My Story of Desert Storm in the Iron Brigade.
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- Опубліковано 2 лют 2024
- This video chronicles my experience during Desert Shield/Storm. As a young Armor Lieutenant, I had graduated from Tank Platoon Leader to Supprt Platoon Leader in the 2nd Battalion, 70th Armor. Stationed in Germany at Ferris Barracks and the city of Erlangen, I deployed to Saudi Arabia on Christmas Eve, 1990. As the video discusses, I was able to be an integral part to the success of the unit's mission.
Most of the pictures were taken by a fellow officer and Headquarters Company Executive Officer, Steve Fixler. The video was shot by various cameramen in the Battalion. The video quality is rather poor as it is from a VHS copy of a VHS copy burned to CD.
If you served in the Middle East, I would love to hear your thoughts and comments.
LT Cory Lesmeister, Callsign "Roadhawg"
patreon.com/thedatameister
Baghdad 2006-2007 . I deployed as a scout in the 1/14 Cavalry (Stryker Recon Variant) out of Fort Lewis WA. I was the radio-man on the dismount team. We dismounted in the warzone every day for almost a year and a half during the extended deployment of the "the surge". We loved our Strykers for how fast and quiet they were as they dropped off our dismount teams where the enemy didn't expect us. We chased Saddam Fedayeen, Al Qaeda, Badr Brigade, Jaysh Al Mahdi, etc etc in places like Dora Market, SAHA, Karkh, Haifa Street, Predators Elbow, and down in Diwaniyah. I love your episodes on Custer. I don't judge him as harshly as others because we acted with the same boldness as he did. I appreciated this episode and I especially loved your comments at the end about your friends and the humor soldiers have in the worst conditions. I always think of my combat buddies. It was an honor to serve with them.
Thank You. You confirm what I have been hearing about how well the Stryker performed. You guys had a tough mission. I was in Dora many times for KLEs, and we shipped millions of dollars of equipment to the base on and adjacent to the refinery. I can't imagine having to fight in that urban environment. Thank you again!
Great video, Cory. Brought back a lot of memories. Many of us from 1-35AR are having a reunion in about a month. This was great to share with them as a refresher on timeline, movements and AAs, some of which I’d forgotten. Your videos are great. Keep’em coming! Hogan
Thank You! Be sure to share the video with the 1-35 Armor Team!
I was with 8th Infantry Mech at this time with HHC 2/68 Armor in Baumholder. Our 2nd brigade was not notified of any formal inclination of going to Saudi Arabia. However our 2 or our 3 155mm FA battalions (2/29 and 4/29) of the Division FA were immediately given orders for Bremerhaven as well as the MLRS unit....Intel wise our C / 333rd field artillery movement and control spotters who left immediately overnight in August and told us they were already inside Iraq mapping fire lanes long before the ground war started. Most of our 8th ID units stayed hand picked units joined various VII Corp units and possibly 1st Cav and 3rd ACR. This included 4/34 armor ~ (1/68 combined) Armor in Mainz, Dco 2/68 in March.
8th ID was in drawdown and not on the deployment list. It can be assumed V corp as a whole was also in process in July 1990. Being in western FRG we were not on tactical issue for Bradley's and were using M113s thus components were deemed too slow to keep up with the M1A1's.
I ended up going to Saudi early January 1991 not with 2/68 armor and attached on separate orders to 7th Transportation Group.
Awesome Video brother!! Brings back alot of memories from my time there with C Co. 1/35th Armor Cougar Company. I was 1st Platoon Sergeant with my unit from Erlangen , Germany.
Thank You!
Thank u for your service brother Support Platoon Leader,. been there, done that, got the T-shirt.
Thank you. As you know it is the toughest job in the Army!
Thanx for another trip down memory lane, keep em coming.
Iron Tigers! Great to hear from you!
@@MilitaryHistory317 And Bandits to you too!
✔️💕🐈⬛〰️ Great info’ from Mr IT thank you. Always MM & Crew Got It! 💯
I linked up w/ the 6th Light French & 101st Abn . ⚔️🇺🇸
Thanks Cory. It is most interesting to see all those pictures.
My grandfather on my dad's side Served as a Staff Sergeant under General Allenby in Palestine in 1918. He only left us two pictures, one shows him in a group photo of their sergeants' mess and the other shows him riding a camel.
Family folklore has it that Grandad was sometimes required to run errands to take or receive dispatches from T E Lawrence. However the only formal memoir he left us is a typed account of a visit to Jerusalem at the end of the war.
Thank you for sharing, an amazing story in what was a masterful campaign by Allenby. He did what Richard the Lionheart was unable to achieve. Okay, I am going to have to watch Lawrence of Arabia again this weekend.
@@MilitaryHistory317 Thanks Cory. By 1914 standards, Grandad had IT skills when he volunteered. From helping out with book keeping for his uncle's pneumatic tyre business, he could use a typewriter and so was selected to work on staff duties rather than anything else.
Great review of you time during Desert Storm. I was an M60A3 gunner at the time back in the day and my Armored CAV Unit was training in Gage Town Canada to get ready to go. Of course we were not needed in the end. Rail heading tanks in a rush is not fun. Getting all the logistics properly set up via advanced parties during a real combat operation had to be a pissah of a job. I wouldn't want it.
What was the most valuable lesson you learned from your experience?
Great question. I recall thinking about it prior to Operation Iraqi Freedom, and I couldn't get over the fact of how vulnerable the logistics were. Lo and behold, what did the insurgents go after with a vengeance once we occupied the country, but the "soft" targets. By the way, the TTS in the M60A3 was vastly superior to the early model M1A1's TIS. I knew a few old crusty tankers that would rather have had an M60A3 in '91. It sounded like in order to get Congressional funding for the M1, they had to cut costs, so they settled for an inferior gun sight. By the late '90s, the new M1s had incredible sights.
Great points and I can personally vouch for the M60A3 TTS being superior to the M1 TIS. It was not even close. What I was told was that the TTS was a "generation" newer then the TIS because the tech was evolving very quickly at the time and the TIS were already committed to the M1s.
Great points about logistics being vulnerable.
I agree with the old Dino Tank crusty old bastards. I will keep the M60A3 and the TTS. Rather be in something I know all the ins and outs of and can manage.
Great stuff!
Iron Tigers sir!
Roger That. Hope to see you in the not too distant future.
Gas station, roll outs
Damn Straight!