 The 416th TFW was deployed from Tonopah in mid-December and in January 1991, a portion of the 417th TFS was also deployed to Saudi Arabia.In spite of the massive Coalition buildup, Saddam Hussein of Iraq stubbornly refused to withdraw his troops from Kuwait.In the early morning of 17 January 1991, the United States Central Command Air Forces along with air forces from Coalition nations began an air offensive to remove Iraqi troops from Kuwait.