European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 5, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse Friday april 5, 1991 the stars and stripes Page 3in the Gulf if War had to happen this was a Good time p owe ii g lad conf i i it preceded by Janet Lowells Tierney. Washington Bureau Washington a in his 18 months As chairman of the joint chiefs of staff Gen. Colin Powell has Mobil a i la Leary in to respond to unexpected conflicts in Al Salvador Liberia Lebanon Panama the Philippines and the Middle East. So Powell is careful when it comes to guessing about the future. But he said he feels that the most recent and barges conflict the persian Gulf War. Happened at an opportune time. If desert storm had to happen this was a Good time for it a Powell said during an interview in his Pentagon office tuesday. A we were Able to pull one corps out of Germany and still leave one behind. It was useful to me that the forces in Europe and the Pacific were uniquely suited to the situation i had in the persian Gulf in fact we fought a european War in the Sands of Kuwait.�?�. A a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a a he added that the Large Active duty Force made it possible to maintain a military presence in other parts of the world in Case it was needed. If iraqi president Saddam Hussein had waited five years to invade Kuwait the american military would have completed its planned troop reductions particularly in Europe and the outcome of the War might not have been As Swift Powell said. Quot a r 9 a we probably could have done it but it would have Terpen longer and been a much More difficult process a he said. V it a a Powell acknowledged that the american military a practice of planning for future operations based on a it. Perceived threat is becoming More threat based analysis was a very useful thing to have for the past 40 years a he said. entering into an environment where it Isnit that Clear what v threats we might have to face four or five year Ovyn the Road. A a we re running out of i a planned Cut of 25 percent in Active duty personnel will still leave an adequate Force to protect . Inter1-ests, Powell said. 1 a five years from now Well still have 1.5 million peo pie in uniform a he said of Active duty personnel. The future Active duty and Reserve Force Vytill be made up of 12 army divisions 26 air Force tactical fighter wings three Marine corps divisions and about 435 ships. Currently there Are 2.05 million people on Active duty. The Active and Reserve forces now include 28 army divisions 26 air Force tactical fighter wings four Marine corps divisions and 545 ships. A we want to make a proper investment of the Amor ican Peoples treasure and not be Over protecting our now we re entering into an environment where it Isnit that Clear what threats we might have to face four or five years Down the Gen. Colin Powell selves Quot he said a it will be a competent capable military Force with a modernized strategic nuclear the soviet Union is no longer locked eyeball to Eye pall with . Troops at the Fulda Gap in Germany but it still has the capability to destroy the United states with nuclear weapons in 30 minutes Powell said. A that is a reality we can to ignore a he said. The Pentagon is concerned that the draw Down be gradual to avoid forcing out Large numbers of service members he said Powell said troop reductions May take a year longer than planned because of the Gulf a War a a a a a a a b a no scours persian Gulf desert in search of possible re enlistments in the Early months of 199 l we should have been letting people go to get Down to our new end strengths Powell said a desert storm exasperated that a Little bit by forcing us to keep up the end strengths and also to put in place . The Stop loss policy kept some personnel on Active duty beyond their service obligations or retirement a. Dates. A a a the War also pointed out some problems with the total Force concept which relics on Reserve and National guard units to Back up Active duty troops. While Powell plans to maintain his option to use the backup forces if needed he acknowledged a problem exists for combat units that have Only 39 Days a year for training. Three army National guard combat brigades were called to Active duty last fall but spent the entire War at the National training Center at fort Irwin Calif. \ a a a a a a a a a a a a. A a we re examining what is the reasonable level of training we can expect a National guard unit to be at during peacetime a he said a a and also How much Post mobilization training is. Needed before we can honestly and in Good conscience say to the american people and to those Young men and women that they arc ready to go to combat close direct Nasty on the ground \ the army is looking at a concept that would use the Reserve and National guard units for reinforcements after a Battle has begun father than