Army drill sergeants will condense eight weeks of basic training into just 10 days for Kuwaitis preparing to join U.S. forces in the Persian Gulf.
The 300 men who arrived here Sunday were sworn in as Kuwaiti soldiers and will serve as linguists for American forces, the Pentagon said.They also will help U.S. and allied forces distinguish between Kuwaitis and Iraqis in the event of war, published reports said.
Most of the recruits are students at U.S. colleges and universities. Others are Kuwaitis who were in the United States on work permits or as tourists at the time of the Aug. 2 invasion of their homeland by Iraq.
The recruits will be issued U.S. Army uniforms and will leave for the Persian Gulf on Jan. 15, the U.N. deadline for Iraq to pull out of Kuwait or face attack.