The Persian Gulf War

The Persian Gulf War. . August 2, 1990 saw the invasion of Kuwait by neighboring Iraq, an event that both shocked and outraged the world. Spearheading a twenty-one member United Nations Coalition, The United States initiated Operation Desert Shield, the largest military buildup since Vietnam., On January 17, 1991 Americans at home watched as Operation Desert Shield became Desert Storm. A six-week air campaign preceded what came to be known as "The One Hundred Hour War," leading to the swift liberation of Kuwait., Once again Kentuckians found themselves on the forefront of the assault. From Fort Campbell came the 101st Airborne Division (Air Assault), the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment, and the 5th Special Forces Group. Ft. Knox sent elements of its 194th Separate Armor Brigade. Together, the two bases sent 21,500 men and women into battle., Because of the size and intensity of the planned conflict, units of the National Guard and U.S. Army Reserves from Kentucky were called to duty. They preformed such diverse missions as ensuring the transportation and accountability of equipment and supplies, direct fire support, battlefield medical support, refugee relief, water purification, film and video documentation of military actions, and security of prisoners of war. Some individual soldiers and airmen served as replacements in active duty units called to action., Kentucky Army National Guard Units included the 137th Transportation Detachment, 217th Quartermaster Detachment, 2123d Transportation Company, 475th Mobile Army Surgical Hospital, 133d Public Affairs Detachment, 1/623d Field Artillery Battalion, 223d and 438th Military Police Companies and Det 1/199th Medical Companies. Individual members from both the Army Guard and Air Guard brought the total of National Guard participants to 1390., 296 U.S. Army Reservists from Kentucky were deployed to southwest Asia, including members of the 807th Mobile Army surgical hospital, the 888th Medical Detachment, and the 5010th Army Hospital. Additionally, 1,100 members of the 100th Division (TNG) were mobilized and sent to Fort Knox to assist in the Armor Center's Training Mission., 344 Kentucky Marine and Naval Reservists were deployed to the Persian Gulf Region. The Marine Reserve Units included the 1st Military Police Unit, HQS and SVC Battalion, 4th Forward Service and Support Group and Company A, 8th Tank Battalion, 4th Marine Division. Naval Reserves were represented by personnel from CG 54, USS Antietam, Detachment 5409; Naval Reserve Commander, 6th Fleet; Detachment 109' Naval Reserve Fleet Hospital Commz 11; Naval Weapons Station Yorktown, Detachment B 309; RNMCB 20, Detachment 420; SIMA Charlestown, SC, Detachment 1209; and 4th Fleet Service and Support Group, Detachment 0921., Of the 23,530 Kentucky Service Members from both active and reserve forces who served in Southwest Asia, six were killed in action.