From: CMSgt Mike Bergman <bergman@afnews.pa.af.mil>
Subject: DoD News 09/10/92
Organization: Hq Air Force News Agency/SCC
Date: Fri, 11 Sep 1992 14:00:50 GMT


From CMSgt Mike Bergman <bergman@afnews.pa.af.mil>


  <<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><>>
  <<>> Assistant Secretary Of Defense                                    <<>>
  <<>>        Public Affairs                   September 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, SEPT. 10, 1992        27  28  29  30                   <<>>
  <<>>                                                                   <<>>
  <<>>                                                                   <<>>
  <<>>                   - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -                   <<>>
  <<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><<>><>>


                                                  No. 395-92
                                                  (703) 695-2113 (info)
                                                  (703) 697-3189 (copies)
IMMEDIATE RELEASE        September 10, 1992       (703) 697-5737
                                                  (public/industry)

            THUNDERBIRDS 1992 SOUTH AMERICAN DEMONSTRATION SCHEDULE

	The Department of Defense today released the U.S. Air Force Thunderbirds
1992 South American schedule, which begins     October 22, 1992.  The
Department of Defense Aerial Demonstration teams occasionally deploy overseas
to promote international goodwill, and demonstrate the professional skills and
capabilities of the U.S. Armed Forces.  This tour is designed to support these
objectives and show continued support for democratic governments.  The
Thunderbirds last performed in South America in 1985. 

	The schedule is as follows:

Panama City, Panama	October 24
Santiago, Chile	October 27
Montevideo, Uruguay	October 29
Buenos Aires, Argentina	October 31
Asuncion, Paraguay	November 2
Brasilia, Brazil	November 6
Maracay, Venezuela	November 8


                                       -END-



             
                                                                      No. 127-P

PRESS ADVISORY                                               September 10, 1992

     Secretary of Defense Dick Cheney will speak to the 100th Infantry Division
Association's 50th Anniversary Dinner on Saturday, September 12, 1992, at 9:15
p.m. (EDT) in the Lancaster Host Golf Resort and Conference Center, 2300
Lincoln Highway East, Lancaster, Penn.

     The 100th Infantry Division -- nicknamed the Century -- was activated on
November 15, 1942, deploying overseas in October 1944.  The division fought in
three major engagements during World War II, finally ending up east of Stut-
tgart, Germany.  The division took part in occupation duties before finally
being deactivated in January 1946.

     The event is open to the news media.  The remarks will not be piped back
to the Pentagon.  The point of contact is William Bartley at (717) 299-5500.


     On Monday, September 14, Secretary Cheney will address the Economic Club
of Detroit at 12:45 p.m. (EDT) in the Cobo Center's Riverfront Ballroom, 1
Washington Blvd., Detroit, Mich.  Preceding the address at 11:15 a.m. (EDT),
the Secretary will have a media availability in Room W1-55 of the Cobo Center.


     Both events are open to the news media.  The luncheon remarks will be
piped back to the Pentagon studio.  The point of contact is Don Luther at (313)
963-8547.  

       

     Later, Monday, September 14, Secretary Cheney will address the Chicago
Council on Foreign Relations' lecture forum at 6:40 p.m. (CDT) in the Fairmont
Hotel's International Ballroom, 200 N. Columbus Dr., Chicago, Ill.  The
Secretary will have a media availability at the Fairmont Hotel at 2:15 p.m.
(CDT).  

     The event and the media availability will be open to the news media.
These remarks will not be piped back to the Pentagon.  The point of contact is
Sarah Connor at (312) 726-3860.

                                     -END-







NOT FOR USE BEFORE 5 P.M. (EDT)
THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 10, 1992		(703) 697-5131 - Info.

                             DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE
                                CONTRACT AWARDS

                                     NAVY

	Alliant Techsystems, Inc., Newport Operations, Middletown, Rhode Island,
is being awarded a $9,714,717 indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity cost-
plus-fixed-fee contract to provide engineering and technical services in
support of the MK46/50 Lightweight Torpedo Program, in the continued develop-
ment, test, and integration of the MK46/50 and its related weapon systems.
Work will be performed in Middletown, Rhode Island and is expected to be
completed by September 1994.  Contract funds will not expire at the end of the
current fiscal year.  This contract was not competitively procured.  The Naval
Undersea Warfare Center Division, Newport, Rhode Island, is the contracting
activity (N66604-92-D-C303).

