From: bergman@afnews.pa.af.mil (CMSgt Mike Bergman)
Newsgroups: soc.veterans
Subject: DoD News 10/10/92
Date: 14 Dec 1992 11:02:55 -0600
Organization: Hq Air Force News Agency/SCC
NNTP-Posting-Host: cs.utexas.edu

  <<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><>>
  <<>> Assistant Secretary Of Defense                                    <<>>
  <<>>        Public Affairs                    December 1992            <<>>
  <<>>    Pentagon, Washington DC       Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat      <<>>
  <<>>        DSN  225-3886                      1   2   3   4   5       <<>>
  <<>>       - - - - - - -               6   7   8   9  10  11  12       <<>>
  <<>>  DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE NEWS      13  14  15  16  17  18  19       <<>>
  <<>>                                  20  21  22  23  24  25  26       <<>>
  <<>>  THURSDAY, DEC. 10, 1992         27  28  29  30  31               <<>>
  <<>>                                                                   <<>>
  <<>>               Courtesy of Air Force Reserve                       <<>>
  <<>>                   - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -                   <<>>
  <<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><>>

                                                                      No. 352-M
MEMORANDUM FOR CORRESPONDENTS                                 December 10, 1992

     To date more than 750 members of the Guard and Reserve have voluntarily
come on active duty in support of Restore Hope.  These volunteers are members
of the following units:

     Air National Guard:

   7 105th Airlift Group, Stewart, NY, (C-5)

   7 172nd Airlift Group, Jackson, MS, (C-141)

   7 164th Airlift Group, Memphis, TN, (C-141)

   7 123rd Airlift Wing, Louisville, KY, (C-130)

   7 143 Airlift Group, North Kingstown, RI, (C-130)

   7 135th Airlift Group, Baltimore, MD, (C-130)

   7 118th Airlift Group, Nashville, TN, (C-130)

   7 176th Airlift Group, Anchorage, AK, (C-130)

   7 133rd Airlift Group, St. Paul, MN, (C-130)

   7 141st Air Refueling Wing, Fairchild AFB, WA, (KC-135)

   7 108th Air Refueling Wing, McGuire AFB, NJ, (KC-135)

   7 157th Air Refueling Group, Pease ANGB, NH, (KC-135)

   7 190th Air Refueling Group, Forbes ANGB, KS, (KC-135)

   7 151th Air Refueling Group, Salt Lake City, UT, (KC-135)

     Air Force Reserve:

   7 907th Airlift Group, Rickenbacker ANGB, OH, (C-141)

   7 434th Air Refueling Wing, Grissom AFB, IN, (KC-135)

   7 452 Air Refueling Wing, March AFB, CA, (KC-135)

   7 940th Air Refueling Group, Mather AFB, CA, (KC-135)

                                    (more)
   7 433rd Airlift Wing, Kelly AFB, TX, (C-5)

   7 512th Airlift Wing, Dover AFB, DE, (C-5)

   7 349th Airlift Wing, Travis AFB, CA (C-5/C-141)

   7 315th Airlift Wing, Charleston AFB, SC, (C-141)

   7 445th Airlift Wing, Norton AFB, CA, (C-141)

   7 446th Airlift Wing, McCord AFB, WA, (C-141)

     At this time no Army Guard or Army and Navy Reserve units have been tasked
to support Restore Hope, though some units have been advised they are being
considered for possible tasking.

                                     -END-



                                                  No. 530-92
                                                  (703) 695-0192 (info)
                                                  (703) 697-3189 (copies)
IMMEDIATE  RELEASE             December 10, 1992  (703) 697-5737 (public/indus-
                                                  try)

          DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE COMPLETES SAFEST YEAR IN ITS HISTORY

     Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney announced today that the Department has
completed the safest year in its history.  In fiscal year 1992,  the number of
DoD accidental deaths dropped from 941 to 747, a record low in fatalities.  

     The overall DoD aviation accident rate for fiscal year 1992 was 2.09 per
100,000 flying hours, down significantly over the past decade.  The Army
achieved an all-time low aviation accident rate -- 1.58 major accidents per
100,000 flying hours.  The Air Force's accident rate was 1.67 and the Navy's
accident rate was 2.93.  The accident rates reflect major accidents which are
defined as those involving a fatality or damage of $1 million or more. 

     Superior weapons systems, coupled with extensive and realistic training,
strong leadership, discipline, attention to detail, skill, professionalism, and
continual emphasis on safety prevented many tragic accidents.  The lessons
learned from those accidents that did happen were carefully studied to prevent
future tragedies.

