Ten years ago today, the Allies were beginning to pound Iraqi forces in the first full day of the Persian Gulf War. One Iowan remembers his service with pride. About three thousand Iowa Guard members and Reservists were sent to the Gulf, Eric Bogle of Des Moines among them. He was a sergeant in the Guard’s Military Police battalion and was dispatched from Saudi Arabia on missions into Iraq and Kuwait. Bogle looks back on the war as a successful action and a “job well done.” He’s stayed with the military profession.Bogul is still in the Iowa Guard full-time, is now Sergeant First Class and is senior personnel supervisor at Camp Dodge. He says everyone should serve their country, at least for a little while, to get a better appreciation for the freedoms we have. Some critics say America could never again assemble a fighting force like the one in Desert Storm, but Bogle disagrees. The U-S sent 697-thousand troops to the Gulf in 1991. Three-thousand-50 came from the Iowa Guard and Reserves.