	Chavez Painting Company, Rosevile, California, is being awarded a
$7,576,497 firm-fixed-price with indefinite quantity contract for painting
services at various Department of Defense activities in the San Francisco Bay
area.  Work is expected to be completed by August 1993.  Contract funds will
expire at the end of each year.  This contract was competitively procured with
one bid received.  The Naval Facilities Engineering Command, Western Division,
San Bruno, California, is the contracting activity (N62474-92-C-1005).

                                   AIR FORCE

	Dames and Moore, Salt Lake City, Utah, is being awarded a $9,950,000
firm-fixed-price contract for environmental architect-engineer services to
design, support, and oversee construction projects for the remediation of waste
sites at Hill Air Force Base, Utah.  This effort is in support of the Base
Installation Restoraton Program.  The work will be performed at Salt Lake City,
Utah, and Hill Air Force Base, Utah.  Contract is expected to be completed
September 1993.  Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current
fiscal year.  Twenty-four bids were solicited and four proposals were received.
The solicitation was issued in May 1992 and negotiations were completed in
August 1992.  The Ogden Air Logistics Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the
contracting activity (F42650-92-D0008).

	United Technologies Corporation, Pratt & Whitney Government Engine
Buisness, West Palm Beach, Florida, is being awarded a $5,955,162 firm-fixed-
price contract for various spares applicable to the TF30-P-111 engine used on
the F-111 aircraft.  The work will be performed at East Hartford, Connecticut.
Contract is expected to be completed in October 1995.  Contract funds of
$5,955,162 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  The Oklahoma
City Air Logistics Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma is the contracting
activity (F34601-91-G-0020-0031).

	United Technologies Corporation, Pratt & Whitney Government Engine
Business, West Palm Beach, Florida, is being awarded a $5,634,616 firm-fixed-
price contract for various spares applicable to the TF33 engine used on the
C-135 aircraft.  The work will be performed at East Hartford, Connecticut.
Contract is expected to be completed in December 1993.  Contract funds of
$5,634,616 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.  The Oklahoma
City Air Logistics Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, is the contracting
activity (F34601-92-G-0020-0025).

	United Technologies Corporation, Pratt & Whitney Government Engine
Business, West Palm Beach, Florida, is being awarded a $6,363,480 firm-fixed-
price contract for various liner assembly components applicable to the TF30-
P-111 engine used on the F-111F aircraft.  The work will be performed at East
Hartford, Connecticut.  Contract is expected to be completed in October 1995.
Contract funds of $6,363,480 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.
The Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, is the
contracting activity (F34601-91-G-0020-0030).

	United Technologies Corporation, Pratt & Whitney Government Engine
Business, West Palm Beach, Florida, is being awarded a $7,499,250 firm-fixed-
price contract for 2,688 sets of first stage blades applicalbe to the TF30-
P-111 engine used on the F-111F aircraft.  The work will be performed at East
Hartford, Connecticut.  Contract is expected to be completed in December 1993.
Contract funds of $7,499,250 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year.
The Oklahoma City Air Logistics Center, Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma, is the
contracting activity (F34601-91-G-0020-0029).

	Veda Incorporated, Alexandria, Virginia, is being awarded a $5,354,532
time and materials contract for the Flight Control Division, Flight Dynamics
Directorate, Wright Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.  The
work will be performed in Dayton, Ohio.  Contract is expected to be completed
September 1997.  Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current
fiscal year.  Seventy-two bids were solicited and three proposals were
received.  The solicitation was issued in April 1992 and negotiatons were
completed in August 1992.  The Wright Laboratory, Wright-Patterson Air Force
Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (F33615-92-D-3602).
:END




DoD News Briefing
Thursday, September 10, 1992 - Noon
Mr. Pete Williams, ASD (Public Affairs)

     Mr. Williams:  Good afternoon.  

     A couple of announcements for you.  First of all, Secretary Cheney has
three forthcoming speaking engagements.  The first one is this weekend.  The
Secretary will speak to the 100th Infantry Division Association's 50th
Anniversary dinner.  That will be Saturday, September 12th at 9:15 p.m. in the
Lancaster Host Golf Resort and Conference Center, 2300 Lincoln Highway East, in
Lancaster, Pennsylvania.  The 100th Infantry Division, which was nicknamed The
Century, was activated on November 15, 1942.  It was deployed overseas in
October of 1944.  It fought in three major engagements during World War II,
finally ending up east of Stuttgart.  The division took part in occupation
duties after the war and then was finally deactivated in January of 1946.

     The conference this weekend the Secretary is going to address is open to
coverage.  The point of contact is William Bartley at (717) 299-5500.

