Deployed to Qatar during the Gulf War

MKopack, do you by any chance happen to know a beautiful girl named "Ramada"? She was part of the intel team and was deployed during the gulf war too.

Now that my Gulf War thread seems to have run its course, I wanted to thank everyone who has read it and commented, along with the hundreds and hundreds of visits to our website, and all those who have e-mailed me.

It really means a lot that so many people remember our time in Qatar, and that even amongst those who don't, there is still so much interest in what we did there.

Thanks to all!

Mike

[email protected]

Has any one seen the movie the "Curios life of Benjamin Button" kind describes what tallg is saying when it is born..

You never know until it is born..

-----------------

HE WHO DARES WINS

lol UK - it might be a tall baby but I don't think it's going to be an OAP!

Good one SAMAEL.

William Bernard Tall

Will B Tall

____________________________

That is genius brit, especially for this time of the morning.

At the moment it's just called 'baby tall'. I think we'll have to come up with something better once it's born.

Since he'll be tallg's son, you should him "wee-Gee"

If he gets fed up thaen you can call him "Wee-Gee Bored"

Sorry... Too early in the morning..

Call him Samael

____________________________

Nice one. What could I name my impending son/daughter who was conceived in Qatar? Don't think there was anything as exciting as a scud around at he time.

Any other suggestions for appropriate and amusing names for a child born in Qatar now?

I actually knew a G.I who named his son "Scud" because he was concieved during an attack..:)

Awesome stuff. Great pic as well.

I was too young to take in the details of the first Gulf war at the time, and I'd never really heard of Qatar's involvement. Very interesting.

tallg said:

Wow! Amazing to hear about the SCUD incidents. I never knew about that.

And to think Jackmohan couldn't comprehend what Qatar had to do with the war in Iraq. IT doesn't seem so "far off" now does it Jack!

Good point Tallg - for it's size, Qatar actually played a large role in the war for the Liberation of Kuwait - even before it had started.

Prior to the Iraqi invasion, nearly as much of Baghdad's rhetoric had been directed towards Qatar, as Kuwait. Qatar strongly supported their Kuwaiti neighbors afterwords, as well welcoming a large number of those who had escaped the invasion. There was a lot of well founded fear that after the Iraqi tanks rolled through Kuwait, that whey would continue south across Saudi's eastern oil fields, through Bahrain, and across Qatar as well. (Which probably had a lot to do with the welcome that we recieved as we arrived in Doha...)

Before the war, I had the opportunity to meet a number of Kuwaitis who had escaped after the invasion. They told us of some of the things that they had seen and experienced at the hands of the Iraqis. Many people say the the Gulf War was about oil, but for those of us who met those refugees - they are what we were fighting for.

Qatar's role went well beyond 'moral support' for Kuwait as well - our presence in the State itself came only as a result of an invitation from the Qatari government. Without the support of the then-Emir, his government - including the current Emir, who was the Armed Forces Minister - and the Qatari military, it would have been much more difficult for us all to have succeeded. And that doesn't even mention the active role that the Qatari military played in the conflict.

Qatar has a small military that, at the time, was mostly untested. I think it's fair to say, that there was a bit of 'self-doubt' as to how effective they could actually be. After the war stared, members of the Qatari Air Force saw us flying missions, and I think felt a bit 'left out', so when the time came, they loaded weapons on their Mirage aircraft, and joined into our F-16 formations to fly missions into Kuwait. Those missions were dangerous, not only as they were flying into combat, but also that they were flying aircraft that were nearly identical to those of the Iraqi Air Force and there was always a fear of misidentification. The change in confidence was immediate and dramatic, and became even more so when the Qatari Army (deployed to Saudi Arabia) played a critical role in routing the Iraqi armour during the Battle of Kafji. After the battle, I found myself watching CNN in the breakroom of the Qatar Emiri Air Forces's machine shop, and I don't think I've ever seen as much pride, as I saw on the faces of the Qatari military members as we watched the US Marine Colonel speaking about the "brave Qatari's" that he had fought alongside at Kafji.

An air-to-air view of a multinational group of fighter jets, all based at Doha, Qatar - including, left to right, a Qatari F-1 Mirage, a French F-1C Mirage, a U.S. Air Force F-16C Fighting Falcon, a Canadian CF-18 Hornet and a Qatari Alpha Jet, during Operation Desert Shield. USAF Photo by F. Lee Corkran

Yes, I would say that Qatar had something to do with the war against Iraq and the Liberation of Kuwait...

Mike

That was the practice that we followed too. The document I was referring too was a comic one that someone issued in Doha under the guise that it was official.

Lol

See, Qatar has definitely got more boring. A few evenings of "scud watching" would certainly liven things up a bit!

As SAMAEL says, Scuds are just launched like the old fashioned "doodlebug" with the hope that they'll destroy something.

