Jump to content

1991 Gulf War Infantryman Pics


ROCKET
 Share

Recommended Posts

I finally got time to scan some of the pics I took as a mechanized infantryman with the 1st Cavalry Division during the 1991 Gulf War.

 

Enjoy!

 

John

 

Me and my squad leader posing with captured Iraqi weapons.

 

scan0010.jpg

 

That's me getting me Sergeant E-5 stripes pinned on one day after the ground war cease fire.

 

gulf8.jpg

 

Inspecting destroyed BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicles.

 

gulf7.jpg

 

Who says it doesn't rain out in the Arabian Desert!

 

gulf6.jpg

 

Captured fully in-tact BMP-1 infantry fighting vehicle (it's now on display at the 1st Cav Museum in Fort Hood, TX).

 

gulf5.jpg

 

Fully loaded M2A2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle.

 

gulf4.jpg

 

Knocked out Iraqi vehicle.

 

gulf3.jpg

 

Destroyed Republican Guard BMP-1.

 

gulf2.jpg

 

That's me during bunker clearing operations in Iraq shortly after the ground war ended. I had gone 2 months without a shower and it definately shows...LOL!

 

gulf1.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Great shots! They sure show how hodge-podge we looked back then. We were just coming out of the cold-war and definately were not 100% ready to deploy like we are today. Man, how things have changed.

 

-Ski

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Corpl. Cleaver

Cool photos, thanks for posting them.

What are the woodlanf cammo pants you have on in the last photo?

Photo 2, are those armored personel gas mask bags?

 

Also I spy WW2 wool blankets in pic #3

 

Thanks for your service,

 

Tyler

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Cool photos, thanks for posting them.

What are the woodlanf cammo pants you have on in the last photo?

Photo 2, are those armored personel gas mask bags?

 

Also I spy WW2 wool blankets in pic #3

 

Tyler

 

The woodland camo pants are actually chemical protection pants. You can see the black charcoal inner lining which eventually rubs off and turns the wearer black. We were required to wear the chemical protection pants and coat during the ground offensive because of fears that the Iraqi's would use chemical weapons. Many of us also wore woodland camo uniforms underneath as you can see in some of the other photos. When we deployed we were only given 2 sets of the desert chocolate chip BDU's.

 

(Photo 2) Yes...those are armored vehicle gas masks that are pictured on some of the soldiers. The Bradley crew (commander, gunner, & driver) all used the armored vehicle gas masks which came with an intercom hook-up so they could still talk with the other crew while wearing there masks.

 

The wool blankets in pic #3 were used by the Iraqi's. We came across many of these during bunker clearing ops. I refused to even touch them for fear of catching lice or lord know's what...LOL!

 

John

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Corpl. Cleaver

Thanks for the reply, I wasn't sure if those were chem pants or not.

 

It also looks like some of the guys have on jump suits of some type, made for crew members right?

What are the small black things clipped and taped onto your web gear?

 

Tyler

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thanks for the reply, I wasn't sure if those were chem pants or not.

 

It also looks like some of the guys have on jump suits of some type, made for crew members right?

What are the small black things clipped and taped onto your web gear?

 

Tyler

 

The jump suits are nomex suits similar to what military flight crews use. The nomex suits are fire retardent and used only by the Bradley crew members (driver, gunner & commander) to protect them from fire in case the vehicle is hit.

 

The black cannisters clipped to the crew members gas mask carriers hold decontamination wipes which are used in case a soldier comes in contact with chemical agents. The 2-ply wipes are supposed to neutralize chemical agents on military equipment or exposed skin. Luckily we never had to use them. On a regular gas mask carrier the black container fits into an outer pocket on the very back of the mask carrier.

 

John

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Corpl. Cleaver

OK thanks,

 

Thats what I thought the suits were, but I wasn't sure.

I didn't even think about them being cases for decon wipes, duh... :huh:

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Here's a few more pics I scanned for your enjoyment!

 

John

 

An M1A2 Abrams tank with mine clearing claw.

 

gulf17.jpg

 

M1's on the move during the ground war.

 

gulf16.jpg

 

Our BFV driver caught with his pants down "pinching a loaf"...LOL!

 

gulf15.jpg

 

This photo clearly shows how filthy soldiers get when they wear those charcoal lines chemical suits.

 

gulf14.jpg

 

Crew members trying to get some badly needed sleep at every opportunity.

 

gulf13.jpg

 

Our crew smoking and joking around a cook stove during the air war.

 

gulf12.jpg

 

Me posing with some captured Iraqi weapons.

 

gulf10.jpg

 

Hoisting the Wisconsin state flag at every stop.

