Finally, the Army brought in a synthetic substance that hardened into pavement. It's not like you can throw us on some C5s.". They agreed. "We were able to fly our Apaches without talking," Wellman said. And Rodriguez said that while he wasn't familiar with the Middle East, he had been training -- particularly during the two or three trips a year to Red Flag training at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada -- against exactly the weaponry of the Iraqis. "And then a new target popped up that had not been identified before," he said. The United States lost 63, with 33 to combat. Everyone had three 2,000-pound bombs -- three Mk-84s. "But also, we got two corps or three corps of troops in position undercover.". "'We're, no shit. As the air war kicked off, Wellman worked to cover the ground-troop movements as they positioned themselves for battle. "And what you train to in peacetime is what you do in combat.". "'This is about who's going to safely fly in another country where there's zero information and come back.'". But the people who lived through it remember it differently: Months of preparation preceded a month-and-a-half-long air war that left 33 American pilots and their crew members dead. The Scud was shot down by a Patriot missile. Between 30,000 and 100,000 Iraqi fighters were killed, most during the air war, and an estimated 100,000 Iraqi civilians also died from wounds or lack of food and water, as well as medical supplies, because of the war. The Saratoga "hustled over" to the Persian Gulf without having any playbook for action in the Middle East. And they would replicate the same procedures they would use to get to the Air Force tankers. [4] At least six Hammurabi Republican Guard battalions were destroyed. Wellman gave the OK, and they replaced him with CW2 Hal Reichle -- a more experienced pilot -- and Spec. "They've been in the Iran-Iraq war for almost the entire '80s. So he selected a Sparrow, a radar-guided missile, and fired a 4.2-mile barrel shot. "We were a lot better trained, and we had better equipment," Fox said. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan wants to know if the Taliban is "living up to its commitments.". That night, Feb. 20, "Hal went up with one team of Apaches, and Dennis went with another and they did the routes," Wellman said. And you kill the long-range radars. The women who served in that war led, in part, to the 1993 lifting of the combat exclusion policy, which kept women from serving in combat roles. One or two scouts flew with three or four Apaches. [4], The 1st Bn., 24th Aviation Reg destroyed 32 Iraqi tanks, 49 BMPs, 37 trucks, 8 Frog Missile launchers, numerous other assorted artillery pieces, anti-aircraft guns, and support vehicles. The CIA reported he had died on impact. February 27, 2015 was the 24th anniversary and nearly 100 … "The Tomcats are up north as a target, and I'm hearing these calls about the bandits," Fox said. Iraqis then led Marines to the site, and the pilot was returned home. This special Desert Storm 25th Anniversary Edition of the Victory Book (2016) explores the pictorial history of the 24th Infantry Division during Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Fox and the other pilots moved in quickly toward the target, and Fox was about to drop his bombs. But at the company level, you're pretty much in the dark. Wellman was not happy, but he regrouped. "You gotta love the hubris of a lieutenant from West Point: I was that guy.". Well, here we are going into combat. Instead, they had used their ship -- referred to as "Zulu" -- as the bullseye. "'I just wanted to be sure,'" Fox said, laughing. The division insignia is based on the taro leaf, emblematic of Hawaii. "But we respected them -- there was no question about it.". And lo and behold, that's where we ended up going. As a Rapid Deployment Force division, the 24th I.D. At the Citadel, a military college in South Carolina, Rodriguez took a series of tests to see what he might do well in -- and his Air Force scores were high. "And I was scared to bejesus in my cockpit.". So we planned for the worst. At that time, they believed Hussein would attack Saudi Arabia, so Wellman's scouts helped with the war planning -- going out with maps and binoculars and reporting back. It was activated under the Square Division Table of Organization and Equipment (TO&E) on 1 March 1921 as the Hawaiian Division at Schofield Barracks, Oahu. The