🇬🇧BRIT Reacts To OPERATION DESERT STORM - THE AIR WAR - DAY 1!
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 5 ก.พ. 2023
- 🇬🇧BRIT Reacts To OPERATION DESERT STORM - DAY 1!
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Hi everyone, I’m Kabir and welcome to another episode of Kabir Considers! In this video I’m going React To OPERATION DESERT STORM - DAY 1!
• Desert Storm - The Air...
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I was a young woman just out of college when this war occurred. My father had gone in to the hospital for surgery to remove cancer on January 16, the day before the first day of war. My father suffered a major complication and ended up in a coma. While sitting in the ICU waiting room the day after his surgery, the war started. I was worried about my father and praying for his life when the television in the waiting room began televising the war. It was terrifying but at the same time quite impressive. It was called a "Shock and Awe" attack. The war lasted 43 days. My father awoke from his coma after nearly 90 days. He missed the entire war. It was strange for him but I'm happy to report he celebrated his 80th birthday in October.
i hope your father is ok.
I had a friend whose father was a navigator in the air force during this war. All the other aviators in theater knew him as the pastor of the skies. He was famous for quoting scripture over the radio while flying.
The war lasted 20hrs they surrendered bye the thousands the whole shock& Awe was 5million$ a piece for those private contractors. That's why they blew so much up NOT necessary at alll just an excuse for another multi billion $ rip off
P😅
“What did I miss while I was out?”
While I was married to my first husband, he served in Desert Storm. He deployed Dec. 27, 1990 from Ft. Riley in Kansas. He was there until May of 1991. He was in a medical field unit. When he returned, he told me about one of the biggest issues that they battled after the war was officially ended was keeping the Iraqi soldiers from stealing their MRE's! They were just left to their own devices! A lot of them figured out that if they surrendered, they would receive food. I remember when the air war started, because it began about 6 o'clock central time here in the USA. It literally was being broadcast on television and I was glued to the tv for days! It's amazing how much artillery was put into the night sky! The two pilots that were captured, I remember them being paraded on television. It was hard to see. I cried for them because there were visible signs that they were being tortured.
Lol (ex) wife of a service member … and watching yt videos to gossip about war …. I just know you’re a single mom obese Karen.
I was in Ft Riley Kansas starting in 93…was your first husband in the MASH unit?
I remember watching the tv as well. The night was so dark and when those missiles started it looked like the sky was on fire. Thank you for your support of your first husband as he served. I'm glad he made it home.
My father was stationed there as well, we lived in Junction City. I cant remember what EOD unit he was with though...
A important fact that so many overlook is
that Iraq had the 4th most powerful military in the world at the time. All of the military analysts predicted that US would suffer heavy casualties during this assault. They were convinced that Iraq was gonna put up a hell of a fight , but they were all wrong.
I remember hearing this. It was a very grave concern
Yeah we were told to expect 90% casualties in the first wave hitting the mine fields. As time went on it dropping to 50% before we crossed the Saudi burm and moved to clear the mine fields.
We knew what we were facing.
We had made the monster what he was. That was why we went back into Iraq 2003 too. It was our responsibility when we genuinely thought he was a threat to everyone.
@@corinnem.239 Cold War politics, and although he was backed by the Soviet Union he was fighting Iran and let’s face it, we hated Iran. Hostage Crisis ect. The funny thing was although he actually dismantled allot of his WMDs, he still wanted others to think he still had them. So he was putting out disinformation about it, which we believed, though I don’t want to be the person that runs across any of the stuff he buried. I personally would have preferred we finished him in 91, but for President Bush to get that massive coalition he had to set clear goals. Sadly that was not the a continuation after he was removed from Kuwait.
Why do you think pludin is terrified of real tanks going to Ukraine.
I know the overwhelming power and numbers are impressive but the coordination and planning should not be overlooked. Just ridiculously impressive.
Yes, it really was a logistical masterclass.
Yes if you want to overlook it you need to look no further than russian-ukrainian War LOL such a logistic embarrassment for Russia they went from being the second most powerful military in the world to be second most powerful military in Ukraine
Sure was. Air, land and sea.
Russia apparently didn't take any notes...
Thats was all Colon Powell
The slant drilling accusation was untrue and was simply a ruse to attack Kuwait.
The 2 Battleships from WWII were taken out of storage in the "Mothball fleet" and refit for the war. They had both been retired in the early 50s or late 40s. One of them had previously seen service in Vietnam after another refit.
The 4 Iowa class battleships saw service till the 60s then saw on and off service till the 90s were all 4 became museum ships. But yeah we can still Retrofit them and bring them back into service which is pretty cool they are just very expensive to keep in yhe navy especially when not in active conflicts as they aren't as versatile as aircraft carriers
My dad and my cousin both served in desert storm. Thank you to all the veterans and their families. Blessings to you all.
Hi Kabir, most military actions will start at an odd time. It is a psychological thing as people will be more alert at even times on the clock such as 2:30 or 2:45. But if you attack at an off time such as 2:38, you will likely have caught the radar or early warning personnel a bit more relaxed. Basically if the attack didn't come at 2:30 they might relax a bit on their scopes until it is 2:45 or even 3 o'clock.
