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Desert Storm veterans return to the desert

National Guard Bureau News

Release Date: 9/07/2003

By SD National Guard Public Affairs

KUWAIT-IRAQ Border - When the members of the 740th Transportation Company returned home from Operation Desert Storm on July 3 1991, many thought that the eight-month deployment was a once in a lifetime event. But 12 years later, 23 veterans find themselves back on familiar ground in support of "Operation Iraqi Freedom."

Add to that total, three more who served in the Navy, four in the regular Army, and three Guard soldiers who were part of South Dakota's 1742nd Transportation Company.

"To bring this kind of experience level to the desert is a great advantage for our unit," said Capt. Patrick Stapleton, commander of the 740th. "We relied heavily on the Desert Storm veterans for advice and guidance from the time we received the call to mobilization, through the training and packing at Ft. Carson, and now in the daily operations here in the Middle East."

Today, Desert Storm vets fill the majority of the unit's key leadership positions.

"The lessons we learned from Desert Storm made for a smooth mobilization process," added Stapleton, who was an enlisted soldier with the 1742nd Transportation Company throughout that first war.

"Desert Storm was one of the first times the National Guard was activated on such a large scale, so it was a new process for everyone," explained Sgt. 1st Class Darwin Thiele, the unit's mission planner. "This time we had a better idea on what to pack and how the whole process works."

Veteran truck drivers Sgt. Charles Layher and Sgt. Wayne Vanhout both that many things are different this time around. This mobilization appears to be a little harder on their children. Layher's children Justin and Hillary were 8 and 11 respectively and Vanhout's daughter Amber was 5.

"My children didn't have a clear understanding of the big picture during the first war, they only knew that Dad was gone, but now they see the news and understand the consequences of war," says Layher.

Twelve years later, Layher and Vanhout feel that their children can now provide a much-needed shoulder for their spouses to lean upon during this mobilization.

When the unit arrived in the desert in 1991, they simply found a stake with its name on it. That designation was to be the location of its base camp.

"There was nothing but bare desert," explains Staff Sgt. Terry Wendt, truck driver. "We had to put up tents, construct shower and bathroom facilities, dig fighting positions, basically we had to make it our home for six months. When we arrived here this time, our base camp was already built," said Wendt.

The unit is in a base cluster with seven other units. The 740th was able to move in one day and began haul missions the next.

"Although our living conditions are considerably better this time, I enjoyed having our own base camp last time. It was a lot of work to build, but it was something we took ownership over and had great pride in," said Wendt.

The 740th continues to haul missions out of its base camp at the Kuwait-Iraq border. To date, the unit has compiled over 700,000 miles in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom.