The first Gulf War was conducted in 1990-1991. The main cause of the conflict was the invasion of Kuwait by Iraq in 1990 and the economic and territorial claims of Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein against his much smaller neighbor. On one side of the barricade, in the course of this war, stood the troops of the anti-Iraqi coalition composed of the forces of many countries, but most of all of the United States, which in total numbered about 950,000 soldiers. The commander of the coalition forces was the American general Norman Schwarzkopf. Their opponent was the Iraqi forces, estimated at around 650,000 soldiers. The war was divided into two separate operations. The first was codenamed Desert Shield and lasted from August 1990 to January 1991. Its purpose was to significantly increase Saudi Arabia's defense capabilities and to transfer the coalition's armed forces to the theater of hostilities. It is worth adding that at this stage Iraq, through its military passivity, left the initiative in the hands of the coalition, which many experts considered a considerable military error. The second stage was Operation Desert Storm, fought in January and February 1991. This operation de facto settled the fate of the war in favor of the coalition within a few days. It also showed great preparation for the military operations of the US Army, the high quality of its doctrine and the very high quality of its equipment - especially armored and mechanized weapons. The one-sided nature of the war is evidenced by the fact that the coalition of wounded and killed lost approximately 1,100 soldiers, while Iraqi troops lost at least 25,000 dead and over 75,000 wounded.
United States Armed Forces ) are currently the most powerful and strongest troops in the world, with an active staff of approximately 1.36 million people and a budget of $ 686 billion in 2018. One of their most important components is the ground army, i.e. the United States Army, in which 476,000 soldiers in the line served in 2017. The main land strike force of the US Army is, of course, the armored forces, which are currently concentrated Armored Brigade Combat Teams (ABCTs). They are composed (since 2016) of, inter alia, two mixed battalions consisting of two tank companies and a mechanized infantry company, and a mechanized infantry battalion consisting of two infantry companies and an armored company, as well as numerous support units. In total, the American ABCT has about 4,700 soldiers, 90 M1 Abrams tanks, 90 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles and 112 M113 tracked transporters. It is also worth pointing to the very high level of ABCT saturation with anti-tank weapons in the form of anti-tank guided missiles. At the end of 2018, the US Army had 10 ABCTs. As an interesting fact, it can be said that the private (Private E1) US Army earns about $ 20,200 annually, while the sergeant (Sergeant E5) with 2 years of experience - about $ 28,700. These are basic salaries - without any allowances or bonuses.