U.S. Troops Dust Off After Sandstorms

AP ^ | March 14, 2003

[sarcasm]

IN THE KUWAITI DESERT (AP) -- Sandstorms that swept through the Persian Gulf this week have grounded helicopters, disrupted traffic and prevented U.S. military mechanics from replacing equipment already fouled by wind-driven grit.

On the USS Kitty Hawk, crew members hosed down the aircraft carrier's flight decks on Thursday to keep the insidious sand out of complex jet engines.

The storm, heralding the beginning of sandstorm season, is making life miserable for troops poised to attack Iraq as diplomats wrangle over U.N. authorization for a strike against President Saddam Hussein's regime.

Far more serious, though, is the potential of this desert phenomenon to hinder military activity, ground aircraft, sandblast weaponry and clog vehicle air filters. High, gusting winds whip sand and dust into thick clouds that sweep through the Gulf region in the spring and summer months.

The storms left 10 British Royal Navy helicopter pilots stranded in the Kuwait desert overnight and forced British commanders to suspend most helicopter flights.

After a fierce storm Wednesday night, U.S. soldiers awoke the following morning with a thick layer of sand on their sleeping bags, in their hair, in their eyes and crusted on their lips. Some Marines coughed all day.

The wind-driven sand knocked over latrines, blurred visibility and swamped tents.

``Fastest one I've seen,'' said Marine 1st Sgt. Thomas Humphries.

Humphries, 40, was standing in his 100-foot long tent when the storm kicked up again. Within seconds he could no longer see across the tent. Other Marines inside quickly tied the tent flaps down so low that Marines had to roll on the ground to get inside.

Other Marines were out on the firing range launching a Javelin Missile when Wednesday's storm swept in. They traveled back in a painfully slow convoy, using night vision goggles just to see the tail lights of the vehicle five feet ahead. It took them about two hours to travel the five miles back to camp.

``To be out in the middle of it. You feel you can conquer it. Like climbing K-2,'' Capt. Daniel Schmitt, 31, said as he took apart his pistol and scrubbed it with a brush.

Many Marines cleaned their M-16s throughout the day to make sure the grit did not cause them to jam. Lance Cpl. Edward Perez, 20, carried a heavy .50 caliber gun that was no longer working because of the sand.

Two more storms, more moderate than the first, hit Thursday morning, preventing mechanics from doing the maintenance -- like changing air filters and regreasing vehicles -- they wanted to do after the first storm. Soldiers repeatedly swept mounds of sand from their tents.

Mechanics said they would need to clean off trucks because a thick coat of sand could mask oil leaks. The sand clumps and absorbs the oil instead of letting it drip.

The USS Kitty Hawk had previously scheduled Thursday as a no-fly day, so maintenance crews were able to take out industrial-sized hoses to clean off the dust, which can damage jet engines and electronics.

Others used cloths to wipe down F/A-18C Hornet and F-14 Tomcat strike planes as well as radar-jamming EA-6B Prowlers and E-2C Hawkeye surveillance planes.

[per loin]

This is why Bush will order the attack to be made retroactive to the end of January. Only a stupid fool would wait until the winds, which so detriment our air advantage, begin their annual howl.

[Dr Warmoose]

The article says that sandstorm season extends into summer. So two months from now when the moon is full, and Saddam has had the time to place NBC warheads on the Scuds that Blix trips over because he doesn't see them, and when the trenches are all dug, and the oil fields all rigged, the roads all mined, all the women and children are sleeping on top of military sites and there are absolutely no nations left in support, nor a majority of the US public in favor, and all of the equipment is worn out and destroyed by previous sandstorms - then Bush might call the strike.

[per loin]

I'm afraid your reading of the game may be accurate. There was a time when I belived Bush to be a man. I was badly fooled.

[Bombard]

The winds offer one advantage in the are of chemical and biological area. High winds and sand degrade such weapons effectiveness.

[Right_in_Virginia]

They traveled back in a painfully slow convoy, using night vision goggles just to see the tail lights of the vehicle five feet ahead. It took them about two hours to travel the five miles back to camp.

And, the "wind season" has just begun. Can anyone say George "Carter" Bush?

May God bless and keep our military men and women safe --- now more than ever.

[Dr Warmoose]

Bush was great for Texas - unfortunately that didn't extrapolate too well in the national office.

I will forever be grateful to 'W' for keeping Texas taxes low and keeping us from an income tax, for getting rid of the motorcylce helmet law, and by far the most important piece of legislation - concealed carry.

I had my doubts about Perry in the governor's mansion, but so far I like the hard-line he is taking on spending. Maybe the testicles descend when in Austin, but disappear when reaching DC.

Then again, maybe it is the people Bush is surrounding himself with. In Texas he signed the Concealed Handgun Carry Law, but in DC he absolutely refuses to allow pilots to pack heat.

Isn't it some sort of commentary when Powell can do a 180 and it doesn't effect the administration's bungling of the "War on Terrorism"?

One last thought on the matter. Don't you wince when whenever some program is prefixed with "The War On..."? Take the "War On Drugs", "The War on Poverty", "The War on Homelessness" (and many others) In each case "The War On" apparently is the war on freedom, liberty and assets of the Productive class for those in this country.

Why would we expect "The War On Terror" to be any different?

[Dr Warmoose]

And, the "wind season" has just begun. Can anyone say George "Carter" Bush?

There is no way on earth that anyone can convince me that the seasonal sandstorms are a surprise to those who are jeopardizing the safety of our heroic soldiers.