Gee in 1990-1991 I was in an F-14 Squadron at NAS Miramar, San Diego CA(not on a DD anywhere). In 2003 I was at USSTRATCOM Offutt AFB, NE. So I “missed” BOTH Iraq Festivities. :-) O and by the way there are NO mountains at Offutt, they are in Colorado Springs.
Ok sorry for my misunderstanding. “I thank you for your service. The nation owes you a debt of gratitude. Now shut the hell up!”
Sorry, sorry, I could not resist that memorable dialog spoken by Tom Cruise (in one film role where I thought he actually excelled - “Tropic Thunder”)
Anyway, I genuinely thank you. We lived in the Middle East during those incredibly dangerous - we could only surmise what Saddam was capable of - yet amazing times. We put our kids in the protective gas tents supplied by the Israeli government, as the Scuds flew overhead. Everyone thought they were filled with poison gas (false). And then the night when our Arab neighbor came to knock on our door, quietly announcing “The war has begun!” At that very moment the incredibly brave airmen of the U.S. Air Force were piercing the Iraqi defenses to deliver a devastating blow to Saddam’s forces. The rest of our military soon followed, sweeping across the Iraqi deserts in those magnificent battle chariots. Brave fearless soldiers! The rest is history. May God bless the U. S. of A!