By Senior Airman Zoie Cox 633rd ABW Public Affairs Office JOINT BASE LANGLEY-EUSTIS, Va., –
The 30th anniversary of the beginning of Operation DESERT STORM, a massive U.S.-led offensive campaign to liberate Kuwait, was marked Jan. 17, 2021.
“We cannot honor the anniversary of DESERT STORM without acknowledging the massive effort to build up our forces in the Middle East to defend our allies, which was the campaign known as DESERT SHIELD,” said Joshua Lashley, 1st Fighter Wing historian. “It was this rapid deployment and buildup, a true display of American airpower, which led to our success in DESERT STORM.”
The Persian Gulf War began in August 1990 when Saddam Hussein, president of Iraq, ordered his army to invade Kuwait. Just days after, the United States, along with 32 alliance nations, moved swiftly and deliberately to secure oil reserves in the Middle East and ultimately liberate Kuwait. �