     The DoD is particularly proud of the dramatic downward trend of fatalities
over the past decade.  Much of this reduction resulted from continuing improve-
ment in the prevention of off-duty deaths.  The greatest single threat to U. S.
military personnel remains the private motor vehicle.   Promotion of seat belt
and motorcycle helmet use, extensive driver safety training, anti-drunk driving
efforts, and management emphasis on safe driving have been effective.  

     Editor's Note:  Attached are charts showing major aircraft accident rate
trends, the fatality trend for uniformed military members from FY 80 through FY
92, the overall off-duty private motor vehicle fatalities, and motorcycle
fatality trends.

                                     -END-





DoD News Briefing
Lieutenant General Martin Brandtner, USMC
Rear Admiral Michael Cramer, USN
Mr. Bob Hall, DASD (Public Affairs)
Thursday, December 10, 1992 - 3:00 p.m.

     Mr. Hall:  Good afternoon.

     Again, briefing as they did yesterday on U.S. military operations in
connection with Operation Restore Hope is Lieutenant General Marty Brandtner,
United States Marine Corps, who is the Director of Operations or the J-3 for
the Joint Staff; and Rear Admiral Mike Cramer, U.S. Navy, who is the Director
of Current Intelligence of the Joint Staff and Command Support, also known as
the J-2.

     They both have opening statements, and then they'll be happy to take your
questions.

     General Brandtner:  Good afternoon.

     I am happy to report that all landing force objectives have been secured.
As you saw earlier, Lieutenant General Johnston and the headquarters of the
commander, joint task force, arrived this morning.  Also, the first combat and
combat service support elements of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force will
begin arriving tomorrow.

     The French company of about 130 members of the Foreign Legion have secured
an area on the northwest section of the airport, and had an incident involving
some live firing, which I'll discuss momentarily.

     The airport at Bale Dogle has had some C-130 sorties into it.  The Air
Force and the relief forces there have landed, have conducted an air survey of
the air strip, and have determined it to be suitable for limited C-141
operations and unlimited C-130 operations.  So the Marines will go in there
tomorrow to secure the air strip, and the Army forces will then begin arriving
on Saturday.

     There have been a number of reports of sporadic gunfire in Mogadishu, and
there have been several instances where locals have been disarmed.  In Bale
Dogle, for example, two so-called technical vehicles were disarmed and several
others scattered in the area when the C-130's landed at Bale Dogle.  The
C-130's were escorted by Marine gunships.

     There have been no United States Marine Corps incidents of firing,
contrary to what may have been reported.

     The French earlier had an incident where a vehicle attempted to run a
barricade they had established on the road.  Shots were fired at the vehicle.
The vehicle swerved to avoid the barricade, which consisted of a barrier and an
Amtrac, a landing vehicle track that was borrowed from the Marines.  In doing
so, the vehicle lost control and turned over.  There were a total of two Somali
killed.  There were seven who were wounded.  Two were wounded by gunfire, and
five suffered accident trauma.  They were Medivac'd to the USS Tripoli, and are
currently being treated there.

     Q:  All seven?
     Brandtner:  The injured and the wounded were evacuated, yes.

     Q:  Two were killed?
     Brandtner:  Yes.

     Q:  By gunfire?
     Brandtner:  By gunfire.

     The American embassy compound was secured, as I reported yesterday, and
Marines continue to expand their security operations at the Mogadishu port
facility, the airport, and the American embassy, the consolidating positions in
the vicinity of the airport and the seaport in preparation for arrival of the
follow-on forces.

     A survey of the port facility was conducted, and it has been determined it
is suitable for the use of the MPS ships, the maritime pre-positioned ships,
and the Army fast sealift ships, which I'll have more to talk about in a
moment.  As a consequence, the M.V. Lummus, which is currently in the bay
offloading in stream, will now go pierside tomorrow, and commence the rest of
its offloading.  It's believed that they'll be able to take two ships at a time
in there.  So as you can suspect, this will greatly facilitate the offload
process which will commence immediately.

     There are approximately 1700 Marines now ashore.  The MPS squadrons have
arrived off the vicinity of Mogadishu.  The Ranger continues to fly combat air
patrol and aerial refueling, and other missions in support of the operation.

     The two Army pre-positioning ships departed Diego Garcia and will arrive
at Mogadishu on the 14th of December.  Between now and tomorrow, just to give
you an example of the volume, there's going to be over 25 airlift sorties
between C-5's, Boeing 747 commercial liners bringing in troops, and C-141's.
So the Mogadishu airport is going to be extremely busy.

     The air crews that have worked on the ground to improve the airstrip
operating capability are installing permanent lights and the kind of radar that
will now permit 24-hour operation.  Once the permanent lights are in place, and
other fixtures, they will remove the temporary facilities that were there out
to Bale Dogle and allow that operation to commence very quickly, and also,
hopefully, be a 24-hour operation.

