Local Desert Storm Vets look ahead

Sunday, September 8th 2002, 12:00 am

By: News On 6

The last time Great Britain and the U. S. joined forces against Iraq was Operation Desert Storm which started with Saddam's forces invading the tiny nation of Kuwait. That was about 12 years ago.

American troops were there for nearly a year and some local heroes were on the front the entire war which took about six weeks.

It started with a brutal assault by air from U.S. fighter pilots like Captain Gentner Drummond, now a Tulsa attorney.

"We are a remarkable fighting force," Drummond says. "We don't appreciate that as Americans. I never had that perspective, but the rest of the world recognizes that we have the best technology, the brightest minds, and the most training and discipline of any force in the world - probably in history."

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Retired marine Captain Ron Rosebrook led an artillery unit into Kuwait City where Iraqi soldiers had aleady heard how ferocous American forces could be.

"I was an artillery platoon commander with the marine corp alpha-battery, " he says, "they waited until the morning and then they came in with their hands held high and waving their white flags and when we told them to stop and get on the ground and they basically crawled over and were kissing boots."

"You would think a rational person would take a lesson from the gulf war. The Americans and the coalition forces are serious; we have to play nice with our neighbors, we can't use bad weapons."

But Drummond says we're not dealing with a rational leadership. He says George W. Bush is being prudent in gathering support for another invasion against what he calls a threat to national security, and Saddam has had more than a decade to rebuild his arsenal.

"I believe that he did use chemicals on us, there's documented cases of several marine units that were very consistent with that."

Rosebrook also says Saddam continues to be a threat, and he believes Iraq is amassing weapons of mass destruction.

But while the fighter pilot believes the Iraqis are quaking in their boots at the thought of war with the U.S. the ground warrior says Saddam has had 12 years to learn from Desert Storm.

"Well I think it would have to be a different type of war this time, simply because it's a different world now, "Rosebrook says. He believes the enhancement of satellite technology and the computer age will change the way future wars are fought.

He says he would fight in this conflict with Iraq if the nation called on him again.

Nearly three hundred Americans were killed during the Gulf War.