30 Years After Desert Storm: Jan. 19

In commemoration of the 30th Anniversary of Operation Desert Storm, Air Force Magazine is posting daily recollections from the six-week war, which expelled Iraq from occupied Kuwait.

Jan. 19:

  • Two F-16Cs from the 614th Tactical Fighter Squadron (Torrejon Air Base, Spain) are shot down by surface-to-air missiles; pilots are taken prisoner.
Video: Scott Jackson on YouTube
  • Three more Scuds hit Israel, injuring 10.
  • Iraq parades seven coalition airmen on television.
  • The U.S. delivers to Israel two batteries of Patriot anti-aircraft missiles and U.S. Army personnel to operate them.
  • President George H.W. Bush signs Executive Order 12743, allowing him to call to Active-duty Ready Reservists and to extend tour of duty from six months up to two years for 160,000 Reservists already activated.

Find our complete chronology of the Gulf War, starting with Iraq’s July 1990 invasion of Kuwait and running through Iraq’s April 1991 acceptance of peace terms, here.