FORMER GENERAL VIEWS WAR; MCKEE SAYS GULF CONFLICT LIKE WORLD WAR II

CAPE GIRARDEAU -- The former commander of the North American Defense Command said the war in the Persian Gulf is an "entirely different" conflict for U.S. forces than any they've previously fought.

But the former commander, retired Gen. Seth McKee, formerly of Cape Girardeau, said Wednesday that if comparisons were made, Operation Desert Storm correlates more with U.S. involvement in World War II than in the Korean and Vietnam conflicts.

McKee commanded NORAD from 1969 until his retirement from military service in 1973. His military career spanned 35 years while he rose from the ranks of an Air Force aviation cadet in 1938 to a four-star general in 1969, the highest peace-time rank achievable in the military.

NORAD was established to defend the continent from air and space attacks and consisted of all branches of the U.S. and Canadian militaries.

McKee flew a P-38 Lightning fighter-bomber in Europe during World War II, where he logged 190 hours of flying time in 69 combat missions. He was credited with destroying two German planes that grazed his P-38 on a strafing run.

McKee said U.S. air strikes against Iraqi troops in Kuwait and Iraq compare to massive bombing raids against German forces in Europe during World War II.

During the first week of Operation Desert Storm in the Middle East, more than 10,000 bombing missions have been flown against Iraqi military and supply targets in Kuwait and Iraq.

McKee said that at times during World War II "up to 2,000 fighter planes, with accompanying bombers, flew continually day after day" against German troops in Europe.

"A big difference, though, is that the fighters of today carry more firepower and bombs than the bombers did in World War II," he said. "But the fighter bomber business is no different today in many ways."

Aerial "dog fights" between machine-gun-equipped airplanes in World War II have given way to "air-to-air" missile combat between high-powered jet aircraft.

But McKee said the P-38 fighter-bombers he flew shared the same basic mission of the F-15E Eagle, F-117 Stealth and Navy A-6 Intruder fighters-bombers now in the gulf.

"We flew in to provide cover and clear the path for our bombers, and that's the same object the fighter bombers have today," he said.

"Obviously, today's weapons systems are much more accurate. In World War II, accuracy was largely determined by the pilot and crew of the bombers; today it's determined by the effectiveness of the electronics and computer systems that are required with the more advanced weapons.

"In the 17 years since I was in the military, a major change is the type of weapons being utilized," McKee said. "The so-called `smart' weapons of today allow much more precise accuracy."

McKee said technologically advanced smart weapons help reduce civilian casualties from war.

"Of course, that's always been our aim, to destroy only our military targets and the enemy's defense capability," he said. "But I think that's much easier to do with today's weapons and aircraft."

One example of such a weapons system is the U.S. Patriot surface-to-air anti-missiles missiles that have been used to destroy Iraqi Scud missiles in flight. McKee said the Patriot is the type of defense system that NORAD worked to develop during the early 1970s.

Although largely untested prior to the gulf war, he said the Patriot apparently is performing better than most people expected.

"It seems to be very effective," McKee said. "It's really receiving its first real test, and, according to the media reports, it has performed nearly flawlessly."

McKee said he hopes U.S. forces continue their strategy of repeated air strikes against Iraqi military and supply targets before launching a ground assault against Iraqi troops entrenched in Kuwait's desert.

"From a military standpoint, I think they're going about it just right," he said. "The longer we keep our ground forces uninvolved, the less casualties we're going to have.

"We are losing some aircraft and some pilots, but so far that's been very low. I think if they can continue to cause severe Iraqi losses with the air strikes they should continue them as long as possible."

McKee said he's glad that the U.S. appears to have learned its lesson of the Vietnam conflict by allowing the military to conduct the war instead of politicians and Washington bureaucrats.

"I certainly hope we have," he said. "I presume that we're allowing the military to make its best efforts now, and that's something that hasn't been allowed since World War II."

McKee was born in McGehee, Ark., and spent most of his boyhood in Cape Girardeau. He graduated from Central High School here and attended Southeast Missouri State University for three years.

He formerly commanded the forces in Japan and the 5th Air Force. In August 1959, he was promoted to the rank of brigadier general when, at the age of 42, he was the youngest Air Force officer to be named to star rank.