Security: Guards at Marine base thwart pizza trucks. Deliveries are up as soldiers hunker in front of TV news.

Pizza parlors are profiting from the Persian Gulf War as customers glued to their television sets order delivery by the droves.

But a local Domino’s Pizza has a problem:

Anti-terrorist security at the Tustin Marine Corps Air Station is so tight that its delivery trucks can’t get through.

Demand for pizzas nearly doubled Wednesday night after news that the United States had bombed Iraq, and it has remained high since, said Jonathan Price, manager of the Domino’s Pizza in Irvine. The Tustin military housing complex normally accounts for about 15% of the store’s sales, he said.

But on Friday evening, the chain that promises delivery within 30 minutes or the customer gets a $3 discount was forced to admit defeat.

The traffic jam at the barricades, where military police were stopping every car and checking each military identification card, was insurmountable, Price said.

“The line was so long (that) just to get to the military policeman was an hour wait,” Price said. “And we couldn’t wait that long. If it was that late, we’d have to give it away for free.”

Price said when he called Saturday to try to streamline delivery, “The guy at the gate just told me flat-out that they wouldn’t let us through.”

Now, the store is asking base customers to come pick up their pizzas themselves--with the longstanding promise of a $3 discount if their order isn’t ready in 12 minutes, he said.

Marine Capt. Betsy Sweatt, spokeswoman for the Tustin and El Toro bases, said Saturday that there is no anti-pizza policy.

“I don’t know what the gate guard told the pizza man . . . but as far as they’re concerned they’re still taking delivery,” Sweatt said.

Guards at the El Toro base, however, are calling every customer to make sure that a pizza was indeed ordered before they let the delivery truck pass, she said.