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File: 120596_aacyf_48.txt
Page: 48
Total Pages: 124

 			**** UNCLASSIFIED **** 			37 

to another successful mission.  The 69th continued to lead a charmed existence; not one plane received so much as a scratch.  (58) 
The 69th flew eight SCUD sorties throughout the day, which brought the squadron's daily total t0 seventeen sorties for 27 January 1991. (59) 

	(U) For the next two days, the 69 TFS maintained its main operating location at Al Minhad, but with the increased burden of anti-SCUD operations, this proved impractical. On 29 January 1991, the remaining operations and maintenance personnel forward deployed to king Fahd AB, Saudi Arabia.   Only munitions, weather and a few other support personnel remained behind at A1 Minhad.(60) Immediately after their redeployment, the 69 TFS became the theater anti-SCUD squadron. From 29 January 1991 onward, most of the squadron's resources were dedicated to that mission, destroy the SCUDs.

	(U) During the night of 30 January 1991, Iraqi forces attacked the abandoned Saudi resort town of Khafji. Saudi, Qattari and US Marines counter-attacked the brigade-size incursion, and the battle see-sawed throughout 31 January 1991.        As night fell, Iraqi forces continued to occupy portions of Khafji. (62)

	(U) On 31 January 1991, on their second mission of the day, Capt  Charles Curreri and Lt Douglas Champagne (Bassett 15 and 16) were directed - to orbit ten miles south of the Kuwaiti border (in the area of Khafji). From there, they were directed by a Marine forward air controller (FAC), code named Kiwi, to hit numerous Iraqi-held buildings. Although the pilots did not comment as to their degree of success,  they did comment
that they could hear Kiwi cheering over the radio. The 69th dropped
twelve K-84s on the Iraqi forces and contributed to the recapture of Khafji. (63)

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