Saturday, March 05, 2011

Annual Conference of Paediatric continued


The 6th Annual Conference cum Workshop of Paediatric Endoscopic Surgeons of India (PESI-2011) is continued at CMC hospital Ludhiana. Conference cum Workshop is being organized by the Department of Paediatric Surgery, CMC, Ludhiana. The academic sessions were inaugurated on Friday  in the presence of distinguished International Faculty including Mr. Gordon MacKinlay, President of the British Association of Paediatric Surgeons, Prof. Long Li., Professor of Paediatric Surgery at the Capital Institution of Paediatrics, Beijing, China and Mr. Ashish Minocha, Consultant Paediatric Surgeon Norfolk & Norwich University Hospital, UK.

Jasbir Singh Khangura known as Jassi Khangura  MLA for Qila Raipur, was the Chief guest for the Inauguration Programme. He complimented the organizers for taking pains to organize such conferences for the upliftment of Medical Sciences and enhancing knowledge amongst the medical fraternity. He extended a warm welcome to delegates from all over the country and abroad to Ludhiana city, known as the “Manchester of India”.
Dr. Gurinder Singh Grewal, Member Punjab Medical Council also graced the occasion and promised 10 CME Credit hours to the delegates.

Dr. William Bhatti, Head of Paediatric Surgery, CMCL and Organizing Chairman PESI-2011, welcomed the participants and wished them a pleasant and memorable stay in Ludhiana City as well as an enriching PESI-2011. Dr. Abraham G. Thomas, Director, CMCL lauded the efforts of the Paediatric Surgery department for organizing this prestigious conference cum operative workshop and extended his best wishes to all the participants.
The scientific committee has prepared an exciting programme to suit the delegates with a wide range of expertise in the growing field of paediatric endoscopic surgery. Live operative workshops with interaction between the surgeon and the audience are being organized over the next two days to help improve surgical techniques and skills. The conference will also serve to expose current trends and discuss controversies on various aspects of paediatric endoscopic surgery in the Free Paper Presentation Sessions.          

A number of eminent specialists in the field of Paediatric Endoscopic Surgery will be participating in this conference from 4th to 6th March 2011. These include Dr. Reju J. Thomas (CMC, Vellore), Dr. Ketan Parikh (Mumbai), Dr. Mohan K. Abraham (AIMS, Kochi), Prof. K.L.N. Rao (PGI, Chandigarh), Prof. S. Ramesh (Bangalore), Dr. V. Sripathi (Chennai) and Dr. Mona Vashist (Amritsar, Punjab) among others.   

Dr. Anirudh Shah, Chairman PESI-IAPS said that this will be a great opportunity for exchange of knowledge in the field of Minimal Access Surgery in children.

Dr. Rasik Shah, Vice Chairman PESI–IAPS praised the efforts of the organizing committee under the leadership of Dr. William Bhatti, Dr. Dhruv Ghosh and Dr. Nandini K. Bedi, who worked hard to get renowned National and International Faculty to participate in the conference.

Dr. Ravindra Ramadwar, Secretary cum Treasurer PESI- IAPS, promised the participants a very informative and simulating CME programme, devoted to various aspects of Endoscopic Surgery in Children.

The programme was also attended by Dr. S. M. Bhatti, Principal, CMCL who released the Souvenir and Abstract Book PESI-2011 and Dr. Kanwal Masih, the Medical Superintendent, who wished the delegates a memorable and rewarding meeting....: Rector Kathuria & Shalu Arora

Thursday, March 03, 2011

Bring Minister Bhatti’s Killers to Justice

Washington, D.C.: Amnesty International has called on Pakistan’s government to ensure the killers of Shahbaz Bhatti, the country’s minister for minorities, are brought to justice.
Bhatti, the only Christian member of the cabinet and one of the country’s few leading politicians calling for changes to the country's controversial blasphemy laws, died today after three armed men opened fire on his car as he travelled to work in the capital, Islamabad.
“The Pakistani government must act immediately to bring the assassins to justice in a trial that meets international standards,” said Sam Zarifi, Amnesty International’s Asia-Pacific Director.  “Continued lack of accountability for perpetrators of abuse has severely eroded the rule of law in Pakistan
.” 