     Q:  Any advance text?
     A:  I'll check and see.  If there is, we'll certainly make it available to
you on Friday.

     There are two events on Monday, September 14th.  The Secretary will
address the Economic Club of Detroit at 12:45 p.m. in the Cobo Center's
Riverfront Ballroom, 1 Washington Boulevard, Detroit.  At 11:15, by the way,
before the address, the Secretary will have a little news conference in Room
W155 of the Cobo Center.  Both events open to coverage.  We will import the
luncheon remarks here electronically back to the Pentagon.  The point of
contact for coverage is Don Luther, (313) 963-8547.  

     The third engagement I would call to your attention is also on Monday, the
14th of September.  The Secretary will address the Chicago Council on Foreign
Relations Lecture at 6:40 p.m. Central time in the Fairmont Hotel's
International Ballroom, 200 North Columbus Drive, Chicago.  The Secretary will
also have a little news conference when he arrives in Chicago.  That will be
also at the Fairmont Hotel at 2:15 p.m. Central time.  Both the speech itself,
the lecture, and the news conference are obviously open to coverage.  Because
of the late hour we won't pipe the remarks back here, but the point of contact
is Sarah Connor, (312) 726-3860.

     Finally, we have a news release for you, releasing the U.S. Air Force
Thunderbird schedule for South America.  They'll be visiting Panama, Chile,
Uruguay, Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, and Venezuela from the 24th of October to
the 8th of November.

     On Hurricane Andrew, again, I would advise you that the Directorate for
Defense Information has the big fat, everything you wanted to know about aid to
Hurricane Andrew handout again today.  The highlights are that by the end of
today we'll have 23,880 federal troops deployed to the south Florida area.
There's just a few more, a couple of dozen more on the way -- probably about 50
or so and that will bring the eventual federal commitment there, active duty
federal troops, to just about 24,000.  The actual number will probably be
something like 23,927, is what they're projecting, what FORSCOM thinks will be
actually there.

     The Canadian contingent, by the way, of 90 military engineers and their
equipment will be moving in over the weekend.  In addition, the Canadian supply
ship HMCS Protecteur with 300 sailors on board is scheduled to arrive September
14th to support the Canadian team.  The Canadians will be repairing two schools
in Dade County and assisting in other relief efforts as needed.

     Incoming flights today, including those that will be coming in today, will
make a total of 601 missions that have been flown by the Air Force since the
disaster assistance began moving in relief supplies and equipment, as well as
personnel.  The top priority for our engineers in Dade County right now
continues to be to get the schools ready to open.  That means repairing roofs
in schools, power restoration, and debris removal.  State and county school
officials estimate that of the 278 schools in the county, they expect to be
ready to start classes on September 14th in 269 of them -- 278 schools there,
expect to be ready to conduct school in 269 of them.  While preventive medicine
remains a concern, waste disposal services have been restored throughout the
county.

     Engineers continue to focus on debris removal.  So far they have removed
more than 9,000 truckloads of debris.  That's more than 300,000 cubic yards
removed by U.S. military units.

     As for the tent cities, or as they have come to be known, the life support
facilities, they can accommodate more than 4,300 people.  Right now they are,
in fact, occupied by about 2,200.  

     That's the highlights of Hurricane Andrew.

     Q:  How many state National Guard, Pete?
     A:  For the first day, I don't have that statistic here.  We'll try to get
it for you.

     Anything else?

     Q:  I have a question, I was here in April and asked you about the upgrade
tank program in Lima, Ohio.  I remember you saying that it was something the
Defense Department didn't feel was a necessary thing.  There's been a total
turn-around.  I want to know why is there a turn-around now?  Why this about
face?  Why close to $300 million for the upgrade program?
     A:  A very simple answer.  The United States Congress said we shall spend
the money.  We recommended the program for rescision.  The Congress said thank
you for your interest in the Lima, Ohio tank program, and voted, in fact, to
continue the production, so that's the reason.

     Q:  Vice President Quayle mentioned that that was welcome news, that the
Defense Department was going to go ahead and put $300 million for the program.
Are you planning on actually fully funding that $3.5 billion program?
     A:  That is the law of the land.  Congress has declared it so to be, and
so we will do it.  The Executive proposes, and the Legislative disposes, and
that's the way it works.

     Q:  I think the question was are you going to fund all the upgrade
programs through the out years, or just, is the commitment beyond $300 million?
     A:  I don't know what the commitment will be in the out years.  We haven't
sent an out year budget to Congress yet.
     Q:  Do you have a feeling on it?
     A:  No.  We'll do that when we propose the President's budget next year.