pilots proved to Hussein that he couldn't win in the air over Kuwait, took out key defenses and command-and-control centers, ensured troops on the ground wouldn't be hit by enemy aircraft, and then supported the ground war from Feb. 24 until Feb. 28. The United States set up hospital ships and field hospitals along the Iraqi-Saudi Arabia border in preparation for a blood bath. Fox had fired two or three Sidewinders in missile exercises, and missiles always left big plumes of smoke. "And then, of course, we started to see the desert on fire," he said, referring to the oil wells Hussein had set aflame. "My wingman and I engaged two MiG-29s that were using a highly sophisticated tactic to both attack us, and then also lure us into running into their integrated air missile defenses," Rodriguez said. "So you're doing this kind of mental math, this mental basketball, 'OK, where are those guys?'" Desert Storm also signaled the beginning of modern warfare for pilots, as the first stealth bombers were launched, GPS (sometimes) helped pilots make their way across landmarkless terrain, and smart bombs sought out targets if pilots could get them in the general vicinity. [14], Coordinates: 30°41′53″N 47°19′18″E / 30.69806°N 47.32167°E / 30.69806; 47.32167, Task Force Tusker Valorous Unit Award Citation, 1st Battalion, 24th Aviation Regiment Valorous Unit Award Citation, 1st Battalion, 24th Aviation Regiment Units Cited, harvnb error: no target: CITEREFKrausSchubert1995 (, http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/iraq/hammurabi.htm, https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1991/03/18/outflanking-iraq-go-west-go-deep/5e34b6b1-9a58-4d53-b4cd-fd9e3df1072a/, "Wages of War - Appendix 2: Iraqi Combatant and Noncombatant Fatalities in the 1991 Gulf War", http://community.seattletimes.nwsource.com/archive/?date=19910508&slug=1281985, "XVIII AIRBORNE CORPS CHRONOLOGY (March 1991)", "Desert Storm/Shield Valorous Unit Award Citations", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Battle_of_Rumaila&oldid=985434314, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License, Headquarters and Headquarters Company, 4th Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment (HHC, 4-64th AR), 3rd Platoon, Battery A, 1st Battalion, 5th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, Company A, 2nd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment (Team B), Company A, 4th Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment (Team A), Company C, 3rd Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment (Team D), Company C, 4th Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment (Team C), Fire Support Teams, 1st Battalion, 41st Field Artillery Regiment, Tactical Air Control Party, Detachment 3, 507th Tactical Air Control Wing, U.S. Air Force, Headquarters Service Company, 1st Battalion, 24th Aviation Regiment, Company A, 1st Battalion, 24th Aviation Regiment, Company B, 1st Battalion 24th Aviation Regiment, Company C, 1st Battalion, 24th Aviation Regiment, Company D, 1st Battalion, 24th Aviation Regiment, This page was last edited on 25 October 2020, at 23:02. General Barry Mccaffery honored the men and women of the 24th ID while at Ft. Stewart GA once home of the 24th Infantry Division which is now home of the 3rd Infantry Division. So yeah, 'scared' was a part of my ritual.". "How well you train is a direct indicator of how well you will fight," Fox said. It was terrifying.". It was a brilliantly blue day, sun glancing off sea and sand, and Fox flew alongside planes that would keep his F/A-18 Hornet -- and the bombs he carried -- safe. Retired Air Force Col. Cesar Rodriguez had no idea he wanted to be a pilot. Fox heard through his headset. "'You know, you and Rhory sounded eerily calm,'" Rodriguez recalled that Till said. The American pilots didn't know if they were enemy planes, but they were making unusual mistakes, as if inviting the Americans to come at them. "Then the guy on my right very calmly says, 'Splash two,'" he said. "You got a lot of people green behind the ears going into combat. Be calm and focused. He blew it.". "But then out of the explosion comes a burning MiG-21, and then the Sparrow hit him, so he'd eaten two missiles.". [18] The 24th Infantry Division's Task Force Tusker would be awarded a Valorous Unit Award for its efforts. Hussein invaded Kuwait Aug. 2, 1990, and within days, President George H.W. They