Bhatti had previously received threats from groups opposed to reforms of the blasphemy laws.

The assassination follows the January killing of Salman Taseer, the governor of Punjab province, and another outspoken critic of the laws.

“Such violations thrive in the atmosphere of impunity and irresponsibility fostered by the government's failure to uphold its human rights obligations,” said Zarifi. “The government must avoid the faulty forensic practices that have marred previous investigations, such as in the cases of Taseer and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto.”

The Pakistani Taliban have reportedly claimed responsibility for killing Bhatti and warned others who have criticized the blasphemy laws that they will meet the same fate. Several critics of the blasphemy laws have received death threats in the past two months. 


Members of religious minority groups have told Amnesty International that they face increasing threats from extremist groups.

“It is ultimately the responsibility of the Pakistan government to protect its citizens from violence committed by extremist groups. President Zardari – and the security forces – must increase protection to all Pakistanis who have called for reform of the country’s blasphemy laws,” said Zarifi.
 


# # #

Pacific Exercise Tests Disaster Response Capabilities


By Donna Miles 
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, March 2, 2011 - With two Navy vessels en route to the Mediterranean to support emergency evacuations and humanitarian operations for the Libyan crisis, if directed, U.S. Pacific Command is preparing to launch an interagency, international mission aimed at providing a fast, coordinated response should disaster strike the Pacific Ocean region.
Click photo for screen-resolution image
USS Cleveland is slated to leave San Diego March 21 to become the lead U.S. vessel during Pacific Partnership 2011. The five-month humanitarian and civic assistance mission will include visits to Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua-New Guinea, Timor-Leste and the Federated States of Micronesia. U.S. Navy photo 
Pacific Partnership 2011 will kick off March 21, when the amphibious transport dock ship USS Cleveland leaves its San Diego port to become the lead U.S. vessel during a five-month mission through Oceania, Navy Capt. Jesse A. Wilson Jr., the mission commander and commander of Destroyer Squadron 23, told American Forces Press Service.
The participants -- a mix about 600 military, interagency and non-governmental organizational medical professionals and engineers hailing from several nations -- will visit Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua-New Guinea, Timor-Leste and the Federated States of Micronesia, Wilson said.
Pacom, working through U.S. Pacific Fleet, launched the Pacific Partnership initiative in 2005 after a devastating December 2004 tsunami struck the region. The annual mission focuses on reinforcing relationships formed through the tsunami response and laying groundwork to ensure future preparedness, Wilson said.
Through a variety of humanitarian and civic assistance projects, Pacific Partnership provides a framework for the United States to work collaboratively with its international, interagency and non-governmental partners to conduct an effective humanitarian assistance and disaster relief response, he said.
Militarily, Pacific Partnership 2011 will be heavily Navy, but it also will include a Marine Corps contingent to operate vehicles and equipment and Army and Air Force representatives.
The interagency participation will include a State Department representative to join Wilson aboard USS Cleveland for the entire mission, and U.S. Agency for International Development officials, as well as their international counterparts, to operate primarily ashore.
More than a dozen non-governmental organizations also will contribute manpower and expertise.
"This is more than a whole-of-government approach," Wilson said. "It's the whole of several governments" and their NGOs "to make sure we are all working in synch to leverage all the efforts we are doing."
The U.S. Coast Guard also will participate in the exercise for the first time, with two cutters supporting various phases of the overall mission. USCGC Jarvis will join the operations in Tonga, and USCGC Sequoia, in Micronesia.
In addition, Australia will contribute two landing craft ships; Japan, a maritime self-defense force vessel; and New Zealand, the amphibious sealift ship HMNZS Canterbury that is currently supporting the hurricane response in Christchurch.
A French helicopter crew will be embarked on the Canterbury, and Canada, Singapore and Spain will deploy teams to support Pacific Partnership 2011.
