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Looking For Trouble |
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March 13 |
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(Published March 14) HELICOPTERS hover in the distance, just visible through the haze of heat and dust across the seemingly endless desert. Columns of jeeps trundle past in both directions, United States and British soldiers looking out from the back of troop-carriers. Trucks towing tanks roll slowly northwards on the main roads away from the airport. Tony Blair, the Prime Minister, may be trying to go that extra diplomatic mile, but in the desert of northern Kuwait, the only signs on the horizon are of a coming war. It is the sheer scale of the military build-up which hits you first. From touchdown at Kuwait National Airport, you are entering a world in which civilian life has been superseded by the demands of the armies gathering for a war which many here now view as inevitable. Giant military aircraft are everywhere, huge tented holding areas house the troops, British and American, who are flying into the country every day before moving north towards the bases which are becoming their temporary homes as they wait for the orders to go into action. Everywhere on the road north to the Iraqi border, the signs are of an army preparing for war. On this same road and in the distance, more vehicles, more tents, stretch out of view. And everywhere, coating everything, working its way into every pore, every item of hardware, every piece of equipment, is the dust. It gets into the mouth, into the hair, the eyes, the nose, into the food. Whipped up by the wind into clouds of dust, sandstorms can last for days. Visibility drops to zero and only ski masks and scarves wrapped around the face offer any protection; they, too, are soon caked in the fine dust. It is in this desolate landscape, 25 kilometres from the Iraqi border, where the British troops who will take part in any invasion of Iraq are gathering. Stretched out across an area of desert a kilometre wide are line upon line of tents and camouflage netting covering the Challenger tanks and other vehicles which will spearhead the 7th Armoured Brigade's push for whatever target they are given to capture. Off the main highway, the going is rough, as vehicles bounce across sand pressed down by the weight of tyres into rough roads, marked by white tape. The units which make up this fighting force, better known as the Desert Rats, are scattered across the landscape, camped out around their vehicles. Conditions are basic, even harsh. Toilets, in the main, are holes dug in the sand and protected by crude windbreaks, a wooden bench with three holes cut in it, side by side, each covered with a rough flap. Showering involves a black plastic bag full of water left out in the sun to warm up and then suspended above a small, but serviceable cubicle. But there is plentiful bottled drinking water and more water readily on hand for washing. Despite the inevitable grumbles that such a shock to the system brings, the troops are getting used to this privation. They get 20 minutes of phone calls a week, there is some internet access and even talk of television being laid on. Meals too are plentiful, if not quite at the cutting edge of culinary invention. Some come in the form of Meals Ready to Eat (MRE), a strange but generous ration supplied by the US army. Packed in individual sealed bags, they contain such treats as grilled chicken, minestrone stew, pasta with vegetables and jambalaya with ham and shrimp. But the real miracle of MREs is the fuel-less cooker, a plastic bag containing a concoction of chemicals which react with a dash of water. The food, in sealed, foil containers, is inserted and it cooks through within minutes. There are other surprises inside the parcels - miniature bottles of tabasco sauce which some of the more adventurous have taken to swigging down neat. There are also sweets and peanut butter and crackers of a consistency which could pave roads and which taste as if they should be put to that use. But there are freshly-cooked meals, prepared at the central kitchen before being distributed around the camp to wherever the units which make up this army have made their home. And everywhere there are men and women carrying rifles, dressed in the desert uniforms which have eventually arrived, practising on the firing ranges, preparing their vehicles and fine tuning the skills they'll need for a war which, isolated from the daily reports of the political horse-trading at the United Nations, has about it an air of inevitability. More than 6,000 British troops are camped out near the border and many more are scattered around Kuwait waiting for the call to battle. To see such a build-up of military strength, to listen to those men and women preparing to fight, it is hard to conceive of any turning back.
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(News story published March 14) BRITISH forces stationed near the Iraqi border are ready for battle and are awaiting the final order from the government to join forces from the United States massing in the region before an invasion. Lt Col Nick Mercer, the senior legal adviser to UK 1st Armoured Division, said the rules of engagement for British troops had passed to the Cabinet this week and commanders in Kuwait were expecting to receive authorisation for action within a matter of days. Lt Col Mercer said that authorisation was expected to be permissive - which is normal for a wartime situation - and would allow troops to engage in most types of action, rather than being restrictive, which would limit their options. He added: "There is a tight political hold on rules of engagement that they are likely to be permissive and robust enough to deal with whatever Saddam Hussein throws at us." Thousands of British troops are camped out in the desert south of the Kuwaiti border with Iraq, some as close as 25 kilometres from the frontier. Commanders insist that they are fully battle-ready, dismissing previous reports of equipment failure and dissatisfaction . The 7th Armoured Brigade, better known as the Desert Rats, are the furthest forward of the British forces, with their Challenger tanks, Warrior armoured vehicles and CVR (T) reconnaissance vehicles parked under camouflage netting in a vast camp of more than 6,000 men and women . Captain Rob Sandford, a spokesman for the Black Watch battle group which makes up a key part of the brigade and would be at the forefront of any British involvement, insisted they were ready to implement whatever orders came through. He said: "We are used to getting the job done. We understand there was always going to be a shortage of equipment, particularly at such short notice, but it is now coming through the system and we are wanting for little. "We've heard reports about boots melting in the sun but we've had no experience of that and more boots are being distributed every day. It's a vast operation in a relatively short space of time and there will, of course, have been some gaps in the system which have now been filled. "We have the kit to do any job we have been asked to do and we are now ready to deploy as and when required. It's not a question of kit, it's a question of people." Captain John Stevenson, a transport officer with the First Battalion Black Watch, said earlier reports of widespread equipment failures were now out of date and the men were happy with the standard of equipment at their disposal. And Major Joe Carnegie, a spokesman for the 7th Armour Division, said: "The living conditions are harsh, but they are not terrible and the troops trained for this. "It takes a couple of weeks to acclimatise but after that, it becomes easier." One of the biggest problems facing British troops at the moment is the weather, with sandstorms which blew in on Wednesday night making conditions more difficult. Many soldiers have now managed to get hold of ski goggles to keep out the fine dust which gets into the eyes and equipment and dramatically reduces visibility, leaving troops unable to see further than a few paces in front of them. Temperatures in the desert are also rising, with a daily average of about 28:C rising to 40:C during the hottest parts of the day. It is expected to get dramatically hotter over the next few weeks as the spring rainy season gives way to summer. Most troops have now been issued with desert clothing, vehicles have been adapted to prevent sand clogging their filters and even the much maligned SA -80 rifle is said to be bearing up to the stresses placed upon it, with range tests in Kuwait recording only two weapon jams from thousands of rounds fired. There have also been warnings of more serious threats to the safety of British troops stationed in the region. They have been warned to be alert to sabotage, with a number of incidents already recorded. Military commanders say they are aware of plans by some disaffected individuals in the region to attempt to sabotage operations, although US units are believed to be at greater risk. Terrorist groups are also said to be planning attacks on allied forces and there is evidence that UK and US troops have been the subject of surveillance.
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