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1991 Desert Storm Bring Backs


Wayward Son
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I was going through some storage boxes and came upon some of the "bring backs" I brought home after my deployment to Saudi Arabia during the Desert Shield / Desert Storm conflict in 1990-1991. I was a 95 Bravo / Combat MP with the CA Army "Guard". Once the war started, our mission changed from combat support to EPW processing. We processed everyone from civilians who were "drafted" off the streets of their hometown and handed an AK, to high ranking Iraqi Generals flown in on US helicopters for processing and then whisked away minutes later on the same chopper.

The uniform items were removed from Republican Guard soldiers. The Kuwaiti flag was given to me by a Kuwaiti family who had fled to Hafar Al Batin, Saudi Arabia when Iraq invaded Kuwait. The shrapnel is from a SCUD missile that fell on Hafar Al Batin on 14 Feb 1991 @ 1145 hrs. The strike blew up a vehicle repair shop. I personally dug the shrapnel out of the body panels of a tow truck near the crater.

Hard to believe it has been 30 years already. Here's to those that didn't make it home: 🍻

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Just now, manayunkman said:

What is the parachute patch?

 

Someone was trying to ID one with a green background.

I really don't know. I was hoping for some answers here if someone recognizes it.........

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Iraqi airborne patch.  Probably came from the same guy with the green beret.  (Green berets were Iraqi special forces).  

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It's mentioned in the narrative that accompanies the photo. It came off the uniform of an Iraqi POW (EPW). I knew nothing about the guys assignment. Due to lack of translators and an overwhelming stream of EPW's, we only collected info pertaining to name, DOB, hometown and religious sect.

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Which of the POW camps were you assigned to 301st? 302nd? I was assigned to the Petroleum Supply unit just north of the camps (south of Hafr Al-Batin) and served as an advisor the the Saudi forces near the small town of Quesuma. Do these areas sound familiar?

 

Allan

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1 hour ago, Allan H. said:

Which of the POW camps were you assigned to 301st? 302nd? I was assigned to the Petroleum Supply unit just north of the camps (south of Hafr Al-Batin) and served as an advisor the the Saudi forces near the small town of Quesuma. Do these areas sound familiar?

 

Allan

Hi Allan! I was assigned to the 402nd MP Camp. We were just a few miles south of Al Qaisumah in the middle of nowhere. I frequented your unit a few times to get fuel for our unit. I remember those gigantic fuel bladders. Always wanted to go jump on one! My buddy and I inadvertently burnt a M1008 CUCV to the ground returning from there. Seems the shortcut we took across the desert a little too fast cause the cans to bang together and spark, causing a fire. I bailed out the passenger door at 20 MPH to save my butt. My buddy stopped the truck and booked it. t was quite the show to watch that whole thing go up like a Roman Candle. 🇺🇸

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Since the interest in the patches is here, I am providing some closer photos. The material used in the making of the red patch is a sort of a silk or valour. It is not a cheap feeling patch. It is backed with a soft PVC like material.

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I distinctly recall the truck burning to the ground. We also had a Humvee catch fire on the tapline road just north of your camp. The magnesium wheels caught fire and burned hot enough to melt the frame of the vehicle.

 

Good times.

 

Allan

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9 minutes ago, Allan H. said:

I distinctly recall the truck burning to the ground. We also had a Humvee catch fire on the tapline road just north of your camp. The magnesium wheels caught fire and burned hot enough to melt the frame of the vehicle.

 

Good times.

 

Allan

Small world! Thanks for the gas! Lots of crazy and good memories.... 🤣 🍻

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Talk about Tap Line Road does bring back memories.  I visit two of the POW camps with BG Frix, and we flew over a Blackhawk that had gone down.  Never saw the specific burnt up vehicles but saw a lot of other stuff.

 

Kuwait2.jpg

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  So, the green wings are not necessarily jump wings in the traditional sense. In the Saddam "Republic" era Iraqi Army, Special Forces units were battalion size and made up whole brigades. The wings denote service in one of these brigades and not jump qualification, though it could indeed be that he was jump qualified, just not likely by 91... The patch with the eagle is for the 'Thunder Troops" which again, is basically the insignia for one of these units. Think of them as the guys that would lead an attack, not really the guys who might insert on a LRS mission or other special operator. 

