The day before the ground invasion, our Operations Officer (callsign Dealer) asked me to mark the route to the first obstacle belt in Kuwait with chem lights that were only visible to our forces. Mission accomplished and we got our final briefing from the intel weanies who knew nothing. I gave my Marines the real gouge on the warrior prowess of Arab forces…they have none, simply put!
The real start of Desert Storm was the ground invasion of Kuwait by us grunts on 24 February 1991. Here’s what my Heavy Machine Gun Platoon (1st Battalion, 5th Marines, Task Force Ripper, 1st Marine Division) did that day…from my book, OUT OF AFRICA AND INTO THE CORPS:
On February 23rd, 1991, Dealer called out to me and asked that I mark a route for our battalion to the first obstacle belt. I grabbed Sergeant Jenkins’ section. One of his superb Squad Leaders was Corporal Tod Shores. We found a suitable route to the point in the obstacle belt that was 1/5’s designated penetration point. On the way back to our battalion’s position, we emplaced infrared chem-lights, making them only visible to our eyes, traveling from south to north and not to any enemy eyes looking to the south from the north. We accomplished the mission and made it back to our platoon area about 1700. In just seven hours, our battalion was to begin movement to our attack positions at 0001 on 24 February 1991.
In the final briefing by our intelligence analysts, they predicted that we would face fierce opposition from the Iraqi troops in Kuwait and predicted thirty percent casualties in the fight through the obstacle belts.
When they departed, I told my Marines of Heavy Machine Gun Platoon that I felt the intel guys were full of shit. “My dad used to joke about the shortest book in the world being of Arab war heroes,” I said. “I grew up for a good chunk of my life around Arabs. My experience is that when faced with danger, they are cowards unless they are hyped up on drugs, like methamphetamines. My personal assessment is that when faced with United States Marines, they will quickly surrender and throw up white flags. How we perform in battle will reverberate through eternity. We will prevail and be heading home soon to tell our war stories back home. Our road home is through Kuwait. The faster we get this done, the faster we go home to our families and the land of ‘milk and honey.’ Our reputation precedes us into battle, warriors. Let us not disappoint our legendary Marine heroes on whose shoulders we stand today. When God is for us, no one can stand against us, and I am certain that God is with us. We will fight, fight, fight, crush our enemies, and see them driven before us.’” I then directed our Marines to “suit up at MOPP Level 2.” From our training in Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical (NBC) warfare, we know that MOPP stands for Mission Oriented Protective Posture and the various levels are to protect military members. MOPP Level 2 is actually putting on and wearing the chemical suit that is worn over our uniforms along with the overboots. We were each issued a single suit that we put on, carrying our gas masks and gloves on our person. This combo was worn for the next four days. It was hot and sweaty…very uncomfortable but had to be worn.
Author: A110PercentMentality
I grew up in Africa, the son of missionary parents who devoted their entire adult lives to helping African tribespeople in desperate need. Read all about it in my recently published Memoir, OUT OF AFRICA AND INTO THE CORPS. I spent eight years in the southern Sudan, four years in South Africa & South West Africa, and two years in Kenya. It was perfect preparation for a career in the Marines.
I led Marines for 39 years on active duty, first as an enlisted Marine from Private to the rank of Staff Sergeant, and then as a "Mustang" infantry officer for 31 years: Second Lieutenant to full bird Colonel. I was the senior Colonel in the Marines when I retired on Leap Year Day in 2020 of some 555 Colonels with almost a full ten years time-in-grade as a full bird Colonel.
A week after being notified that I would be considered by the selection board for Brigadier General in July 2016, I was falsely accused of sexual assault, and wrongfully convicted of one charge at a court martial fourteen months later in September 2017. I spent nearly 3 years in 3 different military prisons, before being exonerated "WITH PREJUDICE" in a unanimous decision by the Navy-Marine Corps Court of Criminal Appeals for "factual and legal insufficiency." Upon my release from prison, I was forced to retire and my leadership reneged on our agreement of "no punishment" by weaponizing the retirement process to have me retired in the pay of a Lieutenant Colonel and with an "Other than Honorable" characterization of my service, which equated to "severe punishment." It was the military lawyers' way of getting their revenge for losing the most important case of their careers.
In retirement, I have written and published the true story of my case in my first book, UNDAUNTED GLADIATOR.
These are the eight books that I've currently written and published. I am working on three more books presently:
UNDAUNTED GLADIATOR
A 110 PERCENT MENTALITY
THE BATTLE OF FALLUJAH - PART II...Operation Phantom Fury
DAN 2.0 by DAN W.
THE SWAMP F0X UNLEASHED
OUT OF AFRICA AND INTO THE CORPS
PICKLEBALL BATTLEFIELD
THE BLONDE BOMBSHELL
All eight books are available on AMAZON in the following formats: Hard Cover, Paperback, Ebook/Kindle, and as audiobooks that I personally narrate.
I aspire to fix the inequities in the military legal system someday. I aspire to have HONOR restored to my military career and that JUSTICE be done in my case. I aspire to inspire in others a desire to acquire a Higher Power of their own understanding. I give all credit to any successes I've had in life to my Higher Power, whom I choose to call "GOD." "I can do all things through God who strengthens me." I dedicated UNDAUNTED GLADIATOR to God, because He imbued in me the attitude to not just survive in prison, but to thrive in prison. On account of God, I went from “Victim” to “VICTOR!” All glory be to God Almighty!
Semper Fi and Semper God!
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A 110 PERCENT MENTALITY-THE COLONEL'S CORNER 