Preserving The Oral HistorIES of Combat Veterans
3:26 | Operation Desert Storm was so brief that Brooks Tucker, a Marine veteran of that conflict, believes that it may be a forgotten war. He speaks of the lessons learned, including operating in desert terrain and adjusting expectations for possible outcomes.
Keywords : Brooks Tucker Desert Storm desert Vietnam chemical exposure
It was ironic that Brooks Tucker was born in Saudi Arabia, where his father worked in the oil industry. He decided to become a Marine and that set him on a path to return to that part of the world as a young officer.
After receiving his commission, Brooks Tucker started his Marine officer training in earnest. The Basic Officer Course was followed by the Infantry Officer Course and these were used to mold young college graduates into platoon leaders.
He was a newly minted rifle platoon leader in the Marine infantry. Brooks Tucker had no experience outside of training, so he worked hard to fit in and get respect in the historic unit, which counted Tarawa and Beirut in it's backstory.
Brooks Tucker sought and received a transfer to a different battalion so he could get a deployment sooner. It was only training in Okinawa, but it was in the field, at least. While the Marine platoon leader was busy there, Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait and training became preparation for war.
Platoon leader Brooks Tucker was in the Saudi Arabian desert, waiting to see what Saddam Hussein would do. The Marines were training in mock ups of Iraqi defenses, mostly at night to avoid the scorching heat. The men were getting impatient just as the air war started. It wouldn't be long, now.
The Marines were lined up on the Saudi side of the Kuwait border. There were bands of mine fields on the other side and Brooks Tucker had to wait impatiently as the engineers cleared the ordnance. This gave the Iraqis a chance to lob some poorly aimed shells their way. The young platoon leader and his men had to go to chemical warfare posture, including full body suits, after an alarm was sounded.
Brooks Tucker's Marine battalion did not continue north into Iraq. It was tasked with security in a Kuwait City suburb. As they took stock of their new surroundings, the air was heavy with smoke from oil well fires set by the fleeing Iraqis.
Brooks Tucker was in the suburbs of Kuwait near the famous "Highway of Death," a much photographed road littered with thousands of abandoned vehicles. There was never enough water while they were there, but at least there were no longer any Iraqi Army units either.
It was in Khafji, a Saudi town on the Kuwait border, where Iraq made it's strongest attempt to enter Saudi territory. Brooks Tucker's Marine unit was in the desert nearby, backing up the Saudi National Guard. He was in a deep foxhole when aircraft screamed by low overhead and then there was an explosion. Iraqi planes here?
Brooks Tucker nearly came into contact with Iraqi Army units while deployed near Khafji in Saudi Arabia. His infantry platoon was supposed to dig in deep if confronted by Iraqi tanks and then pull a surprise maneuver. Only thing, it depended on them not getting run over by the tanks.
There has been a lot of Monday morning quarterbacking going on ever since Operation Desert Storm was halted after only 100 hours of fighting. Brooks Tucker was a Marine infantry platoon leader during that conflict and he has some definite opinions on it.
