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Desert Storm began 24 years ago on the evening of January 16 (US)/ the early morning January 17 (Middle East), where were you at?
January 16, 1991 began as a normal day, the operation in the Middle East was still called "Desert Shield", but turned out to be very hectic at the end of the day.
I was stationed with the 10th Mountain Division up at Ft. Drum, NY. Any military history buff knows that, save for one support battalion, no other units left for Saudi Arabia. There were, however, "onesies and twosies" picked from different units to fill the gaps of the of the units already over there.
As an Avionics Radar Repairer (35R), I didn't even think that I would go over there, until my squad leader called me during lunchtime. I was at the CQ desk, when he called asking for three 35R volunteers to deploy with a Reserve unit to the Middle East. Without hesitation, I told my squad leader that I would be the first volunteer. The other two "Romeos" volunteered later on.
After lunch, it was a mad dash to get the three of us through the whole deployment readiness process. This was completed later in the afternoon.
I was calling up different family members, letting them know that I'll be leaving for Ft. Rucker and, a few weeks later, to Saudi Arabia. I remember that I had the TV on in my barracks room, watching ABC News with Peter Jennings, and being on the phone with my oldest brother. I was probably about five minutes into our conversation when breaking news came on from Baghdad- Operation Desert Storm had begun.
I was a bit shocked, but after I got over the initial shock, I knew that I had a job to do- serving my country.
So where were you when Desert Storm began? I'd like to hear your stories.
January 16, 1991 began as a normal day, the operation in the Middle East was still called "Desert Shield", but turned out to be very hectic at the end of the day.
I was stationed with the 10th Mountain Division up at Ft. Drum, NY. Any military history buff knows that, save for one support battalion, no other units left for Saudi Arabia. There were, however, "onesies and twosies" picked from different units to fill the gaps of the of the units already over there.
As an Avionics Radar Repairer (35R), I didn't even think that I would go over there, until my squad leader called me during lunchtime. I was at the CQ desk, when he called asking for three 35R volunteers to deploy with a Reserve unit to the Middle East. Without hesitation, I told my squad leader that I would be the first volunteer. The other two "Romeos" volunteered later on.
After lunch, it was a mad dash to get the three of us through the whole deployment readiness process. This was completed later in the afternoon.
I was calling up different family members, letting them know that I'll be leaving for Ft. Rucker and, a few weeks later, to Saudi Arabia. I remember that I had the TV on in my barracks room, watching ABC News with Peter Jennings, and being on the phone with my oldest brother. I was probably about five minutes into our conversation when breaking news came on from Baghdad- Operation Desert Storm had begun.
I was a bit shocked, but after I got over the initial shock, I knew that I had a job to do- serving my country.
So where were you when Desert Storm began? I'd like to hear your stories.
Posted in these groups: 
Operation Desert Shield/Storm
Operation Desert Shield/Storm
Posted 11 y ago
Responses: 371
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I was in Saudi Arabia. Somewhere between Camp Eagle II and the Iraqi border.
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Stationed in Frankfurt, Germany with the 3rd Armored Division (Spearhead). One of the best units I was ever assigned. Although I am an MI guy, being in this heavy division was amazing. Anyhow, we never thought they would deploy us, but the wall came down, and things changed. The rest is history.
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SFC Chris Crossley
Dennis, I left the 3rd AD in June of 1990. I was in Gelnhausen for almost 3 years.
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SFC (Join to see)
I was also a Spearhead Soldier, 2/82 3rd Bde. we were sitting in Dhahran Saudi Arabia waiting for our vehicles to come to port. The jets flew out over us and we knew the air war was on.
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I was in Eskan Village. All the gym equipment, camcorders, VCRs and Christmas Trees came from my office. That was a fun 18 hours on the flightline sending pallets to the different sites.
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I was in Khobar towers waiting for my unit to move out to somewhere-SA. It was a beautiful evening... birds chirping... NCOs chewing out enlisted and Patriot missiles taking off (literally) outside my window targeting SCUD missiles while I sat there in MOPP4. Ah, memories.
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I was one of about 4500 other sailors and marines aboard the aircraft carrier USS Midway in the Persian Gulf.
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I was busy packing and un packing my field hospital generating load lists. Sadly we stood down because our Australian politicians were afraid to send us because people die in wars.
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SGT (Join to see)
That's interesting because I remember seeing Australian troops when I was in Somalia less than two years after Desert Storm. I guess the politicians had a change of heart.
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Suspended Profile
I was 3 weeks out from graduating Armor OSUT at Ft. Knox. I returned to my Reserve unit and we began to prep to mob for....casualty notification detail. Our unit was tasked to notify NOK. Thankfully the war ended quickly.
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I had deployed with the the rest of the 18th Wing out of Lakenheath AB, UK to Taif, Saudi Arabia in August of 90'. I was due to PCS from Lakenheath in January, so I only spent about four months on that deployment and it was still Desert Shield at the time.
Once Desert Storm actually did kick off, I was already on leave in Jamestown, NY. When the news reports started coming in, my wife(who was also Active Duty) and I were with my in-laws at a bar and grill. It was definitely an "oh s**t" moment, we didn't know whether we would have to report to the nearest installation or just continue our plans to report to our new base, Altus AFB, OK within the week. We continued with the latter after calling Niagara Falls AB, NY to get some guidance.
Once Desert Storm actually did kick off, I was already on leave in Jamestown, NY. When the news reports started coming in, my wife(who was also Active Duty) and I were with my in-laws at a bar and grill. It was definitely an "oh s**t" moment, we didn't know whether we would have to report to the nearest installation or just continue our plans to report to our new base, Altus AFB, OK within the week. We continued with the latter after calling Niagara Falls AB, NY to get some guidance.
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PO1 William "Chip" Nagel
RAF Lakenheath one of my favorite places on the earth (As long as you ignore the sound of F-111s taking off) where they treated my Sons Legg Calve Perthis Disease.
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