Last year, when the hospital ship USNS Mercy conducted Pacific Partnership 2011, the emphasis was on conducting surgeries and other advanced medical procedures, many of them aboard ship. But this year, with a large-deck amphibious ship serving as the primary platform, medical, dental, veterinary, veterinary and engineering services will be provided ashore.
"We are more focused on getting our doctors ashore, working side by side with host-nation doctors, exchanging expertise and new ideas, repairing biomedical equipment and getting to where we can service remote areas and underserved populations in those countries," Wilson said.
Navy Seabees also will be key to the mission, partnering with host-nation officials and NGOs to renovate schools and build medical clinics. At one location, they'll repair broken toilets so children no longer have to go home when nature calls. At another stop, they will improve drainage to stop flooding at a site designated as an evacuation point during a natural disaster.
"Our engineers do a lot to improve, not only the level of services that can be provided in the country, but also the quality of life of the people," Wilson said.
Through these projects and activities, participants in Pacific Partnership will work with host-country officials to identify how they could contribute to that country's disaster-response capabilities.
"We can familiarize ourselves with that construct and determine who the key players are, how do we communicate, what capability do they have, and what capability would we need to bring in case there was an emergency?" Wilson said. "And to the greatest extent that we can do that, it will serve us in the event of a real disaster.
"It increases our interoperability, which in the end, serves to lessen the pain and suffering that would happen after a disaster," he said.
As they join together this year for the first time for Pacific Partnership, the three U.S. maritime services -- the Navy, Marine Corps and Coast Guard -- will promote three of the six core competencies embodied in their collective maritime strategy, Wilson said.
"One of them is humanitarian assistance and disaster response. And that is not a buzzword. It is not something we do when we feel like it," he said. "It is part of our mission."
The mission also provides forward presence and engagement. "We are a global force for good. That is our motto," Wilson said. "And to do that, you need to be out and about and available and engaging with your partners and host nations."
Wilson cited the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti in January 2010. Sailors aboard the USS Higgins, returning to San Diego from an around-the-world deployment, were the first responders to arrive on the scene to bring relief to the victims.
"To be a first responder, just like a beat cop on the street or that paramedic that shows up, you have to be out and you have to be about," Wilson said. "And that is what the Navy is. We have forward presence. And that's what we will be providing during Pacific Partnership 2011."
Meanwhile, the mission promotes maritime security, a third tenet of the maritime strategy. "Through Pacific Partnership, we are increasing our ability to operate with other host-nation navies and organizations," Wilson said. "What we have found is, the more you enhance and develop a partnership, an alliance, a friendship, the better you can unite and work together for a host of things."
As it bolsters long-standing relationships and builds new ones, Pacific Partnership demonstrates U.S. commitment to the Pacific region, Wilson said.
"We saw the gratitude for the assistance we provided [following the 2004 tsunami], and how that went a long way in developing long-lasting partnerships, relationships and friendships," he said. "So we continue to build those relationships [and] those partnerships so we can more effectively, in a collective manner, address any kind of natural or manmade disaster that could happen in the region."
Over the past five years, Pacific Partnership has provided medical, dental, educational and preventive medicine services to more than 300,000 people and completed more than 130 engineering projects in 13 countries.
Biographies:
Navy Capt. Jesse A. Wilson Jr.
Related Sites:
Pacific Partnership 2011 

Click photo for screen-resolution imageUSS Cleveland is slated to leave San Diego March 21 to become the lead U.S. vessel during Pacific Partnership 2011. The five-month humanitarian and civic assistance mission will include visits to Tonga, Vanuatu, Papua-New Guinea, Timor-Leste and the Federated States of Micronesia. U.S. Navy photo 

