European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - May 15, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Wednesday May 15, 199v the stars and stripes a Page 3future tank Battles not ruled out1st army div s Griffith Points to combat Success by Vince Crawley and Effie Bathen Nimberg Bureau Ansbach Germany a one of the commanders of the . Armoured strike into Iraq during the persian Gulf War is not ruling out future tank wars in the . A a a a a a a a. A a a a a a a a a a.  .����. A a a we know that the National interest of the United states rests in a lot of places where armoured forces would be the predominant Force on the Battlefield a maj. Gen. Ronald Griffith the commander of the 1st army div said in an interview. A if you look at the places in the world that Are most critical to our National interest specifically the persian Gulf Region those Are areas where. The terrain is very simple for our operations and. There Are very Well equipped armoured forces the potential  a a a a a a a a a �?��.���. A although the recent trend has been toward lighter Mobile units Griffith said Pentagon budget cutters would do Well to keep a balance of Light and heavy forces in the future. A we Are a superpower a he said. A we have interests that Are global and we need military forces that can respond adequately on the various environments where our National interests  lightly armed rapid deployment soldiers were the first to arrive in saudi Arabia last August a but i will Tell you xviii airborne corps was delighted to Sec Vii corps arrive. They were absolutely overjoyed a he said. A a a a a. A a a. A a. A. A a a a a a a a a a however Griffith warned against drawing too Many conclusions from the overwhelming ground Victory in the persian Gulf Region. A the next War May not be a War with iraqis on the desert. The next War May be a totally different War in a totally different environment a said the general a Vietnam Veteran who has been in the army for 30 years. A what we be got to remember is this is one War we did Well a he said. A if we draw conclusions and we draw lessons Learned understand that this was unique. All wars arc  the persian Guf War was More violent than Many people have been led to believe said Griffith 55, whose 22,000-Soldier, 350-tank task Force battled four iraqi divisions three of them from the elite Republican guard. Griffith a division nicknamed a old Ironsides a destroyed 341 tanks 924 armoured personnel carriers and 92 artillery pieces during 89 hours of ground com Bat. The troops also captured nearly 2,000 prisoners. In one firefight troops from the 2nd brigade out of Erlanger Germany destroyed 131 tanks from the iraqi Medina div in just 45 minutes. The Success of the bold Vii corps flanking attack through the iraqi desert demanded secrecy he said a amps Effie Bathen maj. Gen. Ronald Griffith and that secrecy also prevented officials from talking about the armoured corps role before and during the War. A a. A a a  a the violence was 99 percent delivered by the american forces but it is a misconception that the iraqis did not fight a said Griffith a native of Rossville a. A they made a very determined Effort to Stop us and to fight us. They did not run. It was a mismatch but they  at one Point Quot on the night of feb. 26, his division fought three Republican guard divisions simultaneously. The divisions tanks Bradley fighting vehicles and artillery fought a close in Battle with part of the Tawa Kalna div while Apache helicopters and Long Range artillery attacked part of iraqis Adnan div farther to the North. At the same time the division staff directed a deep attack by air Force jets against the. Medina div. A a that is truly Airl and Battle at its Best a Griffith said of the us. Tactic of attacking enemy reserves be fore they have had the Chance to enter the Battle. A it is very  Griffith said lie realized thy War was won on the morning of feb. 27. A Day before the cease firc. He remembers col. Montgomery Meigs a brigade Quot commander coming Over the radio and saying. A sixty tanks in front of  and then in a matter of minutes 1 got 60 burning tanks in front of  a i said a holy cow we re doing exactly what we planned to do. It s  Griffith recalled. A at that Point i knew it was certain it was going to be Quick. So i guess on the morning of the 27th i said a we be got Mem. We be really got  quo the morning of the cease fire feb. 28, was a very eerie a Griffith said. Quot we overran artillery positions where the radios were on the engines were running and All the Guys were either dead or  the . Military overestimated iraqis Republican guard Griffith said. But a we grossly underestimated the performance of our forces we be been doing realistic aggressive Mission oriented training for the last five or six years. We Wain the War at the National train ing Center in California and the combined arms Man Euver training Center in Lohen fils a Long time before we deployed Quot to the Middle fast. Despite postwar discussion on whether the allies should have continued the attack Griffith said that from his Vantage Point a on the 