Agreed. Did mock missions in RO, and the best times to launch on target were the off hours
I think Bryan is spot on....kind of the same as Bombing altitudes....you don't want to come in at a flat number like 10000ft or meters. It's easy for a AA battery to dail in a number like that instead of like a altitude of say 9450. Kind of the same mentality.
My dad was a full bird in the army we always left for trips and vacation at 4:18am.
This
To all the men and women who were in the military at that time, thankyou for your service and may God bless you all. To the ones who were lost may God bless and keep you with Him.
My dad was a navy Vietnam vet and naval reservist that worked for the company that made the training flight simulators for the Apache helicopters. Since the opening salvo was the first time the Apache had been used in combat, they brought the pilots in to provide real-use experience to find inaccuracies in the simulator programming and responses. At lunch one day, Tom Drew, the pilot credited with the go-ahead "party in ten" command and my dad were talking about their kids, and the topic of collecting military patches came up. Tom looks at my dad and says "I'll bet he doesn't have one of these" and pointed at his mission patch for Task Force Normandy. My dad laughed and said "no, he doesn't." Tom pulled out a knife, cut the patch off his uniform and said "he does now." I still have that patch.
My sister was a teacher/councilor in the DODDS overseas during this time. They pulled her out of her classroom to be a counselor as most of the kids had either one or both parents fighting and some of the kids lost a parent and needed counseling immediately. Afterward she got a medal for going above and beyond her duty. She was there for the kids 24/7.
I was in both Desert Shield and later Desert Storm. I was with the the MP's then, we directed units to their staging areas, then we took the Kuwaiti airport. The biggest things that I remember from then, was the oil field fires turning day into dusk, the Kuwaiti people coming up and thanking us, like all the time, the fear of chemical attacks (never happened but we were told daily that it could) and of course my best friend being killed in a car wreck. I mean it is sad that anyone has to die in a war, people's lives cut short, but in combat it is always a possibility and one you agreed to when you signed up, knowing it might happen, but to die in a foreign country in something so mundane as a crash was unreal to me. It messed me up for a long time, even after all this time I still get pissed about that. Thank you for reacting to this.
2042
Respect.
We all have our time. Keep Jonah in mind. When it's our time, it does not matter where we are. He would want you to be at peace.
I was there as an MP as well, in the 66th MP Co out of Karlsruhe, Germany.
My husband was in the Marines and served on the front lines in Desert Storm (ground war). He was infantry. We met after that.
As a Vet of that War it’s nice to see someone acknowledge it from time to time.
I stayed up to watch it kick off and kept up with it every day all the way until they got him out of that hole
What acknowledgement? There are books and movies about it. There is even a medical condition called Gulf War Syndrome. What more do you want?
@@Frankie5Angels150 really? compared to all the other Wars Dessert Shield/Storm is often forgotten, so comparatively I stand by my post
We have not forgotten you. 😘
Agreed I was actually disabled in Desert Storm
My step-dad was an army reservist in one of their field hospital units and he can tell you about the kinds of injuries he saw there while serving in desert storm and operation enduring freedom
The F-117 Nighthawk.... Responsible for more than a few "UFO" sightings back in the 1980s .
But yea, Desert Storm was the last time any battleship fired their guns in anger.
The Mighty Mo finished a helluva career (before Gary Busey & Tommy Lee Jones tried to commandeer her)
Impressive vessel, now on display in Hawaii.
@@LandSharkEatsU Awesome ships. The USS New Jersey, the most decorated battleship in history, is anchored up not far from here on the Delaware River in Camden, New Jersey. I check it out quite often and I'm always in awe.
@@04m6gtotheir big sister Iowa is near the Port of Long Beach in California it was amazing to explore her. It's great all 4 survived as museum ships
I was in the Army over there for Desert Shield and Desert Storm. The endless stream of Air Force sorties, especially at night, were pretty cool to watch. A lot cooler than the rain of Scud missiles we got.
I remember writing letters to the soldiers in Desert Shield and Storm back in 5th grade in school.
I can tell you those absolutely made our days, so thank you!
@@itsahellofaname cheers mate! Glad you made it out.
Thank you. I got some letters from a young lady from Ocala FL. Made my whole week whenever I got ‘em.
My father was the squadron commander for the 511th TFS from RAF Alconbury during Desert Storm/Desert Shield. Still remember the day he took the A-10s over to the desert. Lord knows I have tons of footage of him and some of the other guys from his squadron. One of the guys from his squadron Todd "Shanghai" Sheehy had the first air to air kill with an A-10.
I worked on A-10s. When this happened it made us that much happier to be working on such a badass plane flown by such bad ass pilots (when they weren't bitching about static)
@@toolman6872 Maintainers always hold a special place with MD. We used to always have the maintainers from the squadron (or squadrons once my old man was an OPS group commander) over for holidays and everything. Guys can't fly without the maintainers kicking ass at their part of the equation. All the best to you and yours brother.
I was a crewman on an M1 Abrams. I'm just glad guys like your dad and their A-10's
were on our side!
