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Gulf War

Gulf War – The Battle of Khafji

Gulf War – The Battle of Khafji

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By late January 1991, the "war" part of the Gulf War still looked strangely distant. Since Operation Desert Shield transitioned to Operation Desert Storm, the war appeared very one-sided. Coalition jets had been pounding Iraqi command posts, radars, and armored columns in Kuwait and southern Iraq. That was all about to change.  Saddam Hussein aimed to strike back in The Battle of Khafji On the ground, Saddam Hussein still had large forces dug in, and he wanted to prove they could strike back against the American-led Coalition defending Saudi Arabia. His chosen target was the quiet Saudi border town of Khafji, just south of Kuwait on the Persian Gulf. It was a tempting target; the Iraqis not only needed a propaganda victory, but it's likely Hussein also wanted a reconnaissance-in-force to probe Coalition defenses and disrupt plans for a ground offensive he knew would be coming. Khafji had been evacuated of civilians months earlier, but on Iraqi maps it looked ideal: close,...

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General John Kelly’s Speech About Two Heroic Marines

General John Kelly’s Speech About Two Heroic Marines

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Two years ago, when I was the Commander of all U.S. and Iraqi forces, in fact, the 22nd of April 2008, two Marine infantry battalions, 1/9 "The Walking Dead," and 2/8 were switching out in Ramadi. One battalion in the closing days of their deployment going home very soon, the other just starting its seven-month combat tour. Haerter, Jordan, LCpl Yale, Jonathan Tyler, Cpl Yale and Haerter Form an Unlikely Brotherhood in Ramadi Two Marines, Corporal Jonathan Yale and Lance Corporal Jordan Haerter, 22 and 20 years old respectively, one from each battalion, were assuming the watch together at the entrance gate of an outpost that contained a makeshift barracks housing 50 Marines. The same broken down ramshackle building was also home to 100 Iraqi police, also my men and our allies in the fight against the terrorists in Ramadi, a city until recently the most dangerous city on earth and owned by Al Qaeda. Yale was a dirt poor mixed-race kid from Virginia with a wife and daughter,...

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Last In, First Out A Desert Storm Diary by Ed “Tuna” Fisher

Last In, First Out A Desert Storm Diary by Ed “Tuna” Fisher

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These days, Ed Fisher (callsign: “Tuna”) is twice-retired and living with his wife on Washington State’s Whidbey Island. His second career was as a lecturer at the Naval Postgraduate School, from which he retired in 2021. His first career was much more exciting. As Lt. Col. Fisher, he was a U.S. Air Force Wild Weasel Electronic Warfare Officer (EWO), who performed this duty during Operation Desert Storm. “Last In, First Out” is his diary from his days fighting combat missions there.

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Gulf War – The Lightning in Desert Storm (1991)

Gulf War – The Lightning in Desert Storm (1991)

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The Screaming Eagles of the 101st Airborne were among the first soldiers deployed to Saudi Arabia following Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in August of 1990. Before Operation Desert Storm Roughly six months later, the storied division would launch an unprecedented airborne assault taking them over 150 miles (241 kilometers) behind enemy lines and within 100 miles (161 kilometers) of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad. In 1990, a coalition of forces from around the world, headed by the United States, gathered in Saudi Arabia. The task was to remove the Iraqi Army from Kuwait and protect against an expansion of Saddam Hussein's aggressiveness. Within 12 hours of the invasion of its southern neighbor, Kuwait, the Iraqi army was without any significant opposition. The world's 4th largest army at the time now had solid control of Middle East oil production and was moving troops to the border with Saudi Arabia. The coalition of forces sought a peaceful solution to the conflict and insisted that the...

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Gulf War – Operation Desert Storm

Gulf War – Operation Desert Storm

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The 1990-91 Gulf War was probably one of the best-planned and most well-executed military operations in the history of human warfare. The United Nations, with its resolutions condemning the Iraqi invasion and occupation of Kuwait, worked the way it was intended. UN Resolution 678 called for Iraq to leave Kuwait by January 15, 1991, and authorized member states to use all necessary means to enforce the resolution after the deadline. A coalition of 42 countries, led by the United States, did just that – and abided by the mandate after Iraqi forces withdrew.  Operation Desert Storm Begins After Iraq Invades Kuwait The U.S. military dubbed the combat phase of the war Operation Desert Storm. The use of air power and overwhelming military force took little more than a month to dislodge Iraq from its ill-gotten gains. While Desert Storm is still rightfully celebrated as a resounding victory, the buildup to that victory, Operation Desert Shield, sometimes gets lost to historical...

