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Show COMIAT STENG ThtOUG lOGsOTCJ Have a safe Labor Day weekend! $ iri, Pogti V 5, 10. Vol. 45 No. 34 B HiSI AFB, Utah I MnVn I 1 It M n.,i Third Class 00 AlCfPA Hill AFB, UT 64056-599- Serial Order Department Llbrpries University of Utoh Salt Lake ity, UT 8411 2 General says confusing the ' ! . VJ I- ff raqis big help ; (j 'III by Rufus Thomas - : f" . . . . - f V. - ' AFLC Office of Public Affairs Security operations used from the very beginning of operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm kept Iraqi officials confused about the United States' true plan of action. That's according to Lt. Gen. Charles A. Horner, commander of 9th Air Force and U.S. Central Command Air Forces, who spoke on the security operations used during Operation Desert Storm to base personnel at the Air Force Institute of Technology auditorium in Dayton, Ohio, Aug. 14. In the beginning, Iraqi forces outnumbered the Saudi forces, Horner said. There were 20-3Iraqi divisions with 2 tanks on the Kuwaiti border against two companies of Saudi national guards in armored cars. Two days after Iraq invaded Kuwait, Secretary of Defense Richard Cheney, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Gen. Colin Powell, U.S. Central Command Commander Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf and Hornermet with the king of Saudi Arabia to dis- f 0 ' - i () T-7- Sad day year ago this week, troops went off to the unknown amid cheers and waving flags. Tears were saved for private times. To the relief of all, it's over now. A a'1 I " cuss strategy. Seventeen hours after deciding to support the wef& on the ground in Saudi AraSaudi's; U.S. bia. "They were surprised we got there so fast," F-1- 5s Hornersaid. "The reason we were able to do a credible job of defense and probably deter further aggression," said Horner, "was that the Saudis had AW ACS." The AWACS allowed the allied forces to keep track of the Iraqi forces. While allied forces were building 26 bases, they also had to slow down the Iraqi advance. Horner said he and the command staff decided to help even the odds and also buy time while more allied forces arrived. In one conversation with Schwarzkopf, Horner said he told the Army general, "We've got to do something to make them afraid. We need to convince them we're going to do an amphibious operation into Kuwait." Schwarzkopf agreed. To fool Iraqi forces into believing the allies were planning an amphibious assault, Horner said the allied command performed operations security, or in reverse. OP-SE- D Please see Horner, C, Page 2. U.S. A.r forc ago, fine played vital role in success of gulf war Hill AFB by Gary Hatch Hilltop Times editor One year ago this week, Hill AFB people lifted off the base runway bound for an unfamiliar land and an uncertain future. Hindsight has filled that deployment with glory. A year ago, eyes filled with tears. At times signs and waving flags covered the un WO file Photc I fill IT dercurrent of anxiety. At times emotions spilled. Out of that trial, which began with troops lifting off Aug. 28, 1990, both military and civilian workers proved their ability to help the Air Force fly, fight and win. "The successes of Desert Storm speak for themselves," said Maj. Gen. Dale W. Thompson, commander, Ogden Air Logistics Center. "Almost every person who was in the Middle East and has written about it agrees the Air Force made the difference." The Air Force's success was due to training, technology and never-endinlogistics supsaid. he port, top-notc- g D Please see Year ago, Page 2. Machinist's suggestion earns $5,000 award by Frances Kosakowsky Hilltop Times staff writer Brent Weyland knows enough to submit a good idea when he thinks of it. He earned a $5,000 suggestion award by following this philosophy. Weyland's suggestion greatly improved the repair of a lower bulkhead which is frequently bent when an 6 experiences a hard landing. The bulkhead is the main support and attachment point for the landing gear. When it is bent, the aircraft must be grounded until it is repaired. F-1- Ullo recycling Computer eliminates paperwork Prior to Weyland's suggestion, the method of repair was to disassemble, crate and ship the aircraft back to Hill an expensive proposition. "The reason the repair was so cumbersome is that the hole patterns in the bulkheads are critical, said Weyland, a machinist in the landing gear division of the Commodities Direc- torate. "The bolts have to be totally straight so there is no give in the structure because of the high stress at that point in the aircraft." The match has to be almost per PI:!I?pp? no variance between fect, .0015-inc- h hole patterns, so it was believed that disassembly and alignment by machining was the only way to meet the stringent tolerances required, he said. He developed some simple tooling fixtures that allow precision drilling of a new lower bulkhead using the old upper and lower bulkheads as guides. Using this tooling, the repair can be accomplished on site, eliminating most of the shipping, crating, aircraft down-tim- e and flow days required by the former method. A crew gets on an airplane with the tooling and frosty U.S. will stay in Subic Bay h repairs the aircraft nearly anywhere. "All we need is a source of compressed air to run our equipment, and nearly any place that has airplanes has compressed air," he said. To the layman, the tooling looks deceptively simple. The bracket containing the guide holes looks like a piece of aluminum bar stock with four holes and a groove carved out of the middle. In addition, several small drill guides and reamers are used to establish pilot holes for the precision matching process. 16-inc- h O Please see Refothurscmont Claims to be paid Idea, Page 2. |