Conference repair::reserve_forces

    IAN
    
    MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY. I AM ON VACATION AT THE MOMENT AND HAVE BEEN GLUED
    TO THE NEWS SERVICES ALL DAY, BUT THEY ARE STARVED OF FACTS. I WOULD
    LIKE TO ECHO THE SAME THOUGHTS KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK GUYS AND COME HOME
    SAFELY.

    I left alot of great people over there when I was called home.  I wish
    them the very best.
    
    In a way it is seems strange that there is a war (conflict,
    whatever...) going on with people fighting and I'm here at work like I
    do everyday like nothing has changed.
    
    Kevin

    Apart from the my military activities as a bit of part-time fun I
    joined the St John Ambulance Brigade last year. The planning for
    dealing with casualties has been going on for months, in fact the
    number of courses available has dramatically increased.
    
    Seems ironic to me that there is more chance of my involvement in the
    conflict via the part-time fun activity than the military.
    
    "We" have been tasked to transport injured from the airfields to the
    hospitals and maybe help look after them there.
    
    Dave

    Do the job and take care of each other. Everyone comes home.
    
    Lowell
    

    
    
    "DESERT STORM"
    
    hum?  That couldn't have been "STORMIN Norman's"
    (Gen. Schwartzkoff) idea of name, could it?
    
    Randy Schwartz
    50th AD NJARNG

    re. -1
    
    At least it's not called "DESERT BREEZE"
    
    :-)
    
    Kevin
    NHANG
    

    
    Apparently the Royal Auxiliary Air Force are being called up to aid
    with the Logistics (hopefully nothing to do with DEC logisticsgawd help
    us). Is it 4624 Squadron and doesn't a regular contributor to this
    notes file belong to them??? If so good luck old boy..........
    
    Martin.

    Yes it is 4624 Sqdn. They are, as it says in all the papers, people who
    load and unload aircraft and they are based at Brize Norton. 
    
    My unit is also based there and we occasionally get free flights in
    Herkies ( jealous huh ? ) by being passengers for them.
    
    Some of 4626 Sqdn. have also been called up. They are an Aeromedical
    Evacuation unit who provide in-flight nursing care for casualties.
    4626 are not based at BN however.
    
    Dave

    Has anyone in here heard of the Iraqi materiel which may have
    gone to Iran to keep out of harm's way?
    CNN interviewed Dick Cheney this AM and mentioned it. The SECDEF
    (of course) gave no indication on the validity of the question.
    
    Thanks!
    
    John B.

    Could someone give me the definition of "sortie".  We have heard that
    term all weekend but never told where it came from.  I know it pertains
    to the flights over Iraq but that's all.
    
    thanks,
    
    bk

    A "sortie" is one aircraft (not necessarily a manned one) launched
    on a mission. Each sortie is given an identification number, and
    primary, secondary, and (sometimes) alternate targets.
    
    Sorties also include AWACS, recon, refueling, cargo, SAR (Search
    and Rescue). 
    
    While missiles can be given a "sortie" designation (such as Pershing
    missiles were when they existed), I don't know at what level "sortie"
    designations no longer apply. I doubt that Patriots are given "sortie"
    designations, but I would expect the cruise types would be.
    
    In combat, it is not unusual to have a single aircraft fly several
    sorties per day. The number of sorties a plane might fly is dependent
    on several factors, including:
    
    a/c turnaround time
    crew availability (including rest periods)
    target availability (includes target priority and "age" -- you might
                         have a very high priority target, but not launch
                         a sortie if the target is mobile and the
                         information is several hours old)
    mission profile (long, short, heavy or light defenses, etc)
    a/c maintenance (periodic and remedial) 
    
    Sorties are requested (as far as the Army is concerned) at Division
    and higher levels. The USAF then plans and allocates sorties based
    on the situation and priority of requests.
    
    The whole process is quite well practiced and is fairly smooth...
    until you get to the execution. THAT's when you run into enemy 
    opposition.
    
    Hope this helps!
    
    John B. 

    -.1
    
    Thanks, you helped me understand it much better.
    
    bk
    

    A couple nights ago, CBS news showed 2 examples of leaflets being
    "distributed" to the front-line Iraqi troops in Kuwait. It did not
    identify the unit creating the leaflets, but in the US Army, the
    only units who do this job are Reservists.
    
    Hopefully, they will be received better by the Iraqis than Iraq's
    attempt to convince US soldiers that their wives/girlfriends were
    being courted by Bart Simpson!
    
    John B.

    
    
    <<< FLAME ON >>>	
    
    Amongst the topics that irritate me one of the more recent subjects for
    causing my blood pressure to increase are the deaths of civilians in
    Iraq.
    
    As I've mentioned one or two times I hate the prospect of war, as do
    most people, but along with war there are innocent casualties. If the
    allies really wanted to kill civilians I'm sure they would use other
    methods than cruise missiles and laser guided bombs; and nuclear
    weapons wouldn't have to used either. No mention is made of the Kuwaiti
    civilians, or the Israelis. No, the only group capable of this practise
    are the Allies or so it seems.
    
    And another point, why all this talk that Arabs shouldn't be fighting
    Arab's. Didn't that happen on August 2nd, amongst many other times.
    
    <<<FLAME OFF>>>
    
    And this is the abridged version.
    
    What caused all this? Whilst walking in Reading Town Centre yesterday I
    walked past some folk selling that Socialist Workers weekly paper. The
    headlines were,"How many kids will die today?"  I walked past thinking
    that maybe they should try criticizing SH in Baghdad etc etc etc.
    
    I had to tell some folk, no offense meant to anyone - whinge over.
    
