The Sandbox
Copyright© 2025 by Vonalt
Chapter 4: I Am Dreaming of Sand Christmas
I began to notice subtle Christmas displays in the middle of December. A few of the fast food stands in the food court had small Christmas trees tucked into corners or a Santa Claus figurine on the counter. Nothing was over the top since we’d been instructed to keep decorations at a minimum so as not to offend our hosts. Saudi Arabia is not a Christian country, and Christianity was discouraged, if not openly opposed.
I walked past the tents shared by enlisted personnel one evening, and saw that some had put up small light displays outside. It reminded me of my childhood, when my family would drive through the neighborhood to look at our neighbors’ Christmas decorations, but that walk only made the distance from my family and friends feel heavier instead of comforting me. I missed them terribly. I would hopefully be with them again soon.
The intelligence reports that my group distributed to Unit Commanders didn’t make us very popular with those on the front lines. These regularly issued reports highlighted our own weaknesses and suggested corrections to address the deficiencies. Implementing those changes often required Commanders to leave their comfortable, air-conditioned offices and travel to the front to ensure that the problems were resolved.
The constant movement of our units likely made the Iraqi Commanders nervous, as it may have suggested that an invasion was imminent.
I accompanied the General to the front during his inspection trips twice a week. He expected me at his side, as I was responsible for taking notes on his observations and recording any recommendations that he wanted to be passed along to his Commanders. We were close enough to see enemy soldiers moving about on several occasions. We removed our rank insignia so that enemy snipers couldn’t identify anyone of command rank. Their snipers could certainly see us if we could see them.
The General seemed to thrive under the threat of danger in those moments at the front, but not me. I kept my head down and stayed behind anything that could stop a bullet: tanks, sandbag walls, whatever was available.
The General once remarked, during one of our trips to the front, that I should be able to determine what needed to be done for myself by now. He said that I had accompanied him enough times that he could remain at the Command Center, while I handled the inspections on my own.
“I’m no dummy,” he said, “I’ll make a Staff Officer out of you yet.”
I didn’t have the nerve to tell the General that I wasn’t a military commander, I was only a college math teacher, naive enough to tricked into being here. I was someday, somehow, going to make those responsible regret their deception. I’d make the best of it and keep my head down until then.
United Nations resolutions did nothing to deter Saddam while I was sweating in the desert. They emboldened him if anything, as he grew more defiant as time passed. The President and our allies had had enough, and a decision was made that a stronger military response was necessary. The Pentagon and military leaders on the ground here then put a war plan in place. Things were about to get busy here.
No one on our side wanted a massive ground war against the battle-hardened Iraqi Army, especially not against the elite Republican Guard. Such a conflict would cause heavy casualties on both sides, and no military leader wanted to be remembered for leading it.
The General recalled an assessment that I had made about leveraging high-tech capabilities and our air superiority against the Iraqi forces months earlier. That assessment helped the Joint Chiefs and the General here craft the battle plans that would ultimately defeat Saddam’s army.
President Bush and the coalition member states demanded that Saddam withdraw his forces from Kuwait and restore the royal family to power. Saddam thumbed his nose at the coalition and ignored the United Nations resolutions. That was all it took to push the President to act. The orders came down to launch military action against Iraq in mid-January 1991.
A massive air and naval bombardment, targeting Iraqi military assets as well as Command and Communication Centers, began. Our air forces and naval strikes proved highly effective in destroying their intended targets. Cruise missiles, guided by global positioning systems, made precise hits even in densely populated areas, resulting in minimal civilian casualties.