In 2016, on the Westwood One News radio network, Chas noted the 25th anniversary of Operation Desert Storm. As a U. S. Marine in 1991, he had taken part in the coalition force operation to liberate Kuwait from Iraqi soldiers who had invaded, then occupied the Arabian Gulf nation.
On the 25th anniversary of the conflict, Westwood One News national security correspondent Chas Henry recalled Operation Desert Storm with former Secretary of State Colin Powell. During the Gulf War, Powell had been the nation's top general.
Twenty-five years after the fact, Westwood One News national security correspondent Chas Henry shared personal memories of fighting as a U. S. Marine in the 1991 military action to eject Iraqi forces that had seized control of Kuwait.
In 1991, live cable TV coverage of Operation Desert Storm brought U. S. viewers closer to combat than most had ever experienced. The broadcasts, though, provided a skewed view of a war's causes and effects. In real time, viewers watched weapons being fired. Via satellite images and cameras using ultra-telephoto lenses, they observed massive explosions. The vast majority of frontline death and destruction, though, remained out of frame.
In months following the 1991 liberation of Kuwait, a significant number of Desert Storm veterans complained of such health conditions as fatigue, joint pain, respiratory disorders, and memory loss. Some blamed exposure to toxic smoke from burning oilfields; others pointed to sand-based bacteria. In the war’s immediate aftermath, U. S. military leaders suggested the maladies were imagined or unrelated. In later years, the Department of Veterans Affairs would offer treatment for what came to be called Gulf War Illness.