    Dave
    
    
    
    

    
    I sympathise: I went shopping Saturday morning to be confronted by a
    bunch of kindergarten kids with placards saying "no more children must
    die" and their parents selling similar lefty rags.
    
    How dare they risk their children's health when the government is
    warning people to stay home because of the extreme cold?
    
    /. Ian .\

    
    
    	Dave....I am in total agreement...The casualty number has gone from
    500 down to less than 100....I don't mean to underline that fact the
    innocent people have been killed..apparently women and children...which
    is tragic.. However..it displays to me...the fact that Saddam Hussien
    will stop at nothing in his attempt to bring the rest of the Arab world 
    against the Allied forces...Mainly the USA.  Only time will tell if this
    was in fact a military communications center. 
    
    	Why do the Iraqi people condemn our leaders...President Bush
    mainly..as being a coward and killer...Do they or have they even been
    told of the killings in Kuwait..of the executions because of the Allied
    bombings? SH and his band let the people see and hear only what he
    wants them to see as long as it benefits him in maintaining power and
    control of those people.  He is using the media as much to his
    advantage as possible...and...as much as I hate to say it...IT WORKS...
    
    	Those people marching in Baghdad and other cities across the region
    and the world...will only see that two bombs killed innocent Iraqi
    civilians...they'll forgot the innocent Iraqi's that SH killed with his
    chemical weapons...
    
    	I feel for the population of Iraqi...because there are many that
    have no idea why they are being bombed...ONLY that Saddam has told them
    the Great Satan is to blame...
    
    	As you allude to...why is it so tragic that Iraqi civilians
    die...but not Kuwaiti or Israeli? All killings are senseless. However
    as cold as it sounds....I value my life or the lives of my friends and
    allies...more than I do those of a SH or those that support him..
    
    	
    				SWW 

    In reply and in sympathy with 145.15, I haven't got my glasses tonite,
    I noticed in the CNN broadcast of two nights ago that the bunker looked
    very military, had some comms antenna, very military and inside were
    diplomatic pouches, all torn apart. Funny how all these people came to
    be in such a structure. As they say you can lead a sheep to water and
    in tyhis case it appears as though you can aslo make it drink. Do we
    know if the Allies really hit this target or is it more propaganda.
    
    John

Observors have pointed out that the survivors of the bunker all spoke English.

This and other factors lead analysts to conclude that they are privileged 
persons - possibly family of Ba'ath Party bigwigs or senior military staff.

The Swedish makers said that it was an S-3 (civilian) bunker and that it
would be hard to convert it to full military spec. However the cap had been 
thickened somewhat.

Given Iraqi skill in military engineering it is possible that they built a
military bunker underneath the civil/diplomatic bunker. Press reported that
they had seen "80% of the bunker and all the main rooms" which does not
preclude the possibility that they didn't see a staircase or portal to the
military lower levels.

/. Ian .\

    Actually, it is not difficult to turn a bunker, or any building,
    for that matter, into a "military communications center." All you
    need is the appropriate switching equipment, some phones, radios,
    and possibly terminals, (and of course appropriate cabling). Then,
    just add a few Generals, some staff officers, and folks to run the
    gear, and you have an HQ. Since the Iraqis know we are aggressively
    seeking out and destroying military command and control facilities,
    it stands to reason that such facilities would want to be as mobile
    as possible, so they would have the absolute minimum of equipment.
    
    It also does nor surprise me that the bunker was also used by civilians
    as a shelter. It is possible that the Iraqis thought we would think
    the facility more of a shelter than a command center and therefore
    would not hit it. 
    
    John B.

450-500 Iraqis surrendered to Apache helicopters after an attack on
a bunker complex north of the Saudi-Kuwaiti border. There were 13 to 17
bunkers in the complex. 

After the Apaches fired missiles into several of the bunkers, the Iraqis
came out waving white handkerchiefs. The US forces then sent in Chinook
helicopters to remove the EPOWS.

Incredible!

A little analysis now...

This "complex" sounds like what would be in Soviet doctrine a "Strongpoint."
These are not just put in the middle of nowhere! Neither are they just
set out without SOME kind of support! They normally are in sight of
ANOTHER strongpoint, and (according to Soviet doctrine) are ALWAYS
supported by artillery!

If the Iraqis put such a complex out without support, that would be gross
incompetence on the part of the defensive commander. If there was supposed
to be support, then where was the failure? Artillery is real bad on 'hooks
and "hoovering" choppers! You would EXPECT the supporting locations to
AT LEAST call in SOME defensive fires! The arty SHOULD have ALL friendly
strongpoints plotted on their firing charts! It doesn't take many incoming
rounds to make an air mission commander decide to "un-ass" the area!

Also, it takes quite a bit of time to get enough 'hooks to move
450-500 men out of an area. And from BEHIND enemy lines, yet!

WHERE was the defense...we can't have hurt them THAT badly, yet...can we?

This, and other recent ops indicate the possible loss of fighting spirit,
possible loss of local command and control, and a loss of confidence in
this sector of the battlefield. 

If I were the next higher commanders of this sector, I would be both furious,
and VERY worried about the integrity of my defense. 

John B.

      
     I was there for that one it was called operation toad. Gun ships were
    sent to harrass the Iraqis then phsyco warfare went in with load
    speakers. Bravo comp. and Alpha comp. of the 1/187th 101st abn Air
    Assaulted in and swept the objective. There were shots fired and I was
    the victim of a booby traped bunker After I cleared the bunker I began
    going through the equipment a soviet style hand grenade landed between
    my feet and quess what else, no spoon. It never went off but it sure as
    hell took 10 years off my life!  We rounded up the Iraqis and blew up
    thier equipment in place. The Operation took two days, believe it or
    not that happened 5 days before the ground war "officialy" took place. 
               
                        Scott