Abstract
The incomplete nature of operational records generated during and preserved after the Persian Gulf War (1990–1991) has and will continue to challenge historians’, medical researchers’, and veterans’ understanding of the conflict. This war exposed the deterioration of the U.S. Army’s records management after the disestablishment of The Adjutant General’s Office (TAGO) in 1986. TAGO had overseen Army records management, holding commanders accountable for their units’ records and using trained personnel to manage records within units. Focusing on operational records, this paper explores the breakdown of records management during the Gulf War, discusses the presidentially mandated Gulf War Declassification Project (1995–1996), and briefly reviews current Army operational records management.
Read the full article
Members: read on EBSCO
Use the access code from this quarter's member email. Every issue since 1937 is online, with no embargo.
Lost your code? Email jmhsmh@vmi.edu or sign in at the EBSCOhost member login.
Not a member? Buy this article
A PDF sent by email from the Journal office during business hours, $10.
Through a library: sign in with your institution
Full text is in EBSCO's America: History and Life with Full Text and Historical Abstracts with Full Text, and through EBSCO Discovery.
Join: read everything, every year
Membership includes the printed journal and full online access to the archive.
Cite this article
William Michael Yarborough, “Undocumented Triumph: Gulf War Operational Records Management,” The Journal of Military History 77, no. 4 (October 2013).