     Q:  Can you just check through things like the no-fly zone, the flights in
and out of Sarajevo?  Things like that.  Is there any news, any changes?
     A:  Let me just go back to Charlie's question about the number of Florida
National Guardsmen that have been activated under state control.  The number is
still about 6,000.  The exact numbers are in that hulking thing that DDI has
that has wheels on it, it's so big.  In addition, about 800 Louisiana Guardsmen
remain under state control.

     Let me just put two numbers in the record here.  The Florida National
Guard Information Office is (904) 823-0168.  Major Joe Padilla.  The Louisiana
National Guard is (504) 278-6281.  It's Captain Maria Jonkers who is the point
of contact there.

     Operation Southern Watch, Carl, to answer your question, just to bring you
up to date.  Since our last briefing on Tuesday, the United States has flown
256 sorties.  That brings the total, as of 8:00 p.m. Eastern time last night,
to 1705 U.S. sorties.  We still have the same answer, no confirmed contacts of
any Iraqi aircraft south of the 32nd parallel or any use of threat radar.  So
the situation has remained pretty stable.

     Q:  Are you cutting back the pace of flights?
     A:  Yes, I think that's a fair characterization.  As I said here the other
day, when the operation first started, during those first couple of days, we
flew very aggressively to show our seriousness, demonstrate the coalition
resolve, and delineate fully the entire area of southern Iraq south of 32
degrees.  So we flew large numbers of sorties, partly to demonstrate the
seriousness of this operation, and partly because we didn't know what the Iraqi
response would be.  We wanted to ensure that we could provide an instantaneous
response to any hostile attempt on the part of Iraq.  Iraq has abided by the
rules of the no-fly zone.  There have been, so far as we can tell, no attempts
to violate it.  So we have, in fact, been able to scale back the intensity of
the flights a little bit.  We still maintain sufficient forces airborne to
provide surveillance and protection of the no-fly zone and we are prepared to
counter any Iraqi reaction.

     But it's fair to say that since it started out the number has tapered down
a little bit, but we vary the sortie rates every day.  Some days we fly a
higher number of sorties compared to others.  Obviously, we're not going to say
in advance what kind of a day the next day is going to be like.

     Q:  You've said before you let other members of the coalition of the
allies speak for themselves.  Could you at least confirm that the British and
the French planes are now flying?
     A:  Let me take the question, Charlie.  I'm not positive, but I will take
the question.

     Q:  Pete, can I just micro a little on that?  You said no confirmed
reports of Iraq's...  We have heard some reports that someone thought they saw,
or thought someone had crossed the zone.  Is that in fact correct?  That
someone reported it and it's not been confirmed?
     A:  That's exactly it.  I think that's the way I described it on Tuesday.
What you'll have is, and I think we had a couple of incidents, where pilots,
individual pilots and individual aircraft reported seeing some kind of a radar
blip.  But then you go and analyze the coverage from the AWACS or the other
kinds of surveillance aircraft and it doesn't check out, the track doesn't last
very long, that kind of thing.  So we don't have any confirmed sightings or any
confirmed radar contact.

     Q:  What about the airplanes that we know, the fixed wings that were taken
right north of the 32nd parallel?  Any activity on their part?  Are they
playing up and down, are they dancing around the borders?
     A:  We're talking about still the 32nd parallel?

     Q:  The fixed wings that went above the 32nd parallel, the F-1's, the...
     A:  the Iraqi aircraft that continue to fly elsewhere in Iraq?

     Q:  Yes, down close to the border area.
     A:  You mean the 32nd parallel?

     Q:  The 32nd parallel.  The fixed wing aircraft that were below, south of
the 32nd parallel, flew just above the 32nd parallel, at least a number of them
did, and they brought some F-1's down and parked in an airfield just north of
the 32nd parallel.  Do you see any activity on their part?
     A:  Oh sure, they're still flying north of the 32nd degree parallel.

     Q:  Close to the...
     A:  Reasonably.

     Q:  Are they playing cat and mouse?
     A:  I would not characterize it as cat and mouse.  I don't think the
pilots out there have characterized it as cat and mouse either.  They are
respecting the no-fly zone.

     Q:  Are they operating in such a way as to approach that 32nd parallel
head on and then veer away?
     A:  Not really, no.  They're flying reasonably close to it, and they
always have been, but it's not like they're going nose to nose with it or
anything like that.

