SALUTE TO VETERANS | Sandy veteran served with Marines, Army, Navy in globetrotting adventure

(SANDY) — A former Marine who continued his military service with the Army National Guard (the second of three branches he joined) found himself crammed into fighting pits wearing bulky chemical suits every night while deployed in the Middle East. Michael O’Leary, a Marine who later joined the Army, was in Saudi Arabia during the Gulf War (1990-91). Though he wasn’t on the front lines, the danger was ever-present. The most immediate threat was Scud missiles – short-range ballistic missiles that were the culprit in the Dhahran attack in which a U.S. Army barracks was struck, and 28 soldiers died. “When you are in the military you sign a line saying you will give up everything up to your life,” O’Leary said. “Because when you are in combat, that is where you are going.” His time in the Middle East was filled with nerves. He learned to sleep with that uncomfortable chemical suit. The first night those were needed, one of his fellow soldiers began to panic and hyperventilate.

This excerpt comes from the named source. Read the original for the full reporting.