Critics argue that during Operation Desert Storm (ODS) Patriot missiles, never successfully destroyed any of the SCUD missiles that Iraq launched into Saudi Arabia. (Anderson, 8) So, from November 2002 to mid February 2003, as Patriot air defense units trickled into Kuwait in preparation for Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), the Army was not sure if the 12 years of organizational training since ODS, had prepared the Patriot community for another series of SCUD volleys. US forces on the ground were relieved when the Patriot technology of 2003 proved worthy of the task. Patriots destroyed eight SCUD missiles. Organizational training for US Patriots, however, did not improve with the technology. During the interwar years, Patriot training only focused on the technology of destroying a SCUD, ignoring the security and maneuver tasks of future operations. In OIF, US Patriots destroyed two friendly aircraft and killed three aircrew members. Additionally, the performance of a Patriot maintenance unit, the 507th Maintenance Company, proved that organizational leaders had not adequately trained Patriot forces to maneuver with tactical units.
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