European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - March 31, 2007, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday March 31 2007 stars and stripes Page 5 expert us Japan ready to counter n Korea by David Allen stars and stripes Naha Okinawa Japan and the United states Are in an Excel Lent position to counter the threat of North to reas development of nuclear weapons and bal Listic mis Siles a Tokyo based aerospace and defense Catling consultant said thurs Day at the us consulate on Oki Nawa North Korea test firing of a missile Over Japan last july and a nuclear test in october is proof the country is developing the Ca consultant says missile defense plan can oppose threat ability to strike a crippling blow to Japan said Lance Gatling a former state department foreign officer who now Heads a defense and space consulting firm a recent Japan ministry of de sense strategic review called North Korea weapons develop ment the greatest threat to peace in East Asia Japan is particularly vulnerable because it is so close to North Korea and nearly half the Popula Tion is in just four Urban centers primarily Tokyo Gatling said this makes it very difficult to defend he said having weapons of mass destruction so close to a highly concentrated Popula Tion is a very bad combination Gatling said the us and Japan have developed a missile defense plan to counter such a threat us and japanese destroyers armed with Aegis missiles patrol the sea of Japan Japan is rapidly deploying pac3 missiles around Tokyo and other major Urban areas he said and has been assisted by the recent deployment of a us pac3 Battery on Okinawa an integrated detection system should be Able to catch a missile threat in time to respond he added likening the ability to detect incoming missiles by radar and heat detecting satellites to having the Edge in a game of whack mole in Washington on tuesday air Force it Gen Henry Obering head of the us defense depart ments missile defense Agency said a japanese Aegis equipped destroyer will test fire a us interceptor missile called a Stan Dard missile 3 by the end of the year in a written testimony to the House armed services commit tees strategic forces subcommittee Obering said it will be the first such firing by a maritime ally we initially turned our Atten Tion to North Korea because we Felt that had the higher sense of urgency and we believe that was somewhat justified by the activities last summer Obering stated Gatling said concerns that a missile defense system is some How provocative Are baseless they Are purely defensive he said Only Good if you fire a missile at me ifs the same message coming from Obering at a state depart ment briefing he said missile de sense weapons Are not offensive weapons they do not even carry War Heads he said there Are no explosives on these missiles we operate on a Hitt Okill technology which is we actually drive a very Small Mil vehicle into an enemy warhead to destroy it Gatling said the state depart ment brought him to Okinawa to conduct a series of briefings for local journalists and government officials on the missile defense system being developed by the us and Japan theres a lot of misunderstand ing about missiles themselves which leads to misunderstand Ings of missile defense he said email David Allen at Tuskegee airmen honoured by Bush Black air corps unit from Wii receives congressional Gold medal by Darlene Superville the associated press Washington president Bush saluted the Tuskegee air men on thursday six decades after they completed their world War ii Mission and returned Home to a country that discriminated against them because they were Black even the nazis asked Why Afri can american men would fight for a country that treated them so unfairly Bush told the group of legendary Black aviators who received a congressional Gold medal the most prestigious Congress has to offer these men in our presence Felt a special sense of urgency they were fighting two wars one was in Europe and the other took place in the hearts and minds of our citizens Bush then saluted the airmen saying he wanted to offer the Ges Ture to help atone for All the unreturned salutes and unforgivable indignities they endured Bush members of Congress and other dignitaries joined some 300 airmen widows and other relatives for the ceremony in the Capitol Rotunda hours ahead of the event Tuskegee airmen some walking with the Aid of canes others pushed in wheel chairs flooded Capitol Hall ways on their Way to being recognized for their Long ago heroism its never too late for your country to say that youve done a great Job for us retired col Elmer d Jones 89 of Arlington a said in an interview this week Jones was a maintenance officer during the War retired it col Walter l Mccreary who was shot from the sky during a Mission in october 1944 and held prisoner for nine months in Germany said it Hurt that the groups accomplishments had not been honoured years earlier we took it in stride its a recognition Long overdue said my Lonni Timmons Iii the Cleveland Ohio Plain dealer members of the Tuskegee airmen the first Black aviators in the army air corps from left Clarence c Jami son or Arthur Saunders James Travis and Thomas Austin pose in front of a projected ps1 in Cleveland Creary also 89 of Burke a House majority whip Jim Cly Burn dec the highest ranking Black member of Congress ech oed Mccreary sentiment Many of the Tuskegee airmen also trained at Walterboro army air Field in his congressional District people Are now beginning to come to grips with our history Clyburn said thursday in an inter View our history is what it is its never going to change the Tuskegee airmen were recruited into an army air corps program that trained Blacks to Fly and maintain combat aircraft president Roosevelt had Over ruled his top generals and or dered that such a program be Cre ated but even after they were admit Ted Many commanders continued to believe the Tuskegee air men didst have the smarts Cour age and patriotism to do what was being asked of them nearly 1000 fighter pilots trained As a segregated unit at a Tuskegee Ala air base not Al Lowed to practice or fight with their White counterparts the Tuskegee airmen distinguished themselves from the rest by paint ing the tails of their air planes red which led to them becoming known As the red tails the Tuskegee airmen left a segregated country to fight in War and unfortunately returned to one that was still segregated House speaker Nancy Pelosi said though Hitler was Defeated prejudice was not today we Are trying to right that wrong us South Korea exercise tests medical evacuations care by Franklin Fisher stars and stripes a Yongtaek South Korea the us and South korean armies this week continued to test their ability to evacuate their wounded troops in each others medi Cal facilities a capability that would be Cru Cial during wartime on thursday the exercise included a helicopter evacuation that had been scheduled the Day before but was cancelled be cause of weather the exercise began around 9 am wednesday at an american battalion Aid station in the Dong Lucheon Region and involved eight soldiers seven from the us and one South korean an ambulance from company a 168th medical battalion took the mock casual ties to the clinic at Camp red Cloud in Muije Ogbu about a 30minute trip red Cloud medics simulated the medi Cal treatment and paperwork tasks they would carry out in an actual mass casualty evacuation said army capt Rachelle m Beseman 210th fires brigade surgeon four of the mock casualties were to be taken to Camp Humphreys in a Yongtaek by helicopter before the flight was can celeb wednesday the other four were driven to South to reas Yang jul armed forces Hospital about 20 minutes from Camp red Cloud there South korean Hospital staff per formed triage and treated them including taking them to surgery rooms and the intensive care unit Beseman said among the lessons Learned was the importance of translators she said that message came when a South Kore an army lieutenant acting As a casualty Fol Lowed her instructions to speak Only Kore an to the american medics at red Cloud Beseman said she actually Speaks very Good English but we told her to Only speak korean the medics got All frustrated i dont know what Shes saying Beseman said a Kore an augmented to the us army eventually was brought in to translate she said Beseman said she will recommend to her successor that americans bring translators to the South korean medical facilities if we do transition to War email Franklin Fisher at