Voices of Veterans: Captain Bret Adams Shares His Story of Service in the United States Air Force During the Gulf War AUSTIN, Texas— Today, Texas Land Commissioner and Veterans Land Board (VLB) Chairwoman Dawn Buckingham, M.D., is proud to introduce the next installment of the series highlighting the VLB’s Voices of Veterans oral history program. This week, we highlight the service of Captain Bret Adams who shares his story of service in the United States Air Force during the Gulf War. Born on the West Coast in California, Adams said he “spent most of my elementary years in the middle west, near Saint Louis” before, because of his dad, he would find himself on the east coast and “eventually overseas as well.” Adams said his dad worked for McDonnell Douglas and General Dynamics, which moved them around quite a bit throughout his childhood. “I think that traveling kind of sparked my interest and then being around him as an aircraft engineer, so that kind of rolled into being interested in the Air Force,” Adams explained, adding that while he was in Belgium, he applied to and was accepted into the University of North Texas (UNT).  Following graduation from UNT, Adams said he worked in Dallas for about a year and half before he decided that joining the military might not be a bad route to go. In 1985 he went to San Antonio to Officer Training School, “which was in a little annex across the highway from Lackland Air Force Base.” For the next 13 weeks, “that was my indoctrination into the military and it was eye-opening.”
Adams said he was commissioned into the Air Force in August 1985 and thought that was the best route because of his love for jets and planes. While he hoped to one day be in the cockpit, those hopes were dashed because of his “eyesight at the time.” Following his commission into the Air Force, Adams reported to Minot, North Dakota. “It was dual wing base. There was a bomber wing and a missile wing. The bombers were the B-52s that we had and […] tankers that supplied the fuel,” Adams said about his first duty station, adding it was a substantial base. “I would easily guess maybe five to six thousand personnel. We had a one-star general in charge of everything. Always a lot going on. I remember looking back on it, I felt overwhelmed at times, but I feel lucky to have been there because there was so much and I learned. I got to be around and participate in things that I think the average person doesn’t get to.” From 1989 to 1991, Adams said he spent time in Ankara, Turkey, calling it “fascinating country” and that the “food is wonderful, the people are wonderful and the history is wonderful.” He said it was his favorite place and at the time, “a very small element was anti-American, anti-military. But your average Turk would welcome you as if you were a member of the family.” Adams said he was in Turkey when the Persian Gulf War and Desert Shield/Desert Storm flared up. In August 1990, when Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, Adams called that time “surreal.” “I remember reading message traffic and trying to keep abreast of what was going on. I wanted to get more involved. I even volunteered to go down to Saudi but my boss said no, he wanted me to stay there. He never told me why,” he said of the decision. Adams said just prior to the war kicking off, when President Bush’s imposed deadline was getting closer, things took another shift as the “threat level jumped through the roof.” “We were told to alter our routes daily, to and from. Stop wearing the uniform in the vehicle. That was extremely unnerving,” he explained about the days leading up to the start of the war. “Every morning, we had to go out on our hands and knees, check under my car, but it was what we had to do to ensure our safety.” To listen to Captain Bret Adams tell his story, click the button below: RELATED: Voices of Veterans: SFC Larry “Scott” Teakell Shares His Story of Service in the United States Army RELATED: Voices of Veterans: Sergeant Major Moritz Friebel Shares His Story of Service in the United States Army Veterans can email VoicesofVeterans@glo.texas.gov to tell their stories. Please note that the Veteran must be a resident of Texas at the time of their interview. Voices of Veterans is a state agency’s first Veteran oral history program. It records the stories of Texas Veterans through their time in service and after returning home from combat. The VLB records interviews with Veterans over the phone or in person. Their interviews are then permanently archived in the Office of Veterans Records at the GLO, where they join the historical documents of other Texas heroes such as Sam Houston, Davy Crockett, Jim Bowie, and William Barret Travis. Veterans’ interviews are also available to researchers, historians, genealogists, and the public. These precious records inspire future generations and remind us of our Veterans’ sacrifices. To listen to the over 500 archived stories of Veterans documented through the GLO’s Voices of Veterans oral history program, click the button below: # # # Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham, M.D., brings a lifetime of experience to the Texas General Land Office (GLO). In 2016, she became the first Republican elected to the Texas State Senate from Travis County and the first woman to represent Texas Senate District 24. She made history again in 2022, winning a statewide election to become our state’s first female Land Commissioner. | 