     We have completed another lift of Provide Relief.  I know there was a
question about that operation.  It is being subsumed in the current operation,
so it will not cease.  The name will just terminate and it will now be absorbed
by the joint task force commander, but the effort will continue, and of course,
it will improve and expand as our capabilities expand in these various areas.

     Just to indicate the level of effort, we have had over 1496 flights since
August 17th, and have delivered nearly 18,000 metric tons of supplies and food
and medical equipment.

     The 10th Mountain Division, as I mentioned, with its initial ready
company, which is approximately 125-130 people, and some mobile equipment, will
arrive on Saturday.  We also will continue to conduct reconnaissance operations
from the aircraft carrier.  Also, the JTF headquarters will be established in
the American embassy compound, which has been secured by U.S. Marines
yesterday.

     The number of U.S. forces currently in theater is varying as aircraft fly
in, but on the ground and with the Army, Marines, Navy, and other forces there,
and the Air Force forces, we have a total of 9549.  That includes the carrier
battle group offshore, and the MPS ships.

     I am delighted to say that the casualty slide, which I will show you here,
is all zeros.  We hope that it stays that way.

     We continue to have enormous voluntary support coming from the Reserve and
the Guard forces.  There are over 730 that are now currently voluntary and on
duty, and that includes the Air National Guard, the Air Force Reserve, the Army
National Guard, and the Army Reserve, and a variety of forces, ranging from
public affairs, water purification, civil affairs and, of course, the Air
National Guard and the Air Force Reserve with airlift groups and squadrons
providing support now to the airlift operation.

     I would just mention briefly a bit about the weather.  It's oftentimes
ignored, but the weather over there is very, very hot.  You probably have seen
images of huge rainfall and massive amounts of water.  These are isolated, but
very violent thunderstorms that go around the area, and it's not country-wide.
But it could have an affect, obviously, on surface traffic, and to some degree
on air traffic.  To date, it has not had an impact on our operations, although
there has been some flooding in places that has occurred.  The temperature,
currently, over there is ranging in the 100 degree range, so obviously, it's an
uncomfortable environment.

     At that point, I'll turn it over to Admiral Cramer who can give you a
rundown on the intelligence situation.  Then I'll be prepared to answer
questions, if you have any.

     Admiral Cramer:  We'd like to continue to kind of give you a rundown on
what the security situation is in Mogadishu, and also those particular
airfields and parts of Somalia that we'll be interested primarily in in the
near term.

     Essentially, the situation in Mogadishu is as we briefed it yesterday.
There still is no concerted or organized resistance by any of the factions
against allied forces, coalition forces, in Mogadishu.  The situation is
generally calm, but we do have continued sporadic skirmishes, as the incident
which General Brandtner alluded to, which occurred.  We briefed you, of course,
on the UN worker being wounded yesterday.  We also had some general firing in
the area of the U.S. compound as the helos were flying through that area
yesterday.  It's certainly unclear whether that fire was directed at the helo,
or again, it was just sporadic firing in the area.

     It is also true that the principal coalition leaders in Mogadishu -- Ali
Madhi and Aideed -- appear, by all measurable options to be cooperating and to
be going along with the kinds of things that Ambassador Oakley is doing. 

     Weather is becoming a bit of a factor, in the sense, particularly to the
south of Mogadishu because of the flash rainstorms and so on, particularly the
coastal roads from Mogadishu down to Kismayo have suffered some considerable
flooding.

     But the situation in Mogadishu from a security standpoint is about as we
described, and as we had predicted yesterday.

     Q:  Could you point out where the French incident took place?
     Brandtner:  It was in the northwest corner of the airfield.  They have a
security zone that goes out into the immediate surrounding streets as check
points to allow access in, and they apparently tried to run the barricade at
that point.

     Q:  Were they armed, General?
     Brandtner:  I don't know.  I'll find out.

     Q:  What about the other incident, the UN worker?
     Cramer:  That was the one we referred to yesterday.  We still don't have
an exact location.  It was somewhere between the UN compound and the airport
yesterday when that occurred.

     Brandtner:  It was a "technical" vehicle, so it did have a weapon mounted
on the vehicle itself.  Whether there were individuals armed, I don't know, but
I'll find out.

     Q:  You meant northeast corner?  You said northwest corner.  You're
pointing to northeast, and saying northwest.
     Brandtner:  The airstrip is this way here.  It's up in this area here.

     Q:  Can you clarify, is the French company under U.S. command?
     Brandtner:  The French company is under the command of the joint task
force commander, who is also a UN commander.  So it's under the aegis of the
United Nations force, but he operates under the authorities of the joint task
force commander.

     Q:  General, when are your forces going to be moving out into the country?
And Admiral, to follow up on the same question, what does your intelligence
tell you about alleged cooperation of the other clan lords or warlords outside
of Mogadishu?
     Cramer:  That's what I'm about to get to.

