Free Kuwait: My Adventures with the Kuwaiti Air Force in Operation Desert Storm and the Last Combat Missions of the A-4 Skyhawk

By R.E. Noziglia, , Commander USN (RET)

In the desperate early hours of the Iraqi invasion in 1990, a small group of Kuwaiti pilots flew their planes to safety as their country was being overwhelmed by superior Iraqi forces. Defeated and demoralized, they would be reorganized and trained by an American Naval Aviator into a viable fighting force during the decisive air missions of Operation Desert Storm.



This is the inspiring story of Commander Robert E. Noziglia, Jr., whose dogged devotion to duty made the Kuwait Air Force full partners in winning the victory.



With savvy determination, Noziglia overcame imposing odds to keep the Kuwait Air Force flying, all the while shaping it into a fully functioning fighting force.



This is a resounding success story of technical and tactical expertise, untiring dedication, and outstanding leadership.

- Sheldon Green

• Language: English
• Publisher: Newman Springs Publishing, Inc.
• Release date: Jan 31, 2020
• ISBN: 9781640968677

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FREE KUWAIT

My Adventures with the Kuwaiti Air Force in Operation Desert Storm and the Last Combat Missions of the A-4 SkyHawk

R.E. Noziglia, Jr.

Commander USN (RET)

and

Cassidy R. Folden

R.E. Noziglia, Jr. and Cassidy R. Folden

Copyright © 2019 R.E. Noziglia, Jr. and Cassidy R. Folden

All rights reserved

First Edition

NEWMAN SPRINGS PUBLISHING

320 Broad Street

Red Bank, NJ 07701

First originally published by Newman Springs Publishing 2019

ISBN 978-1-64096-866-0 (Paperback)

ISBN 978-1-64096-867-7 (Digital)

Printed in the United States of America

Table of Contents

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter 9

Chapter 10

Chapter 11

Chapter 12

Chapter 13

Chapter 14

Chapter 15

Chapter 16

Chapter 17

Chapter 18

Chapter 19

Chapter 20

Chapter 21

Dedication

My father Lt. Col. Robert E. Noziglia, United States Air Force (Retired). During World War II, he flew thirty-one missions over occupied Europe in B-17s (two on D-Day) and then over one hundred mission for the Berlin Airlift. He was a B-47 Instructor pilot and a B-52 command pilot during the Cold War. Bob was a loving husband. Pop was a proud father, and Pop Pop was an adoring grandfather. He was a good guy, a great American, and we miss him every day.

A picture containing indoor, window, photo, sitting Description generated with high confidence

2nd Lt. Bob Noz the Great Noziglia,1945, Kimbolton, England. Pop is in a B-17 with the 379th Bomb Group, 8th Air Forces, U.S. Army Air Corps.

Letter from Ambassador Ghnem

Introduction

In August 1990, Saddam Hussein and the Iraqi military invaded the peaceful emirate of Kuwait. This obvious act of aggression was countered by American and coalition forces and later dubbed Desert Shield/Storm which was a pivotal event in our nation’s history. Desert Shield/Storm helped shift public opinion toward a more favorable impression of the U.S. military, which is still enjoyed to this day.

The rest of the story is something we are all vaguely familiar with. However, hidden within the familiar story of Scud missiles, stealth bombers, swirling tank armies, the Highway of Death, and burning oil fields. This is the extraordinary story and personal adventure of a U.S. naval aviator and a band of civilian contractors as they worked to help the Kuwaiti Air Force rise from the ashes and fight for the liberation of their country.

At the time of the Iraqi forces invasion of Kuwait, there was a newly promoted Commander, Robert (Bob Danger a.k.a. Noz) Noziglia, performing normal Naval Aviation duties. Noziglia had an established career as a naval aviator and light attack pilot. He was in Jacksonville, Florida training to become proficient as an FA-18 Hornet driver. His next assignment was to have been the military liaison officer to the Kuwait Air Force; which was attached to the United States embassy in Kuwait City, Kuwait. He was to help the Kuwaiti Air Force transition from their 1960s vintage A-4KU Skyhawks to the latest and greatest U.S. Navy attack/fighter/bomber: the F/A-18 Hornet. When the Iraqis invaded the Kuwaitis, their armed forces were caught completely unprepared. In the confusion of the first day, the intrepid pilots of the Kuwaiti Air Force were able to fly twenty A-4 Skyhawk attack jets into Saudi Arabia. Once there, no one knew what to do with them and they were shunted into a backwater air base to be ignored and forgotten.

