European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - April 18, 1992, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thes the Gulf War continued from Page 57 from Europe would be deployed to bolster the . Presence in the Gulf. Tony Nihra the newspapers operations manager and Jan Denikiewicz a Kaiserslautern area circulation manager also visited the Gulf in november to try to improve distribution of the 80,000 papers being flown in daily. The . Central come had opted to use the military postal system to circulate the paper and the Apos cluttered with millions of a any service member letters and other mail were just not up to the task. In some places pallet loads of papers were sitting untouched in postal storage Yards. Other locations never received papers at All or because of troop movements received too few or far too Many. Nihra managed to streamline the process but the Central come vetoed his suggestion to try using dedicated Drivers or other forms of delivery. In Early december the staff traded its hotel digs for a leased House and teamed up with a Trio of Pacific stars and stripes staffers who a been sent to the area. Duane Snippen a european edition computer technician was flown in to work on the assembled computer gear and by years end the staff finally had a functional Bureau Complete with fax photo transmission equipment and Modem links to the papers Griesheim and Tokyo Headquarters. By the time iraqi Leader Saddam Hussein was Given his Jan. 15 deadline to withdraw from Kuwait the stripes operation had secured spots in combat Media pools at a tactical airbase and with a Vii corps ground unit. If War began the stars and stripes would once again be in the Middle of it. Jensen Ron Jensen who a returned to saudi Arabia in Early january was pulling night duty at the coalition press Center in Dhahran when the first planes began dropping their bomb loads on Iraq. It was 3 20 ., Jan. 17. Jensen called the stripes House and passed the word to Pacific edition reporter Rob Jagodzinski who was asleep on the Couch. A minute later Jagodzinski was pounding on bedroom doors screaming. With expletives deleted the quote is reduced to the words a a we re bombing  the staff had just stumbled into the hallway when the air raid sirens began wailing from a saudi government Complex across the Street. . Air Force f-16 fighter bombers ready for combat on a saudi arabian Airstrip. Ken Claus on unsure of what to expect the staffers hurriedly tugged on their army issued chemical masks and stood in the foyer of the House adrenalin forming sickening knots in their stomachs. The minutes ticked by and nothing happened. The Siren continued its wavering Rise and fall but still nothing happened. Finally Pacific edition reporter Dave Schad pulled off his mask rummaged through his shirt pockets and produced a crumpled pack of generic Brand cigarettes. Quot might As Well smoke Mem while we got the Chance a a he said his Missouri accent lending a Light twang to the words. A might not have time later  the tension broke and the staff got to work. Crawley and Schad hit the Road to get reaction quotes from soldiers in the City. Owen who a moved to Riyadh to cover Central come Headquarters called in with a report on the action there. Other staffers sped to the air base in Dhahran where coalition bombers had taken off Only hours before. A it was absolutely awesome a base maintenance chief col. Ray Davies said of the planes departure. A i mean the ground Shook and you Felt it. We have been waiting nearly five months. Now we finally got to do what we were sent Here to  alerts Clauson would spend the next week shooting photos of bomb Laden takeoffs and the planes triumphant returns. Distributed through the combat press Pool his work would appear in time Magazine . News amp world report Newsweek and other publications in addition to the stars and stripes. A i think we lost our objectivity somewhat and got swept up in the euphoria of it All a said Clauson who still mans the papers Bremerhaven news Bureau. A but it was definitely  Clauson Start of the War then hurried to the office to in Griesheim news editor Bill Walker had watched television news reports on the Ken Clauson assigned As a combat Pool photographer at a Karl air base in Central saudi Arabia had been awakened at 1  With a simple a a let a go from a Public affairs escort officer. Head been told not to use a Flash so Clauson willed his nervous hands to be still then clicked off dozens of slow shuttered shots As the first sorties headed for Iraq interrupted Only by scud Tarrant Pruitt joke Owen direct a stripes a a extra edition. Using wire service reports for the Lead Story Walker added a half Page photo of an f-15 Eagle that had just returned from the first bombing wave. A War erupts a the front Page headline said in two Inch Type. In smaller letters a second line added the words a air Armada hammers  inside the paper featured a half Page graphic of the War zone prepared by artist Wes Booher plus staff written stories on increased Security in Europe then eight new pages of background material including the text of president Bush a address to the nation. The reaction piece by the staff in saudi Arabia and a message from desert storm commander Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf filled the Back Page. Although thousands of readers in Europe were Able to read that first gripping report on the War Many . Troops in the Gulf never saw it. To facilitate the round the clock coalition bombing air bases in saudi Arabia were closed to cargo traffic for the first five Days of the War and stars and stripes papers destined for the Gulf piled up at Rhein main a in Germany. The stars and stripes staff got the a War erupts edition sent by Tel fax reduced 40 percent to fit the machines smaller paper. By the Start of the coalition ground offensive in late february the stripes operation in the Gulf Page 58 a 50th anniversary special edition saturday april 18, 1992