Remembering Desert Storm

Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Philip Forsberg

Philip Forsberg was born and raised on Long Island, NY. He was commissioned in the Regular Army in May of 1982, and after Infantry Officer Basic and Airborne School, he reported to Fort Rucker, AL where he spent a short time as a rifle platoon leader in Company C, 509th Parachute Infantry Regiment (Pathfinder) (Airborne). Philip graduated from flight school in 1983. Philip flew sixty radio reconnaissance missions in the RC-12G aircraft, in Honduras, employing a system called “Crazy Horse “.

He was a surveillance platoon leader in Company A, 15th Military Intelligence Battalion, at Fort Hood.

During OPERATION DESERT SHIELD, Philip arrived in Saudi Arabia as acting commander of Company A, and established our base of operations awaiting the arrival of our aircraft and most of our other pilots who were deploying them to theater.

On 17 January 1991, Philip became the first pilot to log Combat time in the Mohawk since the Vietnam War. He flew more than 100 hours of combat time in support of OPERATION DESERT STORM in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Iraq.

On 1 June 1991, Philip resigned from the Regular Army after ten years of commissioned service, and secured a job as an airline pilot, and joined the District of Columbia Army National Guard, assigned as Commander, Company B, 1st Battalion, and 132nd Aviation Company. In August 1995, he was ordered back to active duty as Commander, Atlanta Regional Flight Center.

In 1997, Philip was reassigned to HQ National Guard Bureau in DC, where he served as a legislative liaison. In 1991, Phillip assumed command of the Fixed Wing Army National Guard Aviation Training Site (FWAATS) in Clarksburg, WV. After one year at FWAATS, he resigned from active duty to return to the airline, and joined the Georgia Army National Guard.

In September 2001, Philip transferred to the US Army Reserve and was assigned as Emergency Preparedness Liaison Officer (EPLO) to the State of Florida.

In 2006, he was mobilized from the US Army Reserve to support the implementation of unmanned aircraft in a staff position at Fort Rucker. Philip demobilized in 2008, and secured a position with an international cargo airline. After only a few months, he was ordered back to active duty in the Regular Army to serve on the Army Staff in Washington, where he finished his 29 years of commissioned service as Director of Policy Plans and Programs for the US Army Aeronautical Services Agency, retiring in June 2011, and returning to his civilian job until retiring in 2018.

Brigadier General (Retired) Richard B. Dix

Brigadier General (Retired) Richard B. Dix

In July of 2017 BG Dix retired with more than 30 years of service in the Armed Forces, as a leader at every level. He is a native of Atlanta, Georgia. He graduated from Armor Officer Basic Course in 1987. After graduation, he served as Tank Platoon Leader, A Company, 3rd Battalion, 69th Armor, 24th Infantry Division. He later served as the Executive Officer for A Company, Headquarters Command, 224th Forward Support Battalion during Operation Desert Shield/Storm. BG Dix deployed to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; where he served as the BDE S-4 FWD during Operation Desert Defiance. Upon redeployment, he served as the Chief of Supply and Services 32nd ADCOM G 4. BG Dix later served in Germany in the 21st Theater Support Command (TSC). He also served as the Deputy Chief of Plans and Exercises G-3, 21st TSC, Group S-3, 29th Support Group (SG), Support Operations Officer 200th Material Management Center, Brigade Executive Officer 29th SG. He also served in Germany as the 29th SG Rear Group Commander during the unit’s successful deployment as the Joint Logistics Command (JLC) for Combined Joint Task Force-76 (CJTF-76), Afghanistan Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF VI). BG Dix served as the 3-401st Army Field Support Battalion Commander from Feb 06 to Jun 07, Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF VII). From Jul 07 to Jun 08, BG Dix served as the Aide-ed-Camp to the Commanding General, Army Material Command, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. From Jul 09 to Jul 10, BG Dix commanded the 401st Army Field Support Brigade (AFSB) in Bagram, Afghanistan. From Jul 10 to Jul 12, he served as the Chief of Staff for the Army Sustainment Command. BG Dix served as the Executive Officer and the Director of Strategy and Integration G-45/7 for the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Army, G-4, from Jul 12 to May 14. BG Dix served as Commanding General for Defense Logistics Agency Distribution responsible for Dept. of Defense's Global Storage and Distribution, from June 14 to June 16. BG Dix closed out his career as the Joint Munitions Command, Rock Island IL, Commanding General June 16 to July 17.

BG Dix graduated from the Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, where he also received a Master of Arts in Procurement and Acquisition Management from Webster University. He is a 2009 graduate of the Industrial College of the Armed Forces, Fort McNair, Washington, D.C. In 1987, he graduated from South Carolina State University’s Army ROTC Program (Distinguished Military Graduate) with a Bachelor of Science in Marketing. BG Dix is married to the former Cynthia Diane Fields of Jacksonville Fl. The couple has two children and two grandchildren.