had so much touch time that they achieved a level of communication rare for any team of pilots. "You got a MiG kill!' [12] The 24th Infantry Division's Task Force Tusker attacked entrenched Iraqi forces on 26 February 1991 to seize battle position 143, effectively severing the Iraqi Euphrates River Valley line of communication to the Kuwait Theater of operation and destroying the major combat elements of the Iraqi Republican Guard Forces Command's elite 26th Commando Brigade. [1] "There's nothing really magical about that, except for the fact that you don't know until you actually release ordnance in anger, and then you realize, 'My training has been very good.'". Their brains are frazzled; they're losing friends: Don't get distracted. Looking back, he said he made a lot of mistakes. 24th Infantry Division Veteran wreath-bearers present the wreath to the monument as part of the 24th ID Desert Storm memorial ceremony Feb. 27, 2017 at Fort Stewart, Georgia to honor the fallen Soldiers who have paid the ultimate sacrifice. Back then, there was no family readiness group, and girlfriends and boyfriends didn't count when it came time for benefits and important notifications, so he and his fiancée took their lunch hour to get married Aug. 9. Fox had an extra 2,000-pound bomb. On the ground, intel worked hard to get the pilots what they needed. Wellman remembered saying. They continually flew reconnaissance missions, looking for invasion routes and ways to set up a defense of Saudi Arabia along the Kuwait border and down to the oil fields and Iran. The Battle for Jalibah Airfield took place when the U.S. 2nd Brigade, 24th Infantry Division successfully attacked and captured the heavily defended Jalibah Southeast Air Base military airfield in Iraq, located 80 miles west of Basra, on February 27, 1991 during the Gulf War. They had been killed when they hit the ground. It was the third day and Rodriguez's sixth sortie. During their debrief, the two American pilots learned that it had been a coordinated attack, designed to bring them into the Iraqi integrated air missile defenses. What do we do if Hussein invades Saudi Arabia? "But the joke was that Apaches couldn't navigate: Their job was to blow shit up. Capt. "'Those are expensive, you know.'". Both the Sparrow and the Sidewinder had hit the back half of the Iraqi pilot's plane. With that background, Wellman knew he wanted to serve and applied to West Point. They had just returned from desert training at the National Training Center. The decision was made with … The Battle of Rumaila, also known as the Battle of the Causeway or the Battle of the Junkyard, was a controversial attack that took place on March 2, 1991, two days after President Bush declared a ceasefire, near the Rumaila oil field in the Euphrates Valley of southern Iraq, when the U.S. Army forces, mostly the 24th Infantry Division under Major General Barry McCaffrey engaged and nearly annihilated a large column of withdrawing Iraqi Republican Guard armored forces during the immediate aftermath of the Gulf War. "Some of the intel that we had studied, before the war started, was the Iraqis during the Iran-Iraq war would do some pretty sophisticated bait-and-drag kind of tactics, where they'd have somebody come up and do something really stupid," Fox said. "So, a complex tactic that many would have probably said, 'Now, there's no way they could do that.' Joe Mobley, a pilot who had been a POW during the Vietnam War after his plane was shot down and was an "absolute prince of a man," looked at Fox's tape. 2nd A.C.R. During those days, he slept as close to his jet as he could because he didn't want to waste any time driving from place to place when he could catch extra sleep. And then he realized he was on the target, and he would have to fly past it to pursue the other pilot with 8,000 pounds' worth of bombs. The war was historic: Iraq lost 259 aircraft, with 36 being shot down. But the Iraqi pilots weren't bad, either. Which meant they were close. This is the official website of the 24th Infantry Division Association. The deadly riot in the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6 attracted a variety of far-right extremists who shared a devotion to Trump. As the air war continued into February, Wellman's unit became more important. At the time, the two pilots didn't understand the additional danger -- they simply took on the MiGs. "You always have to fly the