MILITARY INSTRUCTOR DISCUSSES U.S. OFFENSIVE STRIKE

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- The U.S. involvement in the Persian Gulf war is unique with the country's initiating an offensive stance, said a local Army military science teacher.

"This has no precedent. This war is unique in that way," U.S. Army Captain Bruce Harrill, 35, said Thursday. Harrill is an assistant professor of military science at Southeast Missouri State University.

Harrill made his remarks in the aftermath of the U.S.-led air attack on Iraqi military installations in Iraq and occupied Kuwait.

"The military is not just for defense," the captain said. "The president decided to use force for the freedom of Kuwait and I support him."

He explained that, in military strategy, taking the offense can be beneficial. "It is a good tactic," Harrill said. "You try to knock out the casualty-producing weapons first." As an example, he cited the U.S.-led bombing sorties designed to knock out Iraq's fixed-base Scud missiles aimed at Israel.

"The offensive strike probably saved many Israeli and American lives," the professor said, explaining the Scud missiles can carry explosive or chemical warheads. "We achieved some sort of surprise ... The timing caught them off guard."

Harrill discussed the war with a reporter in the back room of the military science office, a former family home at 804 N. Henderson. The office opens onto the enclosed back porch, where a 4-by-8 foot sandbox, dotted with toy soldiers, is used for training students.

Harrill said U.S. troops in this war are relying on military hardware that had not previously been tested in combat.

"The new weaponry is untested in battle," Harrill said, listing the Army's M-1 tank, M-2 Bradley fighting vehicle, Tomahawk missile, Apache helicopter and many Air Force missiles and planes.

But he said that the military equipment used in the first day of the war in the aerial bombardments apparently performed well.

Harrill noted that the troops in the Persian Gulf war are unique in that they were not drafted, but had joined the armed forces voluntarily, or were serving voluntarily in the military reserves and National Guard.

He said this war is being fought with military weapons that can cause immense destruction. "Some weapons, such as the Scud missile, are very devastating. Modern combat is very lethal."

Harrill said the military science students he talked with Thursday were "encouraged and pleasantly surprised" with the military strike against Iraq.