THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT 
              Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: Tuesday, October 1, 1996              TAG: 9610010311
SECTION: FRONT                   PAGE: A2   EDITION: FINAL 
SOURCE: ASSOCIATED PRESS 
DATELINE: WASHINGTON                        LENGTH:   60 lines

PENTAGON DENIES THAT TROOPS WERE TOLD TO IGNORE GAS WARNINGS A NEWSPAPER CITED LOG REPORTS COMPILED TO ASSESS THE THREAT OF IRAQI CHEMICAL WEAPONS.

The Pentagon said Monday there is ``no basis'' for a report that Desert Storm commanders, protected at their own headquarters, told troops not to worry about reports of nerve gas on the battlefield.

The Birmingham News, in a report Sunday, cited log reports compiled for Gen. Norman Schwarzkopf at his headquarters in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to assess the threat of chemical weapons in the 1991 war against Iraq.

The news report said U.S. commanders ``sealed themselves into protective shelters in the opening days of the Persian Gulf War, and told troops to disregard repeated warnings that a toxic cloud from bombed chemical munitions was descending upon them.''

Some of the logs in question, made available to reporters at the Pentagon, refer to reports on Jan. 19 from Saudi soldiers near the border with Iraq ``that a cloud of smoke is coming that way . . . from CB (chemical-biological) targets.'' They also refer to several reports from Czech units of possible low-level mustard exposure.

On Jan. 23, one log listing refers to Air Force officials reporting ``yet another Czech unit chemical report. Their people in the same area checked it out and found nothing.'' The officer filling out the log added, ``Told them to disregard any reports coming from Czechs.''

``We have reviewed the logs in question and find no basis for the reporter's conclusion that commanders sheltered themselves while ordering troops to disregard reports of a toxic cloud,'' said a statement issued Monday at the Pentagon.

The logs do refer to a number of reports of possible chemical activity at a time that U.S. forces were bombing sites in Iraq. Iraqi forces were widely believed at the time to have chemical weapons in their possession.

``However, based on target locations, surface winds and winds aloft, the reports were not considered a threat to U.S. forces,'' the Pentagon statement said of the Saudi and Czech reports. ``Furthermore, there are no entries regarding these incidents to indicate that commanders were hiding in filtered shelters while telling their troops to disregard the reports.''

The logs indicate that on Jan. 21 anti-chemical warfare filters and air locks at U.S. Central Command headquarters in Riyadh were activated during a Scud missile attack.

``The logs also indicate that during this attack, the troops were ordered to put on all their protective gear,'' the Pentagon statement said. That command referred to troops both inside and outside the Central Command headquarters. An ``all clear'' was later sounded, the log notes.

Early on Monday, Secretary of Defense William Perry was asked about the report and said he had directed his staff to look into the matter.

``I'm very distressed that some people seem willing to believe the worst about the military and the Pentagon. I'm very concerned about that. We will look at this report very carefully and take whatever action is necessary,'' Perry added.

He made the comments during a photo session in his office. ILLUSTRATION: The report in the Birmingham News distressed Defense

Secretary William Perry.

KEYWORDS: CHEMICAL WEAPONS GULF WAR ILLNESS GULF WAR SYNDROME by CNB