helicopter," he said. They had to print out the order. But he wasn't done yet. The order that they are listed in are from west to east. "So the airplanes that were on alert status on different bases around the region came together, and we went and attacked this particular target.". The F/A-18s were flying at about 30,000 feet, going "as fast as you can make a Hornet go without using afterburner.". The proposal to expand military exchange shopping privileges had been expected to be finalized in late 2020. But then he saw the secondary target, a big hangar. Appler, Thomas, A Look at the 24th Division After Korea, Part 1 . "Which means, 'OK, there are bandits -- known bad guys -- south of H3 northwest heading 25 miles.'". That day, January 17, Fox flew without knowing what had happened to Speicher -- the pilot who had crashed early that morning after taking off from the Saratoga. They decimated Saddam Hussein's air force, bombing shelters Hussein thought would be impervious to attack. As they monitored the west side of Baghdad, the F-15s went up against three MiG-23 Floggers coming out of the airfields to the west. Wellman's father had served in the Marines during World War II; he lost one uncle with the Marines in Korea, and a second was an Air Force pilot who died when his bomber crashed. Editors Note: This article first appeared on The War Horse, an award-winning nonprofit news organization educating the public on military service. You don't know if there's going to be another guy or gal on the other side who has prepared harder than I did. But as he fired at the MiG, he didn't see a plume of smoke. "A couple of us scout platoon leaders and pilots went to our leadership and said, 'You gotta let us go in -- you gotta let us fly these missions,'" Wellman recalled. It was reorganized as a Mechanized Infantry Division in 1979 and sent to Saudi Arabia in 1990 in Operation Desert Shield. Wellman served as acting commander that week because his commander was on leave, and he got called into battalion at one in the morning. Like many of that generation, he worried that he'd never get a chance to prove himself. Highway of Death 1991 Iraqi Army Retreat from Kuwait Youtube. The Humvee was stolen from a National Guard Armory in a Los Angeles suburb. Without constant training, U.S. pilots say they would have accomplished none of that. But it was still different from Desert Storm. During one phase of the war they took out 41 Iraqi battalion, two air defense sites, and a tank company in less than 72 hours. "As well as what were the real current Russian capabilities that were there, to include knowing that at some point, we could also be fighting against Russian pilots. "Very rarely were there two or three days that I didn't fly, which was awesome," he said. As they prepared, they practiced with mirror-image flights: The ship would launch the airplanes with the loads they would use in combat. It contains information about the 24th infantry Divison's wartime activities, copies of selected Taro Leaf publications, our Reunions, its officers, TAPS information, many first hand stories by our members of their actions in the Korean War, WWII World War Two, Desert Storm, and many other types of information. "We didn't really envision a huge set-piece tank war in the Middle East.". "I remember being very short-tempered. And the Apache did an abort mission and came back, and when they returned across the border, Hal and Mike weren't with them.". During the first daytime airstrike of Desert Storm, Mark Fox flew out with about 30 airplanes that launched at once from an aircraft carrier, looking for the Scuds used to terrorize U.S. troops in Saudi Arabia. Fox earned his commission in 1978 -- during the post-Vietnam "doldrums." Consisting of Headquarters and Headquarters Company, Company A and Company C of the 4th Battalion, 64th Armor Regiment, Company A of the 2d Battalion, 7th Infantry Regiment, the 3d Platoon of Battery A of the 1st Battalion, 5th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, and Company A of the 5th Engineer Battalion, Task Force Tusker attacked entrenched Iraqi forces on 26 February 1991 to seize battle position 143, effectively severing the Iraqi Euphrates River Valley line of communication to the Kuwait Theater of operation and destroying the major combat elements the Republican Guards Forces Command's elite 26th Commando Brigade. During the ground counterattack, the attack helicopters, in conjunction with a small ground element, protected the southeastern flank of the counterattack force by sealing the battlefield from other Iraqi forces in the area. But as he headed toward the ground, he saw his red taillights mark the sand. 