The U.S. prepares for war.Here is a snapshot of the American military forces near Iraq as the U.S. prepared for a possible attack. About 50,000 soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen, as well as hundreds of warplanes, were in the region early this month, and another 50,000 were headed that way. The buildup was intended to put pressure on Iraq to disarm, and perhaps to push Saddam Hussein's generals to defect or rebel against him. TURKEY PERSONNEL: About 1,700, mostly Air Force. EQUIPMENT: About 60 aircraft. The fighters that patrol the northern no-flight zone over Iraq are based at Incirlik Air Base The Incirlik Air Base (Turkish: İncirlik Hava Üssü), an important air base in NATO's Southern Region, is located in İncirlik, 12 km east of Adana, Turkey's fifth largest city, and 56 km from the Mediterranean Sea ( . KUWAIT PERSONNEL: About 17,000, mostly Army and Air Force. EQUIPMENT: Prepositioned equipment for two brigades, with a third arriving from Diego Garcia. Each brigade set includes 88 Abrams battle tanks and 54 Bradley fighting vehicles. Two Patriot antimissile an·ti·mis·sile adj. Designed to intercept and destroy another missile in flight: antimissile defense; an antimissile missile. batteries. Aircraft include Apache helicopter gunships and pilotless Predator spyplanes. SAUDI ARABIA PERSONNEL: About 5,000, mostly Air Force. EQUIPMENT: Two Patriot anti-missile batteries. About 75 aircraft. A sophisticated air operations center See: tactical air control center. is at Prince Sultan Air Base Prince Sultan Air Base (Arabic: قاعدة الأمير سلطان الجوية) (PSAB , where the air campaign in Afghanistan was managed. DIEGO GARCIA PERSONNEL: About 1,900, mostly Navy and Air Force. EQUIPMENT: Stockpiles aboard ships, at an island base about 1,000 miles south of India, to supply 10,000 Army troops and 15,000 marines. The Army equipment was being shipped to Kuwait. B-52 bombers, B-2 stealth bombers, reconnaissance and refueling aircraft. DJIBOUTI PERSONNEL: 800, about half of which were Special Operations forces Those Active and Reserve Component forces of the Military Services designated by the Secretary of Defense and specifically organized, trained, and equipped to conduct and support special operations. Also called SOF. . BAHRAIN PERSONNEL: About 4,200, the Navy's 5th Fleet is based in Manama. UNITED ARAB EMIRATES United Arab Emirates, federation of sheikhdoms (2005 est. pop. 2,563,000), c.30,000 sq mi (77,700 sq km), SE Arabia, on the Persian Gulf and the Gulf of Oman. PERSONNEL: About 500, mostly Air Force. QATAR PERSONNEL: About 3,000, mostly Army. At Camp As Sayliyah, General Tommy R. Franks, commander of American forces in the Persian Gulf region, would direct at least the early phases of any war. EQUIPMENT: Refueling aircraft are based at Al Udeid Air Base Al Udeid Air Base is a military base 25 miles west of Doha, Qatar. It houses coalition personnel and assets. It is the home of the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing of the USAF. , which has the longest runway in the region. AT SEA PERSONNEL: About 15,000, mostly Navy, aboard two aircraft-carrier groups. EQUIPMENT: The aircraft carrier Constellation and its battle group of eight other ships were in the Persian Gulf. The carrier Harry S. Truman For other persons named Harry Truman, see Harry Truman (disambiguation). Harry S. Truman (May 8 1884 – December 26 1972) was the thirty-third President of the United States (1945–1953); as vice president, he succeeded to the office upon the death of Franklin D. and its battle group were in the Mediterranean. Each carrier has about 80 aircraft. In the Pacific, the carriers Abraham Lincoln and Kitty Hawk, plus two marine amphibious assault groups, were ordered to be ready to go to the Persian Gulf on 96 hours notice. The Comfort, a 1,000-bed hospital ship, was activated for possible duty in the gulf. OMAN PERSONNEL: About 3,000, mostly Air Force. EQUIPMENT: About 25 aircraft. |
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