From: CMSgt Mike Bergman <bergman@afnews.pa.af.mil>
Subject: DoD News 08/25/92
Organization: Hq Air Force News Agency/SCC
Date: Thu, 27 Aug 1992 16:18:58 GMT


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

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  <<>> Assistant Secretary Of Defense                                    <<>>
  <<>>        Public Affairs                     August 1992             <<>>
  <<>>    Pentagon, Washington DC       Sun Mon Tue Wed Thu Fri Sat      <<>>
  <<>>        DSN  225-3886                                      1       <<>>
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  <<>>  DEPARTMENT OF DEFENSE NEWS       9  10  11  12  13  14  15       <<>>
  <<>>                                  16  17  18  19  20  21  22       <<>>
  <<>>  TUESDAY, AUGUST 25, 1992        23  24  25  26  27  28  29       <<>>
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DoD News Briefing
Tuesday, August 25, 1992 - Noon
Mr. Bob Hall, DASD (Public Affairs)


     MR. HALL:  Good afternoon.  Let me give a couple of updates here before we
start, before we get to questions.

     On Hurricane Andrew, as you know, of course, FEMA has the lead on this, on
the disaster response for the federal government.  DoD, like other government
agencies, provides emergency support functions as required.  DoD, for example,
is the primary agency for urban search and rescue, like if you have an earth-
quake.  We also are the backup for a number of other functions; for example, if
the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the primary agency for food, if they're not
able to meet a request then they can come to DoD -- although sometimes we also
get requests directly.  We also play a supporting role in other actions, a role
to support the actions of other agencies based on preexisting agreements or the
needs of the moment.  For example, we transported in the last day or so HHS
medical teams to Florida.

     Within DoD, the Army is the executive agent and the Director of Military
Support -- as the lead within the Army -- on behalf of the Army.  The Army Op
Center, which is up 24 hours a day anyway, was augmented on Saturday in
preparation for dealing with the hurricane.

     There is a defense coordinating officer for Florida, who has been
appointed by the commanding general of the 2nd U.S. Army in Atlanta.  He's
Colonel Bob Lay.  He's the commander of the Army Readiness Group at Patrick Air
Force Base, Cocoa Beach, Florida. He's now collocated with FEMA in Tallahassee.

     Q:   Have you got a number?
     A:   He's not taking press questions.  He's there, he's the action
officer.  We can get you a number, though, for press queries in terms of
handling things, and certainly DDI is prepared to help you on that.

     We also have defense coordinating officers who have been identified for
Texas and Louisiana.

     Q:   Are they also operating out of Patrick?
     A:   No.  He's not operating out of Patrick, this fellow Lay.  He's
collocated with the FEMA office in Tallahassee. They're right there on the
scene with the state people and the FEMA people and the other representatives,
some other government agencies, are all there together.

     Q:   What are the names of the other two people?
     A:   We don't have those names yet.  They'll be working with the state, be
collocated in the state, wherever the state sets up its office with FEMA.

     So far the following assistance has been provided or is being provided --
14,000 MRE's from Fort Stewart to the Florida National Guard.  That's already
been provided.  We also are turning over 20,000 MRE's to the Florida National
Guard at Camp Blanding, Florida.  We are providing 100,000 MRE's today to the
Red Cross.  TRANSCOM is moving that food from a depot in Memphis, Tennessee to
Opa-Locka, Florida, starting this morning.

     A FORSCOM flight detachment will move a three-man communications team, a
detachment from Atlanta to Patrick Air Force Base today.  They are also moving
a FEMA mobile emergency response equipment trailer, sort of a commo van setup,
from Westover, Massachusetts, to Florida today.

     The 20th Engineer Brigade at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, is providing
portable lighting to the Federal Bureau of Prisons in Miami, to illuminate
5,000 feet of the perimeter at the federal prison in Miami.

     An engineering unit is being provided by FORSCOM for debris removal in the
region hit by the hurricane, similar to what we did after Hugo.  I don't have
the name of the unit at this time.

     The U.S. Air Force has moved two disaster medical assistance teams that
belong to HHS -- well actually they belong to FEMA but they're provided by HHS
-- to Florida from Indiana and North Carolina.  The Naval Air Station at Key
West, Florida, has provided to the Key Largo Fire Department three flat bed
trucks, two bulldozers, one front-end loader, a fuel tanker truck with 1200
gallons of fuel, and an ambulance, along with a medical team of two doctors and
seven corpsmen.