sending them in with Active forces Powell said. Powell bristles at Media reports describing him As a War hero but his serious manner evaporated when he talked about the High morale of american troops before and during the Gulf War in his office he has a three minute tape of a television interview featuring Vii corps soldiers in saudi Arabia before the War started. A a. A a a a now these Guys have bonded Quot Powell said grinning broadly of the images of the troops declaring that they Are a family who share the same goals of winning the War and getting everyone Home safely. Here s your heroes a he said. A heroism comes from caring about the other people you Are a by John Millar Middle East Bureau. Northern saudi Arabia troops can to hide from staff sgt. Joe Hanna. They May move from desert outposts in Kuwait to positions in Iraq or saudi Arabia but when re enlistment time comes up Hanna always finds his Soldier. A Back at his Quot Home base in Schaffen Burg Germany the retention non commissioned officer for the 3rd inf div�?Ts3rd brigade could easily get to soldiers who wanted to re enlist. His office was a five minute drive from each of the units four caverns. A. Quot but All that changed when the unit deployed to the Gulf As part of the 1st army div. A in Iraq and Kuwait units might be 10 to 15 Miles away from Jach other a Hanna said. The distances grew longer recently when Hanna moved South with an Advance party to. New brigade Headquarters in saudi Arabia. The units soldiers will follow soon. Until then he has to travel about 300 Miles to visit troops still in Iraq. A. A by Convoy it takes about 15 hours a he said. in Germany Hanna supervised four retention cos who worked to re enlist eligible soldiers among the 2,300 troops assigned to the brigades three battalions and a sizable Headquarters unit. Gulf duty meant the addition of 700 troops to the brigade and the loss of his. Assistants. A a they re Here a Hanna said about his retention sergeants. A but most Are doing other jobs that Are War related. A Only nine brigade soldiers re enlisted Between the units arrival in saudi Arabia in december and the Start of the ground Campaign in mid february Hanna said. Since then 123 have expressed interest and those Are the soldiers he a tracking Down. A a lot of the attitude about re enlistment has changed since he War has ended a Hanna said. A Many weren to sure they wanted to re enlist before and during the War. There were so Many uncertainties.�?�. One of those uncertainties was the army a planned Force reductions and the effect they would have on civilian Job chances. A a lot of people were walking Down the Road saying a if i re enlist now Fine. But what happens when they wont let me re enlist later and the Job Market is flooded with people being forced out a a Young soldiers were also Uncertain about combat a not knowing what the equipment would do and How they would the swiftness of the 100-hour ground Campaign against Iraq answered those. Quest ions he said. Since the War those considering re Ezi list ment want to get training in More High tech jobs such As computers and engineering Hanna said. Others want assignments in the United states at less seven want to re enlist to stay with the brigade in Aschaffenbur. With the re enlistments come requests that the ceremony be performed in strange places or by particular commanders. A a we be re enlisted a Guy in Kuwait and a Guy in Iraq a All of the places we be been since we be been one Soldier re enlisted beside an my Abrams tank. In Kuwait a Soldier re enlisted in front of an iraqi t-72 tank. A and after that we All shot it Quot with anti tank weapons Hanna said. �?o1 hate to admit it but i missed i shot too Low a another Soldier in the brigade is willing to raise his hand to re enlist but he wants it. To be with . Central come Leader Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf. A a request was made but we Haven heard anything yet a Hanna storm uplifted nation president says Andrews a in up president Bush welcomed . Troops Home from the persian Gulf wednesday at a Star studded gala. A America rediscovered itself during desert storm a Bush said. A first rate Milit leaders executed a sound bae plan and de live Rcd a Swift Victory. Men and women of All races and backgrounds worked together turning blueprints into triumphs. A a every single Day i feel a special sense of Joy and gratitude for you and All who served. And when you freed Kuwait you uplifted the american spirit a. Bush also remembered those americans killed in the War with Iraq saying a to All those who gave their lives for this country we will Cyer forget you or what you have inside a cavernous air plane hangar the event was Bra Mccu nationwide television audience. In attendance were former . Prisoners of War held in Iraq and representatives from most of the 33 nations that participated in the War. V it