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Service Reflections of Capt Rockford Willett, U.S. Air Force (1980-1992)

Service Reflections of Capt Rockford Willett, U.S. Air Force (1980-1992)

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My oldest brother served in the Army from 1964 – 1967 and survived a tour in Vietnam as a combat medic. I figured if he could do that and come back alive, I could do better in the US Air Force. I was married for about 18 months, quit a full-time job to “go back to school,” hated going back to school, and got a job as a “courtesy clerk” at Kroger. Although I had a lot of experience in stage lighting, no jobs were panning out for me in that area. Then I remembered my brother’s experience with the Army and decided to visit an Air Force recruiter and see what it was all about. I still remember the recruiter – TSGT Steiger.

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Service Reflections of SSGT Michael Bridge, U.S. Air Force (1986-1995)

Service Reflections of SSGT Michael Bridge, U.S. Air Force (1986-1995)

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Growing up I had always wanted to join the Navy. I love ships and pretty much had my heart set on the Navy after High School. During High School, I ended up getting involved in some things that started me down a path that would have ended poorly for me if I continued on it. I knew that I needed to get away from the things I was involved in and get my act together.
During my senior year, I went down to the recruiting office and spoke with the Navy recruiter. He ended up really being just a total jerk who only wanted to meet his quota and didn’t offer me anything at all. I was very frustrated with this and felt that if he represented the Navy, I didn’t want anything to do with it. I spoke with my father about it and he recommended that I speak with the Air Force recruiter.

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Service Reflections of MSGT Jan Klebukowski, U.S. Air Force (1985-2007)

Service Reflections of MSGT Jan Klebukowski, U.S. Air Force (1985-2007)

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Early in my life, both my late parents took me to the 1964-65 Worlds Fair in Flushing Meadows Park, NY. I still remember the old Rocket displays from NASA that were on display at the fair. It got my interest in planes and the Space program.

I remember watching the first landing on the moon by Neil Armstrong on our old black and white TV at home. My late parents always watched the progress of the US Space Program from the beginning, with all the launches of the Saturn and Mercury Rockets until the historic moon landing by Neil Armstrong.

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Lieutenant Mark Baden – Heroic Pilot Just Managed to Land and Save His Buddy’s Life

Lieutenant Mark Baden – Heroic Pilot Just Managed to Land and Save His Buddy’s Life

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Being launched off the flight deck of an aircraft carrier is a normal routine, but adrenaline junkie pilots love the radical feel of about 4 Gs. On July 9, 1991, an A-6 Intruder modified to be a refueling aircraft was shot off the Abraham Lincoln in the Persian Gulf. Lieutenant Mark Baden was the pilot and had his friend and navigator (BN), Lieutenant Keith Gallagher beside him. It was Gallagher's birthday, and he advised Mark Baden when they returned it would be his 100th trap recovery on an aircraft carrier. A mid-air collision had occurred a few days earlier, and Mark Baden was slightly nervous. On top of all the other odd circumstances, he was actually assigned the plane with his name emblazoned on the side - unlike in the movies, the pilots don't always fly the plane with their name. He made all the normal checks and touched all the buttons and switches. Satisfied he was ready for anything, the aircraft was blasted off the end of the carrier to accomplish the mission: to refuel...

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The Chopper Popper

The Chopper Popper

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The grounds of the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs are packed to the gills with Air Force history. Among the legends on display is a green-colored Air Force Reserve A-10 Thunderbolt II (also known as a Warthog), positioned with its nose skyward. A closer look at that nose reveals its name: "The Chopper Popper."  How the Chopper Popper Keeps the Tradition of Nose Art Alive Nose art isn't that common in the Air Force these days, but it's not totally forbidden. The aging but plucky fleet of A-10s have all but kept the tradition alive in recent decades. Warthogs are usually bearing teeth or tusks on their noses, not the sea creature gripping a helicopter in its massive claws. The Chopper Popper's art is an homage to its nickname, picked up for the stunning air-to-air kill made by then-Capt. Bob Swain during the first Gulf War. The A-10 is known for a lot of things, but dogfighting isn't one of them. It was designed to be a gun with wings, a flying tank that could get in close...

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Night Mission to Mogadishu by Trent LaLand

Night Mission to Mogadishu by Trent LaLand

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While the United States military and coalition forces prepared for the imminent battle with Iraq's military forces, Operation Desert Storm, January of 1991, a second international crisis unfolded in the famine-stricken country of Somalia, where a full-scale bloody civil war erupted. Warlord General Mohammad Farah Aideed rebel forces were attempting to overthrow the Somali government. The fighting threatened Americans and Foreign diplomatic missions based in Mogadishu, Somalia, as the Somali government was collapsing under the weight of the bloody civil war. This is an incredible story that has not been told of heroism in the face of chaos and uncertainty. The story was simply lost because it occurred in the immediate lead-up to Operation Desert Storm and hardly received any media attention.   On January 2, 1991, Italian officials in Mogadishu made a fruitless effort to arrange a cease-fire among the factions. When this effort failed, U.S. ambassador James K. Bishop realized...

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