En Route Prince Sultan Air Base -- Any aircraft that flies south of the 33rd parallel in Iraq will be "intercepted and dealt with in an appropriate manner," a U.S. Air Force General warned September 14.

During a background briefing en route to Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia, the General told reporters that he was traveling to the Saudi air force base to discuss security measures with other members of the Western force enforcing the no-fly zone against Iraq.

The General reported that security in the region is also being provided through the "Northern watch, based in Incirlik, Turkey" and he reported that the Khobar air force base in the eastern province of Saudi Arabia is "probably one of the most fortified bases that we have now because we have placed on a top priority forced protection for our people over here" following the bombing of the Khobar" (where 19 servicemen were killed in a truck bomb last year.)

Following is the transcript of the briefing:

(Begin transcript)

US AIR FORCE GENERAL: This is just a minute's worth of background on what goes on. In 1992, we formed a Joint Task Force Southwest Asia as all of you know. The purpose was to enforce the UN resolutions that had to do with the No-Fly-Zone in Southern Iraq. A son of the Joint Task Force Southwest Asia is the 4404th provisional wing. That's what we're visiting down at Prince Sultan. So we have about a wing's worth of combat aircraft down there and support aircraft that support them in this mission to enforce the No-Fly-Zone in Southern Iraq. The 4404th contributes to that mission along with the US Navy to ensure that anything that flies south of the 33rd parallel in Iraq is intercepted and dealt with in an appropriate manner effectively.

Q: You can't do anything about Northern Iraq?

US AIR FORCE GENERAL: No, we have Northern watch based in Incirlik, Turkey to do that and that does the Northern watch portion.

Q: How is this base reinforced in the last year since Khobar and how well protected is it against terrorists?

US AIR FORCE GENERAL: I was down there before Khobar and I was down there since Khobar and I will tell you this is probably one of the most fortified bases that we have now because we have placed on a top priority forced protection for our people over here after Khobar. You will be impressed when you see the observation posts that have been constructed, the barriers that have been put up, the degree of difficulty a potential enemy would have in trying to breach those particular defenses.

Q: What size to what size? How many people were in the base before and how many are there now?

US AIR FORCE GENERAL: I don't know how many were before. There's about 4,000 now. When we did plus up a number of security type personnel for forced protection means.

Q: Is that rotating duty, General?

US AIR FORCE GENERAL: Yes. Rotating duty is going from 90 days -- we were sending people over for 90 days at a time. We are extending that to 120 days at a time. That's what we're doing.

Q: (Inaudible question regarding the rotation.)

US AIR FORCE GENERAL: We are in the process of doing that now. So we're transitioning from 90 days to 120 days.

Q: The briefing book calls this the most powerful base in terms of the advanced aircraft stationed here. Is that ....

US AIR FORCE GENERAL: The question is how powerful an air base it is. In fact, we have our front line fighters there. We have F-15s, F-15Es, which are air-to-air and air-to-ground and one of our most capable airplanes. And we have F-16s there as well as a slue of support aircraft. Now the French also have some aircraft -- some fighters there and the British also have some fighters there as well.

Q: How many total?

US AIR FORCE GENERAL: The French normally have about 6 to 8 aircraft and the British normally have about 6-8 aircraft of which most of them are fighter type aircraft. A couple of them may be support aircraft.

Q: You may have answered this because your back is to me, I can't tell. How many US military are on the base and how does that differ from what it was 18 months ago?

US AIR FORCE GENERAL: That question was asked earlier. The answer now is about 4,000 military personnel.

Q: US military personnel?

US AIR FORCE GENERAL: US military personnel.

Q: Plus security?

US AIR FORCE GENERAL: No, it includes the security on the base. It is a plus up of what we did have. I can't tell you what was there. I'll ask Roger Redlin, the Commander, when I get there.

Q: Was that a big increase? A 10% increase?

US AIR FORCE GENERAL: I don't know. I would be hesitant to tell.

Q: The briefing book says that 4,000 were transferred from Dhahran (Inaudible) from the Embassy briefing book. Is that possible?

US AIR FORCE GENERAL: It is possible because we had plused up some security before we came down.

Q: General, what do these planes cost to upgrade and move and who paid for it.

US AIR FORCE GENERAL: I don't know. I don't know the answer to that. Saudi Arabia has been very good about host nation support. We have philosophically agreed to pay a one-time for the transfer for when we moved our people and they were going to pick up a substantial portion of the tab for the facilities that will be constructed down there.

Q: General, do these troops have any mission other than enforcing the No-Fly-Zone? Such as general Gulf security duties or anything like that?

