During Operation Desert Shield the United States Army sent several hundreds of thousands of men and women to the Saudi Desert as part of the Coalition which would eventually liberate Kuwait. Some of these soldiers were Air Defense Artillerymen. Secrets and Scuds focuses on one of these units, "B" Battery, 2nd Battalion 1st ADA, as it is put on a war footing at Fort Bliss, TX, travels to the Middle East, and uses its Hawk surface-to-air missile system to help create an impressive network of antiaircraft systems in the region. What was not revealed at the time was that 2-1 ADA was equipped with a second, secret, weapon system. Where most medium-range SAM systems (like Hawk) employ radar to detect, track and destroy targets, the Alpha system employed an entirely new principle undetectable to the enemy. Desert Storm would be the first opportunity to test this weapon system. James "Doc" Crabtree served during the Persian Gulf War as a Tactical Control Officer for the Hawk missile system and an operator of the notorious Alpha system. Crabtree's humorous insights, photos and cartoons tell the story of Bravo Battery in a way no other medium could. "I am glad to have read your book; really gives a different view of what others went through, but pointed out a lot of similarities of events and locations.I also had no idea we had any ADA Batteries out there and was definitley unaware of any Alpha System. Thanks for the insight."- Patrick Maez, 3rd Battalion, 9th Marines, Desert Storm "I read [Secrets and Scuds] and some of it I remembered .Some of it I had forgotten. And it brought back a lot of memories." - Donald Kincaid, B Battery, 2nd Battalion, 1st ADA , Desert Storm I began writing this book under the name "Iraq and Back" in 1991 after I returned from Saudi Arabia. I spent the next year working on it and then Raytheon to get it published, with no success. I DID, however, get an offer to write a book for a series on the military profession and began work on On Air Defense.25 years on and with more writing experience I took another look at Iraq and Back... and saw issues with it. It was too long, it dwelled on minutia and it read like a recruiting brochure for ADA. I began editing it down and re-did every cartoon (the original illustrations were drawn under field conditions and several didn't  pass the test of time. I also asked for and received permission to  write about the Alpha system.The Alpha was a secret weapon system which operated on a totally different principle from Hawk, The missiles looked identical to the standard Hawk and instead of radar the system employed a sensor disguised as a generator. With the Pentagon's blessing to publish information on Alpha I felt I had a unique draw for this new book.Once the manuscript was complete in 2015 I tried to get it published with a traditional publisher, with little success. Apparently, there "isn't much call for Desert Storm books." One publisher thought about it for 18 months but wanted to know if I had more photos and could make it longer...Finally, I decided to publish Secrets and Scuds myself. I truly believe it's the best book I've done to date and the information in it about the Alpha appears NOWHERE ELSE. Plus, well, it's fun! During Desert Shield and Desert Storm Bravo Battery, 2nd Battalion 1st Air Defense Artillery was equipped with Hawk surface-to-air missile system designed to shoot down enemy planes. But the unit was equipped with a second weapon system which was disguised to look like something else. For the first time, the story of this weapon system can be told, along with the trials and tribulations of ordinary soldiers in the sands of Saudi Arabia and Iraq.Includes cartoons! James "Doc" Crabtree is a veteran of the Cold War, serving as a U.S. Army Hawk Surface-to-Air Missile Crewman. He later served as a Launcher Crewman in the Patriot SAM system and was trained as a Stinger gunner. Commissioned prior to Desert Storm, he served as a Tactical Control Officer in a Hawk IIIA battery and also served as the site reconnaissance team leader. During Desert Storm he located and secured several missile sites in addition to his duties as a TCO. Leaving active duty for a time to pursue an academic career, he remained in the National Guard. He returned to active duty in 1998 and participated in Operation Desert Fox, which is largely forgotten now. Later he served in Operation Southern Watch, which served to enforce No-Fly Zones in Iraq and protect US allies in the Gulf from Iraqi air and ballistic missile attack. Crabtree returned to Iraq in 2005, serving in Operation Iraqi Freedom. He would also serve as a peacekeeper in the Sinai and as a Public Affairs Officer at Guantanamo Bay. Throughout his military career Crabtree has written prolifically and has drawn cartoons poking fun of military life. He has published three other books, On Air Defense, Guerilla Air Defense and Orange Berets, and has had cartoons featured in several military publications.