March 10, 2021 459th ARW officer reflects on Desert Storm era JOINT BASE ANDREWS, Md. – Operation Desert Storm, January 17 1991 – February 28, 1991, was the first major foreign crisis for the United States after the end of the Cold War, and this year marks its 30th anniversary. The 459th Air Refueling Wing’s Lt. Col William Short was one of 697,000 U.S. troops