Photo By Sgt. Brian Glass | George Daniels, shown while deployed with the 82nd Airborne Division. Daniels was a...... read more read more
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FORT BRAGG, N.C. - Everyone who has deployed has their own story, their own experiences that will never leave them even after they leave the military. The anniversary of Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, George Daniels, 18th Fires Brigade safety officer, is one he remembers like it was yesterday.
George, who was a gun chief for 1st Battalion, 319th Field Artillery Regiment, 82nd Airborne Division, was ready to go when the call was given to deploy.
“We got the call early so we deployed early. We were in country [Saudi Arabia] probably three to four months before anyone else got the call,” said Daniels.
“Basically we came in one morning, did PT [physical training], we deployed on the same day.”
So in August 1990, Daniels and the rest of his battalion made their way into Saudi Arabia because it was the only place they were able to fly into. After getting there, they had to set up places to sleep and find food to eat. That was a challenging time for Daniels and all his soldiers.
“When we first got there we weren’t organized for a task force. We lived in spare buildings when we first got there in a compound we called All-American. We lived there until we moved out into the desert,” said Daniels.
“We deployed with enough vehicles and MREs [meals ready to eat] for a 72-hour continuance. Meals were purchased from we don’t know but we got cheeseburgers and fries for breakfast, lunch and dinner.”
While awaiting word on if or when they would push into Kuwait, George and his soldiers made the best of the time they had.
“When we were there we were mission orientated so we trained,” said Daniels. “[Also] We would play cards because after 90 days, we started to get mail."
Daniels said they were deployed for nine months though as history shows the push into Kuwait lasted only 100 hours. They spent more time getting there and leaving than it took to liberate Kuwait from Iraq. It showed that all the training and hard work paid off as they helped to free a country from oppression.
When everyone came back, they all were showing the pride of the mission they accomplished. For Daniels, this wasn’t his first deployment but he was proud of the being part of the mission.
“It wasn’t my first deployment. People took more pride in what they did and who they were. It gave the soldiers a since of pride so no matter who came in after us we were the first ones on ground,” said Daniels.
“I was proud to say I was part of it so I can say I helped liberate a country. I was proud because of my soldiers, seeing them put the training we did into use under in other than training conditions. It was rewarding that we supported the freedom of a country and the training we did was effective.”
No matter the war, no matter how long you were there, everyone there can say they were a part of a world changing event. For Daniels, being able to say he helped liberate a country with the rest of his dedicated and brave paratroopers, will live on in his memories for a long time to come.
| Date Taken: | 01.16.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 01.29.2014 09:09 |
| Story ID: | 119794 |
| Location: | FORT BRAGG, NORTH CAROLINA, US |
| Web Views: | 205 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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