     Q:  Have there been any problems with the no-fly zone north of the 36th?
     A:  We are still evaluating a report that an Iraqi aircraft flew north of
the 36th parallel.  There was a sighting of an aircraft this morning at 7:40
a.m. Persian Gulf time, or just 40 minutes past midnight Eastern time.  There
was an AWACS track of an Iraqi aircraft.

     There were two U.S. Air Force F-16 aircraft who are assigned to Operation
Provide Comfort that were in the area.  They were assigned to go check out the
aircraft.  They did, in fact, intercept what we believe was most likely an
Iraqi F-1 Mirage fighter, about three miles north of the 36th parallel.  As the
F-16's from the U.S. approached it, it turned around and headed south again.
It was not clear to the U.S. pilots whether or not this F-1 was armed.  The
pilots received no indication of hostile intent.  The Iraqi aircraft, or what
we believe to be the Iraqi aircraft, did not paint or direct their radar at the
U.S. aircraft.  It simply quickly turned south and retreated below the 36th
parallel.  There was no exchange of fire between the aircraft.  That wasn't
necessary, because the Iraqi aircraft was already heading south.  The F-16's
were based at Incirlik.

     A couple of notes.  First of all, this isn't the first time this has
happened.  Every now and then, sporadically, not even once a month, but every
now and then there are Iraqi aircraft that stray north of the 36th Parallel.
It happened, I think most recently, after the Iranian raid when the aircraft
came in from Iran on April 5th.  One Iraqi aircraft briefly flew north of 36
and then quickly retreated south before the coalition aircraft, in that case,
could intercept the plane.  We thought at the time that that was an inadvertent
crossing of the 36th Parallel by the Iraqis.  We're still looking at this one.
We don't know whether it was inadvertent or not.  But the fact is, these things
happen every now and then.

     Now I say that we're not absolutely certain that it was an Iraqi aircraft.
There is just one slight little evaluation still going on in the Joint Staff
for sure, but it would appear to be so.  It's consistent with, as far as we
know, the AWACS track, and also it's consistent, as far as we can tell, with
what the F-16 pilots saw.  

     Q:  What else could it be?
     A:  The only other possibility, obviously, is that it was another
coalition aircraft that was doing reconnaissance there.  We don't think that's
the case, but we're just not 100 percent certain.

     Q:  How near did the aircraft approach to each other?  It's a multi-part
question.  Did they have any radio contact?
     A:  No.

     Q:  Did any of the aircraft lock radar, fire control radars on?
     A:  Did our aircraft lock radars on theirs?  We're not going to say
because that gets into rules of engagement and we're not going to say one way
or the other.

     Q:  (Inaudible)
     A:  Well, they may or they may not.

     Q:  Pete, you just said a minute ago, you used the phrase what the U.S.
aircraft saw.  Did they get within visual distance of them?
     A:  As far as I know, they apparently did get close enough to confirm that
it was an Iraqi F-1.

     Q:  But not whether it was armed or not?
     A:  They couldn't tell whether it was armed or not.

     Q:  What was the closest point of approach?
     A:  I don't know.

     Q:  Will you take that question?
     A:  Sure, how close did they get, is what you're asking.

     Q:  You said these incursions happen every once in awhile.  Do you know
how many there have been, and have any been thought to not have been straying
over the border but actually probing?
     A:  No.  I'd describe it as a handful.  We can't be sure, but it's a very
small number.  Secondly, I'm unaware of any that we regard as probing.  In
general, they've obeyed the no-fly zone above 36 degrees north latitude.  I
don't know yet, we'll have to evaluate whether we think this one was
intentional or not.  It doesn't appear to be.  As I say, there doesn't appear
to be any hostile intent on the part of this aircraft.  But nonetheless, it did
technically go over 36 degrees north, and so we sent planes out to intercept
it.  It's a technical violation of the no-fly zone.  Whether it was advertent
or inadvertent doesn't matter.

     Q:  Let me clarify something, because you said that they did come within
visual range of an Iraqi F-1, but you said the Joint Staff is still trying to
resolve why it might not be.
     A:  There is one little "i" to dot here before I can come out and tell you
100 percent, yes, it was an Iraqi aircraft.  We want to go back and look at the
AWACS tracks.  The pilots said that they believe it was an Iraqi F-1.  For sure
it was an F-1.  They believe it was an Iraqi F-1.  Now if the sun was behind it
or something like that, it may have made it a little bit hard to see.  And
obviously, these things move at a pretty high rate of speed.  I think we're
reasonably confident, but I can't tell you with 100 percent certainty, and
that's why I'm hedging it just a little bit.

