Media Brief 4 FEB 91

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Subject: Media Brief 4 FEB 91

NEWS


BRIEFING

Office of the Assistont Secretory of Defense
                                         (PubIic Affairs)


     CENTCOM Briefing
     Maj. Gen. Robert Johnston, USMC
     Riyadh, Saudi ArabLa
     Monday, February 4, 1991 - 11:30 am. (EST)

           General Johnston: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen.

           Let me tell you that in the last 24 hours, with nine countries involved, we have flown over
     2700 sorties. That brings the grand total to date to over 44.000 sorties. That translates1 for
     those that measure, to approximately one bombing sortie for every minute of the Desert Storm
     operation. We continue to restrike his critical command and control, his airfields. his NDC
     production, and to neuwalize any effort he has made to try to regenerate those capabilities.

           The Republican Ouard conunues to get the focus of our attention. `Ye had 26 fighter strike
     packages against them today. In addition to that1 we had sonie si~ fl-S2 strikes. We continue at high
     tempo to attack those forces in the KTO.

     *     At about 2000 last night, our surveillance systems picked up some vebicles moving in Xuwait.
     They were systematically attacked and destroyecL I think it's interesting to note that while we would
     have ebaracterized vehicle convoys in the past maybe 50 to 100 vehicles, we're now beginning to see
      `cm cut their vehicle convoys down to five and ten vehicles at a Lime - clearly some indication
     they're trying to minirnize the target they present to our friendly aIr.

           We bad one report early this afternoon of some AY~S's, actually a total of four in.two
     sections, that attacked somewhere between 25 and 30 IraqI tanks that were hidden in a dc~ilade
     position. They attacked them with Rockeye bombs, a total of 24 bombs1 and tlie results from the
     initial pilot reports are 25 Iraqi tanks destroyed or at least burning.

           We have in the last 24 hours lost one aircra~. ~bat was an UH-1, and that's wl~at we call a
     Hucy. It was non~ba~tie damage, and it went down in Saudi Arabia. We can now conflrn~, froin
     having viewed the wreckage, that four In the crew were killed. That's the pilot. the copilot, and two
     crew members. There were no passengers on that parLicular aircra't. We are n~w 1Ł~vestigatin~ to
     try and detonnine the exact cause of that accident.

           On the ground side, it has been very quiet wIth respect to any Iraqi niovement on the ground.
     No probing attacks1 Last night at about 4:00 o'clock in the morning we had a U.S. artillery outfit
     attacking an Iraqi infantry battalion, and some counter-battery radar. The counter-battery radar did
     not respond, obviously, but they did have a multiple rocket launcher prepared to r~~ that. was
     identified by some F1A-18's and Immediately destroyed before it got any rounds off.

           Our naval force picture has been pretty quiet, with the exception of conf~ing the report on
     ih~bittitsbip, the Missouri -- firing for the first time, as you all know, since 193~. 1 think It was
     the Korean War,~2~th of March. It flred seven rounds of I~ inch. You might know that a 16 inch