PERSIAN GULF: ON BOARD USS INDEPENDENCE

(7 Feb 1998) English/Nat

The third American aircraft carrier has taken up station in the Gulf as part of the U-S military build-up.

The U-S-S Independence was ordered to the Gulf from Japan last month.

It brings to three the number of US carriers in the Gulf - the highest number since the Gulf War in 1991.

The US and British military presence is steadily building in the Persian Gulf.

Now these waters have become even more crowded since the U-S-S Independence arrived a couple of days ago.

The 80,000 tonne U-S-S Independence has 75 aircraft on board and its battle group includes a cruiser, a destroyer and a submarine.

It joined two other U-S aircraft carriers - the U-S-S Nimitz and the
U-S-S George Washington - and a British carrier, the H-M-S Invincible.

There hasn't been four carriers in the Gulf since the war over Iraq's invasion of Kuwait seven years ago.

It's all part of the U-S military preparation for a possible strike against Iraq over the issue of U-N weapons inspectors.

The pilots in these fighter planes have been flying over Iraq to get acquainted with the terrain they might have to bombard.

The danger of their mission was highlighted on Friday when two planes from the carrier U-S-S George Washington collided, killing one man.

The planes were on a training flight over southern Iraq, in the no-fly zone for Iraqi aircraft.

The Commanding Officer of the Independence talked about this and about his attitude to the current crisis.

SOUNDBITE:
"I don't really have a message to say to him, I just hope that a diplomatic solution can beat this... instead of a military solution - that's all."
Q:(Inaudible question about the accident)
A: "The only thing I know about yesterday's accident was two F-18s Marine Corps F-18s from the same squadron of the George Washington, I do not know what there mission was, I would assume there mission was that they were just training - it's an unfortunate accident. We are in a very very hazardous business, flying aviation, whether it's in the United States or whether it's in Europe, whether it's in South West Asia, whether it's in South West Asia, away from the Arabian Gulf and accidents happen. Our bottom line is we like to investigate these accidents and see if we can prevent further accidents along the same line but it's just a very sad day that we actually lost somebody in that accident."
SUPER CAPTION: Captain Mark Milliken, Commanding Officer U-S S Independence

U-S President Bill Clinton has also ordered an Amphibious Ready Group of four warships carrying about two thousand Marines into the region.

They will join the 24-thousand American forces already there.

Find out more about AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/HowWeWork
Twitter:   / ap_archive  
Facebook:   / aparchives   ​​
Instagram:   / apnews  


You can license this story through AP Archive: http://www.aparchive.com/metadata/you...