         Q:  Can you give us things like speed and altitude, and whether the
American craft maneuvered tactically against the F-1?
     A:  They intercepted it, I think is the best way to describe it.

     Q:  Any more details like speed, altitude...
     A:  I don't have that stuff.

     Q:  Pete, take the intercept question a little further, because you said
he turned and ran south across the border.  So did they actually make an
intercept, or did they see him in the process of coming?
     A:  Let me walk through it for you.  First, the AWACS detected the
aircraft.  That's the first thing that happened, at 7:40 a.m. Gulf time this
morning, a U.S. AWACS aircraft operating as part of the Provide Comfort regime,
performing surveillance over northern Iraq consistent with the Provide Comfort
no-fly zone, detected an aircraft crossing the 36 degrees north latitude no-fly
zone, southern border.  

     There were two U.S. Air Force F-16 aircraft in the area.  They were
directed to the scene to intercept what we believe to be, what was most likely
the Iraqi F-1.  They, in fact, did proceed on that course.  They flew to near
where the Iraqi aircraft was.  It was in the process of turning south, and was
proceeding south, is my information.

     The Iraqi aircraft flew about three miles north of the 36th parallel
before turning around. 

     What I don't have clearly yet, and we're still trying to get, is at
precisely what point in the course of the Iraqi F-1 did the U.S. F-16's come
in?  Was it turning south when it came?  Had it made the turn and was heading
south?  Where in the arc of turn did the F-16's intercept it is an answer that
I don't have fully.

     Q:  You don't know if they were in a position to engage.  They just saw
them.
     A:  I don't know that.  But again, I'll walk through it all very factually
with you, but let me just emphasize again, this is not the first time this has
happened.  What's different about it, obviously, in this case, is that we had
F-16's nearby that could very quickly intercept it.  But it's not the first
time that an Iraqi aircraft has flown north of the line.  We don't know whether
it was advertent or inadvertent.  We don't know whether they did it on purpose
or not.

          Q:  What mission were the F-16's flying prior to their AWACS
control...
     A:  They were flying part of the normal reconnaissance.  These are F-16's
based at Incirlik, flying a normal reconnaissance mission in support of
Operation Provide Comfort.

     Q:  With reconnaissance pods or do you mean...were they flying air CAP,
did they have AIM-7's, AIM-9's?
     A:  We're not going to say what the armaments of the aircraft were.

     Q:  You seem to want to indicate that this is not unusual, yet...
     A:  It's not unprecedented.

     Q:  I believe you said earlier that the last flight that you know about
was during the Iranian attack.
     A:  Yes.

     Q:  Wasn't that several months ago?  When was that?
     A:  I think I said, Charlie, at the time, that it was April.  Let me
expand on that a little bit.  Let's go all the way back to ancient history
here.  After the ceasefire, General Schwarzkopf had his meeting at Safwan and
it was clear that there would be no flying anywhere by fixed-wing aircraft
anywhere over Iraq.  Then come into play the UN Security Council resolutions.
Then comes the Provide Comfort regime with the no-fly zone north of 36 degrees.
The Iraqis, as a practical matter, didn't really fly aircraft until the Iranian
mission comes into Iraq in April.  They immediately scramble some planes.
After that, they begin to start flying more and more -- more aircraft come into
the air.

     On April 5th, we know that one aircraft from Iraq briefly flew north of
the 36th parallel and quickly retreated south.  My recollection is that every
now and then during that timeframe, say April to May when they were building up
their flights, you would occasionally see an Iraqi aircraft stray over the 36
degree line.  I think we attributed that at the time to the fact that they
weren't flying very much, a lack of experience, and they just probably didn't
know where they were.  No hostile intent, no intent to violate the provisions
of the Provide Comfort regime.  That was, Charlie, several months ago, and we
haven't seen any incidents of that kind since.  It's too soon to tell.  I just
don't know whether this was an on purpose or accidental straying over the line.
But, as I say, there doesn't appear to have been any hostile intent on the part
of his aircraft.

    Q:  From what we know about the flying patterns of the Iraqis, is a single
F-1 flying alone a normal thing?  Do they normally train by themselves?
     A:  Yes, they do.  They do it all different ways, so it's not unusual to
have that.

     Q:  Did the F-16's come within range of known Iraqi ground control radar?
     A:  I don't know.