@Mike Blessing I can definitely speak for him and say he was honored to do it and loved every moment of it. All the best to you and yours brother.
I was a part of the 3rd Armored Division in the middle with 7th Corps. Was stationed in Germany at the time and I was 20 years old. The MLRS firing was such an awesome sight to see especially knowing that whomever was on the receiving end wasn’t gonna be happy.
Yeah. They put on one hell of a show.
Many years ago an Apache helicopter got caught up in some weather issues near Nashville, Tennessee USA and had to land for several hours until the storms passed. The spot they had to set down was the grassy section in between Interstate I-65 and the on ramp to the interstate which had it quite visible to the public. People were stopping on the on ramp to take pictures and speak to the pilot and crew. I myself stopped and was talking to the pilot when a little old lady who was well into her 80s stopped and asked him if his helicopter was one that was used to deliver food to "those poor people from the hurricane?" I saw a look of terror come over the pilots face at having to tell this sweet lady that his vehicle was strictly a killing machine. In a moment of pure brilliance he said "No Ma'am, this helicopter is classified as non humanitarian" and she walked away quite happy and he was beyond relived to say the least.
My godfather was flying in Desert Storm, and my father-in-law was as well. Thankfully they both came back. They told me it was something like walking on Legos in the air, but once they got past the primary defences, it was smooth sailing.
So this happened in 91, and I was graduating from high school in 92. My mother who lived through the Vietnam War was scared they would do the draft again and force me to join up for this war right after high school. She was glad that it was so short.
Same years for me, I remember being all psyched up for the war in school and one of my teachers closing the door and really saying what this could mean for us. He was a Vietnam vet.
I was out of college two years. My Mother was afraid that my peers would protest like during Vietnam and refuse to serve. I reassured her that my peers would NEVER put the country through that kind of divisive hell again. We would serve. Those that were sent DID serve.
A small number protested, but it came to nothing.
My Dad explained before it started that desert fighting was going to be quickly over and what would happen. He was spot on with everything he told us.
@@--harry_He scared you all unnecessarily then. Desert fighting is not jungle warfare and there was no need for a draft.
I was in middle school when this went down. As a kid, the whole thing felt like a video game. Now that I can appreciate the incredible resources and effort, it is truly astounding.
The 2:38am figure is a result of the the differing speeds of the aircraft involved as well as the speed of the cruise missiles fired and from what distances they were fired as well as the distances all the aircraft had to travel. Attacking at odd times also can surprise the enemy. The attack needed to be as powerful and overwhelming as possible. "Shock and awe." was the term used to describe it. Here in the States we got to watch it play out on TV and if you didn't know any better, you would swear you were watching a video game. The battleships weren't originally retired from service because of their age. With the rise of the aircraft carrier the limitations of their over the horizon capabilities limited their offensive capabilities. At the longest ranges (23 miles) their 16 inch guns were woefully inaccurate. Even with radar, most ship to ship battles were fought within range of the human eye throughout history. With the advent of the cruise missile the battleship turned into a huge, armored platform for their launch. They were eventually retired for good when it just became too expensive to keep them on active duty.
I was a senior in high school when this started. I can so clearly remember the night as it unfolded. I was actually going to a concert that night of the female hair metal band Vixen. The bands would give updates as the night went on. I remember one band member yelling out "all the aircraft from the first wave have made it back" and the crowd let out a huge cheer.
I was there Jan 1991 through July 1991. The well burns were the worst.
I was onboard the USS Saratoga CV-60 during this. We left Mayport Florida on August 2nd and made it to the Red Sea by August 7th. We lost 21 sailors prior to the war beginning on December 22nd in Haifa Israel on a overturned ferry boat accident.
I know the Saratoga pretty well... I was stationed aboard the USS Stark FFG-31 in Mayport during the time of Desert Shield/Desert Storm. Thanks for your service over there shipmate!! 👍🇺🇸
@@rodanfaith thank you for your service 👍
I remember that hiafa accident I was on USS Leyte Gulf deployed in Dec from Mayport
@@markmason2970 that was a tough night for sure
Actually, the deadline was on my 16th birthday in 1991, not "in the 80's". The "Mighty Mo" was commissioned in 1944. She was the ship that the Japanese formally sighed there surrender. The Mighty Mo was decommissioned just after Desert Storm. After serving 48 years, i think it was a perfect salute to her retirement. I am 48 and i was born in Missouri. Irony?
Nope. My Aunt typed those surrender papers.
I can tell you exactly where I was when the invasion took place and remember like it was yesterday. The same with the terror attacks of 9/11. My best friend's dad was in the reserves and called up to fight in Desert Storm. This was the first war that people my own age, that I knew, were putting their lives on the line. Very humbling.
While great care should be taken to not cause civilian casualties, it's absolutely impossible to prevent it. All you can do is try to minimize them.
I deployed to Talil AB in 2004 and 2006, some areas were off limits due to the mines the Tornados dropped. A lot of reconstruction had taken place, mine sweeps had removed a lot of them, but some unused area hadn't been cleared. Now that you've seen this, you should check out some of the news footage from that first night. Tha anti-aircraft fire is insane!! Reminds me of footage of the Close In Weapon System (CIWS) firing.
