The Battle for Jalibah Airfield took place when the U.S. 2nd Brigade, 24th Infantry Division attacked the heavily defended Jalibah Southeast Air Base military airfield in Iraq on February 27, 1991, during the Gulf War. Satellite and aircraft reconnaissance indicated the presence of 20 enemy tanks and more than 1,000 dug-in Iraqi soldiers at the airfield, 80 miles east of Basra. At 6 a.m. the morning of 27 February, following an intensive artillery barrage, about 200 vehicles of the 1st Brigade, under the command of General Paul J. Kern, charged into the airfield and secured it after four hours of fighting. According to 2nd Lieutenant Neal Creighton, Iraqi soldiers "tried to hide in shallow bunkers and some tried to surrender. Most that...