Dweller: We were told that in the event of a chemicl attack, we should barricade ourselves in a small room (bathroom) and wedge "wet towels" under the doors and crevices.

expats may remember an advisory document relating to "What to do in the event of a gas attack" appearing in numerous places and I think on what looked like British Consular paper.

The recommendation was:

"If caught in a gas attack, rush into the nearest Center (also the name of the only big store at the time) strip off and cover yourself in flour."

I remember one bloke saying "Rather than see some of these people naked I will take my chances with the gas"

Tallg. Scuds gave rise to scud watching from rooftops. One got through the defensive pocket between Dahran and Bahrain. CNN announced an alert about it and we were all on the roofs with binoculars but it apparently landed in the sea between the mainland and Qatar.

Now a useless fact. Did you know that you can't play darts in a gas mask?

I have enjoyed reading all of it.

What a wonderful lesson in (recent) history!

Mandi

Iran has alot of modified everything, i personally wouldn't want to be a pilot attacking that place.

____________________________

Iran has a lot of modified scud missiles.

Westerners will do a mental count of Hadji's inside any aircraft, at any airport, before take off...

Peter Russel

Wow! Amazing to hear about the SCUD incidents. I never knew about that.

And to think Jackmohan couldn't comprehend what Qatar had to do with the war in Iraq. IT doesn't seem so "far off" now does it Jack!

As Bill Hicks said, launching a SCUD is the same is throwing a Cadillac at someone with a big sling shot... Not Accurate, but does a lot of damage if it hits something.

Thing that always got me, was while fire and brimstone can be falling, there is an eerie calm when yer on your own. Everything you see was hand created just for you, at that very moment.

____________________________

I remember that night well - the evening before was the tragic SCUD strike on the warehouse in Dhahran that killed so many, and brought the reality back that the Iraqi's were firing ballistic missiles at all of us in Qatar.

I was at work in the hangar when our sirens sounded, I quickly put on my gas mask and exposure suit (normal procedure, although chemicals were never detected at any time) and headed for the nearest shelter, which happened to be an open-topped sandbag berm. That night I was the only one in there and as the base sirens died away I could hear the sounds of sirens across Doha itself - the only time I'd ever heard them. It sounded exactly like the old recordings of London during the Blitz in the summer of 1940, and eerie, lonely wail, echoing across the city.

I already knew why the sirens had sounded, and what the projected target was from our Intel people (it was all of us in Doha, military and civilian) so I sat there in my little bunker, looking through my gas mask, and out from under my helmet to the NNW. Within minutes, there was a faint, but definite descending streak of light, followed by a low, deep, BOOM. The missile struck in Doha's bay, not far offshore of the Sheraton.

It was the last SCUD missile fired during the Gulf War, although it wasn't the only SCUD to strike Qatar. Several weeks earlier another missile struck in the desert, as I recall, to the northwest of Doha (some photos are at: http://www.lucky-devils.net/index30.htmlbr>

Mike

incidents that sticks in my mind is the day that there was an explosion somewhere off Doha bay. All the banks and big buildings (there was nothing above about 5 floors) had their upper windows blown in and the blast went up at least one street richocheting from one side of the road to the other side breaking windows.

The telephone system became gridlocked as everyone rang everybody else and nobody could get through to anywhere. It was hours before the system was back to normal.

The initial causes were given as a mine being exploded offshore or a sonic boom depending who you asked.

It was only at the presentation night of the Ramadan Quiz (held every Friday on the QBS radio) that the probable truth came out when a guy from the Embassy quipped "We all know what a scud sounds like now".

There was enough happened over that period to write a book.

And yes Eccosavvy, the Kuwaitis did invade all the hotels in the August, many of which had to be re-fitted when they left.

Britexpat

You never had a mask, all you had was the snorkel attachment for your Pink Submarine....

Go back to your collection of Tonka toys and Gi joe dolls...

Westerners will do a mental count of Hadji's inside any aircraft, at any airport, before take off...

Peter Russel

Kuwait Liberation Medal (Saudi Arabia)

Kuwait Liberation Service ribbon(Saudi Arabia)

Kuwait Liberation Medal

Kuwait Liberation service ribbon.

I hope you guys pick up the medal from Saudi Arabia, is made in gold and silver and is inscribe with a serial number belonging to you only with official orders to wear it.

My brigade issue both medals the kuwait medal and the Saudi.

:) niceeeee that I survive those six months of pure hell......

Westerners will do a mental count of Hadji's inside any aircraft, at any airport, before take off...

Peter Russel

It is easy to befriend a monkey or say a dog.

But it is very difficult to even spot an orangutan or a gorilla in their natural habitat. So it is difficult to socialize with gorillas as they are not social animals.