This war was fascinating as you could watch it on TV. I'm sure you could find footage of what occurred during the first 30-40 days. The shock and awe campaign was like nothing that had ever been done before.
i remember watching this war on the tv when i was kid . My famous quote from that war was " this is unbelievable the sky is on Fire. "
This was an insane amount of planning and tactical coordination. Simply wow!!
Stormin Norman was a junior officer during Vietnam. He was never going to go into battle without everything covered with as much as possible could be needed. It was a lesson of Vietnam that military officers of his age group and experience took to heart.
@@corinnem.239 he was an absolute military rock star. He and Colin Powell (sp?) just owned the Gulf war.
I was in basic training for the United States Navy, at Naval Station Great Lakes Illinois, when the operation turned from Desert Shield to Desert Storm. My brother was off the coast in one of the Carrier Battle Groups, on board USS America. My father would eventually deploy to Saudi Arabia with the Navy Construction Battalions (SeaBees).
Over 30 years ago. And it's still an unbelievable surgical attack.
As someone who served 20 years in the USAF and retired in Dec. 1990 I want to thank you for enriching you knowledge on item you don't know. Some people your age do not take the time to learn about history so thank you and hope your dad will be proud of you.
Thank you for your service.
I served in this war with the 1st Infantry division the Big Red One I am a disabled veteran who had the pleasure of being a part of history.
16:50 The US uses smokeless rocket motors in their missiles, also it was likely fired from BVR (Beyond Visual Range) So there wasn't much to see.
March of 1990 I turned 18... And the whisper of a draft was in the air.. I knew I was the perfect age for training.. but luckily our military is so good, the draft whisper became dust in the wind.. 😊
I was there- left for the region in late November. 30 years later- still struggling a bit from PTSD
Why 238 AM? A lot of the time, these types of things are done on the darkest/longest night of the year, and the darkest point of that night.
Oh man....I remember watching the coverage of that of CNN in realtime, with Wolf Blitzer at the main desk and Bernard Kalb(?) et. al. actually in Baghdad. It was a sooo surreal.
Nowadays there are cameras everywhere, but, back then, to actually be watching a war live on TV was unprecedented.
Think of all the coordination required among all the different air forces flying under a unified command and the sheer number of aircraft in the air at night and how well choreographed the air campaign was on the first day. Crazy.
"The Operations Room" has some great videos about military history that are a must see. Very logically presented and easy to understand.
General Colin Powell & General Norman Schwarzkopf are fukin LEGENDS!!! Both served in Vietnam & endured the experience of being in an unending war. To take that experience, get your turn to lead an entire war & utilize your past knowledge to perfect a war plane is everything you can ask of a leader. Their unwavering commitment to have a definite and very specific end game & exit plan is a direct result of their time in Vietnam. Their premeditated decision to use
OVERWHELMING FORCE was brilliant and beautiful. I'm thankful to God & extremely fortunate & honored to have deployed under their leadership.
I was not in that conflict, but I was on tanks for a decade in between the two gulf wars. The entire reason the air war took months was because it took all that time to get the heavy armor in place in order to conduct the land war. Even after all that softening up, it was the largest tank battle in history.
5th largest. Kursk was first, and the other top 4 are all WWII as well.
I was in school back then. I don’t remember alot about it except that I was at school and somebody had been listening to the radio and was yelling in the hall that we had gone into Kuwait. I remember going home and turning on the TV. It’s like the world kind of stopped and held its breath, and then it was over. It was over like really quickly. And I was like, “That’s it? It’s over?”
My brother was one of the first to deploy to desert shield. Thsse are the days of the Scud missiles. And patriot missiles
The USAF was also present in the U.A.E.. I was an F-16 crew chief, stationed at Hill AFB, and two of the squadrons (my 421st TFS - Black Widows, and the 4th TFS - Fightin' Fujins) from our wing (388th TFW) were among the first USAF units sent over. I remember the heat and the powdery dust. I also remember all of us standing in an uncovered trench (our "bunkers") in MOPP 4 (full chem suit) when the first SCUDs were launched. Funny thing was, all the maintainers were warned, but nobody bothered to tell the pilots. They were noticeably confused when they found nobody near the aircraft they were supposed to fly, and when they finally located us, I remember one of the pilots leaning over our trench and saying, "What's going on, guys?"
Myself and 13 others fron Avon Park Bombing range and Eglin AFB arrived in Saudi mid November 1990 as a transient group under the Air Warfare Center command. We were there until late April 1991and traveled to every air base throughout Saudi, Qatar, Bahrain and the United Arab Emirates to test and clear fighter jets electronic countermeasures systems before flight. Being transient personnel we were not stationed in any given location. We stayed in transient tents and were generally only there a week or so before moving on. It was common to hear jets take off and land throughout the day and night. It became easy to sleep through the constant noise. The night the major air offensive kicked off (I was at Al Kharj airfield), it was clear to everyone that something major was happening. Seeing and hearing F-15's taking off sisde by side in 12 second intervals at full afterburner followed by F-16's was amazing!
this war lasted about 44 days from january 17th through febraury 28th with the ground war being the last 100 hours or about 4 days long.
