When I first signed up for this class I was not excited to take a second history class after being mislead into taking the first class. I knew that it would be a lot of reading and busy work that I wasn’t excited to do. However this actually didn’t end up being as bad as I thought. I actually enjoyed that we had assignments that we were able to share with other class members and see what their opinion of a topic was. It was nice to have a starting point when you were unsure of what to write about. I actually liked the discussion assignments where we kind of worked in groups but on our own in the same sense.
I liked the fact that the quizzes was more of a learning tool rather than “here’s your score you need to work on things” type of a test. The fact that it gave us multiple tries to complete it helped you remember the subject better and made it stick in your mind. It took a while to complete but it was a great learning tool
Staci Alvey
History 1700
Oral Project
Aug 2013
Oral History Project
I have been extremely blessed to have married into such an amazing family that I respect and adore. After thinking about whom to interview it was clear that my father in law would be a great candidate. My father in law Brent served in the National Guard off and on for many years. I knew that he was amazing before but after talking about his experience, my respect for him has grown. Although he did not fight in the Gulf War he was trained and ready to go to battle if called. 
History of the Gulf War
The Gulf War also known as Operation Desert Strom, Persian Gulf War, First Gulf War, and First Iraq war. Iraq’s invasion on Kuwait in August 1990 caused issues internationally. The invasion motivated by Iraq trying to acquire Kwaits oil fields and by explained power throughout the area. The United States formed a coalition with other countries such as other Arab countries, and begins sending troops to Saudi Arabia. When Iraq ignored the demand to withdraw from Kuwait the troops began a large scale air attack. In response Saddm Ussein launched ballistic missiles against nearby coalition states as well as Israel. Forty two days later a victory was achieved. Approximately 100,000 Iraq people died. About 300 hundred of our troops died as well.
Life of Brent Alvey
Brent was born June 2, 1960 to the proud parents of Shirley and Barney Alvey. Brent was 21 years old when he joined the National Guard. He never knew what to expect when he first signed up. His parents were nervous for him but knew it was something he wanted and needed to do. Brent was part of the 1457 Combat Engineers. His job was to drive the heavy equipment as well as road work and building shelter. His first assignment would be operation Desert Storm.
Brent had been in the National Guard for several years and had gone back and for the between active and inactive duty. One day in December of 1991 he had received call saying that he had been reactivated and that he had five days to get ready to be deployed. Him and 750 others from Utah left and arrived in Washington. After waiting two weeks he had been shipped to Germany to stage. 
Upon arriving in Germany he realized that there were thousands of people preparing for the Gulf War. His mission was humanitarism and was going to get the curds out of Iraq. In a blink of an eye the war was over and luckily for him, he didn’t see battle. Brent said there was a ton of people that were deployed and now that the war was over they needed to send them all home. Because of the overwhelming amount of people he was stuck in Germany for about four to five months waiting for a ride home. They had decided that it was only fair to send the people that arrived to Germany first, home first. People were outraged that they couldn’t go home right away and would call home and complain to their families. The complaining became such a problem, and the mayor was notified.
One day the marched all the troops to a theater to explain that they were doing the best they could to get them home and they were only making things worse by complaining. From then on out they were not allowed to talk of their deploy date. Sense Brent arrived later he knew he would be staying a bit longer. He missed his family but knew it was something that needed to be done. While waiting to go home he helped with work around Germany. They built bridges, roads and any other work to improve the conditions of the base.
Missing Home
While being deployed his youngest and only daughter was born and when he got news she was born it made him want to go home even more. Brent said this was one of the hardest things about being away from home for so long. He says that he was busy most of the time that and didn’t have much time to be home sick. However late at night before going to bed or any down time your family is about the only thing you can think about. When I asked how he coped with being homesick he answered by saying’ Knowing that you leave your family in good hands, with many family members to help take care of your kids and wife makes you feel a bit more at ease. It was also easier knowing that I wasn’t the only on that was homesick and missing my family. We would often share stories about our families and share pictures. That was the hardest thing for Brent about being in the National Guard was being away from his family.
Returning Home
After being gone for what felt like years, he was finally able to hold his baby girl for the first time. He was able to spend all the time he wanted with his wife and kids. After being gone so long you come to realize how important life truly is and how important your loved ones are.
Being home was excited but also he never felt like he could ever really relax until he was no longer on active duty and didn’t have to worry about being called out at random times. Being in the service makes you pay more attention to the world around you. You seem to always be on your toes when you hear of any wars going on in the world. He is so grateful for all the men and woman out there that have been away from their families in order to protect our country.
I am so glad I had this opportunity to dig deeper into Brent s life and find out what really made him the amazing man he is. He has done so much for this country even though he didn’t actually see battle and I am very grateful to have such a powerful influence in my life. There are always bits of history that people don’t know about until they have actually been there and have witnessed the feelings and emotions that go with being in the service and in some cases war. Would should all learn to be more thankful for all those out there fighting and sacrificing their lives for our freedom. Be thankful that they are willing to leave their own family and miss out on special events in their lives just to ensure that we all have a great life,
Thanks Brent Alvey you truly are an inspiration to us all.
Brent Alvey 801-966-5284 ( By phone Interview)
Other Information
Experience History (Interpreting Americas Past)
Wikapedia.com
Interview Questions
1. How old were you when you joined the service? 21 when I joined the National Guard
2. What was your job in the National Guard? I drove the heavy machines, did road work, build shelter.
3. How long were you in the National Guard? About 15 years off and on
4. What was the best part about the National Guard? Knowing that you are bettering the lives of others and helping the country.
5. What was the worst part of being in the National Guard? Being away from your family for long periods of time and missing out on different parts of their life.
6. Do you have a different perspective of life after being in the service? I have a better respect for all the other men and woman fighting for our freedom. A lot of them have seen some really horrific things that have changed them forever.
7. Were there times when you thought you had made the wrong decision when joining the National Guard? There were plenty of times when I had to rethink why I had put myself threw the stuff I did. I would always re think my decision when I was missing my family.
8. Would you recommend joining the service to others? Being in the service was a good experience but it isn’t for everyone. Don’t do it if you’re not one hundred percent sure that it is what you want.
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