32 years ago.... this week. Desert Storm One of the fears we faced as we advanced into Iraq was if Saddam would use chemical weapons. We had quite a few reasons to anticipate Iraq would use chemical weapons against us. Saddam had used them extensively against both the Iranians and his own Kurdish people over the previous decade. Additionally, the prevailing winds blowing from Iraq (northwest) into Saudi Arabia (southeast) favored Iraqi use of them; the wind would carry the toxins deep into the American lines. We discovered later that Saddam authorized his commanders to use chemical weapons against us and they would use them as long as the wind continued to blow into our faces. It was 1:30 in the afternoon February 23, 1991 when my regiment entered Iraq. The very instant our tanks entered Iraq, a strange thing occurred. I noticed quite a few dust devils all around me, which seemed very ominous. Before my very eyes the direction of the prevailing winds began to change. Within minutes the winds shifted from coming out of the north to coming out of the south; 180 degrees in the other direction from its normal pattern! With the wind blowing from Saudi Arabia into Iraq the threat of a chemical attack was greater to Saddam than to our forces. If Saddam used chemical weapons, it would blow back on his own forces! The truly remarkable, miraculous aspect of this wind is that the wind generally stayed this way until 8:00 am, February 28, the very moment the ceasefire went into effect. Again, no accident, luck or coincidence - but the direct intervention of God. Thank you for praying for us back then
@dougmastriano Bless you and thank you for your service! I am the daughter of a soldier who served in Korea and Vietnam. He also was a first sergeant, and a Russian linguist during the Cold War. He died, very proud of what he had done for our country, but also very fearful of our government.
@dougmastriano Thank you Doug for your Service and representing us in PA. I voted for you, don't give up. Keep fighting the good fight. You're a great American
@dougmastriano Thank you for your service, Mr. Mastriano! 🇺🇸
@dougmastriano I will remind my client’s workers about this! The gases can destroy! The youth know only their cell phone music... thank you for your continued service... I am using your current Palestine pics in safety training classes!