For U.S. troops, start of war welcomed after long wait in the desert

CAMP NEW JERSEY, Kuwait -- U.S. troops got their first real scare Thursday when Iraqi missiles streaked across the border into Kuwait, forcing the Americans to quickly climb into protective suits and put on gas masks.

U.S. troops used Patriot missiles to shoot down at least one Iraq missile that was aimed at them. In the Kuwaiti desert, a suspected tactical missile flew overhead from Iraqi territory and landed harmlessly in the desert.

It was not clear whether the Iraqi missiles were Scuds or Al Samoud 2 and there were no report of injuries in the attacks.

The Iraqi military response came several hours after the United States launched more than 40 Tomahawk missiles in strikes it said were aimed at Saddam Hussein and his top leadership.

U.S. Army troops at Camp New Jersey in the Kuwaiti desert put on their chemical and biological protective gear in response to an alert caused by one of the missiles, but were given the all-clear a few minutes later.

At another, undisclosed position in the Kuwaiti desert, other U.S. troops also climbed into their suits and put on gas masks under a hot hazy sun. U.S. officials later said it didn't appear chemical warheads were used.

After weeks on standby in the Kuwaiti desert, U.S. troops appeared to welcome news that war was underway and said they were eager for orders to cross into Iraq.

"It's a relief we can finally go," said Spc. Robert McDougal, 21, of Paris, Texas, as the 101st Airborne broke camp Thursday.

"Standing by is the hardest thing to do," he said. "It is time to put our training to the test."

Scores of vehicles, including bulldozers, humvees and trucks full of equipment and supplies, lined up in Camp New Jersey, ready to move out. A dust storm that buffeted the troops on Wednesday had eased, giving way to a relatively cool morning -- low 80s -- with a few clouds.

Soldiers were up at dawn, cleaning tents and stuffing items into duffel bags. Some tried to slip out to the dining facility for one last hot meal before leaving.

Sgt. Brian McGough, 27, Philadelphia, sat by his automatic grenade launcher as he loaded rucksacks into storage containers.

"No one ever prays for war, but if it comes to that we are trained to do it," he said. "We all have high morale. We'll do fine. But there is always the unknown factor. You just have to be flexible and react to what happens."

Elsewhere in Kuwait, members of the 709th Military Police Battalion learned about the strikes on Baghdad from a reporter.

"Good. At least we know what we will be doing in the next three days," said Lt. Col. Richard Vanderlinden, the battalion commander.

He said his MPs would follow on the heels of advancing U.S. forces, coping with prisoners of war and displaced Iraqi civilians.

Some Iraqi soldiers have surrendered already. An officer with the 3rd infantry Division, briefing reporters on condition on anonymity, said entire Iraqi divisions are expected to surrender swiftly.

Aboard the aircraft carrier USS Kitty Hawk in the Persian Gulf, ordnance crews in protective headgear and red life vests wheeled 500-pound, 1,000-pound and 2,000-pound bombs along the flight deck Thursday and fitted them under the wings of F-14 Tomcats and F/A-18 Hornets strike planes. The bombs, equipped with laser guidance systems, were marked with yellow stripes on their nose to indicate they were live munitions.

Military officials said the Tomahawk missiles fired at Baghdad in the opening salvo were launched from warships in the Red Sea and Persian Gulf -- the destroyers USS Milius and USS Donald Cook; the cruisers USS Bunker Hill and USS Cowpens; and the attack submarines USS Montpelier and USS Cheyenne.

Introduced during the war with Iraq a dozen years ago, the Tomahawk is able to fly at just under the speed of sound, hugging the ground to deliver a 1,000-pound warhead onto a preprogrammed target.

When all-out bombing does begin, U.S. warplanes are likely to drop 10 times as many precision-guided bombs on the first day of all-out bombing of Iraq as they did to open the 1991 Gulf war, a senior Air Force planner said at a Pentagon briefing.

"I don't think the potential adversary has any idea what's coming," said Col. Gary Crowder, the chief of strategy at Air Combat Command, which is responsible for all Air Force warplanes.

Crowder said 300-400 precision-guided weapons were dropped on the first day of the 1991 air war and suggested at least 3,000 would be used on the first day this time.

On Wednesday, U.S. and British planes attacked nine military targets in southern Iraq, including long-range artillery near the southern city of Basra. U.S. aircraft also dropped nearly two million leaflets over southern Iraq with a variety of messages, including, for the first time, instructions to Iraqi troops on how to capitulate to avoid being killed.