Tue/Wed 22/23 Jan, 1991
I am posted on Charlie Mike-2 with Cook and Mayo. We are expecting another scud attack. The excitement of it is what we look for. Just knowing its coming is exciting. And then when the Patriots are fired we watch as they go up after the Scuds and see them explode as they make contact. You talk about fireworks, this is better than the fourth of July.
I brought a tape recorder over with me so I could send recordings back to the family. When the War started I began recording the scud attacks. I have twenty three times when the siren would go off indicating we had in coming. Sometimes I pull out the tape and listen to it again. It still brings back memories.
In the picture above you see that the guy is not wearing chemical gloves. That’s because we are in a condition called “MOPP Alpha”. That means, or what we have been told, that the chemicals Saddam will use will not be the liquid kind, only the air born kind.
Tonight there was another attack on Televiv with one hit.
This from Scud Watchers report.
22 Jan 1991 at 0920 Battery A, 2d Battalion, 7th Air Defense Artillery reports possible SCUD impact on back side of Dhahran Air Base; nuclear-biological-chemical (NBC) team dispatched to vicinity of VK 147018.
Wed/Thurs 23/24 Jan 1991:
I am on Charlie Mike-2 with Sargent Rainy and Sargent Vanslyke. We were a three man team and as we made our checks of the fixed posted we finished and wound up at Charlie Echo 13. I can’t remember who was on the ECP but just after we arrived, at 22:58, the sirens blasted. In the ten or so seconds it took us to get our gear on, 2 patriots left their tubes with a boom as they reached the speed of sound.
Charlie base comes over the air, “Charlie Base to all post and patrols, Condition Red, MOPP Alpha, I say again, Condition Red, MOPP Alpha.”
ACCOUNT AS RECORDED BY LONNIE FULBIGHT.
As soon as the patriots fires Charlie Two was on the radio, “Charlie Base this is Charlie two we have Patriots.”
We hear the” boom-boom” and watched as two Patriot missiles went up seeking their target. Within seconds they made contact and we heard two more explosions. One Scud was destroyed in the air and the other we could see the fire trail as the undestroyed war head headed for the earth. There was a third we could not see.
Adrenalin is running all through us as we prepare for a fight.
The Scud that I did see I yell, “It’s coming down.” I follow it down to where I lost sight of it due to the hotel and then I saw the flash as it made contact with the ground and exploded.
Boom! The ground shook from the impact and the shock reverberated to where we were standing.
“That thing struck.”
“Man we have lousy views…we can’t see a thing,” said Sargent Rainy as he looked out the side window of our Humvee.
“It hit the civilian side.” I say.
We can hear Charlie Base in the back ground as we talk through our gas mask. “Stupid clouds man,” Rainy says again.
We hear more explosions.
“That thing struck the civilian side of the airport,” I say as I take a breath and hear the popping of the inlet valves in the gas mask as they open and close.
“What?”
“It struck the ground.”
“It did?”
“Yea!”
“That’s it,” someone said.
“Roger,” Charlie base says answering someone.
For a short time there was just the noise of the attack but the radio was silent as we waited. Then one of the guys said.
“Is that what they said on the radio?”
“What?”
“That it struck the ground.”
“No, I heard it…I could see it, I watched it come down.”
“I think one of them went out to sea, I saw a Patriot haul butt out that way.”
I am recording this event on audio and I say as if reporting it, “There’s possibility that scud hit the ground, civilian airport, north side. I am at Echo Thirteen with Sgt Rainy, and Sgt Vanslyke, on Charlie Mike-2, we are standing by, date, should be the 23rd Jan at 23:02”
“Alpha base, disregard, Charlie Base Charlie base, Charlie Mike-11, there’s a scud, possible hit north of, ah, the hotel, copy.”
“Copy, it’s already been called in.”
“Tango.”
“Charlie base standing by.”
“Guess they want us RTS.”
“Charlie base this is Mike-11.”
“Go ahead Mike-11.”
“Roger, you got clearance for us to go and check that out?”
“Roger. It’s about a mile off base according to Delta two.”
“Copy, are we going to standby or are we going to roll.”
“Copy, standby.”
Then Sgt Vanslyke says, “I hope it doesn’t rain chemicals man because we don’t have a cover for this apple strudel…”
Someone laughs.
“Come on guys lighten up, we’re alright.”
“Charlie base Mike-2, you still requesting that RTS?”
“Say again Mike-2.”
“You still requesting that R.T.S.?”
“That’s a negative.”
“Just making sure.”
“Copy.”
“Rainy?” I yell.
You can hear me fumbling around in the hummer.
“Yeah, we couldn’t see anything there man.”
“I saw it.”
“Yeah, I saw one of them out there.”
“It’s all it takes is to see one.”
I start the hummer, “Recording stopping at this time.”
Recording started again and Wolf Blitzer can be heard on the radio talking about the strikes in Saudi and Israel. Craig Lamont in Jerusalem is talking.
As we listen to the radio I say, “We had one ah, look like one strike the north side of the runway, civilian airport, ah, unknown exactly what type it was, we know it was a scud that crashed, landed but don’t know if it was the scud itself or that it was a scud that was knocked down by a patriot missile, and ah, (The radio; Israeli officials say), according to the radio we are listening to here, it sounds like…”
“Go ahead Mike-11,” Charlie base says.
I continue with saying;” Jerusalem may have got hit to, standby.”
The radio; now we have a full report from Craig Lamont in Saudi Arabia.
I say, “Stand-by.”
We’re getting full report information that eye witnesses say, (interference from our two-way), Patriot missiles take off and indeed make a hit on one missile, again, two patriot missiles take off, in ah, central part of Saudi Arabia and ah making a hit on a scud missile, although that hasn’t been confirmed, I can tell you now that the air raid sirens have gone off and apparently we are going to be given the all clear here momentarily. But, eye witnesses according to a full report indicate that two patriot missiles lifted off and struck their target in the air possibly a scud missile…Thanks Craig, it looks like we can expect more of the same of these daily and most nightly occurrences.”
23:15, “There you have it. We are in Condition Black, MOPP Alpha, which is cloves, mask, and hood on the mask, that’s it we are standing by for further”
Everyone hated that announcement. Saddam had said he would use chemicals and from that report it looks like he did.
Charlie Base announces condition yellow.
“We are now in condition Yellow, MOPP level zero, time is now 23:27.”
THE DEFENDER 
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