Episode 6 - Commanding the Air War: The Desert Storm Air Campaign 30 Years Later

The Aerospace Advantage presents Commanding the Air War: The Desert Storm Air Campaign 30 Years Later, a conversation between Gen (Ret.) Chuck Horner and Lt Gen (Ret) Dave Deptula, the joint forces air component commander who led the air war and his chief offensive air campaign planner. These two individuals, along with a broad coalition team, guided 100,876 air sorties from Jan 17 to Feb. 28 1991. This air campaign marked a turning point in warfare, seeing desired effects drive targeting across the entirety of Iraq, and more importantly, across all its regime key strategic and operational level centers of gravity. This winning approach contrasts sharply with those that evolved in the conflicts of the first decades of the 2000s, which saw our military become bogged down in nation building. Given the current security challenges facing the Unites States, the lessons of Desert Storm are more important than ever.