<text id=00od0500><title>Organization and Deployment: Desert Storm</title>
<history>US Air Force: Briefing</history>
<article><hdr>Organization and Deployment—Desert Storm</hdr><body>
<p>A brief respite from the downward spiral of force levels was brought about by Saddam Hussein, who handed the US Air Force a chance to demonstrate beyond all doubt its reformation, and to lay the ghost of Vietnam to rest once and for all. Leading the air assault, the USAF's cutting edge weapon systems, with the F-117 'stealth fighter' out in front, took apart the Iraqi military infrastructure piece-by-piece, allowing a rapid conclusion to the final land battle which restored soveriegnty to Kuwait. Subsequently, the US Air Force has maintained forces in Turkey and Saudi Arabia to protect ethnic groups within Iraq from the central government, joining detachments from other air arms to police the No-Fly Zones in northern and southern Iraq. Similarly, the service is also part of the multi-national peacekeeping force in Italy enforcing United Nations policy over former Yugoslavia. Small-scale action has involved the US Air Force in both theatres.
