From: CMSgt Mike Bergman <bergman@afnews.pa.af.mil>
Subject: AF News Svc 08/26/92
Organization: Hq Air Force News Agency/SCC
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1992 16:23:17 GMT


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


679.  Homestead destruction
680.  No flying zone
681.  Uniform update
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NOTE TO EDITORS:  Replace story No. 677, Homestead destruction, with this
updated version.
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679.  Homestead destruction
     HOMESTEAD AFB, Fla. (AFNS) -- Hurricane Andrew, a massive storm packed
with winds exceeding 140 mph, ripped through Homestead Aug. 24, left a trail
of devastation and temporarily shut down operations at this southern Florida
base.
     Base facilities suffered extensive damage, including operations and
maintenance facilities, and the base exchange and commissary, Air Force
officials said.  The hurricane tore roofs off the buildings still standing,
and damaged the fuel storage area.
     Hangars were severely damaged and two F-16 fighters parked in one were
damaged by debris and high winds.
     While the runway was littered by debris, it has been cleared and there is
limited aircraft parking.  However, no runway lights or aircraft servicing are
available, officials said.
     All aircraft were flown out, except for four F-16s undergoing
maintenance.  The fighters were evacuated to Shaw AFB, S.C., Robins AFB, Ga.,
and the Jacksonville, Fla., airport.  The C-130 aircraft were sent to Maxwell
AFB, Ala., and the HH-60 helicopters to Lakeland, Fla.
     Fifty percent of the on-base housing was left without roofs, while 90
percent of the windows in housing were broken.
     Roads and streets on Homestead were impassable immediately following the
storm.
     Nearly 36 hours after the storm laid waste to the southern Florida
peninsula, Andrew continued a northwesterly path across the Gulf of Mexico
toward the Texas-Louisiana-Mississippi coasts, maintaining its strength along
the way.
     Residents along those coastal areas and in low-lying inland regions were
asked to evacuate their homes with the storm expected to again break landfall
early Aug. 26.
     As a precaution, aircraft from Eglin AFB and Hurlburt Field, Fla., were
evacuated, as were C-130s from Keesler AFB, Miss.
     Prior to the hurricane's onslaught, the nearly 4,600 people assigned to
this Air Combat Command base were told to evacuate, while Col. Steve Plummer,
31st Fighter Wing commander, and a 17-person support staff remained behind.
     A toll-free number has been set up to help people assigned to Homestead.
People who evacuated the base are asked to call 1-800-232-9916 to give their
location and to receive instructions and information.
     Family members can use the line to see if their relatives and friends
have checked in.


680.  No flying zone
     WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- In less than 24 hours, United States and other
coalition aircraft will be patrolling southern Iraq as the Department of
Defense launches Operation Southern Watch, Pentagon officials said Aug 26.
     To support U.N. resolutions forbidding the repression of the Iraqi people
by the government of Iraq, President Bush and other members of the coalition
have established a no-fly zone south of the 32nd parallel in Iraq.  The no-fly
zone means no Iraqi aircraft may operate in that area.
     Performing surveillance missions will be aircraft already in the region,
including F-15s, EF-111s, tankers, and airborne warning and control systems or
AWACS.
     U.S. Central Air Forces Commander Lt. Gen. Michael Nelson has been named
to lead the joint operation.
     Prompting DOD's actions are proof of Saddam Hussein's disregard for U.N.
resolutions and his brutal treatment of Iraqis in the southern region,
illustrated in eyewitness accounts and the August testimony of U.N. human
rights envoy Max Van der Stoel before the U.N. Security Council.
     President Bush told reporters at an Aug. 26 press conference of proof of
Hussein's use of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft to bomb and strafe
civilians and villages in the south, and the execution of some Baghdad
merchants.
     "We continue to look forward to working with a new leadership in Baghdad,
one that does not brutally suppress its own people and violate the most basic
norms of humanity," Bush said.
     "Until that day, no one should doubt our readiness to respond decisively
to Iraq's failure to respect the no-fly zone."
     Bush said the United States and other coalition members are ready to
consider "additional steps" if Hussein continues to violate this or other U.N.
resolutions.
     The no-fly zone will remain in effect until the coalition determines it
is no longer needed.


681.  Uniform update
     WASHINGTON (AFNS) -- Officers participating in the uniform test and
wearing the striped shoulder marks on the shirt shoulder epaulets should stop
wearing them for the test program, Air Force officials said.
     "It's clear that the 'stripe' style shoulder rank for officers' shirts is
a 'non-starter,'" Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Merrill A. McPeak said.
     "The feedback we've got is overwhelming," he said.  "Nobody likes it,
including me."
     Rank for the shirt-sleeve uniforms will be the current traditional bars,
leaves and eagles.  The new general officer version of shoulder rank will
continue to be tested.
     The uniform test period, which began in May, is scheduled to run until
November, at which time more feedback and examinations of the tested uniforms
will be evaluated.
     The other ranks being tested on officers' service dress and all enlisted
chevrons are not affected by this change.  They will continue to be tested for
the full period, officials said.

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