     Q:  Was there any communication, not just from the F-16's, but from the
AWACS or anybody, was there any communication or attempt to communicate with
the Iraqi plane?
     A:  We're still checking into that, and I don't know the answer.

     Q:  Would you take that?
     A:  Sure.

     Q:  You talked about routine incidents of this happening, but are the
intercepts routine also?
     A:  No.  As I indicated before, what makes this one different is that we
had coalition, in this case U.S. aircraft, nearby that could quickly intercept
before it had crossed over the line again.

     Q:  How often does that happen?  Is this the first time that's happened?
That you've actually worked an intercept on one?
     A:  Let me take the question to be sure.  I can't remember another
incident where we had aircraft nearby that were in a position to intercept it.

     Q:  I wanted to move back down to the 32nd parallel.
     A:  Anything else about this?

     Q:  Does this flight give any cause to increase flights over northern
Iraq?
     A:  We'll have to wait and evaluate until we can fully determine what
exactly happened here.  I don't know that we've made that decision yet.

     Anything else on this?  (No response)  Okay, Eric.

     Q:  To go back to the south, have you all noticed any increased activity
by Iraqi ground forces, either artillery or otherwise, in dealing with the
Shiites in the marshes or anywhere else?
     A:  We covered this pretty thoroughly on Tuesday, and I would say the best
way to characterize it is there really hasn't been any kind of a change in the
disposition of the Iraqis in the south since then.  It's pretty consistent with
what I said the other day.

     Q:  Where did the Iraqi plane fly across 36 -- was it in western,
northwestern or northeastern Iraq?
     A:  Let me take that question.

     Q:  Are they still burning villages there?
     A:  They certainly were as of the time I briefed Tuesday.  I'm looking
into and don't have the answer yet on whether there have been any fires set by
the Iraqis since then.  I note the Iraqis put out a statement the other day
saying that we were relying for our information from dissidents in Iran, and
that we are mistaken in saying that the Iraqis have set fires.  I can assure
you that neither is the case.  Neither are we mistaken, nor are we relying for
our information on dissidents in Iran.

     Q:  Has there been any change in Pentagon policy toward relief to Somalia?
Has it increased, decreased?
     A:  No, we're still performing the flights to the areas that I described
the other day, and let me bring you up to date on that.  The grand total of
food delivered through yesterday midnight Eastern time by the United States is
2,396 metric tons.  That's 172 flights.  Since our briefing on Tuesday we've
made two flights to Wajir in northern Kenya, delivering about 22 metric tons of
food.  There's another flight to Wajir planned for today.  Since the last
briefing on Tuesday we've made 12 flights to Belet Huen in south central
Somalia, with about 110 metric tons of food; and six flights to Baidoa, which
is south of Belet Huen, also in Somalia, with about 76 metric tons of food.
There are six flights planned for Belet Huen today, and four flights programmed
for today to Baidoa.  So the flights do continue.

     Q:  So there are three areas being serviced here.
     A:  Correct.  Northern Kenya, and two flights in Somalia.

     Now we take our direction on where to make the flights from the U.S. team
and the International Red Cross and ICRC team that's based in Nairobi.  We are
looking at the possibility of doing flights into more areas in Somalia.  We try
to identify and coordinate other landing sites.  It's partly a matter, we're
limited to some extent on which areas in Somalia have an airstrip that's
capable of accepting a C-130.  We're not flying the bigger C-141's in there.
We're using the C-130's, the smallest cargo plane we have that can get any
reasonable amount of cargo.  So that's a limiting factor.

     The second limiting factor is flying into areas where this team in Nairobi
has determined that there is a sufficient organization set up on the ground to
get the food distributed.  So you have to take those two factors into account.

     Q:  There are no new sites beyond the three that you identified.
     A:  No new sites to which we are flying now.  But we are looking at other
possible sites.

     Q:  There were some reports out of Africa today that we're not going to
fly the Pakistanis in.  What's the situation on them?
     A:  That's not true.  We have a team that's in Islamabad working with the
Pakistanis.  We're ready to go when the Pakistanis are ready to go.  Then the
UN will have to decide if it's safe to land at Mogadishu.  But we're prepared,
we're ready to go.

     Q:  On the flights to Somalia, the supplies that are going in are those
strictly from what's provided by other nations, or are there foodstuffs or
whatever that the United States has supplied?
     A:  I think the United States has made contributions to the stocks that
we're flying in.  They are stocks that are based at Mombasa.  What we basically
do is we go down to Mombasa in northern Kenya, get the food and supplies that
are stored there, and then fly them to the three places I've described --
Wajir, Belet Huen, and Baidoa.  Now most of those supplies that are in Mombasa
have come in by ship.  Some are flown in, but most of them are in by ship, and
many nations have made contributions to the stocks that are there, including
the United States.