Ward Carrol, former US Navy commander and owner of one of the best channels on TH-cam, has an interview with the pilot from the RAF tornado that was shot down and he talks about the whole ordeal and his experience as a prisoner of war. It’s incredibly interesting, you should give it a watch (or a reaction)
John Nicol and Andy Peters Their book is called Tornado Down.
I was at a high school basketball game when they played President Bush’s announcement that Operation Desert Shield became Operation Desert Storm over the loud speakers. I remember thinking that we could have been a generation that did not go to war. Our great grandparents had WWI, our grandparents had WWII and the Korean War, and our parents had Vietnam. You could hear a pin drop in the auditorium.
As stated, the first craft in would be the helicopters flying at low levels, trying to evade radar. Therefore, the time of attack is set when there is no moonlight, and the darkest time at night.
Great animation w/great narration. Thx for choosing this one K.
I was 8 years old, but I remember vividly the nighttime barrage, the green tracers into Baghdad. Crazy man.
I was there from August 90 until early March 91. Tomorrow is the 32 anniversary of the start of the ground war. I remember so well because I turned 23 and a long with thousands of other young men and women we crossed the Iraqi border that morning. Was thinking what way to celebrate my birthday. As with the 24 Inf Division out of Ft Stewart Ga. Glad to see someone acknowledge our time
I had my 21st birthday in that poo hole.
The Wisconsin and the Missouri are battleships, something that doesn’t really exist anymore in modern navies. But their reputation, especially the Missouri, made the Iraqi’s very nervous. The Japanese formally surrendered on the Missouri, to end the war in the Pacific. It was more than a fear factor than a technology factor, although they can fire missiles as well as the old style munitions.
Yes, they were mothballed prior to the 80's. Ronald Reagan brought them back out and updated them for just intimidation factor. Then with the new cruise missiles they needed the Battleship. They were the only thing that we had that had the space and the displacement for them. I love the Battleship New Jersey's TH-cam channel. Definitely awesome.
Even though the best days of the battleship are behind gone, there's still nothing like 16" shells falling on a target.
The specific time to start could have been military reasons (asset location etc) or maybe there was a timed trigger in the UN resolution.
Slant drilling used to be that Kabir. These days it's used more to access a large field from a single site so there's less disruption of the ecology. It's also more cost effective and efficient.
The night of Jan 16, 1991 scared the crap out of me, I grew up in Fort Worth just outside of Carswell AFB so even at 6/7 years old and in the first grade I had some understanding of what went on and what the B-52 did.
The night of Jan 16 I was at a Cub Scout meeting and was also the first time I was allowed to watch the news. Seeing the live video when the alarms would go off and the reporters would put on those ugly gas masks.
At the Cub Scout meeting that night we just happened to be in the flight path of the runway of Carswell AFB and I was certain that we were going to get bombed that night, every time the air conditioner made a noise I thought it was an Iraqi bomber flying over. My dad thought it was funny, I was paranoid.
The next day at school which sat on a hill and we could see the planes taking off and landing at recess. That week it occurred to me being in the Air Force wouldn’t be too much fun.
love the reactions! This is a must watch series, I'd love to see all your reactions to the rest of the videos in this series !!!!
4:42
In all likelihood, they select very specific times for the perfect degree of darkness. The allies had a huge advantage in night vision technology. I'm sure they calculated a specific time at which the Iraqis would be least able to see, contrasted with optimum conditions for the use of night vision.
Once the early warning radars were gone, the Iraqis were essentially firing blindly into the sky.
Im 41yo. I remember watching this as it happened on the News in 3rd grade. This was the first use of GPS and smart weapons.
My brother in law was in the 82nd Airborn during desert shield and desert storm and did two tours of duty over there during the war.
I was with the 2nd Marine Division, with 1st battalion 8th marines. I remember looking up as hundreds of aircraft were overhead, and the lights aircraft have on them were turning off in a invisible line. On one side lights, on the other darkness. That was the start of the air war for me.
The video mentions an F18 pilot by the name of Michael Scott Speicher. He survived being shot down, only to be captured on the ground by Iraqi forces. He was tortured extensively before dying. It was 18 years after his shoot down, that his remains were recovered and returned to the United States. He was postuously promoted to the rank of Captain in the United States Navy.
As a DSDS Veteran, I can say this. It was the fastest land assault in the world's history and also its most toxic.
I was working in Stuttgart-Vaihingen, Germany at the Headquarters United States European Command in its Security Assistance Directorate when Kuwait was invaded.
I was almost immediately sent to HQ Strategic Air Command to its Intelligence Collection. I watched Operation Desert Shield develop from deep underground in Omaha, Nebraska and from there, I watched Operation Desert Shield become Operation Desert Storm with its initial Shock & Awe campaign. What a massive bombardment!
I remember, I had recently started college and had just turned 18 and thus was just qualified for draft age. I can tell you all the male students where very focused on this. It was big story as if it dragged on there was a chance, however slight, that we might be drafted.
