Skip to main content
USNI Logo USNI Logo USNI Logo
Donate
  • Cart
  • Join or Log In
  • Search

Main navigation

  • About Us
  • Membership
  • Books & Press
  • USNI News
  • Proceedings
  • Naval History
  • Archives
  • Events
  • Donate
USNI Logo USNI Logo USNI Logo
Donate
  • Cart
  • Join or Log In
  • Search

Main navigation (Sticky)

  • About Us
  • Membership
  • Books & Press
  • USNI News
  • Proceedings
  • Naval History
  • Archives
  • Events
  • Donate

Sub Menu

  • Essay Contests
    • About Essay Contests
    • CNO Naval History - Professional Historian
    • CNO Naval History - Rising Historian
    • Coast Guard
    • Emerging & Disruptive Technologies
    • Enlisted Prize
    • NPS Foundation/U.S. Naval Institute
    • Naval Mine Warfare
  • Current Issue
  • Our Apps
  • The Proceedings Podcast
  • U.S. Naval Institute Blog
  • Submission Guidelines
  • Contact Proceedings
    • Media Inquiries
  • All Issues
An F-14 Tomcat flies over Kuwait during Operation Desert Storm
Operation Desert Storm kicked off 30 years ago this week. Here, a U.S. Navy F-14 Tomcat flies over Kuwait during the war.
U.S. Naval Institute archives

Sub Menu

  • Essay Contests
    • About Essay Contests
    • CNO Naval History - Professional Historian
    • CNO Naval History - Rising Historian
    • Coast Guard
    • Emerging & Disruptive Technologies
    • Enlisted Prize
    • NPS Foundation/U.S. Naval Institute
    • Naval Mine Warfare
  • Current Issue
  • Our Apps
  • The Proceedings Podcast
  • U.S. Naval Institute Blog
  • Submission Guidelines
  • Contact Proceedings
    • Media Inquiries
  • All Issues

Operation Desert Storm—30 Years Later: My View from the Joint Staff

By Admiral James A. Winnefeld, U.S. Navy (Retired)
January 2021
Proceedings
Featured Article
View Issue
Comments

It was 1 August 1990. Saddam Hussein had been rattling his sword for six months, threatening to burn Israel and take over Kuwait. But the Soviet Union was falling, consuming the attention of Washington, a town that is really only able to focus on one crisis at a time. The intelligence community was particularly focused on the failing communist empire due to opacity of the Soviet system and the enormous potential consequences of a miscalculation during the transition. 

But it suddenly looked like Saddam was serious, and when Iraq began to move forces toward the Kuwaiti border, General Colin Powell, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, held a meeting of the Joint Chiefs and other senior officers at the round table in his office. They were in a tough spot, considering the few options available if the worst occurred. 

Member-Only Content

Join the U.S. Naval Institute to gain access to this article and other articles published in Proceedings since 1874. Members receive this valuable benefit and so much more.

Become a Member Today

If you are already a Member, please log in to gain access, and thank you for your Membership.

Admiral James A. Winnefeld, Jr., U.S. Navy (Retired)

 Admiral James A. "Sandy" Winnefeld, U.S. Navy (Retired), graduated from the Georgia Institute of Technology with a degree in Aerospace Engineering and received his commission through the NROTC program. He began his naval service as a fighter pilot, flying the F-14 Tomcat during several deployments to the Western Pacific and Arabian Gulf regions, and serving as an instructor at the Navy Fighter Weapons School, also known as Topgun. During this period he also was senior aide to General Colin L. Powell.

After fighter squadron command, he graduated from the Navy’s nuclear power school and subsequently commanded USS Cleveland (LPD-7) and USS Enterprise (CVN-65). He also led the Theodore Roosevelt Carrier Strike Group while supporting operations in support of our troops in Iraq. Later he commanded NATO Joint Command Lisbon, Striking and Support Forces NATO, and the United States Sixth Fleet. After serving as the Joint Staff Director of Strategic Plans and Policy, he assumed command of United States Northern Command and the North American Aerospace Defense Command. He retired in 2015 after four years serving as the ninth Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the nation’s number two ranking military officer.

A frequently published author, Sandy currently serves as Distinguished Professor at the Sam Nunn School of International Affairs at Georgia Tech, where he is also a member of the Engineering Hall of Fame. He is a senior non-resident fellow at the Belfer Center for Science and International Affairs of the Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University. He also serves on several boards and in advisory positions in the business community.

More Stories From This Author View Biography

Related Articles

Desert Storm Flag Raising
P Article

Desert Storm: Ten Years After

By General Walter E. Boomer, U.S. Marine Corps (Retired), Lieutenant General John J. Yeosock, U.S. Army (Retired), Admiral Stanley R. Arthur, U.S. Navy (Retired), and General Charles A. Horner, U.S. Air Force (Retired)
January 2001
George Bush was President, Dick Cheney was Secretary of Defense, and an unscrupulous zealot was flexing his muscles on the Arabian Peninsula. What had begun as a shield against his ...
E-2C
P Article

Desert Storm Taught Us Something

By Kevin E. Pollock
January 1995
At the heart of most of the antiair warfare (AAW) lessons from Desert Shield and Desert Storm is the way the Navy communicated with its sister services in a joint ...
Navy A-7E Corsairs
P Article

The Navy Got It—Desert Storm's Wake-Up Call

By Commander Thomas A. Parker, USN
September 1994
Operation Desert Storm was an enormous Coalition victory—in no small part because of the participation of naval aviation—yet the operation has somehow left a sour taste. There remains a lingering ...

Quicklinks

Footer menu

  • About the Naval Institute
  • Books & Press
  • Naval History Magazine
  • USNI News
  • Proceedings
  • Oral Histories
  • Events
  • Naval Institute Foundation
  • Photos & Historical Prints
  • Naval Institute Archives

Receive the Newsletter

Sign up to get updates about new releases and event invitations.

Sign Up Now
Example NewsletterPrivacy Policy
USNI Logo White
Copyright © 2021 U.S. Naval Institute Privacy PolicyTerms of UseContact UsAdvertise With UsFAQContent LicenseMedia Inquiries
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Instagram
Powered by Unleashed Technologies