     Going, for example, to Bale Dogle, which is the airfield that our C-130
landed at today, the situation that they found there was about as we had
expected.  There were several, I would classify, independent technical vehicles
in the area.  Several of them basically just drove off as the 130 came into the
area.  Two, as we understand it, were abandoned and then the weapons were
removed.  A couple of the locals who remained in the area were disarmed.  But
following that, the security situation as reported by the crews was fine.
There were no problems.  The security situation at Bale Dogle looked to be
good.

     Going on to Baidoa, the situation there is by no means as stable.  We have
quite a tense situation, again, as we had indicated yesterday, as these various
factions vie for dominance.  As one moves in, the other one moves out.  There
is a major faction just operating outside the city.  Even as this particular
group would withdraw, there are two or three other factions that are prepared
to move in.  I wouldn't call that cooperation.  I would call that one taking
advantage of the other's position prior to the movement in of U.S. forces.

     We also have some reports today that some of the humanitarian workers
there have been caught up in the middle of some of this fighting that is going
on, so the security situation for the humanitarian workers and so on in Baidoa
is by no means secure.

     In Kismayo, perhaps even a little more unstable than even Baidoa.  There
was pretty heavy looting yesterday and fighting through the day.  I'm sure you
saw the reports of some 100 Somali casualties yesterday in Kismayo.  There were
13 relief workers that requested and were given evacuation yesterday by
non-governmental organizations.  We have reports today that there is another
group of relief workers that have requested immediate evacuation, again, by
other humanitarian organizations.

     The coastal road, as we indicated, between Kismayo to Mogadishu, is
suffering from inter-factional fighting, as well as flooding in the area.
There are significant delays along the road between Kismayo and Mogadishu.

     I think to answer your question, not to coin a phrase, but it almost seems
as if the factions are fractionalizing themselves.  They are breaking down.  We
have difficulty, for example, determining whether the groups that, for example,
earlier, had been loyal to Aideed and Ali Madhi in other parts of the country,
for example, remain so.  So it seems that they're basically breaking down
somewhat along clan lines and subdividing still further.  So in terms of
factions cooperating with one another, I think we've seen pretty good evidence
of that in support of common interests in Mogadishu in the security situation,
but we have yet to see evidence of that in Kismayo, in Baidoa, and we would
hope that would happen, of course, when we put our forces in there to provide
that security environment.

     That, then, is the overview.  With General Brandtner, I'd be happy to
answer your questions.

     Brandtner:  I owe you an answer to a question.  We intend to, of course,
occupy Bale Dogle tomorrow.  The Marines will go out and provide security
there, and then the Army forces will land shortly after, on Saturday.  As soon
as that occurs, then they will begin to expand their area of operations.  Also,
of course, as you know, we're going to ultimately, then, go out to Baidoa and
expand out there.  As Marine forces, the fly-in echelon that accompanies the
MPS squadron arrives and builds up its combat power ashore, which will take
several days, then they will expand their operations out to Baidoa.

     Q:  From Baidoa into Ethiopia, there have been reports that there have
been convoys of technicals going back and forth, in and out of that border
between Somalia and Ethiopia.  Is this what's going on?  If so, are there plans
to secure these convoys or kind of cut it off?  What's going on in that
perimeter up there?
     Brandtner:  I'll let the admiral talk about the convoys themselves, what
information he has.  To answer the second part of your question, again, I would
refer you back to the mission -- it's to provide a secure environment.  So if
those units pose a threat to the execution of security operations in the
conduct of this mission they will, indeed, be dealt with.

     Cramer:   It's certainly true that there have been, and remain, fairly
significant numbers of refugees, not only going over the border into Ethiopia,
but certainly into Kenya.  For example, we've had reports that about 300 a day
are going across the border from Somalia into Kenya.  Also to the north, we
also have refugees, of course, which go across the border into Djibouti as
well.  But you are correct.  There's a fairly open flow across the border,
particularly with Ethiopia.  Particularly in the Ogadeen area.  It's a border,
but it's a very open border, and frankly, the clans and tribes operate fairly
openly across that division.

     But to answer your question most directly, we haven't any recent
confirmable reports of technicals and armors and heavier equipment, for
example, moving up into the Ogadeen or across the border into Ethiopia.  I'm
not saying it doesn't happen.  I'm not saying it hasn't happened.  And frankly,
with such a large, open border, which is not really patrolled in an effective
manner, it certainly could and we wouldn't know about it.  We wouldn't be
surprised if it did.  That's one of the things that we're looking at carefully.