Wednesday, March 02, 2011

Last American WWI Veteran Dies


By Fred W. Baker III 
American Forces Press Service
WASHINGTON, Feb. 28, 2011 - Frank Woodruff Buckles, the last surviving American World War I veteran, died yesterday at his West Virginia home. He was 110.
Click photo for screen-resolution image
Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, left, talks with Frank Buckles, the last living American World War I veteran, during a Pentagon ceremony March 6, 2008. Buckles died Feb. 27, 2011 at age 110. DOD photo by R. D. Ward 
Sixteen-year-old Buckles enlisted in the Army on Aug. 14, 1917 after lying to several recruiters about his age.
"I was just 16 and didn't look a day older. I confess to you that I lied to more than one recruiter. I gave them my solemn word that I was 18, but I'd left my birth certificate back home in the family Bible. They'd take one look at me and laugh and tell me to home before my mother noticed I was gone," Buckles wrote in 2009.
Buckles tried the Marines and Navy, but both turned him away. An Army recruiter, however, accepted his story.
"Somehow I got the idea that telling an even bigger whopper was the way to go. So I told the next recruiter that I was 21 and darned if he didn't sign me up on the spot!" he wrote.
Buckles earned the rank of corporal and traveled England and France serving as an ambulance driver. After the Armistice in 1918, Buckles escorted prisoners of war back to Germany. He was discharged in 1920.
In 1942 Buckles worked as a civilian for a shipping company in the Philippines, where he was captured in Manila by the Japanese the day after they attacked Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. He spent three and a half years in the Los Baños prison camp. He was rescued on February 23, 1945.
Buckles married Audrey Mayo of Pleasanton, Calif., in 1946. The couple moved to his Gap View Farm near Charles Town in January 1954 where Buckles reportedly continued to drive his tractor until he was 106.
On February 4, 2008, with the death of 108-year-old Harry Richard Landis, Buckles became the last surviving American World War I veteran. Since, Buckles championed veterans' causes, was invited to the White House and honored at the Pentagon.
In March 2008 Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates honored Buckles during a Pentagon ceremony in which officials unveiled a World War I veterans' exhibit.
"Whoever views this display will, I am sure, feel a connection to Mr. Buckles and his comrades-in-arms," Gates said. "We will always be grateful for what they did for their country 90 years ago."
Buckles, then 107, received a standing ovation from the mostly military audience.
"I feel honored to be here as a representative of the veterans of WWI and I thank you," Buckles said.
Buckles is survived by his daughter, Susannah Buckles Flanagan. His wife, Audrey, died in 1999.
In a White House statement issued today President Barack Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama saluted the fallen veteran.
"Frank Buckles lived the American Century," the President stated. "Like so many veterans, he returned home, continued his education, began a career, and along with his late wife Audrey, raised their daughter Susannah. And just as Frank continued to serve America until his passing, as the Honorary Chairman of the World War I Memorial Foundation, our nation has a sacred obligation to always serve our veterans and their families as well as they've served us.
"We join Susannah and all those who knew and loved her father in celebrating a remarkable life that reminds us of the true meaning of patriotism and our obligations to each other as Americans."
Related Articles:
Pentagon Honors WWI Veteran, Unveils Exhibit 

Tuesday, March 01, 2011

National Consultation on PESA Act

Photo Courtesy:Think Quest
Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti cordially invites you participate in a two-day consultation on PESA (Panchayat Extension to Scheduled Areas Act) on March 2 and 3, 2011 at Gandhi Darshan, Rajghat New Delhi.  We would be greatly   honoured if you accept it.
The core objectives of this consultation are to build understanding about PESA among activists, groups and organisations working in adivasi areas and to integrate demand for implementation of PESA into campaigns and networks on other issues such as FRA. We intend to support these processes across various fora at regional and local levels and to contribute towards building a momentum among various groups for its proper implementation.
We believe that addressing issues and resolving problems related with governance in adivasi areas hold key to solving problems of exploitation, alienation, underdevelopment and extremism. Effective implementation of PESA is an important step in that direction. 
There would be around 40 participants ranging from experts on PESA to activists/groups working on adivasi issues from various states.  A copy of the schedule of the programme is enclosed.
We do hope you will accept our invitation as we all hope to learn a lot from you.Programme is as under :

             National Consultation on PESA Act and its Implementation
(Organised by Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti, New Delhi and National Centre for Advocacy Studies, Pune)
Date: March 2-3, 2011

Venue: Tagore Hall, Gandhi Darshan, Rajghat, New Delhi
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Programme Schedule
                                                  
Wednesday, March 2, 2011

10.00 a.m. – 11.30 a.m.       Inaugural Session              
                                                
10.00 a.m.-10.45 a.m.  :           Welcome Address            Dr.Manimala, Director, GSDS
                                                                                                Ms.Sehjo Singh, ED, NCAS
           
