European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 14, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday March 14,1991 the stars and stripes b Page 3 in the Gulf Gulf War affirms nato strategies Alliance reviews crisis and plots its future by David Tarrant Brussels Bureau Brussels Belgium it a after the 1973 Arab israeli War it became fashionable for defense experts to postulate that the tank had become a White elephant. The Success of new hand held anti tank rocket launchers had knocked it right off the Battlefield they argued. Eighteen years and another Middle East War later those so called experts  have been More off base. A a a. A a a a. A a a a a. A a a a a a a a a. A a a. That a Why career military officers such As Gen. Vig leik Eide chairman of natos military committee and the Man spearheading a sweeping yearlong review of Alliance strategy approach the lessons of operation desert storm with some deliberation. A a we have to be cautious so that we do not jump to premature conclusions and say that everything we saw in the Gulf was transferable to Central Europe Eide said. Still even the most effective coalition in Europe a history can learn a thing or two from the persian Gulf War. In separate interviews Eide and Gen. John r. Galvin the supreme Allied commander in Europe said much of what took place in the Gulf confirms the new thinking at nato As the 16-nation Alliance overhauls its old cold War military strategy. Indeed Many ideas proposed by nato leaders after their 1990 London Summit have been a reinforced by what we saw in the Gulf a Galvin said. These ideas include a mobility. A mobility is extremely important. We have to have a lot of flexibility. That Means forces that can do More than one thing a Eide said. The ability to make a strategic move also called for by nato was demonstrated by Vii corps move from Germany to the Gulf Galvin said. A multinational forces. Eide will also be looking closely at How the coalitions commander Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf managed the 37 nations in the anti Iraq coalition. A a natos military planners have been studying ways to pull together ground forces from several allies into corps for defending Europe. Currently natos multinational ground forces Are limited to Small units with tightly defined roles such As its rapid deployment Mobile Force. Nat contributions nato s years of Gold War training paid off in a conflict for which the Alliance had not prepared. Contributions included a Airlift air support United states Britain Germany Greece France Italy Portugal Spain Turkey air combat Britain Canada United states France Italy ground forces Britain France United states a it Are air defense batteries the Netherlands source staff reports aps amps in the Gulf a some of the ground forces were integrated and worked together pretty Well Down through the echelons whereas others worked As Independent divisions with their own boundaries and their own Clear tasks a Eide said. Multinational forces have to be Able to fight and not just deter War by showing a lot of National flags a so we done to lose out on credibility a Eide said. A i think we confirmed that coalition forces were Able to work very effectively  a crisis management. The Gulf conflict was a a Brilliant example of How . Leaders took the initiative and handled the crisis magnificently from the political level Down to the military Side a Eide said. Nato leaders also had a Chance to respond under fire. Article five of the Alliance treaty an armed attack against one member is considered an attack against All a was Given its sternest test Ever in the Case of Turkey the Only nato member sharing a Border with Iraq. Recognizing the threat posed by Iraq to its Eastern Borders Turkey requested assistance from its fellow nato partners. The Alliance responded by sending an air element of its rapid deployment Force which teamed up with nato Early warning aircraft already in Turkey. A a a a Quot a a. A a to a. The move was designed a both to enhance their forces and to demonstrate Solidarity a to show to lat they were part of the Alliance and should not be dragged into the conflict a Eide said. Air defences for these forces included Patriot Hawk and Roland units provided by Germany and the Netherlands. The United states also sent an f-15 inter cup Tor Alert Force to bolster the nato Force at in Ciurlik a Galvin said. Nato political and military officials consulted daily during the seven month crisis helping identify resources and coordinate efforts and contributions by individual allies Eide said. A the Gulf crisis highlights the growing importance in the future of crisis management a he said. A the flanks. The crisis highlighted the emerging importance of the flanks a especially As the soviet threat to Central Europe diminishes. A we can still count on instabilities and risks in the Middle East and the Mediterranean so Turkey is going to be even More of a strategic asset a Eide said. A a it a quite obvious we have to have forces flexible enough to move to the  a surveillance. Intelligence was a major Factor in the coalitions Success Eide said. The Alliance will be looking at How Well a acs planes from the nato airborne Early warning system As Well As other surveillance systems performed. A you want to know what is happening and you want to know it As Early As possible so you can react  a training. Iraq had Good equipment but its forces were not Well trained. A a you can have Good technology but if you done to have Good people and you can to pull it together you re in bad shape a Galvin said. A a we be trained hard. We train in the Day and we train at  contributing to this Oral Cut staff writer Rosemary Sawyer in Gap Pungan Garmany vow sees Hope for organization in Gulf War vets Spokane Wash. A the veterans of foreign wars is eyeing the half million . Servicemen Bers who were sent to the persian Gulf As potential new life for its aging organization the groups Leader said. A a we re already recruiting a said National commander in chief James Kimery. A a we be got something like 15,000 of them already signed  Kimery was in Spokane to address Spokane Valley vow Post 1435. The vow with Headquarters in Kansas City mo., represents 2.2 million veterans. Kimery is touring several states discussing the Homecoming of the soldiers As Well As legislation before Congress that will affect veterans benefits. The vow is organizing the official Homecoming festivities in Washington d.c., on july 4, the Day president Bush has called for a nationwide Celebration Kimey said. Meat and potatoes weapons remain vital experts Tell Congress by Chuck Vinch Washington Bureau while the nation is Abuzz Over the performance of the new High tech weapons used in the persian Gulf War Many specialists Are quietly advising Congress not to forget Blue Collar weapons in future funding debates. Eugene Carroll the Deputy director of the Center for defense information said that most of the Burden fell to a meat and potatoes systems such the a-10 and b-52 aircraft artillery pieces and various missiles such As the Tow hellfire and Maverick that have been around for years. A a to highlight just a few of the High tech systems As winning this War ignores the fact that it was the overwhelming pressure on iraqi forces by these older systems that really made the War a walk for us a Carroll said. That a just one of the Many lessons to be drawn from the War according to a sampling of defense experts government officials and military officers. The War also proved that air Power can be decisive. Lawrence Korb a military analyst with the Brookings institution said the Gulf War discredited the Tenet that air Power can twin wars. A clearly Allied air Power completely broke the will of the iraqis to fight a Korb said. Ground forces will always be needed to take and hold territory he said a but for All intents and purposes it was air Power that made the big differ this a. Ence in even i War. Though the air Force iraqi  come out and fight the allies faced a dangerous threat from ground based air defense systems. The extraordinarily Low casualty rate during the air War underscores the importance of electronic countermeasures on the High tech Battlefield the experts said. A the Only Way to account for the Low aircraft attrition rate in the air War was that we completely blinded the iraqi radar and air defense systems a said an air Force official in the Pentagon. A still the War revealed the need for More sea lift assets. A it took us Over five months to get everything in place in the theater and that was pushing our transport assets to the limit a a senior staff member with the Senate armed services committee said. A the luxury of having five months to get ready for the War was an extremely unusual situation that a not Likely to happen very often. If we have a major contingency that we have to respond to within Days or weeks rather than months it would be very  Korb said the need for More fast sea lift ships is a one of the most obvious conclusions to be drawn from this operation. We better invest in More sea lift especially in repositioned maritime  at a congressional hearing in mid february vice adm. Francis Donovan chief of the military sea lift come said the War a pinpointed beyond a doubt the absolute surge requirements for More Roll on Rolloff transport ships for the ready Reserve and merchant Marine Fleet As Well As the military a repositioned Supply Fleet and fast sea lift Fleet