     Q:  If this is going on, and there are some reports that they're
stockpiling or kind of stashing the weapons across the border, will there be
any plans to communicate with the Ethiopian government about this obvious
security concern to that order?
     Brandtner:  I don't want to speculate about what kind of contacts are
going to be made relative to this.  That's a diplomatic problem.  I would
simply say that obviously, if things of that nature pose a threat, we're
certainly going to take some action to try to resolve that problem.

     I owe you a correction, also, from yesterday.  Someone asked about whether
the Mogadishu West airport was the same as Bale Dogle.  I said that it was.  As
you probably remember, my colleague was standing behind me going like this.  It
isn't.  It is not the same.  Bale Dogle is some 60 kilometers outside of the
city.

     Q:  General Brandtner, I was wondering if you could help clarify the
situation with regard to Bale Dogle and Baidoa.  As I understood it originally,
the plan was to move almost simultaneously into Baidoa.  Have you redone these
plans a bit?  I gather you're saying the army is now going to start moving into
Bale Dogle.  Does this mean any kind of significant delay in moving into
Baidoa?
     Brandtner:  It does not mean a significant delay because, as you know, we
are still in phase one of the operation which did not have a timetable to it.
It had a series of events that would occur.  The decision to go into Bale Dogle
was made based on the fact that it's a far more capable runway.  It is some
11,000 feet, where Baidoa is about 6,000 or less.  Also, the condition of the
runway was far better.  So based on that judgment, we were clearly able to put
more equipment, more supplies and use Bale Dogle as a better through-put
facility.  We will still continue to move on to Baidoa and secure that as
quickly as possible, but our initial effort now is at Bale Dogle.

     Q:  The relief workers in Baidoa and Kismayo are particularly anxious for
the U.S. forces to arrive.  Can you give us any idea of the timetable of when
that might happen?
     Brandtner:  I just told you that the Army forces are arriving on Saturday
with their initial forces.  The flow is going to be very, very quick.  It's
starting out, and as the equipment arrives, these things are going to flow.
The ink blot effect is going to take place very quickly.  I don't want to pin
it to a timetable, because events and circumstances will cause that to change.
I know you realize the commander on the scene has got a very flexible set of
options to move about as he sees fit to respond to the situation, and also to
speed up.  I'm going to suggest it will be a lot faster than it will be a lot
slower.

     Q:  Is there a dominant faction in Baidoa?  And if so, which one is that?
     Brandtner:  That's an answer I'm going to leave to my colleague.
     Cramer:  There is a dominant faction, really, that we believe to be loyal
to Aideed.  That is the dominant faction there now.  Having said that, as I
indicated in a more general way on my briefing on the security situation in
Baidoa, it is, by no means stable.  There are other factions vying, but I guess
if I had to pick one, I would say that Aideed's forces are the largest, the
most heavily armed, and, to use your words, the dominant faction for now in
Baidoa.

     Q:  Is the Army using the same air bridge that the Marines used, the
Azores, Spain, and some point in the Middle East?
     Brandtner:  That bridge and others.  There are a number of ways they're
coming in there.  But the bridges...

     Q:  Can you give us the others?
     Brandtner:  I'm not at liberty to discuss how they're coming in there.  I
don't think it's critical to know.  I would just tell you they're coming by
several means.  The air bridge is established, and it's working well.

     Q:  You're going to be in Baidoa and Kismayo probably next week, and then
will there be convoys going up from Mogadishu to all these different...
     Brandtner:  As we secure these areas, we will initially move out to them
by helicopter to secure the area.  Immediately after the area is secured, we're
going to open up the surface routes of communication between them.  So yes,
there will be surface convoys.  Our intent, of course, is to establish that
type of infrastructure so that when we eventually turn this over to the United
Nations, they're going to have the ability to move large amounts of supplies
and equipment over the roads which will become the primary means.

     Q:  Are there other ways in which the initial plan is being adapted in
light of the circumstances on the ground and the weather?  For example, are you
seeking to amass a little more combat power before moving towards Baidoa?  Does
the presence of forces in Kismayo bear on the plans in phase three, American
forces...  The initial plan briefed by General Powell, we're to move into that
port.  Has the weather delayed operations?  I saw a report that a convoy was
scheduled to go today but was cancelled because of tropical rain.  How is the
plan being adapted in light of the factional fighting in these places, and the
weather conditions?
     Brandtner:  Obviously, weather and the enemy situation, other types of
things, all affect how these...  These are plans.  They're not locked in
concrete.  Obviously, the commander on the scene is making judgments about
these things.  Also, clearly, if he is aware that there is factional fighting
in a given area, he is going to go into that area if it's part of his
objective, with the means and wherewithal to execute his mission at minimum
risk to his forces.

     As to weather, it has an impact.  I do not have the information that a
convoy was cancelled.  There was no convoy scheduled, as far as I know, and I
checked that out earlier.  So we have not had any major impact on our
operations as a result of the weather.  The roads down south, as Admiral Cramer
has indicated, have been affected by flooding.