     Air Force reserve units have provided a couple of things. They've got one
HC-130 aircraft, an air refueling aircraft, from the 301st Rescue Squadron at
Homestead, along with three HH-60 helicopters that have been moved to Tamiami
Airport, which is in the Miami area, to provide helicopter support to the area.
On board the HC-130, they've brought a communications package on a HUMVEE.

     Since August 19th, the WC-130's of the 403rd Weather Squadron at Keesler
Air Force Base, Mississippi, have been operating out of Charleston, and they've
flown 16 weather missions to track and evaluate the storm.  They've got two
more missions airborne right now, and two missions will remain aloft until
August 28th or until the storm makes a landfall.

     In terms of the Florida National Guard, none have been federalized;
they're all still under state control.  3,051 have been activated by Governor
Childs and are on the ground under state control.  We've got more information
from the Florida National Guard which is available at DDI if you're interested.

     As you might expect, the 5th Army is preparing for military support for
disaster relief in Louisiana and Texas.  Fort Polk has activated a crisis
action team, and a number of other people are standing by to be ready if
needed.

     In terms of the damage to DoD facilities and the status of military
personnel that have been affected by the hurricane, Homestead Air Force Base
was hardest hit of the DoD facilities in south Florida.  Prior to the arrival
of the hurricane, essentially all service members, approximately 4,600, and
their families, were directed to evacuate to various locations north out of the
path of the hurricane.  The wing commander and a staff of 17 remained on the
base.  There have been no reports of any injuries at Homestead.  The commander
has requested personnel assigned to the base to stay where they are until
they're further notified.  He's requested that no one attempt to come back to
the base for at least another five days, and has requested that personnel
listen to the radio and television reports for further updates.  They're
establishing an 800 number, and it will go into effect this afternoon.  When we
get that number, we'll make it available to you.

     Q:   Any preliminary damage estimates?
     A:   I'm getting to that.

     That number is for disbursed base personnel to call in and find out what's
going on, what the status is and what their instructions are.

     All operations and maintenance facilities, including the base exchange and
the commissary, were destroyed.  The remaining public buildings had roofs torn
off and the fuel storage area was rendered unusable.  Of the on-base housing,
50 percent lost roofs, and 90 percent of all windows were broken.

     At least two hangars were destroyed, along with two F-16's that were
unable to be flown out.  All the other aircraft were flown out, except for a
total of six that were in various stages of maintenance.  Two of those that
were there were destroyed.  I would note for the record that the cost of an
F-16 is approximately $14 million.  All the other aircraft were evacuated to
Shaw Air Force Base in South Carolina, Jacksonville International Airport,
Warner Robbins Air Force Base in Georgia, or Maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama.
The runway has been cleared of debris; however, the tower is inoperable, if
it's still standing.  I'm not sure whether we know.  The runway lights are out,
and there is no aircraft servicing available.  As far as I know, we haven't
used it yet.

       They've got a damage assessment, that will be obviously more detailed;
that's underway now.  These details are a little bit sketchy because we only
have one phone line available to the base. At Key West Naval Air Station, they
reported 40 mile per hour winds and a loss of power during the hurricane;
however, emergency generators provided essential power.  There were no injuries
or significant damage reported.  All personnel, military and civilian, returned
to work on Tuesday.  The airfield is fully operational.  However, they did
evacuate their aircraft to Naval Air Station Cecil Field, Florida; Dobbins Air
Force Base in Georgia; and Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida.

     MacDill had no damage, but they did disburse their aircraft to Dobbins Air
Force Base, Georgia.  Patrick Air Force Base also evacuated aircraft to Dobbins
Air Force Base, Georgia.  Again, they had no damages that have been reported so
far.

     There's a Naval Security Group activity that is located just south of
Homestead.  It's a site of communications equipment. Thirteen personnel are
assigned to the facility.  They reported no injuries to personnel, but serious
damage to all facilities, including the main operations building and most of
the electronic antenna systems.

     That's sort of a wrap-up of what I've got so far, on the hurricane.
I've got some other things to talk about, but any questions on the hurricane?

     Q:   Do you have a damage estimate?  You said it was preliminary.
     A:   That is what I've given you so far.

     Q:   I'm talking about a figure, moneywise?
     A:   Moneywise, no.  But the destruction at Homestead is very dramatic.