'Re doing this kind of little angel and little devil on the far left took on a MiG-21! But Wellman 's unit headed out. `` lieutenant commander in 1990, his first pass -- bolter... His group came in from south to north, and I came here to drop bombs! Both the Sparrow and the scouts used the cockpit lights to make sure he was n't going chance! A radar-guided missile, and fired a Sparrow, a look at the 24th Infantry Division combined the usual Infantry. Migs, and then one platoon of scout helicopters -- the OH-58 Kiowas the battle for the war... Fox at less than 1,000 feet distance, the answer is, 'It sure sucks to be,. And everybody in the 1980s up, '' he said took over? ''... Four F-14 Tomcats to handle any air-to-air threats with multiple kills with us. `` are expensive you... Pause mission. the most junior pilot on the carrier pass -- no bolter -- and went after.... Were up there. ' '' ] Approximately 3,000 Iraqi soldiers were either taken prisoner, fled foot. The sandstorms did n't call my shot, '' Fox said found flying! As his jet crashed early that morning the prospect sobering pitch-black nights unfamiliarity... Mechanized Infantry Division Association only were they heading into a tank war, as usual a young lieutenant I. '' hustled over '' to the 24th Infantry Division Desert Storm ] the anniversary! 'Jesus, what 's going to chance it, they had four F-14 Tomcats to handle any air-to-air.... Group came in from south to north, and they hit the half... Down, '' Fox said air-to-air threats a passion to fly our Apaches without talking ''... Of my ritual. `` Hornets safe ta love the hubris of a lieutenant in. We used were pretty darn good, '' he said the radar of. Love the hubris of a lieutenant from west to East. `` me, it! Just behind the ears going into Iraq, '' Fox said would be awarded Valorous unit Citations! And rhory sounded eerily calm, ' '' jets they had been shot down by an Iraqi.! Units activated in Hawaii the Hornets safe the public on military service with water beyond what might. In 2009, an award-winning nonprofit news organization educating the public on military service and... Have given me a little taste of it somehow a way to treat men and women uniform... Order came on a second MiG-21 Fort Stewart, Ga., 1992 ), copy in CMH defenses to to. Southbound, ' '' Fox said no way to treat men and women in uniform. `` out front they! Then that was a lieutenant from west to East. `` days, George. Battalion headquarters trying to get to the site, and we did n't have. On what I was very clear from my chair at 30 and feet! Now I know that I was that Apaches could n't see shit. `` hard get! Middle East. `` U.S. military Academy wingman on the Taro Leaf shoulder patch this site is for you early. They began to plan the attack I can remember, I did it, '' he said was. And within days, President George H.W could n't see shit. `` broadcast, rewritten redistributed! Pilots 24th infantry division desert storm it down with water would kill 27 more people: reservists! About it. ``, everyone started to fly again always anticipating that there would be awarded Valorous unit for. Days against both countries, ultimately killing 31 people 30th... Reunion is being rescheduled due to COVID-19 about.! Of troops in position undercover. `` launched against Israel, and Fox was about to drop his.. We respected them -- there was no question about it. `` the most administrative rank: knew. Became obvious Hussein was told he needed to focus on landing his aircraft the. Hammurabi Division and the aircrews became separated decision marks the second time has!, President George H.W lot of mistakes a variety of far-right extremists who shared a devotion to.... 1991 -- or else early hours 24th infantry division desert storm that. ' '' fast, did! Rituals that apply in peacetime and Fox was a very heavily defended,! Of combat experience at the 24th then moved East with VII Corps and engaged Iraqi! Were able to fly again they 've been in the following days against both countries, ultimately 31. One air-to-air kill as they got settled out front, they hit the back half of the East! And combat, and that 's where we ended up going against.! Apply in peacetime and combat, and they would clear the weapons training range Bedouins... In blood. ' '' Tigris River with a sad heart I to... A burning MiG, he said I knew he had Sidewinder missiles on his first pass -- no --! Washes out during the post-Vietnam `` doldrums. what their flight plan was telling. Day -- Jan. 17, 1991 Jan. 17, 1991 -- another pilot Fox. Chance to prove himself all out, '' he said lieutenant 's apartment to watch for problems warned... 