Desert Storm vets support U.S. in Iraq

Desert Storm vets support U.S. in Iraq 
by Barbara Ramirez

The war in Iraq began almost three years ago, and U.S. soldiers are still fighting in the Middle East.

That’s exactly where they need to be, Operation Desert Storm veteran Army Sgt. Cathy Smalls believes.

“Freedom is not free,” Smalls said. “If we don’t take care of (our enemies in the Middle East), they’re gonna take care of us.”

While many anti-war activists have gained national attention for their creative ways to urge the government to stop the war, Operation Desert Storm veterans from Longview, who fought a similar war in 1991, say the war in Iraq is necessary.

“Iraqi people want their freedom,” said Operation Desert Storm veteran Army Spc. Michael Mitchell. “We’re there, we’re in it; we can’t just leave now,” he said…

Operation Desert Storm’s land war began Jan. 17, 1991. The United States’ fight to liberate Kuwait from Iraq was a short one, lasting less than a year.

Almost three years into the second war in Iraq, U.S. soldiers continue to die. And while local Operation Desert Storm veterans say the bloodshed is often jolting, they remember their fight and how much it meant to them. They said they believe soldiers fighting in today’s war share their pride.

“I don’t think there’s a soldier out there that doesn’t believe in what he’s fighting for,” Smalls said.

Nonetheless, being surrounded by constant violence can be tough, Smalls said.

Both Smalls and Mitchell worked closely with their battalion commander during Operation Desert Storm.

Smalls a member of the 27th Main Support Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division from Fort Hood worked in transportation as the driver and clerk for the battalion commander. The battalion’s duties, she said, were to get supplies, fuel and food to the troops.

Mitchell, a member of the 198 Forward Support, was his battalion commander’s personal assistant behind enemy lines, supplying soldiers with all sorts of supplies.

“Basically, we supplied soldiers with everything it takes to make a city run,” Mitchell said.

Both veterans were often enveloped in heavy fighting, but it wasn’t nearly as bad as the war today, the two agreed.

“This is a very violent war,” Smalls said. “There are so many people dying and so many soldiers coming back with missing limbs.”

Mitchell, who said he saw a lot of fighting and dead bodies during Operation Desert Storm, said this war is different because “it’s so hard to tell who your enemy is now.”

During Operation Desert Storm, Mitchell said they knew who the enemy was because the enemy wore a uniform. Now, with al-Qaida and all the insurgents coming into Iraq, Mitchell said, “our soldiers don’t know who they’re fighting.”

“We were pretty much just dealing with the military, (today’s soldiers) are dealing with anybody and everybody,” Mitchell said.

The enemy also has become more intelligent, Smalls said, adding that they have studied and learned the United States’ battlefield defenses.

Bullet-proof vests aren’t useful anymore because the enemy has learned how to shoot soldiers in body parts that the vests do not protect, Smalls said.

Smalls said she trusts that the government is making the right decision by staying in Iraq, but with thousands of soldiers continuing to die, a reduction in force couldn’t hurt.

“(Iraqis) have been fighting hundreds and hundreds of years. They have no respect for life,” Smalls said. “There is only so much we can do to help.”

Army Staff Sgt. Shane O’dell, also of Longview, is an Operation Desert Storm veteran who works as a Army recruiter for East Texas.

O’dell, an electronic technician in the 1991 war who fixed radios and other equipment, said there is a military “draw down” in Iraq and Afghanistan, meaning fewer soldiers are being sent there.

Out of 485,000 soldiers on active duty in the Army, about 14 percent are deployed overseas, O’dell said.

“The soldiers that are coming back (from Iraq and Afghanistan) are telling me we’re there for all the right reasons.

“I believe that,” O’dell said.