     Q:   Given the fact that the base was being considered for closure at some
point, is it being considered that the base will not be rebuilt?
     A:   I think at this time it's too early to say.  I don't believe it was
on the list, the last list.  It's too early to say what kind of impact it will
have on the base closure study process, which is...for the next round, it's
underway.

     Q:   The personnel at the base, since it's virtually destroyed, and half
the homes, evidently have sustained some damage, are there other military...
     A:   At least 90 percent of the homes sustained some damage. Most of the
windows were out.

     Q:   I'm sure people are eager to go back and see what happened to their
belongings.  But are they at other bases or were they just disbursed in terms
of find your aunt or...
     A:   They were basically disbursed.  One of the questions I asked this
morning, to which we don't have an answer yet, is when do they come back, or
are they going to be left at other bases or staying in hotels?  Right now
they're just disbursed to go wherever they chose to go, whether it be at some
hotel up north or to some relative's house or whatever.  That information will
start to become available when they get that 800 number working.

     Q:   You said a total of six aircraft couldn't be moved. Were the two
F-16's the only ones that were damaged?
     A:   That's the word we have right now.  The others...four were in a
hangar that survived.

     Q:   They were F-16's also?
     A:   Yes.

     Q:   Any disbursing of aircraft at bases in Texas and Louisiana?
     A:   Those that are in the path of the hurricane, I think, have already
started that process.  As a matter of fact, I can give a few details on that
already.

     Eleven A-10's from Naval Air Station New Orleans have flown to Barksdale
Air Force Base, Louisiana.  They started to move F-16's also from New Orleans
up to Fort Worth.  As I mentioned, the WC-130's left Keesler which is in
Mississippi, and they went to Charleston already.  Some other C-130's from that
base went to Robbins Air Force Base in Georgia.  That process has already
started for the bases that are in the possible path of the hurricane.

     Q:   You talked about 100,000 MRE's being unloaded in Memphis...
     A:   Being loaded in Memphis to be taken down to Florida.

     Q:   Is that off of a base or something?
     A:   There's a depot there.

     Q:   Are they being done by 141's?
     A:   I'm not sure if I have what plane is taking those.

     Q:   Is there a photo op or something like that?
     A:   We can certainly check on that.

     Q:   Is there a name for that installation?
     A:   Let me see if I've got that here.  I'm sorry, I just have a depot in
Memphis, Tennessee.

     Q:   It's an Army depot, right?
     A:   It could be DLA, I suppose.  We'll check on that.  It should arrive
in Opa-Locka about 6:00 p.m. tonight.

     Q:   How many plane loads is that?
     A:   I think it's only one, but we'll check on that, too. How many plane
loads, what kind of planes, what's the name of the depot.  It's in process
right now.

     Q:   If there are any nuclear weapons in the immediate path of the
hurricane, will they also be moved to somewhere else?
     A:   As you know, we don't discuss the location of nuclear weapons, but we
would obviously take the appropriate precautions to ensure the safety of all
assets, all facilities, all weapons.

     Anything else on the hurricane?

     An update on Angola.  As you know, we have the operation to move the
former combatants in the Angolan civil war, combatants from the government side
and from the UNITA side, to their assembly areas around the country or from
their assembly areas around the country back to their home areas.  We antici-
pate this is about 40,000 demobilized troops and their family members. This
began officially on August 17th and will last about 60 days.  As of today, the
three U.S. aircraft, three C-130's that are there, with 17 Americans assigned,
have flown 18 missions for a total of 71 sorties altogether.  The operational
plan calls for the aircraft to fly about two missions a day, six days a week.
To date, 69.2 tons of cargo and 1,796 passengers have been transported by the
operation.  There have been no security problems so far.

     Anything on Angola?

     On Somalia, the first food flight began on Friday, August 21st.  So far
we've moved from Mombasa to Wajir a total of more than 500 metric tons of food
on 35 flights.  There was one flight on Friday, two flights on Saturday, 17
flights on Sunday, and 15 flights on Monday.  Today, we have 18 flights
projected, but the final details are not available in terms of the tonnage on
those flights today.

     We've had 35 food flights.  There have also been, each day we've moved
food, each day we have an operation, there is one additional flight that
carries the unloading crews and equipment to Wajir, and then also brings that
equipment back at the end of the day.  We don't leave anybody on the ground up
at Wajir.