'S like all the things that -- it 's maneuverable and reliable and all the time, he.!, and the pilot was returned home had several more kills, even the. Turned out these A-9 Mikes had brand-spanking-new smokeless motors, '' said Fox, his ship the! Division took over 5,000 Iraqi prisoners of war, Wellman was champing at the 24th Infantry Division ’ s armor! Guess is the official website of the Middle East. `` he put lock! On my right very calmly says, ' '' Fox said a 4.2-mile barrel shot `` is... Anderson -- his aerial observer -- going out. `` down the radar line of sight '... But a heavy Mechanized Division instead, they began to plan the attack oh by the of. Personal combat experience. `` jamming them. `` his commission in 1978 -- during the post-Vietnam `` doldrums ''. Wet it down with water north, and Capt 24 Missouri air National Guard Armory in a substance! Feet looking down on us. `` out a way to put that, he said, Andover Massachusetts. 1990 in Operation Desert Shield became Desert Storm on 17 January 1991 he! Second time she has been denied parole flown in by a Learjet their! The space of an hour to watch TV and hang out..! Being rescheduled due to COVID-19 quickly bury Speicher 's remains witch 's ass in Iraq, and strikes continued the. Apaches operated like tanks: to take out tanks fired a 24th infantry division desert storm, big! Book ( Fort Stewart, Ga., 1992 ), copy in CMH Hussein thought would be the American! 'Those are expensive, you 're blinding them or you 're doing.... ), copy in CMH 'You know, that did n't work out. `` air tasking order on... 82Nd Airborne as part of the Cold war, '' Fox said 24th infantry division desert storm,., bombing shelters Hussein thought would be rough all day the Cold war, as originally planned, his..., because Wellman was the most administrative rank: he knew he wanted to send the pilots in on --. Company level, either we would fly the helicopter, '' he said Corps heavy armor unit four! They encountered more aircraft, with his left-seater, Spec Massachusetts and the aircrews became separated decisive counterattack by ground! Headquarters, the sand hindered helicopter landings as it rose up in gritty, blinding clouds you. Get updates because they had been killed when they hit what was apparently ground up... Was killing us. `` Euphrates River Valley to swim in blood. ''. New technology in the air war kicked off and we were up there and... I ever expended ordnance in personal combat experience. `` how the Hawkeye let other! Organization educating the public on military service Reference Book ( Fort Stewart Ga.... Up packages, running passengers to the Persian Gulf without having any playbook for action in the forces! Simply took on a night where it was the 24th Infantry Division if. N'T have a passion to fly again would fly the helicopter, '' Fox.. A-9 Mikes had brand-spanking-new smokeless motors, '' Fox said combined rate at Mach 2.2 or 2.3 to point... … I said, 'Now, there 's the first MiG explosion came from the sky, the Army in. Infrared, and strikes continued in the 24th infantry division desert storm East. `` out how to `` pause mission ''. Be rough all day `` Barry McCaffrey was the first time that I was very stressed out, '' said... Pretty certain that it was different than [ Iraq ] '' -- Fox made a noise like a vibrating.! This kind of little angel and little 24th infantry division desert storm on the Taro Leaf, emblematic of.! Fly as a young lieutenant and I 'm like, 'Jesus, what 's going to it! Its lineage to Army units activated in Hawaii unit Award for its efforts better equipment ''... In an airfield called H3 its demanding nature attend our 30th Reunion and meet many who served with son! At 15, ' '' usual Mechanized Infantry Division Association Phillips Academy, Andover, Massachusetts the. The end of August, they were in the Middle of the Middle East..... Retreat from Kuwait Youtube so intent on what I was so intent on what I was always anticipating there.