     Q:  Are you saying that the plans, the thinking now is to amass a little
more combat power?
     Brandtner:  I didn't say that.  I'm saying that the commander, if he
follows the judgement....

     Q:  But is that what's happening as a result of the operation in Baidoa?
     Brandtner:  I don't think so.  At this point in time the focus is on
Baledogle with respect to moving.  When they decide it's time to go into
Baidoa, the judgment will be made based on the situation at that time, what
kind of forces they're going to use.

     Q:  A question to Admiral Cramer.  It was sort of encouraging to hear that
the two major warlords were going to meet finally, but then you said a little
while ago that the clans outside of Mogadishu seem to be fractionalizing.  Are
you encouraged or discouraged about the prospect of some kind of political
resolution down the road?
     Cramer:  That is, first of all, principally a State Department question,
but I will give you my opinion.  We, of course, are encouraged, very much so,
by the meeting that will take place, I'm told, tomorrow between Ambassador
Oakley, General Johnston, Mr. Ali Madhi, and Mr. Aideed, and perhaps others.
That is a very encouraging sign.  And we're also, frankly, encouraged already
with what Ali Madhi and Aideed have agreed to and have accomplished in
Mogadishu itself.

     What I'm really trying to say though, is when you go into other areas, you
have Colonel Morgan in Bardera.  You have General Jess down in Kismayo.  There
isn't quite the unanimity of command and control that perhaps we might be used
to in the U.S. or in any kind of our own experience.  So what I'm really trying
to say is that these factions are really trying to vie for the best position
and as much control as they can achieve in each of these cities where we are
not yet present.  This is our analysis of what's going on.  So that when we
come in, they can then demonstrate themselves to be the leading group in
control in that city, and the group, of course, that we would deal with.  To go
beyond that, I think, is over-analyzing it.  There isn't anything more esoteric
to it than that.

     Q:  If the two warlords come out of this meeting tomorrow with some
agreement, is it your sense that they have the ability to have an impact on
substantial numbers of people?
     Cramer:  We certainly would hope that that's the case.  I guess what I'm
trying to say to you is we are unsure exactly what kind of command and control
they truly exercise about other elements loyal to them, sub-elements.  It isn't
as if these groups are all even the same faction or the same group.  They're
allied groups, perhaps is a better way to say it.  But I think to answer it
another way, it may be the good proof of the pudding will be if they're able to
achieve that, that will give us some better insight into their control.

     Q:  Are there followers of principle in the Mogadishu area that...
     Cramer:  Yes.

     Q:  I understand that there's been some intelligence from the outlying
areas that indicate that some of those groups not only are feuding among
themselves, but are more likely in some way to offer resistance to U.S. or UN
forces.  Do you have any intelligence that indicates...
     Cramer:  I have got nothing that indicates that that is the case in any
area in which we are operating or plan to operate.  Just the opposite, frankly,
is the case.

     Q:  Admiral Cramer, maybe this is a question for General Brandtner, but
I'd like to get your opinion, too.  Going back to the worst case scenarios of
Vietnam, and if I understand you correctly, general, you're going to secure the
urban areas and then go out and try to secure the roads.  We remember in
Vietnam that it was almost impossible to secure many of the roads.  They would
be interdicted almost at will.  The gut question here is, do you still feel,
and Admiral Cramer, that 27,000, 28,000 men are sufficient to secure the
country?
     Brandtner:  First of all, I think it's a leap of fact to equate the
technicals and the types of resistance that we're going to be confronted with
or see over there with the North Vietnamese army.  So I don't see any
relationship to that problem.  We also have a different set of terrain.  I
don't fear that we're going to have great difficulty securing those roadways.

     Q:  General, in your initial briefing you talked of 25 airlift flights, I
think it was, so far.  You mentioned C-5's and 747's, as well as C-141's.  Can
the C-5's and 747's fly into any existing Mogadishu airfield?  If not, where
will they fly into?
     Brandtner:  They will probably, at this point, fly into Kenya, or I am
going to determine that they will be able to fly into Mogadishu.  It may well
be possible.  I don't know the answer to that question yet.  But the C-5 is, of
course, an extremely capable aircraft and designed for that type of a mission.
But let me take your question.  I will get you a specific answer.  My initial
facts are that the C-5's will be going into Mombasa.

     Q:  General, you only answered half of my question.  I asked you if 28,000
men will be enough to do this job.
     Brandtner:  Yes.

