KEY PLAYERS

Lt. Col. David Deptula
Recruited by Warden to be one of the planners behind the "Instant Thunder" air plan. Deptula, who trained as a F-15 fighter pilot during the 1980s, ran the operations in the room where the Baghdad targets were being selected. He was one of the central figures in the air campaign, maintaining contact with Pentagon planners, intelligence officials, and the generals who executed the air war plans. Like others at the Pentagon, Deptula was a great believer that strategic attacks on particular power centers in Baghdad created ripple effects that would cripple the country and help disable the military. He was promoted to brigadier general in January 1998.
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Brig. Gen. Buster Glosson
Appointed by Horner to be the chief air planner during the Gulf War. Originally from North Carolina, Glosson had risen through the ranks as a fighter pilot to become a one-star general, commanding all of the Air Force planes during the conflict. He was a true believer that air power could save the lives of thousands of soldiers if given the chance to carry out his plans. He told Gulf War commander Norman Schwarzkopf that air power would have so reduced the Iraqis that any scheme for the ground attack would work.
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Lt. Gen. Charles Horner
Commanded all U.S. and allied air operations in the Gulf from August 1990 until his return to Shaw Air Force Base in April 1991. An Iowa native, he flew 111 combat missions in two tours in Vietnam. Horner, considered one of the foremost experts on the use of air power, insisted that the war campaign include attacks on the Iraqi military, as well those as focusing on the power centers such as Baghdad's security apparatus and government buildings. To this day, Horner remains skeptical that the United States has learned the lesssons of the Gulf War; especially those areas regarding targeting and planning during air campaigns. He retired in 1994, and now resides in Florida.
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Col. John A. Warden III
Chief architect behind the air war plan "Instant Thunder" – much of which would eventually became the Operation Desert Storm air campaign. During the planning stages, Warden pushed for a campaign to attack the centers of Iraqi power, rather than simply the fielded military forces. Warden showed his plan to General Norman Schwarzkopf, who told him to see Lt. Gen. Horner in Saudi Arabia. Horner subsequently ordered Warden to leave Saudi Arabia, arguing with him over several elements of the air campaign. Warden continues to be a great believer in the use of high technology and precision bombing, the advent of which, he believes, has allowed for expanded military options. He retired in 1996.
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