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It was the largest mobilization of the National Guard since the
Korean War 40 years prior, and the first large-scale combat
mobilization for the reserve component since the Vietnam War. More
than 75,000 National Guard members were mobilized or deployed in
support of Operation Desert Storm 25 years ago.
Offensive air
operations involving the National Guard began Jan. 16, 1991, when
pilots from the New York and South Carolina Air Guard took part in
the first waves of the conflict, which resulted from the August 1990
invasion of Kuwait by the Iraqi army. By late February, more than
62,000 Army Guard Soldiers from 398 units had mobilized with more
than half of them serving in the Persian Gulf.
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National Guard Bureau heritage painting, "Steel Rain: The Army National Guard in Desert Storm," by Frank M. Thomas.
(Courtesy image)
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Guard units also took part in the ground offensive that
ended Feb. 28, but helped with the task afterwards of
securing and cleaning up Kuwait, which had been devastated
by months of Iraqi occupation and the Allied air and ground
offensives. Both Army and Air Guard units began returning
home in April and by the end of September 1991, only a
handful of Guard units remained overseas. The impact of its
role, however, would have lasting effects for the National
Guard.
Air Guard in supporting roles
Desert Storm was
the first time in Air National Guard history where most who
mobilized or deployed were from non-combat and non-flying
units – units like medical squadrons, security forces and
firefighters, said David P. Anderson, director and chief
historian with the Air National Guard History Office.
“Some went overseas and some stayed home to back fill,
or they went to Europe to back fill active duty units that
were leaning forward,” Anderson said, adding the Air Guard
mainly provided airlift, air refueling and special
operations capabilities during the conflict. “We also had
two fighter squadrons and a reconnaissance squadron that
went over,” he said.
In total, Anderson noted, 12,404
Guard Airmen entered federal service during Operations
Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Of that number, 5,240
deployed to Southwest Asia while another 6,264 served in the
continental U.S. The remaining 900 were assigned to Europe
and other overseas locations, he added.
“Initially,
Air Guard volunteers had concentrated on airlifting as well
as flying air refueling, reconnaissance, tactical airlift,
and special operations missions,” Anderson said. “The early
surge of volunteers helped the Air Force meet its
operational commitments while the President built political
support for his Persian Gulf policies.”
Regardless of
their mission, Air Guard units went out the door trained and
ready to go, thanks in large part to the Total Force
concept, said Anderson.
“Desert Storm not only
validated the Air National Guard's relevance as a member of
the total force, it validated this entire Total Force policy
where the training and the equipment of all the
organizations was supposed to be on par. Desert Storm was
the first time we demonstrated the Air Force's ability to
send all three components into combat,” he said.
Air
Guard members also served in support roles outside of the
Persian Gulf to meet the needs of the Air Force, who had
pulled personnel from Europe to serve in the Gulf.
Several Air Guard members deployed as individuals and not as
units, which is an interesting element of Desert Storm,
according to Anderson.
“We always expected to go as a
unit,” he said, “but we were sending individuals or a group
of individuals, plus the equipment, to meet whatever
requirements were asked for.”
Many of those
individuals volunteered as well, said Anderson.
“Volunteerism, or the ‘silent call-up,' allows for the
flexibility to fill the short-term needs wherever they are
needed,” he said, noting it is a common practice even today.
“It gave a lot of flexibility to not only the warfight, but
also the individual.”
Looking back, Anderson credits
much of how the Air Guard operates today with the Total
Force policy and volunteerism that began in the early '70s.
“I think the active duty Air Force and the Guard have
always had a really good relationship,” he said. “When we
arrived for Desert Storm, they saw that we were showing up
and ready to go,” he said. “We went over there, we
integrated with the active duty forces and operated without
any hiccups.”
Anderson credits the tremendous
performance of the Air Guard then with how much the
component is relied upon today.
“As a result, you're
now seeing more and more Guard units being deployed and
tasked to do these real-world operations.”
The Army Guard contributed
After the Iraqi
invasion of Kuwait, the Army made clear its plans to
incorporate the Army Guard, which stood ready, into the
warfight.
“The word went out and states immediately
put people on orders because they knew something was
coming,” said Army Lt. Col. Jeff Larrabee, the chief of
historical services at the National Guard Bureau. “We were
just in the process of getting ready, not knowing what was
happening, but that there was probably going to be a need
for the forces.”
Larrabee said much like the Air
Guard, the Army Guard provided some combat arms units, but
primarily provided combat support units.
“Army Guard
units deployed included two field artillery brigades,
engineers, hospitals – a lot of logistics types – military
police and some transportation units,” Larrabee said. “They
were all heavily engaged and integrated into the regular
forces, whether they were supporting U.S. or allied
divisions.”
What was needed, according to Larrabee,
was artillery.
“The Army did have a need for corps
artillery, non-divisional, heavy, eight-inch stuff, which
the Army Guard had a lot of,” he said. “We also had a
Multiple-Launch Rocket System battalion in the Guard – there
were only three in the Army at the time – and all of those
participated in Desert Storm.”
Like the Air Guard,
the Army Guard changed too. That change began in August 1990
when the Iraqi army invaded Kuwait and the U.S. began the
buildup to Desert Storm.
“I think the biggest thing –
you probably won't see this written down anywhere – is that
it changed the training dynamic because it was happening at
the end of the fiscal year and the end of the annual
training period. Some units were actually at annual training
at the time and suddenly it injected a higher level of
seriousness,” he said.
“It was huge for the Guard as
a whole,” Larrabee added. “As part of the Army and as part
of the Air Force, it validated the Total Force concept.”
Desert Storm not only validated the Guard and the
total-force concept, it changed the perception of the Army
Guard.
“The fact that we were mobilized in large
numbers and performed effectively as part of the Army helped
to change the perception of the Guard from the Vietnam era,”
Larrabee said.
The American public was also seen as
the driving force behind much of that perception change, he
continued.
“There were very public ceremonies and
sendoffs ... and a huge public awareness of the supposed
threat that the Iraqi army posed. Everyone was keenly aware
of what we thought we were up against, but the fact that we
mobilized so many Guard members from across the country
characterized the difference between the Gulf War and
Vietnam.”
It also led to more consistent use of the
Army Guard, which led to higher readiness and a better
posture when 9/11 occurred and beyond, Larrabee said.
“Desert Storm changed the Army's thinking and focus on
how they were going to use the Guard and Reserve in the
future. It changed the training dynamic in the ‘90s and how
we thought about unit prioritization. There was more
empowerment of the Guard as a whole.”
Looking back,
Larrabee observed, the National Guard finds itself repeating
history.
“The timing is right to remember Desert
Storm,” he said, “because as the U.S. military is downsizing
again, we're facing a lot of the same questions, like ‘how
do we get the best defense for the U.S.?' That was the big
question in the 1990s. The Guard's performance during Desert
Storm ensured that the Guard was going to be part of the
answer.”
By U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Darron Salzer
National Guard Bureau
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2016
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