Look at live footage shock and awe live over Bagdad, fist night , you will see lasers pointing on targets from ground
It's very popular to say that the first Gulf War was about oil, and it's true to an extent. Certainly, the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait was all about controlling oil production. But the USA and the other nations had more reasons for fighting than just that. Firstly, Kuwait was one of the few US allies in the region, and we had a defense treaty with them that we were honoring. Secondly, it was to prevent Iraq from expanding the conflict into other oil-producing nations. Iraq launched an invasion of Saudi Arabia during the coalition air campaign in what was later called the Battle of Khafji. According to a statement supposed to have been said by an Iraqi official, Hussein had intended to invade Arabia so that he could control the bulk of middle eastern oil production. The coalition was also acting on the behalf of regional nations, and included troops deployed from several of them.
As for visibility, the opening stages of the air campaign were launched in the dead of night, in case it didn't register when the narrator said "2:38 AM". So it was a challenge for the Iraqi armed forces to see anything. I can't tell you why 2:38 as a precise time was chosen, but the USA loves to fight at night because we've built up our armed forces to take advantage of darkness. The boast is "we own the night". It's not entirely factual, but what is true is that we own a much larger part of it than any other country I can think of.
As for casualties, there were many but it was mostly one-sided. The Iraqis did knock down a number of coalition aircraft, but at a very high cost. Civilian losses, on the other hand, were relatively low because the coalition was using strict rules of engagement and the Gulf War was the first in which precision guided weapons played a big part in the action. There were accidents, but a concerted attempt was made to avoid attacking non-military targets. Compared to previous wars civilian losses were rather low. It was nothing at all like the war in Ukraine where Russia deliberately attacks civilians to try to break Urkrainian morale.
The air campaign lasted 43 days.
Part of the reason to have odd times is timing backwards from arrival of flights to converge attacks. Some of these flights came from the US, some from different bases or maybe ships. This attack was based on timing of different points in a specific order, so flight times factor in greatly.
Barksdale air force base was a quarter mile from where we lived in Shreveport. Lots of planes and weird air craft always flying around there at night to the point where local ufo enthusiasts loved the area. We used to eat at the McDonald's on base. And the 2 weeks before the air show used to scare the tourists every year. Those pilots would be flying so low you couldn't even hear stuff with headphones on. I kinda miss it sometimes.
But we ended up moving to another ufo Hotspot on Colorado. Hahahaha.
Barksdale has basically an entire military city underneath it that all the locals know about
For those that don't know, the Iowa Class Battleships were the most sophisticated Battleships of WW2! While other nations retired theirs in the 1950s, the Iowa Class served in Korea, and Vietnam. They were originally slated to be retired in the late 70s. However, the USSR put powerful Kirov Class Battlecruisers in service! American Cruisers were too old, and out of date to compete despite their advanced weaponry. So the US had nothing available to go toe to toe with the Kirov Class. Until.... someone very smart came up with the idea of using the Iowas but, beef them up with the most advanced weapons available at the time. Those Iowas were refurbished! All the old anti aircraft weaponry was taken out. Main guns, and secondary guns were kept. The brand new Tomahawk launchers, and new anti aircraft guns were added. If necessary, the Tomahawk can be nuclear tipped. The Iowa Class became more than a match for the Kirov Class.
This attack caused almost no civilian casualties. All the targets were military except power plants and such.
I knew many people who went to my high school who were fighting this war. We graduated together and I went off to college and they went off to the military.
The F-117 Nighthawk was the first stealth aircraft ever built. So, like you stated, its design eventually lead to the development of the B-2 Spirit stealth bomber and the F-22 Raptor
The odd times used are chosen based off weather conditions predicted, sunrise/sunset times, flight times, shift changes at defensive sites etc...
This is how you fight to WIN. Overwhelm your foe. Helps to have the BEST weapons too!
I read a lot of comments about how the US lost the wars in Vietnam, Afghanistan, etc. and it honestly makes me chuckle a bit. Most people don't seem to realize the objectives and goals weren't something akin to WW2 or Desert Storm. When the US has the objective for total victory and unconditional surrender, this is the type of operation you will see, not sending in 10 to 15 thousand troops. It is also why we are hesitant to enter any all out wars. There are estimates about casualties, but it is in the range of 8 thousand to 50 thousand Iraqi troops were killed and less than 225 soldiers combined from just the US and Britain. That is just between Operation Desert Shield and Operation Desert Storm. At the time, on paper, the Iraqi military was considered pretty formidable. There is lots of information about it, and estimates, especially related to the numbers of Iraqi troops killed vary greatly. I remember this well, because there was lots of discussion and concern at the time the draft might be reinstated, but it wasn't.
The off time, such as 2:38, is in large part simply because that is a time when someone on watch or military might be less alert. During even times like 2:30, 2:45 or 3, they are more likely to be alert and so more reactive quicker. Also it might catch them around a shift change. Say they change watch at 3am, which means 10 - 15 minutes prior the oncoming watch will show up for a turn over. Or start showing up about 2:45. Prior to that at the end of their shift, like around 2:38, they are more looking forward to seeing someone come and replace them, instead of being alert. Or lets say they just had a shift change at 2:30. They will be alert when their time first starts, but then they will settle in and after a few minutes might become less alert until 2:45 or 3.