After the invasion, the Kuwaitis were able to evacuate twenty A-4 Skyhawks and other assets to the tune of forty-five total aircraft (three C-130s, fifteen F-1 Mirages, and twenty-four Puma, Super Puma, and Gazelle helicopters) that were then scattered all around Saudi Arabia.

Commander Noziglia was destined to become a stranger in a strange land. Kuwait initially had no ground crews, ground support, or a base of operations. The formidable task of overcoming a host of management and logistics problems was given to Bob Danger. Up until this point, no one had been thrust into this type of situation. It was one nation’s military force operating from another nation’s territory, outside of the American military’s normal logistic support system. Danger did not speak Arabic, and the support of the Royal Saudi Air Force was paramount, as was the cooperation of the Kuwaiti Air Force and a command structure that flowed through a United States ambassador. This is the story of Bob Danger’s adventure in the desert. It involves U.S. ambassadors, the CIA, coalition generals, Kuwaiti and Saudi princes, the pilots and leaders of the Kuwaiti Air Force, and a rag-tag (yet extremely competent) team of contract civilian technicians. A middle-class all-American guy from North Dakota must negotiate this complex and complicated situation with all its potential pitfalls, to bring order out of chaos and turn an unorganized, unconventional group of flyers into a combat-ready attack squadron.

With the anniversary of Desert Shield and Desert Storm now a yearly occurrence, Commander Bob (Danger) Noziglia’s adventure is a story that should be shared. The American public will be able to experience the stories of the Kuwait military warriors as well as the outstanding officers, men and women of the coalition force. Bob Danger’s hope is to have the reader enjoy the story, the personality, and experiences represented in the book. Commander Bob Noziglia’s military service and firsthand account provides a unique rendition of modern American military history.

Danger Sends

Preface

We are very fortunate that the American military is held in such high esteem by the American public. Among the institutions that comprise American Society, the U.S. military is highly regarded. That was not always the case. Back in the 1960s and 1970s, my era, we had American citizens with very honorable service in Vietnam who returned home to an exceptionally hostile environment. At this time, the U.S. military was held in disdain. There are many factors that have contributed to the American public’s changing opinion and view of the U.S. military. Some of the factors include: The All-Volunteer Force; the fact that cable news networks (at the time) were just beginning to have twenty-four hours a day coverage for their customers as well as other social/political/economic factors during Desert Shield/Storm. Americans, at any time, in the comfort of their own homes, could watch the buildup of our forces in the Middle East, the air war, and the resounding victory of our land forces. Americans were able to view the U.S. military in action and feel part of a decisive victory.

We were very lucky, as Americans, to have had General Colin Powell as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff during Desert Shield/Storm. He was someone I consider to be one of the top five Soldier/Statesman in American history. General Colin Powell developed and executed the Powell Doctrine. This was a policy to define a clear objective for the use of military force, deploy overwhelming military might, execute intense military dominance, and have a clear definition of victory with an exit strategy. In that process, I was a very small cog in the awesome U.S. military machine. When briefing general officers about the Kuwait Air Force, I always emphasized The pendulum of victory would not swing in favor of the allied forces because of the twenty A-4 Skyhawks in the Kuwait Air Force. However, for all the right reasons, they had to be involved in the liberation of their country, especially knowing that we were willing to put America’s sons and daughters in harm’s way. The Kuwaitis had to be a part of the coalition’s efforts.

The following is an account of my adventure (not a job). An assignment that a normal naval aviator does not get to experience is a special forces type of challenge. The upcoming assignment was to be working with the Kuwaiti Air Force to transition them from their 1960s era A-4 Skyhawk jets to the leading edge of technology, the Hornet Attack/Fighter. I went from sitting in the simulator in Jacksonville, Florida to having boots on the ground in Saudi Arabia, with a civilian team of maintenance professionals, in less than forty-eight days. The new mission: Help the remnants of the Kuwaiti Air Force become operational again and develop them into an effective fighting force. Working with the evacuated Kuwait military, the Saudi Arabian military establishment, in coordination with United States Central Command and other coalition forces.

