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Show NEWS Jan. 18, 1991 H;t!top Times Troops reach 530,000; no indication of withdrawal by SSgt. David P. Masko Air Force Nes Service strength in and around that has Kuwait has grown to 530.000 in a build-ubeen steady and clearly gives no indication of an Iraqi withdrawal from Kuwait, Pentagon officials V A S H I N G TO N I r aqi p said Jan. 3. Although U.S. and foreign negotiators tried to convince Saddam Hussein to leave Kuwait before deadline or face possible the Jan. 15 war, Iraq continues to fortify defenses and has increased its troop strength by 20,000 since Christmas. "It appears, in fact, that Saddam believes time is on his side," Defense Secretary Dick Cheney said. "This view is reinforced by his continued efforts to find ways around the sanctions and his attempts to break the international consensus against him. "He apparently believes that we and our allies do not have the staying power to see this crisis through U.N.-impose- d to a successful conclusion," Secretary Cheney told the Senate Armed Services Committee in December. "We see the Iraqi forces remaining in Kuwait in their fortified positions and improving those positions," U.S. Central Command officials said Jan. 2. "We continue to see no evidence that Iraq is withdrawing from Kuwait." In addition to more than a half million troops, Iraq has 4,000 tanks, 2,500 armored personnel carriers and 2,700 artillery pieces in Kuwait, CENTCOM officials said. Iraq's population is less than 19 million, yet they support a military of more than a million men. "This is particularly significant when one considers that 45 percent of Iraq's population is estimated to be under the age of 14, and at least 50 percent female," CENTCOM officials said. The command estimates about one out of every three Iraqi males of military age, 18 to 35, is presently in the armed forces. "Iraqi forces in the Kuwait theater of operations remain in defensive positions and continue to dig it, although this force is capable of shifting to offensive operations with little notice," Army Gen. Colin Powell told the Senate Armed Services Committee in December. DContinutd from Pagt 1 was using the time to dig in his troops, rob and plun- lied forces was high, with little response from Iraqi air defenses. der Kuwait and develop nuclear weapons. Defense Secretary Dick Cheney said the "opera"Five months ago, Saddam Hussein started this cruel war against Kuwait; tonight the battle has tion appears to have gone very, very well." Asked about American casualties, he said "preliminary been joined," President Bush said. atThe president delivered a blistering personal reports ... are very, very encouraging." The secretary and Gen. Colin Powell, chairman of tack on the Iraqi leader, accusing his forces of murdering innocent children during the "rape and pillage the Joint Chiefs of Staff, briefed reporters at the of Kuwait" and of arrogantly defying the internaPentagon as the first wave of Operation Desert Storm ended around daybreak in the Middle East. tional community during the last five months. "The 28 countries with forces in the gulf area have Reports indicate just two planes have been lost U.S. exhausted all reasonable efforts to reach a peaceful during the early fighting a carrier-baseThe bomber. and British Tornado choice have drive a no resolution and but to Saddam Hornet fighter from Kuwait by force," President Bush said. "We pilot of the has reportedly been killed. The two will not fail." crew members of the Tornado are listed as missing. Initial reports indicated the success rate of the al "Nobody should doubt our ability and our d F-1- DContinutd from Pag 1 as observed by Colonel Navarro. "Our people realize that the mission is a worthwhile mission, with the support of the American people and the rest of the Western world," he declared. "We are very confident in our preparations and stand ready to accomplish the 8 everyone is making the extra effort to ensure everything is in order. With little information about the base or what might arrive there before them, everyone was pleasantly surprised with the level of quality and support from the host base. "We shared facilities with them, missions we are tasked to do." That confidence comes from operat- which allowed us to get up to speed very quickly," said CoL William R. ing commander for operleaving little time to sit and commiser- Huddle, deputy ations. "The pilots had no extended ate about the situation. downtime in which they might have "As the deadline approaches," Colonel Navarro said, "the anxiety is gone stale." Colonel Navarro commented that higher, the people have a little more foa more little about seriousness the cus, biggest adjustment for the pilots their approach to the tasks at hand." has been in the different air traffic conProcedures are being fine tuned and trol environment required by the num seven-days-a-wee- k, Continued from Pagt 1 they're doing. Whether I disagree with them or not certainly has no effect on their right to state their beliefs. I'm here to protect that right." Also boosting morale are activities S3 and sports made available to the C bqt f tr?th Tfcr F-1- 8 troops basketball, volleyball, soccer, softball, television and reading. The deployment has been an unparalleled success, Colonel Huddle said. "If you were to write a scenario for a perfect deployment," he said, "this "Their forward line consists of infantry divisions dug in along the Saudi border and along the gulf coast. There are heavy divisions further north along border," the chairman of the joint the said. chiefs of staff forces are supported by a The forward-deployeIraq-Kuwa- it d obstacles, including barbed wire, series of trenches and infantry fortifimine fields, anti-tancations. In addition to its conventional armed forces, Iraq also possesses a substantial chemical weapons capability which it has not hesitated to use, General Powell said. The Defense Department was planning a vaccination program for Desert Shield people against potential germ warfare that could be used by Iraq, Pentagon spokesman Pete Williams said. He added that vaccinations are not the only defense against biological weapons. "The face mask and the chemical suit are extremely effective defensive mechanisms against biological man-mad- e k warfare." American forces in the Persian Gulf region total more than 335,000 and the number of other allied troops gathered since Iraq's Aug. 2 invasion of Kuwait has grown to 245,000. resolve," Secretary Cheney said. Both he and General Powell declined to discuss specifics of the operation. They would not confirm the types or numbers of aircraft used in the operation. "We are in the very early stages of this operation," Secretary Cheney said in explanation. Just hours after the attack had begun, Iraqi president Saddam Hussein declared on Baghdad radio, "The great showdown has begun. The mother of all wars is under way." Mr. Hussein called President Bush a "hypocritical criminal" and pledged to crush "the satanic intentions of the White House." The Iraqi leader also promised to deliver two blows for every blow to Iraq. ber of countries they must fly through. "Luckily the universal language in flying aircraft is English," Colonel Navarro said. "We also fly a lot of joint missions with aircraft from the international alliance." Maintenance of the 6 aircraft, a concern prior to deployment, has not been the problem originally expected. Colonel Navarro praised the people in adapting to the new environment. The maintenance functions with the are the same as would normally be conducted anywhere; however, according to CoL Robert H. Peterson, deputy commander for maintenance, the sand F-1- F-1- 6s there gets into just about everything, requiring more filter changes and cleaning equipment more often. But he one would match as closely as I could imagine. The shortfalls found have been relatively easy to overcome." "Morale is very high," Colonel Navarro said. Colonel Navarro seemed to sum up confirmed again that the overall main- tenance operation is unchanged. Support in getting spare parts has been excellent, according to Colonel Petersen. "If anything, parts are coming to us quicker than planned or expected. We are able to stay in operation as well as we were at home," rates may he said. "Our even be a little higher here." "We have the finest equipment and have received the finest training possible," Colonel Navarro said. "We all hope the diplomatic process will be successful," Colonel Huddle said. "But we are prepared, if it's not, to do whatever the commander-in-chie- f calls on us to do." the perspective of operations in speaking of Capt. Michael L. Chinburg, who died when his jet crashed last week. "He paid the ultimate price. It's the nature of the business we're in, a high-risbusiness. We all realized that when we signed up," he said somberly. gii Hilltop Times Published by MorMedia, Inc. a private firm in no way connected with the U.S. Air Force, under exclusive written contract with Hill AFB. This commercial enterprise Air Force newspaper is an authorized publication for members of the U.S. military services. 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