Combat Use of Apache Helicopters in the Kuwaiti Theater of Operations -- Effective or Not?

During DESERT STORM, Army Aviation established that it has matured as a combat arm. When employed in close combat, aviation is deadly and decisive. Aviation forces can deliver decided combat power to formidable operational depths, poising itself as the principal maneuver arm of AirLand Battle operations in the nineties. During DESERT STORM, Army Aviation operations demonstrated how rotary-wing aircraft can accelerate the tempo of conventional combat. The executive summary in the U.S. Army Aviation Center's DESERT SHIELD/DESERT STORM After Action report stated, "We won the war, but in many areas, we did not win in the most efficient and effective way." The study discusses the state of the equipment immediately before and during DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM. It relates the technical and tactical proficiency of Apache crews to their combat effectiveness. The study relates high-intensity mission schemes and fleeting skills to training issues.