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Few courtesy of my one-time Gliding instructor, who was an Army Air Corps Lynx pilot during the 1990 Gulf War.

1) Prior to everything kicking off, the pilots helped out on the ground driving trucks and the like. This was largely done by night, using convoy lights (small white light shining on to the differential - only visible from behind and at close range). The pilots were equipped with NVGs, something the truck drivers were not - so one of them slowed down slightly until he was about half a mile behind the truck in front, then switched off his convoy light and floored it. Cue some very rude comments over the radio!

2) Also prior to things kicking off. When deployed, they didn't have enough lorries with them so were on the lookout for more. One day flying over the desert they spotted an abandoned, broken down US lorry. Landed next to it, took a look and figured out what they needed. Then promptly flew off to the nearest US base, asked for and were given the parts they needed. Flew back to the lorry, fixed it, and one of the crew drove it back to their base. They used it for the rest of the war, but were told to return it to the US before heading back to the UK. Naturally they sold it to one of the Saudis, who didn't seem to mind in the slightest that it was blatantly stolen property in a kingdom that chops your hands off for such things...

3) Towards the end of the war, with Iraqis surrendering left, right and centre. Landed to take the surrender of a couple of Iraqis in a set of bunkers. One of them was beckoning him to come into a bunker, so he got his pistol out, waved it around in an "if you try anything I'll slot you" manner and followed. Turned out the Iraqi had been saving his best uniform to surrender in, and wanted to fetch it and get changed. Once he had, he was more than happy to surrender.
Incidentally, he mentioned that the Iraqis were very happy to be prisoners in general - the coalition forces treated, paid, fed and housed them better than their own army.

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Rule 1: Never trust a Frenchman
Rule 2: Treat all members of the press as French

sappersgt

Paid? Does the Geneva Convention say we've got to pay POWs? If so so then at what rate do they accrue pay? The Iraqi Army rate or the much, much higher USA rate? I know you can collect unemployment upon your discharge from the army.

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Reddite igitur quae sunt Caesaris Caesari et quae sunt Dei Deo
(Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's and unto God the things which are God's)

Cactus

Post War Stories

If you go to some shops in Gold Souk or Kuwaiti Souk in Riyadh, you can still find incredibly expensive jewellery, antiques and fine watches dumped by Kuwaiti refugees at 1/100th their value.

All over cities in Saudi Arabia you will find huge blocks of empty apartment complexes built to house Kuwaiti refugees. If you want to see an example of conspicuous consumption that is it - fully furnished apartments left completely unused in cities where thousands of immigrant workers live huddled in squalid basements and outhouses.

Tens of thousands of US Marines' desert chocolate-chip BDUs were first seen with Saudi police (usually only the trousers), and now I think they have made their way into poorer Muslim nations' armies which contributed troops. Same thing with thousands of M9s, though its harder to see for obvious reasons.

Amazed that I haven't heard the M113 story yet ::grin::

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They have to be given an allowance to enable them to buy necessities (soap, etc. IIRC). This turned out in fact to be more than the Iraqi army had been paying them, despite being a very small amount.