European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 11, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Monday March 11, 1991 the stars and stripes b Page 3 in the Gulf. .11dod quietly gloating Over weapons by Chuck Vinch Washington Bureau Washington although most Are still unwilling to boast openly Pentagon officials Are expressing quiet satisfaction with the Way . Military hardware performed in operation desert storm. Preliminary information from the Battlefield indicates that Many systems that came of age in the 1980s, but had never seen combat proved themselves quite Well despite years of criticism for their supposed shortcomings. Operational readiness rates for the much maligned my Abrams tank and the Bradley fighting vehicle for Wake Ozone in a series were consistently High and the army suffered astonishingly Low losses of those vehicles in Battle against the iraqis. Meanwhile pinpoint laser guided bombs and other a a smart weaponry Are being credited with potentially saving thousands of Allied lives by shortening the War. The weapons Success has Given the Pentagon the Chance to say a told you so to the Media which chronicled the foibles of the Reagan defense buildup in detail. A if you reviewed news stories on the military Over the past few years you would have thought the services were filled with tumblers who know which end of a weapon to fire armed with weapons that probably would t fire a noted one Pentagon official. A we knew our weapons would work a Ltd Gen. Thomas Kelly director of operations for the joint chiefs of staff told the Media at a feb. 28 news briefing in the Pentagon. A a we were telling you that from the defense experts however Are cautioning against too much optimism about the capabilities of . Weaponry until a More Complete assess Ebro the War can be done. A the military Campaign is on to convince us that this was a stunning Triumph of american technology a said Eugene Carroll Deputy director of the Center for defense information a Washington think tank. A undoubtedly there were successes but there is hardly enough information available to do impartial a James Blackwell a military analyst with the Center for strategic and International studies also acknowledged that the equipment a performed better than most critics said it would. But id be reluctant to say that All this stuff works under All conditions a he said. A a there a still a lot of analysing to be Lawrence Korb a military analyst at the Brookings institution noted that a the weapons apparently did what they were supposed to do a within the limited scope of this particular the experts said that euphoric reports of the Success of . Weaponry should also be tempered by the fact that most iraqi units did not put up the kind of fight they waged against Iran for eight years. A you can make a Strong Case for the View that most of the new . Weapons still Haven to gotten their True Battlefield christening a said a Senate armed services committee staffer. A we knew our weapons would work. We were telling you that from the beginning it. Gen. Thomas Kelly a take the Patriot missile one of the new Media stars. It worked wonderfully. But consider what it was being fired at a the scud which is one of the dumbest slowest most outdated missiles in anybody a Arsenal Quot the staffer said. Still the War should serve to mute a variety of criticisms. The m l a1 tank for example has Long been derided As a Gas guzzling Behemoth with a temperamental Turbine engine that would fare poorly in the Fine Sand of the Middle East. But the tank maintained an operational readiness rate of More than 90 percent meaning nine out of 10 tanks were available for use at anyone time said Don Gilleland a spokesman for general dynamics maker of the tank in Warren Mich. The tank s mobility greater firing Range and highly sophisticated infrared targeting system also allowed . Armoured forces to overwhelm iraqi tank units while suffering Only a a a handful of damaged tanks Gilleland said. The Bradley criticized for its supposed vulnerability to enemy fire also fared Well. Data Are still sketchy but apparently fewer than 10 Bradley were badly damaged. One of those was fired upon accidentally by a . Apache helicopter. Many critics of new weapons that have had problems Early in their development tend to repeatedly Hammer on those problems even though they May have been Long resolved said Korb of the Brookings institution. A most of the mls problems were solved by 84 or ��?T85,�?� Korb said. A but its hard of erase the initial criticisms from Peoples a Carroll from the Center for defense information however is particularly wary of the Praise being heaped upon smart munitions. A fall we be been Given Are pictures of bombs hitting targets with pinpoint accuracy. We be never seen a clip of a guided bomb missing its target and i m sure Many missed. Americans have been Given an unrealistic picture of a surgical War in which every bomb hits its two other question Marks that have yet to be answered focus on the All-64 Apache helicopter and the f-117 stealth fighter Carroll said. Almost no information has surfaced on the performance of the Apache which was criticized by the general accounting of fice last fall for its Low reliability. A and the f-117 has been praised to the skies for its contributions to the operation but How significant was it really a Carroll said. A we flew a lot of conventional aircraft against heavy anti aircraft fire with Only a handful of losses a lie said. "1 Haven t seen anything in this War to make me think stealth technology gave us any kind of overwhelming ring a Ding Ding gis welcomed to germ Nyback in the Nick of time _ Dan White 19, gets a Welcome Home from his wife Anne who Points out the birth of their baby is due any Day. The Young Marine arrived at Camp Pendleton calif., from the persian Gulf on saturday. By Maud s. Beelman the associated press Ansbach Germany a Karen Mckehan crying and shaking with Joy slipped the shiny Diamond and Gold wedding band on her husbands left hand and claimed him Back from the military sunday after 215 victorious . Soldiers returned from the persian Gulf War. She had Given her husband Don the Diamond wedding ring he always wanted As an anniversary gift last fall shortly before he deployed to the Gulf with the 1st army div a tank division that has its Headquarters in this Southern German town. But he take the ring with him. A i was afraid id apse it a sgt. Mckee a Han said As he held his Little boy Joshua. Mrs. Mckeehan said she had planned to put the ring on her husbands Tinger As soon As she saw him again. A i want to claim him Back a she said. A the military had him and now i want him a a the tearful joyous reunions were played out again and again after 50 soldiers stationed at this military base came Home to spouses children and friends waving american hags. . Military music blared Over a Loudspeaker system. The 215 soldiers landed in nearby Niernberg on sunday morning. They represented the tank unit which had moved deep into iraqi territory during the War and the 3rd inf dives 3rd brigade which was attached to the 1st army div. After receiving a red carpet Welcome from three . Generals and German military officials the soldiers were bused to their various bases throughout the Nurnberg area. Fifty came Home to Ansbach. 1 a a it a great to he Back. Praise the lord for being Back a said a Apt. Steve Shuster holding his 6-month-old daughter As his wife Patty and two other daughters stood by. Lie described the Gulf War As a Long periods of boredom broken by intense periods of but he said there was no doubt the War was if you could be seen the faces of the kuwaiti people As we drove through Kuwait their happiness a he said a you would have known we were there for the right reason a Many of the women waiting for their husbands were pregnant and said special consideration had been Given to soldiers whose wives were expecting. A she looks fantastic. Got a Little bitty Guy right Here a said sgt. Mark Mccurry As lie rubbed the belly of his wife Jennifer abut not All the returning soldiers were greeted by family members. Kyung Cannata a-19-year-old intelligence analyst who deployed in december was anxious to pick up her 5-month-old daughter Chloe from her parents in Law living in Michigan. Her husband Andrew is still in the Gulf. A a in a just Happy to be Home. It was rough a she said explaining that her Convoy unit had become caught in Cross fire As . Troops fired on iraqis. A a in a glad it was Over cases of German Beer awaited the troops. A it tastes like Home a said Solomon Wells. A \
