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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (Jan. 14, 1991)
NATIONAL Pentagon rushes supplies to gulf WASHINGTON (AP) - In its rush to move critical ammuni tion and supplies to I! S troops in the Persian Gulf, the Pentagon is at times bypass ing procurement rules and making multimillion-dollar deals on a handshake. With war possible any time after the l!.N -authorized deadline of midnight Tues day. the Army is scrambling to ship 30-day supplies of fuel, lubricants and equip ment parts to Saudi Arabia for newly arrived heavy ground forces The kits are loaded with tank and other parts ex pected to wear quickly In cnmtrat and are modeled after packages created last fall for the first armored divisions to reach Saudi Arabia. "I'll have that in the air within a week." Maj. Gen. Charles M. Murray, the Army's deputy i hief of staff for supply, maintenance and transportation, said in an in terview Friday Although those shipments won't arrive by the deadline. Murray said "We can go to war on the 15th and we can sustain that war and we can keep the pipeline going, Ixith by sur face and air. that will allow us to sustain a war for however long it takes." More than $1 billion has lx*en spent on food, clothing and medical supplies for Op eration Desert Shield It is dif ficult. however, to put an ex act figure on ammunition, parts and other hardware, al though it is at least in the hundreds of millions of dol lars. Most recent contracts aren't specifically earmarked for the Persian < in I f deployment Katlier. they will refill stocks emptied to supply the Mid east fort e, which is approach ing -iOO.(MH) troops Many existing contracts have an option that allows the* Pentagon to order ecpiipmeut as needed at a previously set price Murray and other Pentagon officials said Ihe Army, as well as other services, has made "handshake" deals with some suppliers, deciding to violate contracting proce dures and probably federal law because of emergency needs of the gulf forces. The number and value of these deals won't lx* known until the agreements are for malized For example, the Army is buying hundreds of powerful engines needed for heavy equipment haulers from Huger I’enske, the former race car driver who owns an automo tive business. No formal c on tract exists "i’enske immediately shut off all civilian buyers for the head engine and turned his entire production line over to us. several hundred engines very quickly,” Murray said A senior Pentagon official involved in procurement said he was aware the Army and other services had violated contracting procedures on several occasions since the deployment began in August. ASSIGNMENT HEUZE: Teaching math or science as a Peace Corps Volunteer wili develop your professional skills in the classroom and beyond You might teach basic math to rural students in Belize and after school set up a vegetable gar den to improve nutntion Or be assigned as a physics teacher in Lesotho In addition, help local women market handicrafts to earn school fees As a Peace Corps Volunteer, you will handle responsibilities and meet challenges tar greater than those that might be offered in a starting position in the United States When you return, your Peace Corps experience may open new doors to you Educa tional institutions, international firms and government agencies value someone with your expenence 25 years of PEACE CORPS The toughest job you'll ever love. fVacc C\»rfH recruiter* «ill s**m he on vjinpus Find tiul him vim can qualift Info I al4r: Wed Thuiv Jan 11> 17. |0 AM 3 PM. I Ml Him Shimnijj: Wed. Jan 16. 7 PM 0 PM FMC. Cedar Rni 1 Wed. Jan Ih. I' noun. I Ml Walnut Km Thurv Jan 17. 12 n*»m. I Ml Walnut Rm lirttTvitms: VSed Fhurv Jan *Ml. K M) AM 3 PM ( all Career Planning A Jlatcmcnt for apf* U(» 3235 IVacv ( on* I NMM26-1022 f VI. 6751 Kuwaitis join U.S. army, leave for the Middle East TORT l)IX. N.J. (AP) - Ku waiti soldiers ended a crash course in U.S. Army training Sunday by firing their M-16 ri fles at plastic targets supposed to represent Iraqi invaders. The 291 Kuwaitis recruited as part of Task Force Desert Owl were scheduled to leave Monday for Saudi Arabia, where they will be attached to U.S. military units. ' They’re starting to act like U.S. soldiers now.” said Lt. Col William Knightly, battal ion commander. "They’ve come a long way in a very short time.” The Kuwaitis arrived at this training Iwse a week ago for the most basic of basic training. The normal eight-week course was condensed to eight days, and the recruits have learned little more than how to wear chemical suits and take orders, military style. Sunday was their first chance to fire live ammunition. Woodland green camouflage uniforms, cloth-covered army helmets and M-ltis belied the non military backgrounds of the recruits from the oil-rich emirate. Most are students studying at U.S. colleges. The others are businessmen or tourists who happened to be in the United States when Iraq invaded Ku wait in early August. Driving into the firing range area, the soldiers passed a plas tic dummy of a mustachioed soldier in a green uniform, who looked suspiciously like Sad dam Hussein. A sign below his nock read, “One shot, one kill.” For many recruits, one shot is all they want “A lot of people think we are afraid to fight, but we have just never had the chance to go.” said Hader. a 36-year-old Ku waiti student who was study ing political communications at Syracuse University. The Army requested their last names not be used out of consideration for family members still in Kuwait. "We are not afraid of Sad dam Hussein; he will be stopped.” Hader said. “Stop ping Saddam now will stop all the future Saddams." Most of the Kuwaiti soldiers being trained here, however, will not face combat. The sol diers will serve as linguists and translators for America forces, officials said. Retired Staff Sgt. Nick Katona seemed surprised that the Kuwaitis hit any of the plastic-soldier targets. “For first time exposure, they’re doing damn good," Katona said. “Overall. I'd say they're shooting it up real good.'' The Kuwaiti recruits had more to deal with Sunday than their inexperience with fire arms. Below-freezing temperatures forced the soldiers to weai coats and gloves as they fired at targets dispersed through a mock desert. "Gas! Gas! Gas!" one of their superiors shouted over a loud speaker. At once they whipped oil their helmets, pulled on gas masks and then replaced the helmets. "We're getting used to the military life, but I do not know about this weather," said Ali, 25. a mechanical engineering student at Bradley University in Peoria, 111. Facing the Challenge: Crisis Prevention in the 90’s Sat., March 2,19 JO EMU Ballroorr 8:30am-4:30 p n A Crisis Prevention Workshop Open to all UO Students and the Community Topics will include: Assertiveness • Self Esteem • Social Support • Cultural Differences • Stress Management • Dysfunctional Families • Sexuality • Men's Issues • Eating Disorders • and much more Register for Counseling Psychology credit. CPSY 408/508 TLN -5360 Look for brochures on campus or call 346-4488 for information .... . ==========^