OPERATIONS DESERT SHIELD 82D ENGINEER BATTALION 28 AUG 91

File: 971208_sep96_decls2_0016.txt
Page: 0016
Total Pages: 57
Subject = OPERATIONS DESERT SHIELD    82D ENGINEER BATTALION  28 AUG 91   

Box ID = BX000301

Folder Title = 82D ENG BN AFTER ACTION REVIEW COMMENTS  5 APR 91                                               

Unit = VII CORPS   

Parent Org = ARCENT      







            Vehicles are continually getting stuck. LTC Slattery holds a late
            night Command and Staff meeting to remind us to get our 'heads on
            .Straight' and make sure everyone is briefed on lilIC's alternate
            defense positions and defense of LBA. Stand-to is 0500-0700 with
            50% security after stand-to.



            14 Jan 91: 2ACR conducts AAR on CPX.



            15 Jan 91: At 0700 local time the United Nations deadline passes
            without any incident.


            16 Jan 91: Camouflage nets begin coming down and being packed into
            the MILVAN. They provide no utility in the desert on the offense.
            The Commander attends a 1900 meeting at the 7th EN Brigade. A
            Command and Staff meeting is called at 2200 hra by the Battalion
            Commander. We are not definitely told that the war would start
            that evening. but that it is highly likely around the 0300 local
            time frame. Along with a warning order, a synopsis of the air war
            is provided. Everyone is awed at what the Air Force intends to do,
            hopefully they will come through with minimal losses. Briefly, the
            Air Force intends to bomb 24 hours a day for 14 days utilizing
            almost every airframe in their inventory. The Battalion will move
            out with the 2ACR on D+6. The meeting ends with a prayer by
            Chaplain Roberts. The prayer is 'or the Air Force and Navy crewman
            about to be engaged in the largest air campaign since Vietnam.


            17 Jan 91: At 0045 hrs, on advice from the Corps NBC Officer, 7th
            Engineer Brigade units are ordered to start taking PB tablets. At
            0150 local, the US and Allied Coalition starts air operations
            against Iraq. A report comes over the 2ACR command net stating
            that we are officially at war. No ground activity occurs against
            Iraqi forces in the Kuwait Theater of Operations (XTO). Operation
            Desert Shield is renamed 'Desert Storm'. Stand-to is uneventful. A
            large shipment of mail arrived the night before and soldiers read
            as they listen to Peter Jennings on AFN. President Bush addresses
            the nation at 0500 local. He reiterates what Iraq has done, the
            U.S/U.N. objectives, the on-going atrocities in Kuwait, and
            stresses the fact that 28 nations stand against Iraq under U.N.
            blessing. The rest of 20 Jan 91: At 1100, the 2ACR conducts an
            orders brief and we formally receive the OPORD for our
            participation in Operation Desert Storm. The Battalion also
            receives a message from 2ACR to expect a possible chemical attack
            between the hours of 0330 and 0800 21 Jan. The Battalion sets out
            M8Al chemical detectors and takes other appropriate actions as the
            situation calls for. B Company sends a SEE out for the day to
            assist a British aviation company in the construction of
            survivability positions. At 2200, the staff conducts an orders
            brief.