The Ready Brigade of the 82nd Airborne in Desert Storm; A Combat Memoir by the Headquarters Company Commander

Jefferson, NC: McFarland & Company, Inc, 1993. Presumed First Edition, First printing. Trade paperback. Good. x, 213 pages. Glossary. Index. Some cover wear and soiling. Two promotional slips from the publisher laid in, a date stamped brief synopsis and slip requesting a review. Captain Dominic J. Caraccilo was the commander of Headquarters Company, 2nd Brigade, 82nd Airborne Division-the Ready Brigade of the National Command Authority and the first combat forces deployed to Saudi Arabia in what would eventually become Operation Desert Storm. His account, drawn from his personal log of the brigade's 227-day deployment and supported by many primary documents, is a grunt-level view of the Persian Gulf War, from the thoughts of the paratroopers as they left their homes to their attack on Iraqi forces. Dominic J. Caraccilo then was a Director of Data Center Operations at Microsoft. He is formerly the Chief Operating Officer and part-owner for Security Solutions & Management LLC; the Director for IT Operations at Facebook; Director for Amazonplacedotherecom, and Principal at Parsons Corporation. His first post-retirement position was with Knowledge Point as an independent consultant for the United Arab Emirates Land Forces leading their training and readiness transformation process. Caraccilo served over 27 years as a commissioned officer was selected for Brigadier General and retired as Colonel in 2011. Beginning his career in the 8th Infantry in Mainz, West Germany as a platoon leader and then was posted to a number of assignments to include two commands in the 82nd Airborne Division. He served as an assistant professor of Systems Engineering at the US Military Academy. The 82nd Airborne Division is an airborne infantry division of the United States Army specializing in parachute assault operations into hostile areas with a U.S. Department of Defense mandate to be "on-call to fight any time, anywhere" at "the knife's edge of technology and readiness." Primarily based at Fort Liberty, North Carolina, the 82nd Airborne Division is part of the XVIII Airborne Corps. The 82nd Airborne Division is the U.S. Army's most strategically mobile division. The division was organized on 25 August 1917, at Camp Gordon, Georgia, and served with distinction on the Western Front in World War I. Since its initial members came from all 48 states, the division acquired the nickname All-American, which is the basis for its "AA" on the shoulder patch. The division later served in World War II where, in August 1942, it was reconstituted as the first airborne division of the U.S. Army and fought in numerous campaigns during the war. The 82nd Airborne division returned to the United States on 3 January 1946. Instead of being demobilized, the 82nd found a permanent home at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, designated a Regular Army division on 15 November 1948. Four days after the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on 2 August 1990, the 4th Battalion (Airborne), 325th Infantry was the Division Ready Force 1 (DRF-1) and the initial ground force invaded Iraq on the orders of President George Bush Sr. after his "Line in the Sand" speech to Saddam Hussein part of the largest deployment of American troops since Vietnam as part of "Operation Desert Shield." The DRF 2 and 3 (1-325 and 2-325 INF, respectively) began drawing the "line in the sand" near al Jubail by building defenses for possible operations. Soon after, the rest of the division followed. There, intensive intelligence operations began in anticipation of desert fighting against the heavily armored Iraqi Army. On 16 January 1991, Operation Desert Storm began when American war planes attacked Iraqi targets. As the air war began, 2nd Brigade of the 82nd initially deployed near an airfield in the vicinity of the ARAMCO oil facilities outside Abqaiq, Saudi Arabia. While 1st Brigade and 3d Brigade consolidated at the Division HQ (CHAMPION Main) near Dhahran. Extensive ground operations began almost six weeks later. The 2-325th INF was the division's spearhead for the ground war who took positions over the Iraqi border 24 hours in advance of U.N. coalition forces at 8:00 a.m., February 22, 1991, on Objectives Tin Man and Rochambeau. On 23 February, 82nd Airborne Division paratroopers protected the XVIII Airborne Corps flank as fast-moving armor and mechanized units moved deep inside south-western Iraq. After the second day, the 1st Brigade moved forward to extend the Corps flank along with 3d Brigade. The 82nd drove deep into Iraq and captured thousands of Iraqi soldiers and tons of equipment, weapons, and ammunition. During that time, the 82nd's band and MP company processed 2,721 prisoners. After the liberation of Kuwait and the surrender of the Iraqi Army, the 82nd redeployed to Fort Bragg.