Gulf War they set fire to nearly 700 oil wells and placed land mines around the wells to make extinguishing the fires more difficult. The war's ground phase was officially designated Operation Desert Saber. The first units to move into Iraq were three patrols of the British Special Air Service's B squadron, call signs Bravo One Zero, Bravo Two Zero, and Bravo Three Zero, in late January. These eight-man patrols landed behind Iraqi lines to gather intelligence on the movements of Scud mobile missile launchers, which could not be detected from the air, as they were hidden under bridges and camouflage netting
David Howell (British Army officer) in 1982 and resigned his commission later the same year, but was reinstated on 12 March 1984, with seniority from 22 September 1983. He was promoted to lieutenant colonel in 1988. He served in Iraq during the Gulf War in 1991 and promoted to colonel on 30 June 1998, with seniority from the same date, and to brigadier in 2001. He was appointed Director General, Army Legal Services in 2003—a position he held until his retirement on 28 January 2011. David Howell (British Army officer) Major General David Malcolm Howell, CB, OBE is a barrister and retired British Army officer