From: CMSgt Mike Bergman <bergman@afnews.pa.af.mil>
Subject: Southern Watch - Scud Busters Back
Organization: Hq Air Force News Agency/SCC
Date: Fri, 25 Sep 1992 16:48:27 GMT


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



SW6.  SCUD Busters on the job
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SW6.  SCUD busters on the job
By SSgt. Virginia Cadena
Joint Task Force - Southwest Asia Public Affairs
     ARABIAN GULF REGION -- The original "SCUD Busters" are back.
     Army people participating in Operation Southern Watch are working with
the Air Force to help the coalition forces enforce the no-fly zone in Iraq,
south of the 32nd parallel.
     Although the Army has kept the Patriot Missile System in the region since
the Gulf War, an original "SCUD Busters" team is serving a second rotation in
the region.
     Maintaining the system here has allowed the Army to work more closely
with the Air Force, "which is important because of our mission," said Capt.
Steven Drake, commander of the B-Battery, 3rd Battalion 43rd Air Defense
Artillery, 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade.
     "Working and interacting together is a great opportunity that didn't
exist to this extent prior to Desert Storm," said Drake, who is deployed here
from Fort Bliss, Texas.
     A tactical director during Desert Storm, Drake said he saw the big
picture where the Patriots were concerned.
     "I happened to be there during the battle of Riyahd," he said.  "And what
I saw was a system that did exactly what it was supposed to do -- effectively
engage the tactical ballistic missiles (coming in), and from what I could see
it took out every TBM it was confronted with."
     Although the Patriot missile has recently had negative publicity, Drake
said the missile did exactly was it was designed to do.
     "From what I saw on my screens when I was up there, it was very, very,
accurate and very effective."
     The missile is proximity fused:  It explodes if it gets close to the
targeted missile, and either knocks it off track or destroys it all together
depending on where it impacts.
     It can track more than a hundred targets and can engage more than five
targets at one time, according to Drake.
     For example, during the Battle of Riyahd, Iraq fired six scuds
simultaneously at the city.  "We were able to track all the incoming scuds and
engage all of them using batteries that were out there," the captain
explained.
     Although the Patriots are accurate and effective, maintenance plays a
vital role, he said.
     "The biggest thing we learned was how important maintenance is for the
Patriot system, as with all technical systems," Drake said.  "It requires
constant maintenance, and we have some of the Army's top people working with
us."
     Chief Warrant Officer Gale Dorman, a Patriot system technician and
maintenance supervisor, said this time they were prepared to combat the
environment.
     "Overall, our changes have been minimal," Dorman said.  "The environment
here is much like the training environment in Texas; however, we take extra
preventive precautions to accommodate the extreme temperatures here.
     "We use heat reflective canvases to counteract the heat and have added
extra cooling systems to the vans," Dorman explained.  "We also set up an
in-depth maintenance program:  servicing the system more often and changing
filters frequently, which eliminated most of our problems."
     Specialist Ralph Gilreath, a Patriot missile crew member who has worked
with the Patriot missiles for 3 1/2 years, knows the hard work it takes to
maintain the Patriot.
     Although he said he is not thrilled to be back, he knows his job is
important for the mission.
     "It's probably the most important job in the whole battalion because if
our stuff is not operational, the missiles can't be fired," he said.


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