     Q:  But has the United States contribution stopped, and United States
planes are now taking in other supplies from other countries?
     A:  I don't know.  AID or State could maybe answer that one for you.

     I did see, by the way, a report that the United Nations was going to air
drop some supplies in.  I think the way we view that is that our operation of
flying them directly in complements what the UN is doing, but we don't have
any...  I think Charlie, you asked this question on Tuesday, we still don't
have any plans to air drop supplies in.

     The incident involving what we believe to be the Iraqi Mirage happened
just north of 36 degrees north latitude, near the center point of the line, or
just a little west of the center point of the line, the 36 degree Parallel, the
center between the two points where it intersects the borders with Iraq.

     Q:  South central Iraq, in other words.
     A:  Yeah.

     Q:  On Yugoslavia, the Croatians reported today that they took small arms
off an Iranian plane that had come in with "humanitarian" supplies.  There's
speculation that U.S. intelligence told them about this.  Have you any comment
on that?  Or did you all know or suspect that the Iranians were in fact
shipping in small arms to Bosnia along with humanitarian supplies?
     A:  I think the best way to answer your question, and I fully understand
it, it's a good question.  I think the best way I can answer it is to say that
since the plane landed, we've been in touch with the Croatians about it.  We
are, obviously, monitoring the flights from various nations that come into the
region, but I am not at liberty to discuss what specific intelligence we may
have passed to the United Nations.

     Q:  You say you've been in touch with the Croatians since the plane
landed.  You were in touch with the Croatians when the plane landed before the
search started?
     A:  No.  I think we've talked to them since they've opened up the plane
and looked inside.

     Q:  Was the United States aware that this kind of thing was happening?
     A:  I'm basically dodging the question.

     Q:  Would you not?  Would you just say whether...
     Q:  ...supplies were provided.
     A:  We've heard from the Croatians on their report on what's in the plane.
We've talked to them since then.   But I just can't answer the question of
whether we knew about it in advance.  If so, whether we told them.  That would
get into an area I just can't discuss.

     Q:  Can you confirm now, that you know, that these are Iranian supplied
weapons?
     A:  State's got the lead on this one because it deals with Croatia.  I
frankly can't remember what they were going to say about it over there, but
they will be dealing with the same question.  They'll have a comprehensive
answer.

     Q:  How would you react to any shipment of small arms into Bosnia...
Would you consider those humanitarian supplies?
     A:  No, we would not consider that a humanitarian effort, nor would we
consider it in any way supportive of the situation there.  We would consider it
a further contribution to the violence in the area.  But State will have a more
elaborate and well-worded answer, I'm sure.

     Q:  Have you any indication that any other countries might be doing that
sort of thing?
     A:  Oh, we've seen reports, scattered reports of other nations supplying
arms into the region, but I don't have a rundown on it for you.

     Q:  You just say scattered reports.  Are these published reports, media
reports, or your own reports?
     A:  These are our own reports.

     Q:  What's the situation in Sarajevo right now in terms of flying in
there?
     A:  The situation is, I think that technically speaking the airport is
open, declared open by UN Protection Force.  But, of course, the planes are not
going to start the relief supplies again until the United Nations High
Commission for Refugees directs them to do so.  My understanding is that the UN
is not going to make that decision until they get a report from the Italians on
what caused the downing of the Italian cargo plane last week.  So we are
awaiting the word from the UN, and the UN, in turn, is awaiting the word from
the Italians.  This will probably have to be discussed at the Security Council,
that's my guess, before the planes will start up again.

     Q:  Any request from the UN for a U.S. air CAP?
     A:  No, there is not.  And Boutros-Ghali said the other day, the UN
Secretary General, that before they took that step they'd want to have a
Security Council resolution.

     Q:  A housekeeping question on Mr. Cheney's speeches this weekend and
Monday.  Will they be anything beyond his normal speech that he's been giving
recently?
     A:  They're all worthy of your attention, of course.  I'm sure the speech
on Saturday will deal specifically with the contributions made in World War II
by the 100th Division.  I believe that the speeches on Monday will deal with
the very important question of how we sensibly reduce the size of the defense
budget.  I would urge, of course, full A-wire coverage of all of them.

     Thank you.

                                       END


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