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Veterans Day
Nov. 11th, 2020 12:42 pm I was a young captain stationed at Ft Hood when Desert Shield began and the Army began to send troops into Kuwait. I was supervising a group doing some training of lieutenants and sergeants from various units. I still recall the faces of those young people as I explained that we were, to all intents and purposes, at war and released them back to their units. This is probably my most vivid memory of that time.
The Iraqui Army was equipped with Soviet equipment. The cold war had only just ended, and we would be facing the stuff we had been notionally been training against for years. Soviet equipment was supposed to be formidable. The Iraqui soldiers we were facing were supposed to be formidable. Initial casualty projections potentially exceeded Viet Nam.
Ft Hood deployed one entire Army division and a brigde from the remaining division as well as various other units. My unit did not deploy, although we assisted others in deploying. Despite the expectation that many of those deploying would not be returning home, the professionalism of the soldiers was unwavering. They were doing what we were trained to do. They weren't eager to fight, but they would do their duty and do it well.
The local community was amazing in ther support. Every single convoy that left Ft Hood was greeted with people lining the overpasses with signs and flags seeing them off. Every single one.
Me, I cried for every convoy (in the privacy of my car-captains don't cry in public).
We were lucky during that conflict. It turned out that Soviet equipment wasn't the threat we thought it would be and that most of the soldiers we were fighting didn't want to be fighting us. Casualties were surprisingly low. That doesn't detract one bit from the bravery of the men and women who deployed and answered the call of duty.
On this Veterans Day, I'm thinking of them.
The Iraqui Army was equipped with Soviet equipment. The cold war had only just ended, and we would be facing the stuff we had been notionally been training against for years. Soviet equipment was supposed to be formidable. The Iraqui soldiers we were facing were supposed to be formidable. Initial casualty projections potentially exceeded Viet Nam.
Ft Hood deployed one entire Army division and a brigde from the remaining division as well as various other units. My unit did not deploy, although we assisted others in deploying. Despite the expectation that many of those deploying would not be returning home, the professionalism of the soldiers was unwavering. They were doing what we were trained to do. They weren't eager to fight, but they would do their duty and do it well.
The local community was amazing in ther support. Every single convoy that left Ft Hood was greeted with people lining the overpasses with signs and flags seeing them off. Every single one.
Me, I cried for every convoy (in the privacy of my car-captains don't cry in public).
We were lucky during that conflict. It turned out that Soviet equipment wasn't the threat we thought it would be and that most of the soldiers we were fighting didn't want to be fighting us. Casualties were surprisingly low. That doesn't detract one bit from the bravery of the men and women who deployed and answered the call of duty.
On this Veterans Day, I'm thinking of them.