I camped out with the Kuwaitis. I was rained on and shot at with them. Westerners are rarely accepted into their culture. However, I was able to earn their friendship and trust. I had a unique opportunity, on a day to day basis, to earn their confidence; therefore, I was accepted and considered as a member of their team. They shared stories and insights with me that I hope to convey in this project. They are truly friends and brothers in arms. In the interest of continuity, some events were combined for expedience. My goal is to create a read that is like a one on one conversation of war/sea stories about an average naval commander attempting to help a foreign force liberate their country. Superfluous embellishment and dramatic license are authorized under the concept of bar talk and/or one of the basic rules of naval aviation. Never let the truth get in the way of a good story.

The information in this book has been cleared by the Department of Defense Office of Prepublication and Security Review.

Gulf War Veterans have found the book ‘very interesting and illuminating’.

Enjoy,

Danger Sends

Part 1: August 1990

While there was turmoil in the Middle East during August 1990, there were things happening in the entertainment industry and popular culture in America. AP released the college preseason ranking with Miami topping the list at number one. Notre Dame, Auburn, Florida State, and Colorado rounded out the top five for that year. Disney also releases Duck Tales: The Movie, and Mariah Carey’s Vision of Love was topping the billboard charts…

The enclosed map is an important part of this story, and we will present it throughout the book to help the reader. As we say in aviation, It is always important to know which way is up. The stories and personalities of the Kuwait Air Force officers and their experiences on the first day of invasion were shared with me, and those relationships were developed over the course of my many months in Saudi Arabia with the Kuwait Air Force.

Just to do a quick snapshot of the recent history and the decade prior to Iraq’s invasion: The Middle East is a mess and has been for years, and years, and years. The decade prior to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait, the event that dominated the region was known as the Iran/Iraq war. Prior to that time Iraq (which was primarily supplied by the Soviet Union) military was counter balanced by the Shaw of Iran. When the Ayatollah came to power, the Shaw was overthrown, and the Iranians burned all the technical manuals from the American military, as it was western propaganda and was unfit for their new bureaucracy. Saddam Hussein saw that weakness and entered into an eight-year war with Iran. For eight years, they fought to no avail and nothing changed except that both countries were significantly drained of resources and personnel.

As Saddam started to recover, he saw his peaceful neighbor to the south (Kuwait) as an opportunity to refill his checkbook, rebuild his military, and give his bloodied army a win. He decided to invade Kuwait. This was the basic motivation, I feel, for his invasion of Kuwait. In chapter 2, we will be introducing Robby Roberts who, after a distinguished Marine Corps career, was then a civilian contractor working with the Kuwaitis and living in Kuwait City. The first chapter talks about a Kuwaiti pilot’s experiences on the first day of the war. Chapter 2 will introduce you to Robby, and you will be able to understand his experiences during the invasion and the subsequent challenges that followed as he worked to reconstitute the maintenance team for the KAF.

1

Invasion and Evacuation

Lt. Col. Kamis Sultan was fast asleep in his comfortable home located in an upscale residential district in Kuwait City, Kuwait the morning of August 2, 1990. Lt. Col. Kamis was a graduate of Kuwait’s two-year Military Academy. His very successful military career was as a member of the Kuwait Air Force. Makidam (Lt. Col.) Kamis was one of only two commanding officers in the Kuwait Air Force A-4 KU Skyhawk community. His hobbies were weightlifting and family, not in that order.

At four eighteen in the morning the phone on his nightstand began to ring. Makidam (Lt. Col.) Kamis was deep in REM sleep. He instinctively reached for the phone with his eyes closed tightly. Makidam (Lt. Col.) Kamis automatically spoke into the phone, A’salaamu Alaikum (the formal greeting; Peace be with you). The voice on the phone did not reply wa’alaikum a’salaam (the formal response). Instead the pitch was elevated, excited, and rapid: We’re being invaded! We’re being invaded! Get out to the base immediately!

Now, sitting on the side of his bed, his eyes still closed tight, a slight smile appeared on Kamis’ face as he worked through the wake-up process. Go back to rest, he told his wife. Kamis then began to function automatically, making a trip to the bathroom and putting on a gray dish-dash. He sat at the foot of the bed and said to his still slumbering wife, Take care of yourself and the kids. I don’t know when I’ll be back.

Now fully awake and alert, he walked through the kitchen and into the garage. He walked past the family suburban, happy that he had just fueled the vehicle two days ago. He glanced at the three-year-old Mercedes and allowed himself a quick smile as he walked by his 1974 silver Corvette. It was a reminder of his pilot training in the United States. He stepped outside into the courtyard through the side garage door and felt the warm desert night air. He got in and started up a six-year-old light blue Toyota, thinking he’d much rather abandon this vehicle to the Iraqis than any of the others.

The