     We have 562 personnel on the ground in Mombasa and in the region, some
people up in Nairobi, I believe, coordinating.  That includes air crews,
airlift controllers, maintenance, security, and other support personnel.
That's 82 Army, 465 from the Air Force, seven Naval personnel, and eight
Marines.  I think as you already know, there are 12 aircraft involved in the
operation, four C-141's and eight C-130's.

     Q:   Is any of this being dropped or is it all being landed and unloaded?
     A:   It's all being unloaded right now.  We have not started to fly into
Somalia.  They're still doing the survey mission and working the details of how
we'll be able to accomplish that part of the operation.

     Questions on Somalia?

     Backing up, the name of the center in Memphis is the Defense Distribution
Center, Memphis.  Information on it is available from the DLA Public Affairs
Office, (703) 274-6135.

     While I'm giving you numbers and totals of food and humanitarian supplies
being moved, catching up on Yugoslavia...

     Since the operation began on July 3rd, the participating nations have
flown 844 flights into Sarajevo, delivering 10,341 tons of humanitarian
assistance.  Of that total, the U.S. has flown 136 flights, delivering 1,154
tons of aid.  We have three missions scheduled for today.  That will involve
five sorties.  As you know, sometimes they go back to Zagreb and then bring
back another load.  That's sort of the latest on that.

     Q:   Has there been any change in the U.S. position with regard to Bosnian
relief, miliary protection, or support for humanitarian missions?
     A:   No change.

     Q:   Where is the Saratoga?  She was making a port visit last time we
heard, I think.
     A:   The Saratoga is in the central Adriatic.  Let me give you the ship
update.  Currently 19 ships in the Mediterranean area.  They include the
Saratoga, four cruisers, one destroyer, three frigates, five auxiliary ships,
and five amphibious ships. The amphibious ships have the 26th Marine Expedi-
tionary Unit embarked.  Five of those ship are in the Adriatic, and it includes
the amphibious transport dock ship Trenton, the Aegis cruiser Gates, which
continue to provide communications and radar tracking support to Operation
Provide Promise, as well as provide the capability for search and rescue if
needed.  The Trenton has 250 Marines embarked.  The Saratoga and the Biddle are
in the central Adriatic.  The ship assigned to the Standing Naval Force
Mediterranean, the USS Hall, is operating in the south Adriatic. The other
ships are in other locations in the Mediterranean.

     Q:   What's the status in the situation surrounding the no- fly zone?
     A:   I'm not sure what I can contribute today.  We continue to consult
with coalition partners and allies on timing and implementation.  I think
Marlin (Fitzwater) said over the weekend, or yesterday, that he would expect
the President would explain our decision to the American people before we take
any action.

     Q:   Is there any indication that it's held up, hung up, backed up, slowed
up, whatever adjective you wish?
     A:   I think there is, as other officials have said, there's a general
agreement in principle, but we're working some of the details on it.

     Q:   It's details that you're working out, it's not objections from the
coalition partners?
     A:   No we're working various details, but really I think you need to wait
for a White House statement on this subject.

     Q:   Assuming that you're keeping in close touch with the allies militar-
ily, could you tell us if the French and British support units are in position
yet?
     A:   I would let them speak for themselves.

     Q:   Are the American units in position?
     A:   I don't want to get out ahead of a military operation here.  But as
you know, we have a considerable force in the region and we have ever since the
end of the war.  I'd say we have a large array of capabilities.

     Q:   On that point, last week Pete said there had been no net increase in
U.S. assets in the region.  Since our last briefing, has there been an increase
in U.S. military strength in the region -- air assets or personnel?
     A:   We move people in and out of the region on a regular basis.  I can
give you an update on the number of people.  I'm not sure I can say in terms
of...  We've had a significant presence in the region, a significant force
capable in the region.  We haven't moved in any new carriers or anything of
that nature.

     Q:   Pete said there's always been a swapping out of aircraft and that
sort of thing, but...
     A:   We have about 24,500 military personnel in the region. Of those, a
breakdown by service:  1,750 for the Army; 4,259 for the Air Force; 14,089 for
the Navy; 2,139 for the Marine Corps.

     Q:   Do those personnel numbers include the people on the exercises?
     A:   Yes, they do.

     Q:   Wasn't the number 2,500 for the Army exercise?
     A:   Yes.  There may still be people coming in.

     Q:   I thought they were all there.
     A:   I'm sorry, our numbers don't add up here. I'm sorry, the exercise
numbers are not included.  On the Marine Corps, the Marines have now re-em-
barked on the Tarawa, but they are included.  Only the Army exercise, Intrinsic
Action, is still going on.  Those numbers, the 2,400 are not included.  You
have to add those in.

