudi Arabia a iraqi troops Cross the hordes into saudi Arabia almost nightly. American soldiers know this and lie in wait. 0 on monday night it was soldiers from 1st in 325th. Inf regt part of the 82nd airborne div who slipped silently into the desert night to Welcome any guests. A a it a a tight trap a said 1st it. John Deedrick of Marietta a. A if they come through that Valley they re in a lot of Deedrick was part of a Triangle of soldiers spread across three knobs overlooking a Valley about three Miles from the saudi Border. The soldiers had anti tank weapons heavy machine guns grenade launchers and Small arms they were also armed with night vision equipment to keep watch in the inky blackness. Two nights before iraqi patrols had slipped through this spot. A a they re probing a said maj. Ralph do Elosua 39, of Pemberton n.j., the battalions operations officer. A we done to want them to have a lot of Access to this area. We want control of this Valley not the iraqi patrols want to know where the allies Are and what the strength of defense in each sector is Del Osua said a they know there Are . Forces in the Vicinity but they done to know what kind of weapons systems we have Here a he said. A they want to know which positions Are fortified. We want to take a look at what kind of activity the enemy plans in this an enemy patrol usually numbers no More than two dozen soldiers in Light cargo vehicles. On this night however there is no action. At one Point a vehicle is spotted but it fails to enter the trap. Two flares Are lofted into the sky but nobody knows who fired them or Why. The paratroopers participating in the ambush moved into their positions before dark. They remained there through a Long cold night keeping silent and still. Most gentries stand a Uard for two hours then catch what sleep they can after a new guard takes Over. A a in be been sleeping with my boots on lately a said sgt. Tim Luther 26, of Fishersville a. A i Don t want to have a rude this article waa compiled by Ron Jansen Middle East Bureau from information gathered by Pentagon Pool reporters on the scene in saudi Arabia a a i its it \ s \ s s s Ltd m a a a has a a it. A. A desert drama Quot. A a. Amedia Pool a Soldier from the army a 1st army div raises his hands As he a a surrenders to fellow troops during a ground warfare exercise in the saudi arabian desert. By Way of training one group of 1st army soldiers pretended to be iraqis clashing with Allied forces. The troops Are waiting for confrontation with real enemies across the Border. To precision Central saudi Arabia up . Fighter bomber pilots have switched from conventional bombs to More precise Maverick missiles a a move seen As a possible indication of final preparations for a ground assault in the persian Gulf War. A a a a a a a it tells me a few Days Down the Road they re ground troops going to be moving a air Force sgt. Richard Bradley said at a base in Central saudi Arabia where the Mavericks were being loaded onto jets for the first time tuesday. The . Central come which has refused to reveal if and when it plans to launch a ground offensive downplayed the switch. The move to Mavericks was described in a Pentagon organized Pool report released Early a in esd a by military censors. A Central come spokesman air Force master sgt. Jack Siebold said that the Mavericks have been used by warplanes at some bases since the War began and that conclusions about an imminent ground assault were a a a sergeant on the ground at one base does no to have the whole picture a Siebold said. A the sees it through one set of another Central come spokesman agreed the Maverick is a highly accurate weapon that helps support ground troops but he and Siebold said they could not comment on How widely it is being used. Regardless the pilots at the base in Central saudi Arabia said they Are impressed with the newest member of their Arsenal. A an incredible weapon a said maj. George a a Jet Jer Nigan 37, of Columbia s.c., an f-16 Pilot with the South Carolina air National guard. Jernigan interviewed tuesday while climbing Back into his cockpit said he had just destroyed a tank on his first Mission of the Day and was heading out again. In addition to tanks he said other primary targets include armoured vehicles and iraqis elite Republican guard troops. A i particularly want to be a tank Driver on the other Side right now a Jernigan said. Dissert Jln a Lac pfc jul Jornt Joseph Owen making War on words a a traffic sign message Here in Riyadh begins with a dear Driver a As though it were a personal note. A repair garage promotes the services of its a clothing shop offers a women a children a. A a a. A v we newcomers laugh about mutations of English Here but Admire the saudis for speaking English As Well As they do considering its not their native language. More important one does no to have to search Long to find native English speakers whose use of their Mother Tongue yields confusion instead of clarity. Desert storm news briefings offer plenty of examples. Speaking about iraqis retreating from the saudi town of Khanji Marine maj. Gen. Robert b. Johnston said coalition forces a took them apart with close air support a min Neld and barriers blocked the troops trying to get bad to Kuwait he said later adding a i think it would probably better characterize the relative confusion of their Effort to retrograde to get out of the Khanji engagement. It allowed us to fix them and bring in close air in civilian language that Means a to get a fix a on the iraqi position. But one could be forgiven for wondering Why the americans would try to fix troops on whom they had just spent so much Effort taking apart. Johnston refuses to estimate the number of iraqi casualties. A a what a better is if you be killed 50 tanks. That would be More relevant than the fact that you be killed some of their soldiers a he said. With that debatable conclusion he unwittingly added a new dimension to the gun control debate Back Home. Control advocates say guns kill people gun owners say people kill people. We now know that people kill guns. Army Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf jr., the operation desert storm commander also a deflects questions about iraqi casualties. Casualty estimates would be just a misleading a wild guess a he said. A a that a not the Way we Dottus iness a la guessing. I think it puts undo pressure on commanders to come up with numbers that Are numbers Are always real. Its what they Are supposed to represent that might be imaginary. On the same night Schwarzkopf proved he enjoys playing with the language referring to one news Story As a Bovine scat ology a . For Short. But moments drown among the euphemisms and military jargon that spill put of the television. The spokesmen talk of a modest collateral damage when they mean a a few blown up houses and Devaor injured dropping bombs is called a servicing targets a As though the Republican guard had sent the coalition a Tel fax that pleaded a they infidels when can we get some service around Here Send Over a rack of bombs will you a a briefer refer to to a acs flir pods scud Tell Caps pcs Sams teams kias Wias and bad. The Tulsa Oil worker who hears a report about iraqis triple a can be forgiven for wondering whether Saddam Hussein a newest ally is a car club or a minor league baseball team. And what is the difference Between an Pew and a pow the news Jenedia done to do much to Clear things up. One reporter asked whether Iraq is still a silkworm another wanted to know whether . Planes Are using alms. To be fair it should be noted that the military reserves its most confusing speech for times when the Public Isnit listening. I went along on a refuelling Mission aboard a Kc-135 Tanker that a a plane last week and wore a radio Headset during most of the five hour trip. The Crew members Choppy conversation was a string of numbers letters and bitten off unrecognizable syllables. About the Only time i understood what they said was when they discussed lunch. So the officers on to could be doing a lot worse. But i still wish they would take apart a few of those expressions they use and then fix them. The stare and stripes
