European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 22, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Page 6 a the stars and stripes Friday february 22,1991war in the Gulf. A. R a a a Quot it a a a a a a a a Vietnam vet warns troops of violent Battle >j�,y.�?~.sv�v.sv��?~�vt�?~.x� a xxx xxx is by Douglas Jehl v the los Angeles time with . Forces in saudi Arabia a the brigade commander pushed past the tent flaps and into a Dusty command Post crowded with the captains and lieutenants who would Lead this battalion into Battle. He turned a chair so that its Back was to the Battlefield map that on any other Day would be the focus. A i want to look at All the Young Guys a a said the colonel whose 3rd brigade 3rd inf div is attached to the 1st army div a who arc ready to go to with an american Forward thrust becoming More Likely every Day commanders like col. James Riley have begun to assemble their subordinates for what it is goo to be exceedingly violent. But it must be disciplined and controlled 1st army div col. James Riley enemy forces now arrayed in front of his infantry brigade. A some of these Guys Are going to be Laid to rest right there in the holes they be been sitting in. They re just going to be covered up As we go by. A now that a a sad thing. But i done to want you to be sad about his voice Rose a notch and took on a tougher Edge. ,f.,. ,. _ a because those sum bitches Are the might be final words of advice and coun same trigger pullers that Are out there be before a ground War begins. Trying to kill you. And if any of you have Riley whose division is based in ans any problems with that then you re in Bach Germany predicted the War would the wrong be a prosecuted More violently than any the officers listened in silence men in War in history a Riley now 43, first saw their 20s and 30s almost spellbound As fully chomping methodically on a wad of tobacco almost always lodged deep within his Cheek. A killers this was not yet the time to Peak the colonel warned. His Crystal Ball was a a Little bit Cloudy a no one knew when the order to attack might come. Soldiers brought to Battle pitch too soon would go to War emotionally spent. It was however clearly time to recognize what would lie ahead. And in his talk one of four he would deliver this Day to his main attack battalions Riley sought to describe what the Battle would look like. Combat As a second lieutenant in Vietnam. He has sought in visits to the battalions serving under him to speak frankly of what that violence will mean. A some of those Guys Are not going to get a proper burial a Riley said of the the colonel a wiry Man with Metal rimmed glasses who Speaks in the most measured of tones showed a fierceness few had seen before. A my goal is for this to be a killer brigade a the colonel told his officers care a it is going to be anything but timid a he stressed a it is going to be exceedingly violent. But it must be disciplined and the same time there must be no mistake about How soldiers could Best survive in a world in which a kill or be killed was the fundamental equation. A there Are killers and there Are others a a the colonel said. A and what each of you needs to do is to be the former and not the latter. Our goal is to make All of the iraqi army our Riley paused to share a description of his own first taste of combat As a 21-year-old assigned to a vietnamese battalion his bowels churning in anxiety As he moved Forward across what soldiers Call the a line of his men too would be anxious when the Battle time came at last. A accept it live with it. And expect that it will go capt. Charlie Arp sat quietly in his humvee thinking about what he had just heard and thumbing it would be essential he said to rein. Back soldiers natural aggressiveness to slowly through a photo album ensure that an american Advance re a if there a anything i worry about Nia ined Well ordered that there be no now a he said a a it a the Guys out there suicidal headlong charges into iraqi Posi and can i make the right decisions at the tons. Right Steps taken to end Friendly fire7 threat by Douglas Jehl the los Angeles times with . Forces saudi Arabia a amid new concerns about the threat to . Troops posed by so called a Friendly fire a army aviation and armoured units have assigned High priority to minimizing such casualties in an expected ground offensive officers say. The redoubled Effort includes the use of new gun camera footage to help Helicz Pter pilots learn to recognize american vehicles from the air and plans to tight on Battlefield coordination Between air and ground commanders. _ _ other Steps May include the introduction of unspecified new recognition devices designed to make frontline . Tanks and armoured vehicles More easily Iden tillable to attack aircraft seeking to strike at iraqi forces. A a a the new attention Here to the problems of Friendly fire conies after army attack helicopters flying missions in Border skirmishes this week have found unexpected challenges in distinguishing Friend from foe. A what we be found is that when you have two opposing forces intertwined its very difficult to separate the friendlies from the enemy a said it. Col. Bill Hatch commander of a battalion of ah-64 Apache helicopters in the 1st army div which has not yet been involved in combat. A a it a just exceedingly _ in one incident an Apache from the 1st inf div was reported to have mistakenly launched a hellfire missile at what turned out to be a Bradley fighting vehicle kill ing two infantrymen and wounding six others.,the dead Servic members were assigned to he co 1st in 41st inf regt 2nd army div fwd based in Garl Studt Germany. Officers Here said the Accident occurred in an attack that has been criticized severely by theater commander Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf who described the raid in a Stern message to subordinates As an example of excessive use of firepower. At least 100 laser guided hellfire designed for use against heavily armoured tanks were launched against what proved to be trucks observation posts and scattered infantrymen said officers familiar with the incident. T the High tech missiles Are so expensive that few Apache pilots had been permitted to test fire them in training before began. Schwarzkopf who has insisted on close adherence to rules of engagement restricting the use of destructive weapons against lightly armed targets was said by officers to be a not too Happy about the Border Salvo. A brigade commander col. James Riley cited the message from the commander in chief to reinforce an a d a amps Ken Clauson sgt. Marcel Jeanisse of the 4th tac fighter Wing provisional checks a missile mounting bracket. Order to infantry officers not to squander their most lethal tank killing ammunition on second tier iraqi forces. A you use a Fly swatter on a Fly a Riley said this week. A you save your Best ammo for the appropriate targets.�?�. A a a a a a. A. There was no indication that the Large number of hellfire missiles fired during the Border skirmish had contributed to the Bradley killing incident ground officers cautioned. X but they said the apparent Lack of discrimination in the Apache attack had underscored the recognition that Friendly fire a from the army helicopter and an air Force warplane a had claimed More ground troops have iraqi attacks since the War began. In seeking to avoid such accidents in this division helicopter pilots began tuesday night to use gun Cam eras to take night time photographs of some ground units As an Aid to identification in the Low Light conditions when Friendly and enemy vehicles can be most difficult to Tell apart. The new film is to be used to augment an extensive array of Daylight videotapes and photographs of both american and iraqi vehicles and equipment that pilots already have sought to commit to memory. But with the sophisticated Apache helicopters Able to fire missiles from distances at which visual recognition can be troublesome Hatch the aviation commander said the most important step in minimizing Friendly fire would be to make Clear where american forces ended and enemy troops began. A the crucial thing in the avoidance of fratricide is for the aviation Guy to get face to face with the ground commander a said the Veteran Pilot who commands the 1st aviation regt. A this in itself goes a Long way.�?�1