 

gulf11.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Corpl. Cleaver
Crew members trying to get some badly needed sleep at every opportunity.

 

gulf13.jpg

 

oh.... I thought they all droped dead from eating the old MREs...

 

And I'm sure your driver is proud of that photo.. LOL

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Oh man...don't even get me started on the old MRE's. Do you know what it's like riding around for hours in the back of a Bradley with 5 stinking G.I.'s who haven't showered in 2 months and who are all ripping nasty MRE farts. It's enough to bring tears to your eyes!

 

Our driver was a real piece of work and we constantly gave him sh!t at every opportunity. I ran up to him when he was out taking a dump to take this photo. He already had one "hanging" so there wasn't much he could do at that point...LOL!

 

Here's a few more showing some captured Iraqi vehicles which were brought back to Fort Hood and put on permanent display at the 1st Cav museum.

 

John

 

Here's a pic of the BMP-1 our company captured. It was fully in-tact and the only thing wrong with it was a dead battery. I encouraged our mechanics to weld the name of our unit and the capture date on the vehicle so some REMF unit couldn't take credit. So what does the dummy do? He welds it into the side with about 12 inch tall letters like a friggin moron!

 

gulf20.jpg

 

This picture was taken back in Iraq shortly after capturing the BMP-1. It shows the full up-armed vehicle complete with "Sagger" anti-tank missiles and main gun rounds. The BMP-1 basically fired the same warhead as an RPG.

 

gulf22.jpg

 

Captured artillery pieces.

 

gulf21.jpg

 

A 4-barreled anti-aircraft gun. I believe this is a 30mm anti-aircraft piece which is the same as the Soviet ZSU 23-4.

 

gulf23.jpg

 

Soviet made T-72 main battle tank. Believe it or not but our 25mm Bradley main gun rounds could penetrate the armor on a T-72 by using armor piercing rounds.

 

gulf24.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rocket,

Thanks for posting these, but I have a follow up question for you. What did you guys think of your round-out brigade? I was an IRR "filler" who was assigned to the 155th Armored Bde which was 1st Cavs round-out.

 

Was there any discussion by you guys on why we weren't sent over? This has always been a sore spot with me as when we volunteered to be recalled, HRC told us we would do two weeks at Hood and then deploy to Kuwait. It is my understanding the Stormin' Norman did want any reserve combat troops there. I went up to the stay-behind G-1's office at Hood and asked him why 11Ms with active duty experience weren't being deployed and they were sending troops straight out of Benning. His answer? "You don't need the medals for promotion"!

 

I would like to know what the troops in the 1st Cav thought of the round-outs as it seems that the war a difference by the Army in the pre-war attitude versus the attitude during the war. Thanks!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Rocket,

Thanks for posting these, but I have a follow up question for you. What did you guys think of your round-out brigade? I was an IRR "filler" who was assigned to the 155th Armored Bde which was 1st Cavs round-out.

 

Was there any discussion by you guys on why we weren't sent over? This has always been a sore spot with me as when we volunteered to be recalled, HRC told us we would do two weeks at Hood and then deploy to Kuwait. It is my understanding the Stormin' Norman did want any reserve combat troops there. I went up to the stay-behind G-1's office at Hood and asked him why 11Ms with active duty experience weren't being deployed and they were sending troops straight out of Benning. His answer? "You don't need the medals for promotion"!

 

I would like to know what the troops in the 1st Cav thought of the round-outs as it seems that the war a difference by the Army in the pre-war attitude versus the attitude during the war. Thanks!

 

To be honest I don't know what to think. We weren't privy to a lot of those decisions so we had no clue on which troops were being sent and which were being held back at Ft. Hood. I had heard of a number of IRR folks getting called back up to active duty if they had been out less than 6 months. I found out later that most of these guys never deployed and ended up staying at Hood or were shipped to Germany to help with supply. I almost fell into this group but had decided to reenlist a couple of months before Saddam invaded Kuwait.

 

When the 1st Cav was in Saudi Arabia we were considered the "stepchild" since we kept getting bounced around between 18th Airborne Corp & 7th Corp. I think this is why Stormin Norman used the 1st Cav as bait to do "berm busters" into Iraq to make them think we were invading up the "Wadi Al Batin" when in fact the rest of the forces were attacking abouT 200 miles to the north. This did not sit well with us since we had a lot of catching up to do to link up with the rest of our forces before the ground war ended prematurely.

 

I think the reason they didn't want the round-out brigade is because Schwartzkopf didn't really know what to do with the entire 1st Cav Division in the first place, let alone another add-on brigade. I hope this answers your question.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

×
×
  • Create New...