
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: SATURDAY, March 2, 1991                   TAG: 9103020368
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL                    PAGE: A-7   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: 
DATELINE: HAMPTON                                LENGTH: Short

LANGLEY PILOT: IRAQIS STAYED OUT OF WAY

Enemy jets stayed out of the way of American fighters in the Persian Gulf War because the Iraqis knew they were outclassed and outgunned, says the first Langley Air Force Base pilot to return from the war.

"I consider it a real compliment to our training," said Capt. Robert Chapman. "They had so much respect for us they didn't want to fight us. They didn't want to engage us."

Chapman, 32, returned Thursday from his 1st Tactical Fighter Wing squadron in Saudi Arabia. His early return resulted from an expected reassignment to the Royal Saudi Air Force as an exchange pilot. He will return to the Middle East in about a month.

Chapman said he never saw any Iraqi planes while flying his F-15C air-to-air fighter. "The only real threat was the ground threat," he said. - Associated Press

by CNB