"Hello?" "Good morning Mike... ... do you have any plans for tomorrow?" "No, not really..." "Good. How would you like to go to Qatar?"

It's been sixteen years since we were in Doha as I write this. Over all of those years I've been asked countless times what it was like, by friends, by family, by members of the media, by current Air Force maintainers and pilots. Soon after I returned from the Gulf I stared writing down everything I could remember, I've got pads of paper filled with everything from one-line notes, to pages of 'experiences'.
This is where I've been putting them together.

'The Call' is my experience in the Gulf, from inspecting our jets in the hangar, to hanging out in the tent, to shopping in the souq. The good times and the bad, boredom to excitement. I hope that you'll enjoy reading 'my' story, whether we were there together, whether you may go somewhere like it one day, or whether you are just interested in what a not very typical Air Force deployment was like.

It may not always be politically correct, and it may not read the same as an Air Force Historical Report, but this is my story,
as seen through the eyes of a young mechanic.

Although 'The Call' is told from my perspective, it isn't just my story. It's my view of the story of the 401st TFW(Dep) & 614th TFS "Lucky Devils', the 'Forgotten 1000', who can stand proudly amongst the best units to ever serve in the United States Air Force.
I was privileged to have served with them.

Mike Kopack
USAF Sergeant 1987-1991
Crew Chief / Phased Inspection



'The Call' is far from complete, and several of the chapters are unedited,
but here is my experience in the Gulf War with the Lucky Devils and Forgotten 1000.

The Call

The Journey

Welcome to Qatar

Traditions

Decon

The 'Laws of War'

Tent City Guard

The Storm

The Storm - Day Two

The Storm - Day Three

The Storm - Day Four

The Storm - Day Five

Boomed

'Homeward Bound'




Mike Kopack mkopack@lucky-devils.net