10.45 a.m. to 11.30 a.m.:         Inauguration and                Shri B.D.Sharma
                                                    Keynote Address                    


11.30 a.m. to 12.00 noon          Tea Break


12.00 noon – 2.00 p.m.             Session I
                                                Meaning and Importance of PESA, Current Scenario

                                                Chair                                     Shri B.D.Sharma
12.00 a.m. to 12.15 a.m.:    Framework of Discussion   Shri Sandeep Patnayak, NCAS

12.15 p.m.-10.00 p.m.                                                         Shri Anil Garg             

12.45 p.m.-1.15 p.m.                                                         Open Discussion

1.15 p.m.-1.30 p.m.                 Remarks:          Smt.Tara Gandhi Bhattacharjee, VC,GSDS                               
                                                                                               
1.30 p.m. to 2.30 p.m.                      Lunch Break

2.30 p.m.- 5.30 p.m.                            Session II
                                                            Implementation of PESA – Problems and Prospects
                                                           Chair          Sehjo Singh, ED NCAS
2.30 p.m.-2.45 p.m.                             Mehdi Lal, Chhatisgarh
2.45 pm -3.00 p.m                               Shri Kumar Chandra Mardi, Jharkhand
3.00pm3.15 p.m                              Shri Sheerath, BIRSA, Jharkhand

3.15 p.m.-3.30 p.m.                             Shri Akshya Pani, Adivasi Kranti Sanghtan, Odisha

3.30 p.m.-3.45 p.m.                             Shri Trinadh Rao, Laya, Andhra Pradesh

3.45 p.m.-4.00 p.m.                             Tea Break

4.00 p.m.-4.15 p.m.                             Shri Maagan Kalej, KMCS, Ms. Rajakali, EP  MP
4.15 p.m.-4.30 p.m.                             Ms. Roma, Mahila Mazdoor Kisan   , UP                                                             

4.30 p.m.-5.00 p.m.                             Discussion                     

5.00 p.m.-5.30 p.m.                             Tea Break

Thursday, March 3, 2011

9.30 a.m.-10.00 a.m.                           Tea

10.00 a.m.-12.00 noon                        Session III
                                                            Implementation of PESA in the true spirit of the Act
                                                             Chair             
10.00 a.m. -10.30 a.m.             Shri K B Saxena 

10.30 a.m.-10.45 a.m.                          Shri Bhanwar Singh, Astha, Rajasthan              


10.45 a.m. -11.00 a.m.             Ms.Richa, Jan Chetna, Rajasthan
                                                           
11.00 a.m. – 2.00 p.m.                        Session IV
                                                            Status and Implementation of Forest Rights Act 2006

            Chair                                       Shri Ashok Chowdhury,NFFPW
11.00 a.m.-11.15 a.m.                          Shri Vijay Panda, CSD, Delhi

11.15 a.m.-11.30 a.m.                          Lata P.M, NCAS        

11.30 a.m.-12.00 noon             Remarks from the Chair - Shri Ashok Chowdhury

12.00 noon – 12.15 p.m.                     Tea Break

12.15 p.m.-2.00 p.m.                           Session V
                                                            Making PESA a people’s agenda
                                                            Chair    Ms. Mari Marcel Thekaekara
12.15 p.m.-12.30 p.m.                         Learning from Van Panchayat, Mallika virdi

12.30 p.m.-12.45 p.m.                         Learning from Nepal Shri Bhola Bhattrai
.                                  
12.45 pm -1.30 p.m                             Open discussion 
1.15 p.m.-1.45 p.m.                             Summing up and Conclusions: Shri Satyendra Ranjan,  

1.45 p.m.-2.00 p.m.                             Vote of Thanks, Dr.Sita Ojha
           
2.00 p.m. -3.00 p.m.                            Lunch

Departure: 3.00 p.m. (after lunch as per convenience) 


For more details you may contact 


Manimala 
Director,
Gandhi Smriti and Darshan Samiti,
Gandhi Darshan, Rajghat,
New Delhi 
Ph: 23392710; 9868261159  

Monday, February 28, 2011

U.S., Kuwait Mark Gulf War 20th Anniversary


By Lisa Daniel of American Forces Press Service

WASHINGTON,This week marks 20 years since the United States, as part of a 34-nation coalition, drove Saddam Hussein's Iraqi army out of Kuwait, returning that nation to sovereignty and reshaping the U.S. military to the force it is today.