28th of february there was nothing left in front of us. It was All gone. Everything was destroyed. We could have in arched to the coast but there was nothing else that promised to Light a even if the iraqis had been willing to use their air a Force or chemical. Weapons a neither would have changed the outcome of the Battle Quot Griffith  a both of those would have made it far More difficult for  a a a a a a a a a alter the cease fire Griffith said american military people were the first to Tell the world about the plight  refugees during the internal chaos following Saddam Hussein s defeat. A it was a terribly sad Story a babies dying of malnutrition wounded civilians pregnant women who la been shot stuff that you can t even imagine a Griffith  tried to provide Protection we tried to provide humanitarian  tried to Tell the Story to the state department and the United nations. ,&Quot-Griffith said a the very loud voice of the . Military Down there is what has driven the humanitarian assistance that we re now  Tolz unit winding up work at kurd Camp by Ron Jensen staff writer. Silo i Turkey a More than 300 members of the 1st in 10th special forces group May be heading Home soon to bad Tolz Germany their commander said tuesday. Col. Bill Tangney said the soldiers could be Back in Germany within a week barring some new assignment. The soldiers have been overseeing the kurdish refugee Camp at Isik Veren on the turkish iraqi Border. But that Camp has barely 1,000 people left Down from a population of 80,000, Tangney said and will be empty in another  so. A the flow started about 10 Days ago a he said reaching a Peak of 10,000 a Day. When the Camp is empty the 1st in troops will move to the multinational military Camp at silo i where they w ill spend about four Days working on equipment. Then he said they May return to Germany. Isik Veren was once one of the largest Camps in the mountains. Like other Camps throughout the Border Region it has emptied As kurd leave for Home or for More suitable areas within the zone secured by coalition forces. A a we be experienced a very rapid flow out of the Camps in the last eight or nine Days a Tangney said. For example the Camp at Sinat which once held 4,500 refugees is empty. Kaya Digi has 1,500, Down from its Peak of 8,000. The Camp at Yermal is now Home for 50,000, Down from 74,000. A the largest Camp is Cuk Urca which still has 89,000 refugees. It once held up to 128,000. Tangney said he is not sure How Long it will take to Clear the remaining 168,000 refugees from All the Camps. A a in a not sure How much you can use Isik Veren As a litmus test because the populations vary a he said. The exodus is being slowed by the situation at the City of Dozhuk which is not in the coalition zone of Protection. Many kurd say they come from there but Are reluctant to return because of the presence of iraqi troops. Some people have left the mountains to live in temporary Camps or other villages inside the Security zone Tangney said. A i think there Are some people sitting on the fences waiting to see what comes out of the negotiations Quot he said. Dozhuk is being discussed by iraqi government leaders kurdish leaders , representatives and coalition military spokesmen. A a it a a very Complex political scene a Tangney said. Those with Money Are. Leaving the Camp at Cuk Urca in open trucks paying 1,000 iraqi dinars about $240 for each , not everyone plans to leave. Vassar Abdullah 39, a sports teacher from Dozhuk said he will stay in the Camp with his wife and four Young daughters until his safety in do Hick is guaranteed. A Why done to the americans go to Dozhuk a he asked. A if Saddam Hussein stays in Iraq i will never go to Iraq. A my Home All my things they take it my car they take it. I have nothing in Dozhuk. Why should i go Back a when the last people go from Here i will stay a he vowed. One of the kurdish elders in the Camp Abdu Razak germ i 50, said the . Placement a Faff of distribution Center in Dozhuk on monday is no reason to return. He said Lack of food was not the reason he and others left. A we have much food in our Homes a said the former director of Public works in Dozhuk. Meanwhile a spokesman Lor the French organization doctors without Borders said the cholera found at Cuk Urca has been eradicated. He said 43 cases of the deadly disease were identified and one Man died. Three or four people die each Day in the Camp,.most of them children. Six Days ago 10 people died. Most of the deaths were due to dehydration the spokesman said. Lie said that in the first three weeks his organization was in the Camp 700 people died. The 10th special forces group was asked to organize and administer the Camps when kurd were still starving following their Retreat from iraqi military forces in a failed revolution. Tangney said the Impact his people had in the Camp was immediately visible. A a the Progress that has been made in a very Short period of time is i think most incredible a he said. Credit must be shared he noted wit organizations such As doctors without Borders the Irish concern group and the International red Cross