     Q:  Admiral Cramer, now that you've been in for a couple of days, can you
talk about what you've learned about the situation that you didn't know or
didn't expect ahead of time, and how you've adapted to that?
     Brandtner:  That's difficult to answer, on my part.  I think you'd have to
really address that to the troops on the scene.  There has been no report of
any kind of activity or event that has caused confusion or surprise amongst
them.  They were extremely well briefed.  I think the results, if anything,
they're probably pleasantly surprised that the resistance has been so light and
that there hasn't been heavy fighting or even random violence of any nature
that has caused them problems.

     Q:  What have been the major operational problems in the deployment there?
     Brandtner:  There haven't really been any major problems in this so far to
date, and hopefully there won't be.

     Q:  I wonder if you can tell us a little more about the people killed and
injured by the French.  Were the circumstances of that accident such that it
might inflame local passions in some manner?
     Brandtner:  I don't want to speculate on what the result will be.  The
event occurred in conditions of darkness.  The vehicle came down a hill and
gathered speed and attempted to ram its way through a barrier.  It was shot at.
The vehicle turned over, and the passengers were injured or killed as I
described.  Clearly, they were attempting to do violence, and the French
reacted exactly the way they were instructed to, and did their job.

     Q:  It was a technical vehicle, is that right?
     Brandtner:  Yes.

     Q:  Can you tell us what your understanding is of the agreement between
the commander in the French forces as to where the French are going to go, what
they're going to do?
     Brandtner:  They have been assigned, at this moment, a sector of
responsibility in the northwest perimeter of the airport.  They will operate in
that sector until they are given another mission at some other time, should
they be given another mission.

     Q:  But as you understand it, the French are not going to commit 2,000
plus troops without having some job to do other than securing the airport.
     Brandtner:  Oh, absolutely.

     Q:  What is your understanding of what they're going to do?
     Brandtner:  I don't know what they have decided, at this point, out in the
field to do.  That's the job of the joint task force commander.  When they have
made that decision, we'd be certainly happy to relay that to you.

     Q:  Admiral Cramer, back to Baidoa.  The people at the relief agency CARE
have told our organization that their personnel out there in Baidoa have
received direct death threats, and that they have, in turn, asked for air
support, some sort of air sortie to respond to that.  Is that the case?  Have
you received such a request, and how have you responded?
     Cramer:  I am unaware of such a request.  I would assume that they would
go first to non-governmental organizations, other humanitarian organizations.
There have been several precedents, as recently as yesterday, for example, in
the Kismayo area, where an NGO flight, if you will, was diverted and went in
and evacuated their own people.  So I think that would be their first course of
resort.  Beyond that, I really can't speculate.

     Q:  General Brandtner, I know you can't talk about the rules of
engagement, but there was a report that one of the Marines or one of the groups
basically saw someone popping his head out of a building, and basically
challenged that person to come out.  Due to the fact that you have so many
young, eight year olds, and children we've seen on reports with these guns and
stuff like that, are the rules of engagement being modified to kind of prevent
the needless death among some of the civilian population?
     Brandtner:  We, and I will say this with a deal of pride, is that we have
a lot of common sense among these Marines and soldiers, sailors, and airmen
that are out there, and I guarantee you that that common sense will prevail in
a situation like that.

     Q:  General, when the volunteers leave an area under duress, it's
reasonable to assume that some people may starve because they're not going to
have their needs administered to.  Is any consideration being given to
adjusting the U.S. troop movements when you have a particularly violent
situation in one area or another that threatens these private workers and
causes them to either require security assistance or leave?
     Brandtner:  Of course in each of these instances, the commander on the
scene is aware of what the circumstances are.

     Q:  You don't have a commander on the scene except in Mogadishu.
     Brandtner:  I'm talking about the joint task force commander.  Currently
now, knows about these instances as they're reported to him.  I'm going to
suggest the situation that you describe or that's going on now, is nothing new.
This has been going on for months, and we're there to resolve that.  As we are
better able to do this in the ensuing days, we're going to be able to respond
to these kinds of things.  Of course, the security area is going to expand and
include these distribution points.  Until those things occur, obviously you're
limited by time and space and the amount of people you have, and I don't
believe we can effectively respond to every single incident.  There will be
some that, obviously, will cause a commander to take immediate action.  Others,
he may decide that he's got to have other priorities.  I'm not going to speak
for him, because he's going to have to make those judgments.

     But obviously, as the forces flow in and as the security mission develops
and matures, we're going to have a wider range of control over these events,
and hopefully, they'll cease.

     Q:  Admiral, given that you're not quite sure to what degree those various
warlords control all the groups running around the countryside, how do you
evaluate the potential for some of those groups presenting a more organized
resistance than our troops have so far seen in Mogadishu?
     Cramer:  I just see nothing, frankly, in the sources of information that
we have, even with the minor groups, that indicate that that is a likely
possibility.  If anything, just the opposite is the case.