Click photo for screen-resolution image
A formation of armored vehicles, manned by U.S. soldiers and Marines, stand ready to lead a convoy of coalition forces through the parade grounds established for the 50/20 celebration in Kuwait City, Kuwait, Feb. 21, 2011. The celebration commemorates the 20th anniversary of the U.S.-led liberation of Kuwait during the first Gulf War and the 50th anniversary of Kuwait's independence from Great Britain. It also honors the veterans of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm and recognizes the long standing and successful partnership that is indicative of U.S. friendships in the region. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. M. Benjamin Gable 
U.S. service members will join military members from dozens of other coalition countries tomorrow in a grand military parade through the streets of Kuwait City, in what the Kuwaiti government is calling its country's "Golden Jubilee." The event also marks the 50th anniversary of Kuwait's independence from Great Britain and, U.S. military officials say, will recognize the important strategic alliance between Kuwait and the United States.
Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, will join 22 presidents, 64 heads of state and other senior officials attending the ceremonies.
"Twenty years ago, Kuwait and the United States formed an unbreakable alliance, which has grown into a comprehensive partnership that promotes freedom, prosperity and democracy in the Middle East region and the world," Army Lt. Gen. William G. Webster Jr., commander of U.S. Third Army, said in a statement to the Kuwaiti people.
The celebration comes as history is being made in the Middle East where citizen uprisings in recent weeks have prompted revolutions against repressive governments that have spread from Tunisia to Egypt, Iran, Libya and elsewhere.
The Kuwaiti government on its website says Iraq's invasion was "a critical point in modern Arab history." It goes on to say that "the Kuwaiti government and its people will never forget all those who stood with them and supported them during the period of brutal invasion."
The first Gulf War was sparked when then-Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein ordered an invasion of Kuwait after that nation's government defied his demands to cut oil production to allow for increased prices.
On Aug. 2, 1990, three armored divisions of Hussein's Republican Guard crossed into Kuwait, sped toward the capital of Kuwait City and, within days, overran Kuwait, according to Army historian Richard Stewart's "War in the Persian Gulf: Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, August 1990-March 1991," published by the Center of Military History.
Many Kuwaitis fled to neighboring Saudi Arabia -- the largest foreign supplier of U.S. oil. Many Saudis feared Hussein would unleash his million-man army on their country next. At the urging of President George H. W. Bush, Saudi King Fahd bin Abdul Aziz al-Saud, on Aug. 6, 1990, approved moving U.S. military assets onto Saudi soil, opening the door to "the most concentrated and complex projection of American military power since World War II," Stewart wrote.
Under the direction of then-Defense Secretary Richard B. Cheney -- who would later serve as vice president to President George W. Bush when U.S. forces pushed into Iraq to topple Hussein in March 2003 -- and Army Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf Jr., then-Centcom commander, U.S. forces amassed a buildup of nearly 200,000 troops in Saudi Arabia by late September 1990 as part of Operation Desert Shield.
The U.S. commitment to drive Iraq's army out of Kuwait would grow to 697,000 soldiers, Marines and airmen, and include the deployment of 108 Navy ships to the region, Webster noted in his anniversary message to the Kuwaitis.
America wasn't alone during the first Gulf War. The Bush administration built a 33-member coalition that included longtime western allies such as Great Britain, France and Canada, as well as Iraq's neighbors in the Middle East: Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Syria, the United Arab Emirates, Morocco, Oman, and Qatar, as well as Pakistan.
"The United States assembled an unprecedented and broad coalition to redress the strategic balance in the Middle East upset by Iraq's invasion of Kuwait," according to a Joint Staff paper about the war. The first Gulf War "ushered in an era of coalition warfare in which the United States has generally sought the approval and support of other governments and international agencies before intervening in a regional crisis," the paper said.
Coalition troops assembled in the region as civilian leaders worked with the United Nations to pressure Hussein to withdraw his forces from Kuwait. When embargos and other measures were exhausted, the U.N. set a Jan. 15, 1991, deadline for the Iraqi military to depart Kuwait. Hussein ignored the deadline.