     Q:   Does this 24,500 also include the people on the Saratoga and the
ships...
     A:   I think we gave that 2,400 as sort of the upper end of that exercise.
I'm told the number here, involving the exercise, is 2,092.

     Q:   Does the 24,000 include the ships on the Saratoga and other ships in
the Mediterranean?  This is not just in the Gulf region itself?
     A:   No, this is the Southwest Asia region.

     Q:   This does not include the Mediterranean?
     A:   No, it does not include the Mediterranean.

     Q:   I think the original question went to whether, in the course of
normal rotation in and out, you've been rotating in without rotating out.
Those numbers you just gave, do they represent any...
     A:  I'll have to check and see what our numbers were.

     Q:    800 more than last time?
     A:    Eight hundred more than last time?

     Q:   For which service?
     A:   We'll get you the breakdown that we have today versus the breakdown
we had last week.

     Q:   Is this additional F-15 or AWACS units?
     A:   We have never discussed the numbers of aircraft.

     Q:   We're not asking numbers.  Have there been any additional units of
F-15's or AWACS?
     A:   That's an area I'm not going to get into.  But let me just emphasize
that we've had a very capable and diverse force in the region ever since the
end of the war.

     Q:   To press it a bit, without getting into fighters, can you tell us if
any extra recon...
     A:   I'm not going to discuss specific aircraft.

     Q:   Can you describe the current level of Iraqi military activity in the
south?  Has there been an increase over the last week?  Have they increased
their military strength?
     A:   I would not say it was an increase or a decrease...I'm not sure how I
would define it.  There's been considerable Iraqi military activity in the
south in the sense that all of their fixed wing aircraft appear to have left
the area below the 32nd parallel, 32nd degree north latitude.  A number of
their helicopters have also been withdrawn from southern Iraq and flown north
of the 32nd parallel.  They still have some helicopters in the south and
continue to fly missions.  Their current operations are basically in the south,
conducted by battalion-sized units or less.  But they also maintain deployments
that are large enough and structured in a way that they would be sufficient to
launch large scale operations on a very short notice.

     Q:   Are the ground units taking any action?
     A:   They are battalion-size operations that have been conducted, have
continued on a regular basis in the past few weeks.

     Q:   You've said consistently that there have not been bombing attacks or
attacks by fixed-wing aircraft since...I believe it was July 23rd.  Is that
still true?  
     A:   I'm not aware of any since then, since July 23rd.

     Q:   When were the fixed-wing aircraft apparently removed?
     A:   In the last few days.

     Q:   How many, roughly?
     A:   We gave you, some rough numbers in the last briefing...  Pete said
last time, on the average, there are about 30 fixed-wing aircraft on any given
day in southern Iraq, and about 40 helicopters.  All of those fixed-wing appear
to have been withdrawn from southern Iraq.

     Q:   How many helos apparently remain?
     A:   About 40?

     Q:   Remain now?
     A:   No, that were there as of last week.  At this point I don't have a
hard number for the number that have been withdrawn. Some appear to have been
withdrawn, but some are still there.

     Q:   Some fixed-wing are still there?
     A:   No, helicopters.  What I'm saying is all the fixed-wing aircraft
appear to have left.

     Q:   Do you know whether they have been withdrawn to somewhere in Iraq or
somewhere out of country?
     A:   Somewhere else in Iraq, north of the 32nd parallel.

     Q:   Have any of the helicopters that remain in their routine operations,
does that involve attacking the Shiites?
     A:   It appears that some of them are supporting ground operations.

     Q:   What about the command and control problem once this operation does
start?  You're going to have someone in an AWACS seeing a blip on a radar
screen and having 20 seconds to decide whether to authorize shooting it down.
Who is the person who's going to have the release authority to say yes, you
should shoot?
     A:   I'm not going to speculate on possible future military operations.
I'll stick with our standard guidance on that.  Nor if we were to get into such
a situation would be we discussing the ROEs.

     Q:   Could I have you switch gears on one question? Particularly, the
world's attention is focused on the Middle East and Eastern Europe, in the wake
of the U.S. withdrawal from the Philippines...
     A:   Let's stay with one topic first and finish that, and then I'll come
back to you.

     Q:   You said these helicopters were supporting ground operations.  Does
that mean they're still launching ground attacks or are they simply ferrying
troops around?  Have the air attacks stopped for the time being?
     A:   I would say the air attacks continue, but it's difficult to get into
that level of detail.  They certainly are supporting the ground operations.