  The green beret, if the lighting in the photo is correct, is for logisitcs and supply troops, not Republican Guard, RG berets would either be black or maroon. A more emerald green would be for the Thunder Troops. The belt is neat and shows it era as it has the vertical stars of the pre 1991 Republic. After 1991 the stars became horizontal though the pre 1991 gear remained in use as long as it was serviceable. Nice little group and nice story! I too have a photo like yours near the coast, as mentioned above, hard to believe its been 30 years! Though I did get to do the do over in 2003-04... Hope this helps, thanks for your service!  Scott

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10 hours ago, ScottG said:

  So, the green wings are not necessarily jump wings in the traditional sense. In the Saddam "Republic" era Iraqi Army, Special Forces units were battalion size and made up whole brigades. The wings denote service in one of these brigades and not jump qualification, though it could indeed be that he was jump qualified, just not likely by 91... The patch with the eagle is for the 'Thunder Troops" which again, is basically the insignia for one of these units. Think of them as the guys that would lead an attack, not really the guys who might insert on a LRS mission or other special operator. 

  The green beret, if the lighting in the photo is correct, is for logisitcs and supply troops, not Republican Guard, RG berets would either be black or maroon. A more emerald green would be for the Thunder Troops. The belt is neat and shows it era as it has the vertical stars of the pre 1991 Republic. After 1991 the stars became horizontal though the pre 1991 gear remained in use as long as it was serviceable. Nice little group and nice story! I too have a photo like yours near the coast, as mentioned above, hard to believe its been 30 years! Though I did get to do the do over in 2003-04... Hope this helps, thanks for your service!  Scott

Outstanding follow up! Scott, your knowledge is what makes this forum the great place that it is. I am blessed to have found it and become a member. Thank you to all for your comments and input.

Bradford

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13 hours ago, Wayward Son said:

Outstanding follow up! Scott, your knowledge is what makes this forum the great place that it is. I am blessed to have found it and become a member. Thank you to all for your comments and input.

Bradford

Glad you found it helpful, they are great items and thanks for sharing them!  Scott

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  • 2 weeks later...

I have a piece of that SCUD!

 

I was north of Tapline Rd, east of Hafir al Batin in 2nd Bn, 5th SF Group.  We were with the Egyptian ground forces as advisors and to facilitate close air support for them.  When we got wind of the SCUD a few of us went over, where I grabbed a piece as a souvenir.

 

Thanks for your service Brother!

 

 

 

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48 minutes ago, bryang said:

I have a piece of that SCUD!

 

I was north of Tapline Rd, east of Hafir al Batin in 2nd Bn, 5th SF Group.  We were with the Egyptian ground forces as advisors and to facilitate close air support for them.  When we got wind of the SCUD a few of us went over, where I grabbed a piece as a souvenir.

 

Thanks for your service Brother!

 

 

 

Small world and good times! I remember seeing the Egyptians. Freaked me out the first time seeing them at a checkpoint. I saw their iconic AK's long before their flag. 😅

 

Thanks for being there as well! 🇺🇸

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2 hours ago, Wayward Son said:

Small world and good times! I remember seeing the Egyptians. Freaked me out the first time seeing them at a checkpoint. I saw their iconic AK's long before their flag. 😅

 

Thanks for being there as well! 🇺🇸

A primary reason for us to accompany them was to help de-conflict with adjacent (i.e., Western) units was because they used a lot of Soviet weapons and equipment - particularly tracked soviet air defense systems.

Gulf War with Egyptian Soldier.JPG

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  • 2 weeks later...

Since Tap Line Road was mentioned:  Our unit, 160th MP Bn, was at the far western end of Tap Line Road in the city of Rafa.  Tap Line Road is in Saudi Arabia and it paralleled the Saudi/Iraq border.  It ran absolutely straight through the desert for several hundred miles and immediately off the road were several US logistic bases where material was staged for use for the upcoming invasion of Iraq.  Here’s my Tap Line Road story.  I had to take a soldier back to one of the logistic bases several hundred miles away from our unit in Rafa, where he was going to be evacuated to the US.  It was during the air war and scuds were being used extensively and there was a real threat that scuds would be used to deliver chemical weapons.  As me and my driver were traveling Tap Line Road, we kept passing vehicles going the opposite direction, where every soldier in the vehicles was wear wearing their gas mask and MOP (chemical) gear, which all soldiers HATE to wear.  After several minutes of passing these vehicles, my driver and I wondered what the troops going the opposition direction knew that we didn’t, so we said hell, let’s pull over and put on our MOP gear too. Now, as we’re pulled over putting on our gear, vehicles going to opposite saw us putting on our stuff, frantically pulled over, and they start putting on their gear.  Then as we’re going back toward Rafa every troop in every vehicle for 200 miles, is either wearing MOP gear, or they had pulled over and we’re putting and that crap on.  Why?  Hell, to this day I don’t know, but it sure seemed to be the thing to do at the time.  

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