I was a soldier for almost 14 years in the US Army. I was stationed in Ft Campbell Kentucky when Iraq invaded Kuwait on the 2nd of August 1990. Being a soldier in a rapid deployment unit was exciting till we got the call to deploy to Saudi Arabia, after that it scared the crap out of me. All I could think about was here I am a married man with a 3-year-old girl going off to who knows, "it was classified" for how long. We spent the next 7 days preparing to deploy, our Advance party departed on the 5th of August we departed on the 9th. It was the hardest thing to do, leave my family, and go off for what would be 238 days when it was all over.
             Once we arrived in Saudi Arabia, at an Airport that was nameless, we received our water, ammo, food, and more water. After receiving our supplies we boarded on buses and headed to what we would call our Garrison base for the next 237 days. Our Garrison base was King Faud International Airport, (under construction) parking garage level 1. Our Squadron was the first Battalion sized unit in the country with approximately 300 personnel so we had the run of the place for a few weeks till more units arrived. The only drawback to being the first ones there is that we got all the details, filling sandbags, burning latrines, pulling guard duty, and all kinds of other duties. We ate cold meals, took cold showers, sweated a lot, and drank gallons of water every day. Even after the main force arrived we still had at least 2 "MRE's" (Meals Ready To Eat) every day. It gets old after a while when there were only 12 meals to choose from and you did not get to pick your favorite you got what was thrown at you.
             The days were long but the training we did help to keep you busy and keep your mind off things back home. We would rotate back and forth to the northern part of Saudi Arabia about 15 miles from the Iraqi border to accomplish training objectives set by our Headquarters unit. I think it was just to upset S...