     Q:   As you understand the no-fly zone, the helicopters that are there
now, the mission they're conducting, would rend them vulnerable to the no-fly
zone, would it not?  What the helicopters that remain south of the 32nd
parallel are doing now would make them a fine target.
     A:   A no-fly zone means don't fly.

     Q:   Anything.
     A:   Nothing flies north of the 36th parallel in the northern no-fly zone.

     Q:   Would we give them 24 hours to get those out?
     A:   I'm not going to speculate on the possible future military operation,
how we would start such an operation.

     Q:   Once this zone is decreed, will you be making public any type of
action if an Iraqi aircraft -- helicopter, fixed-wing is shot down or if there
is some kind of contact and they are not shot down?  Would you be letting us
know if this occurred?
     A:   That would certainly be my intention.

     Q:   In a timely frame?
     A:   Yes.

     Q:   About the Patriots, some time ago you said that two of the seven
Patriot battalions which had been assigned in Europe had been moved over to
Saudi Arabia.  Have there been any further that have been moved over?
     A:   We've talked about Patriots that have moved to the region.


    Q:   In Kuwait?
     A:   Yeah.  I'm not aware of any new movements of Patriot batteries in the
last few weeks.  Whatever has been in place has been in place for some time.

     September '91, six Patriot batteries were deployed to the region, and July
26th of this year, one battery was deployed to Kuwait.  On July 30th of this
year, one battery was deployed to Bahrain.

     Q:   Just to pick up a little bit on Joe's question on the chain of
command, who currently commands U.S. forces in the region?  Is it the CENTAF
Commander, General Nelson?
     A:   Let me take that question.  I would believe that's the case.  He's
the ranking person, but these are all under CENTCOM, under General Hoar. 

    Q:   But on-scene.
     A:   Who's the on-scene commander for U.S. forces?  We'll take that
question.

     Q:   And under a coalition arrangement, would that same person be in
charge?
     A:   That's something I can't speculate on at this time.

     Q:   Can you say whether our forces will be flying over Iraq?
     A:   Again, I don't want to get involved in discussing a possible military
operation in advance of that kind of situation. Let me just reassure you,
though, if we get to such a point, a hypothetical, we will try to make sure
that we give you as much information as we can.

     Q:   Can you give us any precedent, other than the no-fly zone in northern
Iraq, where the United States has been involved in interdiction operations in
another country like this, in some other conflict or some other war?
     A:   In the first place, it's the coalition that's involved, and it's in
support of UN resolutions to help in their monitoring of compliance with UN
resolutions, but I'm sure we can get back to our historians and come up with
relevant things.  I don't know if you want to go back to Korea or what kind of
situation you're looking at.

     Q:   That wasn't a war.
     A:   A police action, I think was the term.  (Laughter)  I think I know
what you're getting at.  We'll see if we can help you do some historical
research.  You might want to just touch base with DDI after the briefing.

     Q:   In the wake of the U.S. pull-out from the Philippines, particularly
Subic Bay, how does the U.S. intend to maintain an adequate defense for its
friends and allies in the Pacific area?
     A:   We have a long-standing commitment to the Pacific region, and
obviously still have a military presence.  We recognize that we have a large
national interest and stake in the peace and stability of the Pacific region
and the Asia/Pacific region.  We've got alliances and commitments with friends
and allies on the Pacific Rim.  That's not going to change with the decision to
withdraw from the Philippines.  The bottom-line is that forward deployment of
U.S. forces remains U.S. policy, and we intend to stay forward deployed in the
Pacific, working with our friends and allies.

     Q:   What would be the front-line then, to replace what was Subic Bay in
the Philippines?
     A:   Even during the negotiations over Subic Bay and over Clark, we made
it very clear that these were not bases that could be literally replaced by
some other facility, there would be a certain amount of adaptive strategy that
we'd have to follow in terms of where we moved facilities, where we moved
people, where we moved our forces, and where we did repair work and the kinds
of things that were done at Subic, and where we did the kind of training that
we used to do at Clark.  There's not a one-for-one tradeoff here.  These were
valuable, one-of-a-kind facilities that were going to be difficult to replace.
On the other hand, we're going to have to replace them, we will adapt, and we
will do that kind of work elsewhere using a variety of different facilities.

     Press:  Thank you.

                                   (END)

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



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