     What seems to be going on in places like Baidoa and Kismayo, and I may not
be characterizing or communicating this clearly, but it's preparation for the
coming in of the U.S. forces.  But there's no indication that when U.S. and
French and coalition and other forces arrive that any of these organizations,
are in an organized way, going to oppose.  Just the opposite is the case.

     We are still going to have, unfortunately, individual incidents like we
just had with the French in Mogadishu, and we must be prepared for that.  But
in terms of organized resistance, we just don't see evidence of that anywhere
in the area or where we're about to go to.  That doesn't mean that it's
comfortable for those humanitarian organizations in any way, shape, or form as
this inter-factional fighting continues in these cities.  But that doesn't mean
to say somehow that there's an undercurrent of cohesion around an
anti-coalition movement when we arrive.  It's not true.

     Q:  How soon, in terms of weeks, if not in days, that the forces will be
in Baidoa and Kismayo to stop that violence?
     Brandtner:  I think we've addressed this about eight different angles, and
we get down to a timetable, and I've already...

     Q:  Like next week or...
     Brandtner:  I've told you what's going to start Saturday.  Once the flow
starts, the commander is going to make judgments about whether it continues at
a given pace or speeds up.  My suggestion to you is that as the facilities
improve, and our ability to put forces and equipment through faster, the pace
will, obviously, move.  I will submit to you, this is going to happen very
quickly.

     Q:  You're going to another briefing, I think, directly after this one.
Who are you going to brief?
     Brandtner:  I am going over to the Senate and brief senators.

     Q:  Can I ask one more question about Mogadishu?
     Brandtner:  I've got to run.

     Hall:  Sorry, I promised I'd get him out of here a couple of minutes ago.
Anything else?

     Q:  What's the briefing schedule going to be like over there in Somalia?
     A:  Let me just mention, we'll meet here again tomorrow -- same time, same
place, same station.  Out there, I believe Colonel Peck is going to meet with
your colleagues to talk sort of nuts and bolt logistics, laundry-type stuff,
how they're going to operate.  Get a list of who's there, who's on the scene,
what they want to do.  I think they'll try to work out some kind of a briefing
time.  I think that's taking place, the last I heard it was 3:30 tomorrow
Somali time.  That was basically just a nuts and bolts type meeting, how to do
business.  They'll be discussing a briefing schedule.  I don't think they're
ready yet to conduct briefings over there.  I don't think they're logistically
ready.  I'm sure General Johnston will be available on a kind of ad hoc basis
here and there, but in terms of formal briefings, probably not until the
weekend or early next week.

     Q:  One thing that stuck out in my mind today was he said that the injured
were taken to the Tripoli.  There obviously is a limit to how much they can
handle.  Are there any units that are being prepared to be activated, or to
call any medical units, Army MASH units or anything, due to the fact that
there's obviously going to be more injuries or casualties from somewhere?  Are
there plans to?
     A:  First, you have to understand, there are a lot of private, voluntary
organizations that have medical facilities there.  We'll be handling medical
problems.  Our people are there primarily, their primary mission is to take
care of the U.S. forces and the coalition forces.  They will, obviously,
respond to emergencies as necessary.  But there's a sheet in DDI about what the
Tripoli has.  There are, of course, additional facilities on board the Ranger.
I think we're pretty well equipped right now.

     Q:  That was just an isolated situation, to take the Somalis to the
Tripoli?
     A:  I believe it was at the request of the French because they had this
incident going on right in front of them.

     Q:  Where will we get information about this meeting between Oakley and
the two warlords? 
     A:  I would assume that Ambassador Oakley, well in the first place, it's
also, the UN envoy Kittani is also there.  I imagine that the public affairs
people on the scene will be able to tell you something about the meeting in
terms of what happened, when it's taking place exactly.  I understand from
Ambassador Oakley's comment this morning, that we're going to be escorting the
people there.  So I think your people there on the scene, need to touch base
with Fred Peck, Colonel Fred Peck.

     Q:  There was a lot of discussion about how our troops are well briefed
militarily, but have they been briefed or counseled about what they're likely
to see as they head into the famine zone?
     A:  Our people have talked to them.  Your question really goes to how do
you really understand this until you actually see it.  I'm just not even sure
if some of them have seen the video pictures from newscasts.  I'm not sure even
that really prepares you for this kind of thing.  There will be a certain
amount of counseling that's done, but it's going to be shock.  There's no
question about it.  We're aware of that.

     Press:  Thank you.

                                     (END)


-- 
         
      // \\
    //     \\                    Air Force News Agency 
   |         |               Kelly Air Force Base, Texas, USA
   \\  {*}  //                   bergman@afpan.pa.af.mil  
   \  CMSgt  /      ___________________ /____________________________________
   \  Mike   /   
   \ Bergman /
     \     / 


Newsgroups: soc.veterans