I was in Desert Storm. Our ship fired the first shot, the first missile, from the Persian Gulf side. A nuclear sub fired the first shot (first missile) from the opposite side from the Red Sea. Tomahawks being sub-sonic missile that meant was prior to airplanes launching and other shots being fired. And being low flying missiles, tree top level or lower. Except the long distance bombers from the US of course. The missiles took out key defensive targets (radar, anti-air, comms, etc) to pave the way for the first wave of airplanes to go in more uncontested. Along with other low flying aircraft such as attack helicopters mentioned. Originally it was supposed to be the USS Missouri which fired the first shot from the Persian Gulf side, but they had an issue with their Tomahawk (think gyro failed to sync up or something), so they called out if someone else had a missile prepped and ready and could be shot in its place. That was our ship and my co-workers. I was down in Tomahawk computer and maintenance room beneath the launcher. Our team got to see some before and after images of many of the targets we had launched at.
It was very surreal experience pretty much the entire war. I was there ... and yet I sort of felt like I was not at the same time. I have lots of stories of that war, and although I do tell them once in awhile, oddly enough it is not something I tell often either. War is war and ugly. Not something to really be proud of in a lot of ways. Impressive, but not really pride.
Also FYI: Yes one of the main reasons was all about oil and oil stability. But that was not the only reason for it. Another big reason for Iraq was gaining sea port access. They had very limited sea port access. And it was well known that Iraq had designs and hopes of gaining more access. In other words one of the main reasons was all about power, growth and money. For both sides. For the US it was one way to gain support and get a bigger way in to Middle East, so as to have more influence and as a result more control of power that comes from such a rich oil area and predominantly Islamic area. Something that US (and other allies) had been attempting prior with only limited partial success.
“Why 2:38am?” Because there are specific coordinated times that cruise missiles are either seen or hit their targets and the word gets out that the war is on. So each combat unit has a time to hit their first targets because if they hit too soon, the enemy is alerted. I’d too late, the enemy is ready.
19:11 - Violence of Action. It's a requirement. Distract, destroy, decapitate, dumb 'em down (silence comms). Not necessarily in that order... :)
I've watched this Operations Room video so many times, yet I pick up something new each time.
Like it just hit me when he mentions that it's "now dawn in Iraq" isn't until 15 some minutes into the video, while what you just watched seems like it should have taken 3 weeks.
Masterclass.
If only we could use our powers for good.
Those B-52s talked off from my state of Louisiana. I’m so proud of them
It started on my birthday. After cake my Dad, the armchair military tactician, told us all in detail what would happen. It did happen as he said.
This vid is one of the best I’ve seen. I was in college when this started. We were in the school pub when the air attacks started.
The place went nuts with cheers when CNN said all planes in the first wave made it home.
Check for the vid on the armored battle of 73 Easting. It was a tour-de-force exhibit of what Abrams tanks can do.
On the specific 2:38 time, there are a couple of reasons. A precise time like that has multiple people ready and focused, so they aren't the ones screwing up. Times like 2:30 or :45 or standard numbers people being people think it's okay for 2:25 or 2:35. 2:38 puts everyone on notice 2:37 or before, and 2:39 or later is wrong. This gets everyone organized and ready. The military needs that precise timing to get huge groups working together at a specific time and place.
Try it sometime. If someone is meeting you at 2:30 and you focus on being there at 2:22, how much more effort you put into it vs. if you didn't.
“Why do they pick such specific times” well they were probably ready to go anywhere from 200-400, then they narrowed the time down based on when the b-21s were set to get there
General Norman Schwartzkoff was the commanding officer and planner of the operation. You could watch one of his briefings on TH-cam if you want.
It has to be said that planning such attacks on this scale requires more than just 5 minutes, weeks or rather months until all the details are coordinated, then you still have to see whether you have the resources at all, whether they are ready in the right place at the right time and as if that weren't enough, all the logistics and supplies are added.
However, in a war everything never goes exactly as planned, that's just the way it is, that's why I assume the odd times are the reason, something wasn't as planned, which then led to a few minutes(?) delay. But even such a contingency must be planned for (and apparently was).
***INTERESTINGLY*** The F117 and B 1 and B52 Flights ALMOST ALL took off ( initially ) FROM the USA Flew Dropped their Bombs and Flew BACK MULTIPLE TIMES . SOME AIR STRIKES were launched from the BRITISH ISLAND BASE ( an American Advanced Naval Base ) DIEGO GARCIA from the Indian Ocean.