"The hammer fell on Iraqi forces early in the morning of Jan. 17," Lt. Col. Les' Melnyk, an Army National Guard historian, wrote in "Mobilizing for the Storm: The Army National Guard in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm." In the United States, where it was still Jan. 16, he noted, "the air and missile attacks coming in over Baghdad were broadcast live as the [television] networks broke in on their evening lineup," allowing Americans, for the first time, to watch a real-time, play-by-play of their military at war.
"It was the most stunning bombing campaign in the history of the world," Melnyk wrote.
For 38 days, the aerial bombardment put on full display weapons and equipment that could not have been imagined when U.S. troops fought their last major war two decades earlier in Vietnam.
"There were silent airplanes that could not be tracked from the ground, bombs that could be steered to hit a target the size of a chair, missiles that could destroy other missiles in midair, and satellites that could tell a person in the middle of the trackless desert where they were," the U.S. Centennial of Flight Commission wrote of the Gulf War.
The Iraqis' counterattack of aging Scud missiles was no match for the coalition, which dropped at least 88,500 tons of bombs during more than 100,000 sorties, destroying all significant Iraqi targets, allowing for the U.S.-led ground war, Operation Desert Storm, to begin Feb. 24.
With the Vietnam War as their previous point of reference, American broadcasters and politicians speculated that the ground war would change the coalition's good fortunes, Melnyk noted. Hussein had used chemical weapons before and there was reason to believe he would again, he said.
That proved not to be the case. Just 100 hours after the ground war began, it was over. By Feb. 27, Iraq's ground forces were in full retreat, and Bush declared a cease-fire and the liberation of Kuwait.
The United States suffered 148 combat deaths and 145 non-combat deaths during the seven-month conflict. In addition, 467 U.S. service members were wounded in action.
The Gulf War was a significant turning point for the U.S. military in many ways, not the least of which was proving it could fight alongside its Arab allies.
"The coalition proved that Western and Arab forces can and will stand together, and can do so with speed and precision," Webster wrote in his letter to the Kuwaitis.
The first Gulf War also solidified confidence that National Guard and reserve members could effectively fight alongside active duty troops, Melnyk said. "We take it for granted today, but before the Gulf War, and in the 20 years since then, the [Guard and] reserves have been part of virtually every contingency operation, large or small, that the military has engaged in," he said.
The war also vindicated changes in military training, doctrine and structure, and the investment in high-tech equipment that took place throughout the 1980s, Joint Force historians said. It further validated laws that strengthened the role of joint forces and that of the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and combatant commanders, they said.
"The Gulf War marked the emergence of the United States as the dominant and continuing force for stability in the Persian Gulf region," they wrote. "Perhaps most importantly, overwhelming victory in Operation Desert Storm reaffirmed America's faith in its armed forces and, to some extent, in itself, its products, performance, purpose and dedication." (Isued on Feb. 25, 2011)
Biographies:
Navy Adm. Mike Mullen
Army Lt. Gen. William G. Webster Jr.
President George H. W. Bush
President George W. Bush 
Related Sites:
U.S. Third Army Commander's Message to Kuwaiti Citizens
U.S. Third Army Division 

Click photo for screen-resolution imageKuwaiti soldiers at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, march in formation during rehearsals for the Feb. 26 celebration parade in Kuwait City, Feb. 21, 2011. U.S. support for the celebration, which commemorates the 20th anniversary of the U.S.-led liberation of Kuwait during the first Gulf War and the 50th anniversary of Kuwait's independence from Great Britain, showcases the historical importance of the enduring relationship between the United States and Kuwait. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. M. Benjamin Gable 
Click photo for screen-resolution imageKuwaiti troops bear the flags of partner nations during rehearsal at Camp Arifjan, Kuwait, Feb. 21, 2011, as they prepare to march with coalition troops in a Feb. 26 celebration honoring the liberation of Kuwait as well as the spirit of unity forged during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. U.S. Army photo by Sgt. M. Benjamin Gable