US AIR FORCE GENERAL: No. The mission of the wing down there is to enforce the No-Fly-Zone in Southern Iraq.

Q: Does the US have other US bases in Saudi Arabia?

US AIR FORCE GENERAL: Yes. We have Taif where we have some reconnaissance assets. We have consolidated everything else.

Q: (Inaudible) so you have just one other base.

US AIR FORCE GENERAL: We have some other personnel that are Headquarters personnel that are spread around in a couple locations.

Q: So Dhahran is shut down? (background noise and several questions)

US AIR FORCE GENERAL: I'm sorry?

Q: How's security in the other places?

US AIR FORCE GENERAL: We have also done extensive force protection surveys at the other locations for the same reason and have upgraded the force protection measures there as well. That's correct.

Barriers. We put security personnel in. We've increased our vigilance, our procedures to make sure that we are paying much closer attention now. So those are the types of things we've done. Mostly process type stuff.

Q: How many planes in a combat wing?

US AIR FORCE GENERAL: It will vary between 48 and 72. In this case over here it would be about a 48 aircraft combat wing with a significant number of other aircraft -- another 30 to 40.

Q: General. Could it be said that the people and some of the troops and the airmen that she is going to talk to are due to remain at least 30 more days because of the extension?

US AIR FORCE GENERAL: No. It is hard ....

Q: I would like to get some feeling what they face, the people she will address today?

US AIR FORCE GENERAL: They come in at different times. My personal experience is that operational tempo is very high in the United States Air Force right now. That the first couple of times they rotate over it's not as wearisome and bothersome from a family perspective and a quality of living perspective but about the third or fourth time you come over it does start taking a toll on the quality of living back home. And so some people will have come over -- we don't bring them all over in one slue. So some people will have already been over here for 85 days while other people who perhaps have just gotten here one or two days ago. So as we transition out, and as the new people come in, they know they are going to come in for 120 days.

Q: Is this described as a "bare" base....?

US AIR FORCE GENERAL: It started as a "bare" base. There was nothing there, and what we did was move in a lot of tents and a lot of cooking equipment and a lot of structures that would allow you to have the things you would like to have, until you get permanent facilities. Services for churches, hospitals -- kinds of thing, but it was all started with tents.

Q: It's a Saudi base, yes?

US AIR FORCE GENERAL: Yes, it's a Saudi base.

Q: Do you remember Khobar? There was a kid on the roof top who didn't get a lot of credit and saved lots of lives. Do you have a better spotting system?

US AIR FORCE GENERAL: Oh yes. You'll be impressed with the system we have for observation all around the base, and you'll get to see that.

Q: And she's going to go to one of the sentry sites, right?

US AIR FORCE GENERAL: She's going to go to one of the observation posts, so you'll get a chance to see that.

Q: When did you move there? When did you stop using this place?

US AIR FORCE GENERAL: I can't give you the exact date. When we get there someone will ask for it.

US AIR FORCE GENERAL: ....It was about a year ago.

Q: We were told that there were several hundred personnel still in Dhahran. What do those several hundred do?

US AIR FORCE GENERAL: They work things like our FMS (Foreign Military Sales) cases, they liase with the headquarter's elements up there -- the Saudi Air Force. Those are the types of things that we've left people up there to do.

Q: Do they still live in Khobar Towers?

US AIR FORCE GENERAL: I can't answer that. I don't know. I think we've closed down Khobar Towers, but I can't answer that.

Q: How do the actual patrols work now, with the French not going about the 32nd?

US AIR FORCE GENERAL: It's not a problem. The question is how our patrols work out with the French not going above the 32nd. It's not a problem because we fly a lot of our patrols south of the 32nd as well. So they pick up that portion of the patrols up there. So it really has not been a problem. From an operational perspective. (interruption)

Q: How many patrols would you say you have in a 24 hour period?

US AIR FORCE GENERAL: That will vary. But as a rough order of magnitude, 40-50. But it will vary depending on activities.

Q: Patrol system consist of several aircraft on patrol together?

US AIR FORCE GENERAL: Oh yes. We never send a single aircraft out. We prefer to send aircraft out in four ships at a time and as for mutual support, in case one is fired on the other ones can assist in helping the one that's been fired on.

Q: It appears to have been pretty quiet as far as provocations. Is that the case in....(inaudible) anything like that?

US AIR FORCE GENERAL: At this point I don't know of any provocations that have occurred recently.

Q: Recently being?

US AIR FORCE GENERAL: Within months.

All righty. Thank you.

(End transcript)