Horner has since retired from the Air Force but his doctrine is engraved in our military strategy. He served in the Air Force from October 1958 to September 1994. During his tenure, he served as the commander of all US and coalition forces for Desert Shield and Desert Storm. General Horner's distinct position gives us the opportunity to get his perspective on air operations during the Persian Gulf campaign and describe the events that led to the decade of preparation, the attack, and the future of aerospace power.
One of the key events to the United States success in the Persian Gulf was the decade of preparation prior to the Gulf War. The decade of preparation consists of two significant events: the build-up and the deployment. Detailed studies and analysis of logistics identified the need for pre-positioned supplies and ammo. The build up began in the early 1980's and consisted of parts, supplies, ammunition, and people. US intervention in South West Asia was a result of three major incidents, Anti-American protesting, the overthrow of the Shah of Iran, and taking of hostages at the US embassy in Tehran. Theses considerable events sparked the need for a Rapid Deployable Force (RDF). The RDF is a quick and efficient way to project global power. The extensive logistic planning and preparation led up to the easy deployment. Even though some supplies were in place, the bed-down of personnel and equipment were enormous. The Air Force vision of " Global Vigilance, Reach and Power" is the prime example of what the airmen train for in the event of a tasking of this magnitude. The resulting deployment moved more tonnage in 6 weeks than the Berlin Airlift moved in 65 weeks. Successful logistic planning turned a desert runway strip into a full-up combat ready operating base overnight. This could not have been possible without the decade of preparation and the deployment of assets prior to the Persian Gulf War.