Thanks for posting. I enjoyed looking at your website. You should check out the Souq Waqif site. That Souq has changed a lot. Such a great place. They have a wonderful book about it too. http://www.soukwaqif.com/english.html

*************************************

Be kinder than necessary, for everyone you meet is fighting some kind of battle.

The sellers in the souq still love it when Westerners come to buy the traditional dress. I did it a couple of months ago and the chap though it was great, especially as I'm so tall so they had to rummage around for ages to find one that fitter (he ended up altering it for me).

jackmohan - Qatar hosts a US air base, which is the command centre for war in Iraq.

I know what you all mean about a large proportion of people who wall themselves up inside compounds and never take advantage of the opportunity to get out and 'see what there is to see'. No matter where you are.

There were a lot of people who deployed with me to Doha that were the same way. I'll bet that half of them never left the base at all, and most of them hated their time in Qatar - after all for them it was nothing more than work, military food, and then back to the tent (of course in my two years in Spain, a lot of military people did the same thing and hated that too.)

I read the thread about western men wearing the traditional garments, which leads to another story that I've told people over the years...

One thing that I wanted to bring back to the States after my time in Doha was a thoub and shumagg from the souq. The military knew that there could be 'sensitivities' about us buying them (especially being 20 years ago), so we were told to make the purchases from younger sellers, who might be more moderate in their views.

Well, it came time for me to actually make my purchase, and with at least a little bit of nervousness, I approached a young dealer amidst the alleys of the old souq. Immediately I realized that I'd picked probably the one person I met in Qatar who I couldn't communicate with in English, "One moment..." he replied as he went behind the curtain at the back of the shop, and returned with what must have been his Grandfather. He couldn't have been over 5 feet tall, I couldn't even venture a guess how old, and was VERY conservative in his appearance.

I thought, "In for a penny, in for a pound", and explained what I was looking for. The old man looked up at me with a concerned look (which could have only added to my nervousness), when his face suddenly broke into a huge smile "You want to look like an Arab!" he exclaimed as he put his arm around my shoulder and started going through his wares. He called to the neighboring shoppes and several of his probably even older friends arrived with an old Polaroid camera as he finished adjusting my headdress - everyone wanted their pictures taken with 'the American who wants to look like an Arab'. We ended up sitting, talking and laughing over coffee and dates for an hour, as if we were old friends.

It goes to show, that despite all of our cultural differences, we're all still more alike. It is things like this trip to the souq that so many of my compatriots, who never left the base, missed, and one of my favorite memories.

Mike

What war are you guys discussing?

Qatar War....(was there any?) or Iraq war......

Iraq is so far off.....

Going back to the Gulf War..

We got issued "Nato" gas masks which had filters on the outside..

The Americans got some old masks, which had the filters on the inside. This meant that the mask had to be removed to change the filter..

Americans complained and got new masks pronto:)

lol.Your lives were precious no doubt

Do you remember Kuwaitis invading Ramada, they invaded our roads too. Qatari women were so innocent those days compare to thier guests (Kuwaiti)

You are bringing memories back....lol

Sealing a room, keeping a stock of water and foodstuffs.

And how about the gas masks that Tom & Jerry were selling, those with the long snout. Cost of QR2,000 but the cartridge only lasted for 12 hours and gas is active for 24 hours.

I still have my gas mask (one of three that we were issued) despite the British Embassy trying to charge £80 for each mask after the war. They knew where I lived so I told them to come and fetch them.

If you were in the souk (where the embassy had said you shouldn't go) you were treated like VIP's. I think the locals were pleased to see people staying as it had a settling effect.

I was a deputy warden for the embassy and there are some amusing tales to tell about that period.

Obviously your Scottish charm has proved irresistible ;p

Maybe i am looking from a different point, i mean i met lots of Qataris very easily, in different places. out to eat, out for coffee, heck even in the pub. I stand corrected if it is actually as difficult as you say. Like i said it was my opinion and could only go from my experience.

____________________________

I wonder where are our Qatari QL'ers? Diamond Girl, Aisha , Genesis, Bajesus and Amnesia ??? Would be interested to see their comments.

Completely agree Alexa. Most compounds are full of nationalities who mingle together greatly. And it's very hard to get to know Qataris, much as I'd love to.

Samael, point taken.

Always said Cricket is a dangerous game... that's just understanding the rules!

____________________________

Obviously i am generalising and not saying everyone single one. But a hell of alot do. It's fact.

Notiva, my point isn't about it being right or wrong who they accept, i don't really care. My point is the sheltering.

____________________________

weapons, scud missiles

Locals/expats were storing water, sealing windows. British got free masks

I was sent back to India on 15th Jan (along with my 8th month old baby and my mom)my father was like mouth piece of CNN

I left behind my prized BONSAI collection,all of them perished not because of war but Cricket.

