Storming the Desert—A Marine Lieutenant's Day-by-Day Chronicle of the Persian Gulf War

As a logistics officer with Marine Wing Support Group 37, Lieutenant Sean Coughlin was an integral part of Desert Storm and Desert Shield, and intimately familiar with the labor involved. Coughlin's unit, which provided ground support to the Third Marine Air Wing, was responsible for setting up all Marine Corps air bases in the Gulf. Coughlin struggled daily with problems in intelligence, supply, and logistics; issues of rear area security; and preparations for nuclear, biological, and chemical warfare. He also kept a journal throughout the experience. When he returned home, he expanded that journal into a comprehensive account that became Storming the Desert. The result is a document at once professional and personal - a detailed record of plans and operations, a firsthand view of combat logistics at the junior officer level, and an exploration of the emotional experience of day-to-day service in the Gulf. By taking us with Coughlin on his tour through the Middle East, Storming the Desert reveals the important history of the real people behind the high-tech image of Operations Desert Storm and Desert Shield.

Sean T. Coughlin currently lives in Acton, Massachusetts.