I was int the U.S. Navy at this time, and was stationed with VFA-151 the Fighting Vigilantes, aboard the U.S.S. Midway (CV-41), on the night of January 16th, even we did not know that we would be beginning combat operations, we had been flying at combat tempo for weeks before that night, and when our planes returned to the ship with all of their air to ground weapons gone, that is when we knew that combat had begun, but because we had been flying like this for several weeks, our schedule did not hardly change, Actually the U.S.S. Missouri (BB-63) and U.S.S. Wisconsin (BB-64) were already 50 years old in 1991 when this occurred, However they were the LOWEST mileage ships that he had out there, because almost immediately after WWII, they were decommissioned and mothballed, recalled for service in Korea, and again mothballed, recalled again for service in Vietnam, and again mothballed, but in the 1980's President Ronald Reagan ordered them to be brought out of mothballs, dry docked, and undergo a massive modernization program, with current electronics warfare, both offensive and defensive, adding Anti submarine rockets, removal of all WWII era anti-aircraft batteries and installing the CIWS Phalanlx system, which freed up room for the Tomahawk cruise missile batteries, and the Harpoon Anti-ship missile systems, improving the offensive striking capability of the platform from 26 Nautical miles to more than 1,500 Nautical miles, the reason for the weird timing was due to the MANY pieces to the initial strike, and the MONTHS of planning required for the time needed for critical weapons to arrive at the right moment all of which had to be coordinated with more than 30 participating countries, that is the time that came out of it, as you can see, some planes had to fly a VERY long way, the B-52's, and the F-117 which were positioned several hundred miles outside of SCUD missile range to prevent them from being hit on the ground, but still close enough to be able to utilize them in the opening strike for very heavily defended and critical targets that would not have been able to be hit with any other aircraft in the world at the time. this was a pretty good video, but for the most part, it covered basically the first 15 hours as near as i can tell, only briefly mentioning the remaining 5 weeks of continued air attacks.
I was a newborn and my family lived in Saudi Arabia (My dad was an engineer working for Aramco) when this all went down. We eventually moved back to the US and then Canada for a while after that. Then we ended up back in Saudi Arabia when I was a teenager. Then 9/11 went down and we ended up leaving again because my mom was understandably worried by that point. Ended up back in the US until I graduated high school, then I enlisted in the army as an M1a2 Abrams tank crewman, attended basic training, some gunnery's at my unit and a train up before heading to Kuwait then into Basra Iraq for a year. I enjoy watching videos like this and seeing other peoples perspectives surrounding these topics. For me, these wars completely shaped my entire life, good and bad.
I am pausing at 23:50. You were asking how long this took. Our newsmen stated that "it would take longer to make a movie about this war than it does to fight the war."
Iraqi civilian deaths up to 2009 are 183,535 - 206,107 civilian deaths from violence.
U.S. deaths: Of the 219 (212 men and 7 women) US casualties, 154 were killed in battle and 65 died from nonbattle causes. Thirty-five of the battle deaths were a result of friendly fire.
This was must see TV at the time. It is what happens when you let the Generals be in charge and fight the war in the right way, with all the propper supplies and no restrictions on force buildup, time, or force size. Keep in mind that Iraq had the 3rd largest military in the world at the time, behind only the USA (#1) and USSR (#2). So this was not shrinking violet of an adversary here. Every night we watched live broadcasts from CNN reporters in Baghdad as they showed images of the skies lit up with tracer fire and explosions of the undeterred attacks by the coalition forces on the city. The air was went on for a month before the ground war steam rolled the shell shocked troops on the ground, many trying to surrender to spotting drones used by the battleships that had been shelling their positions. The ground war was really just grinding the boot on an already defeated opponent but the M-1 Abrams proved itself as a mighty tank by rolling up hundreds of kills from long distance in the first day of the ground war as they covered unprecedented amounts of terrain only slowed by their fuel supply. Even distraction feints by the US Marines on the coast were so successful that they bulldozed enemy positions that had been beaten down by a month of heavy shelling by the 50yo battleships.
Imagine if you will, that a lot of the tanks and SAM systems in use by the Iraq forces in this battle are the same ones still being used by Russia today...now ask if Russia has a hope in hell of winning even a minor conflict with NATO.
Some things to clarify:
1) This took place in Jan 1991, not the 80s
2) Iraq had the 4th largest military in the world at the time, including one of the largest and most modern air defense networks that could be found outside the soviet union. The Iraqi air force was the largest in the middle east, and boasted a number of modern mig 25 and mig 29 fighters.
3) The iowa class battleships were designed in 1938, and construction on them began in 1940. They had received a modernization refit in the 80s which removed 4 of the dual 5"/38 gun mounts, and installed new radars, phalanx CIWS systems, and tomahawk and harpoon missile launch boxes.
4) The Iraqi military was heavily built on the soviet model, including a very top-down heavy approach to leadership, meaning that units in the field were afforded very little autonomy to act on their own initiative, a situation made worse by saddam's purges of officers to replace them with commanders with loyalty to the dictator as their primary qualification rather than skill of command. By destroying the communications infrastructure in the opening strikes of the war, the Iraqi military's ability to respond to the coalition's attack was effectively paralyzed.
When you are in the air if the missile engine is not active, then you can't see the darn thing. That is what makes missiles like the AIM 120 and AIM 260 so deadly. They are fired from such a long range that their engines are no longer firing by the time they arrive at the point when they engage their assigned target and switch on their homing radar. Up until that point they are guided by the aircraft that fired them via data link which guides them to the general location of the target