Crazy cricketers still played and won cups during War

Agreed in some respects SAMAEL, but it works both ways. It's not easy for those ex-pats who would like to integrate with the locals to do so. And I don't think ex-pats look down their noses at the locals. Indeed, I think most actually see locals as being at the top of the pecking order.

samael , if DESS funded and sponsored by british embassy, i think it is only fair if they give the priority to british passport holder.

Although I know for a fact that DESS have quite a bit of mixture nationalities indian, australian, danish, thai, malaysia, polish, filipino, singaporean and some others.

Sorry about the Delay.

Yes pretty much what brit said... Alot of expats over here (from the western countries) do go out of their way not mix with local culture. Sorry but it is true. I know that alot of you here are itching to type "but i don't, i mix with anyone" but people on QL tend to be a slight exception, because you need to be reasonably open minded to get on with people in QL.

What i am on about is the ones who Barracade themselves in a compound, go as fast as they can to Carrefour in their big SUV of which they have 5 year loan, and then race back to their compound full of expats. (little britan village, small town america compound etc.)

(Warning this could turn into an essay)

I'm in HR, and most common question i get from westerners before moving over here is "Can i find a comunity of people from my country". Fair enough you say, fair enough i say, they are coming to a strange country, and would like to meet people who can relate to their experience, that's fine, smart even. But after they are here for 3 months or so, you ask them how they find Qatar. "oh i like it, it's a very nice compound, and everyone in it is really nice to me, i don't really need to leave that often. I went to inland sea the other day with a bunch of my neighbours" etc, you get the idea.

Afterwhich it doesn't take long for the Snob Factor to set in. Looking down their noses at locals, indians, filipinos etc. They put themselves onto this pedestal of Elitism and never step off of it. A hell of alot of westerners run this course their entire time here. Go back home to their drafty 3 bedroom bungalow and tell their old neighbours of how the middle east is. The harsh times they have suffering without pork and an alchohol licence whilst on the flip side bragging about their monster 4 bedroom villa in a compound full of people from essex or wherever.

Yes the mixture of cultures in Qatar is huge. Yes some do mix company with others and learn a hell of alot about the world, not just the middle east. It is sad and with a heavy heart though when i think of most of the people that just stay in the surroundings of company they understand and never intermingle. This goes for their kids too, they shield them from local culture, granted they get some through the schools, but not much in schools like DES where you must have a british passport to enter. The educational opportunities that these kids are getting is phenominal. Sadly wasted by the road with examples of ignorance by the parents.

well that's what i think. Off topic as it might be.

Don't let that put you off returning Triumphantly though Mike, Doha is still a great place. It is what you make of it, like anywhere.

____________________________

I really didn't mean to send the thread in this direction. We all know what SAMAEL means by his comment, but let's not turn this nice thread into a discussion about that. Please.

Alexa my previous comment was referring to Samael comment about 'snob factor'

I think what he means is that many expats think of themselves as "above the locals or others"..

Samael... could you clarify what do you mean by 'Snob Factor' pls.

plus there is the Snob Factor tallg

____________________________

MKopack, thanks for sharing. It's a shame that the majority of ex-pats don't get a chance to integrate with the local population in the way you did. I guess that's a result of the huge number of people who are here now.

well man, we are moving up in the world, we have dominos aswell

____________________________

What are you talking about?

You was deployED with your prototype pink submarine and KIA.

Westerners will do a mental count of Hadji's inside any aircraft, at any airport, before take off...

Peter Russel

Many thanks for all of the comments and all of the messages! I would love to return to Doha one day - although this time I'm not sure I'd want to stay in a tent. I must admit though, we did have nice air conditioned tents!

I have so many great memories of my time in Qatar, from the National Museum, to a trip to the Zoo, to just shopping in the souq, the sights, the smells, the food! We had Thanksgiving holiday dinner at the Sheraton, we'd order dinner to be delivered from the Caravan, and there was always Pizza Hut when we just felt like something from 'home'. I still make a pretty good shawarma and falafel...

But mostly it was the people.

Coming from the US, I didn't know much more about Middle Eastern culture than I'd learned in the media (and that was mostly a combination of the Lebanon civil war, old Sinbad movies, and Ali Bāba and the Forty Thieves) so I didn't really know what to expect. I was happy to find so many people who were as eager to learn about us, as we were to learn about them, from the Imam at the Mosque, to members of the government, to average people on the street. I was literally asked to have dinner with so many people that I could have eaten at a different house for every night I spent in Doha!

Mike

[email protected]

Are you coming back to Doha?

Wife worked in the big double hanger where you parked up.

How wonderful and thank you for sharing with us...

you wouldn't recognise Qatar at all...

if you decide to come back we will throw you a party :)

Very well done indeed.

I was deployed in Saudi during the first Gulf War.. "The fighting Sassanachs."

Good memories..

Interesting website there Mike, although doubt it you can find Emir's phone number on the national directory nowadays :)