The Gulf War (Information collected from Canadian Military, Dept. Veterans Affairs and Royal Canadian Legion websites)

Unlike any conflict before, the Gulf War of 1991 played out in a brave new world of biological warfare. A round-the-clock television audience was captivated by the flying missiles that lit up the night sky. Canadian troops, sent abroad for combat for the first time since the Korean War joined the Allied forces to fight Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. On the surface, the occupation ended swiftly and decisively as the Iraqi forces retreated. But as was evident over the next decade, the problems remained unresolved .During Canada’s Operation FRICTION, about 4,000 service personnel participated in the intervention, with a peak of 2,700 personnel at one time in the Persian Gulf region. These service men and women were primarily attached to four Canadian units in the Gulf: the Canadian Task Group at sea; the Canadian Air Task Group in Doha, Quatar; the joint Headquarters, Canadian Forces Middle East, in Manamah, Bahrain; and First Canadian Field Hospital at Al-Qaysumah. There were no Canadian casualties attributable to combat or military action during the war. Canadian soldiers share symptoms of illness but the military denies the existence of Gulf War syndrome.