The 35-Hour B-52 Mission That Launched Desert Storm | Secret Squirrel with Col. Trey Morris
Combat Story
Ryan Fugit
4.8 • 1.4K Ratings
🗓️ 16 February 2026
⏱️ 168 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Before the first bombs hit Iraq in 1991, seven B-52s quietly lifted off from Louisiana on a mission so classified most of the crews hadn't known it existed months earlier.
In this episode of Combat Story, AJ Pasciuti sits down with Trey Morris, retired U.S. Air Force Colonel and former B-52 Electronic Warfare Officer, to break down Operation Senior Surprise—nicknamed Secret Squirrel—the 35-hour, 14,000-mile strike that helped launch Operation Desert Storm.
This wasn't just another bombing mission. It was the first combat use of GPS-guided cruise missiles, the longest combat sortie in history at the time, and a zero-fail test of endurance and leadership.
Minutes after takeoff, Morris' aircraft lost an engine.
They nearly collided during night aerial refueling.
On the return leg, they ran dangerously low on fuel over the Mediterranean.
What followed was problem-solving under pressure, trust inside the cockpit, and a culture that demanded accountability when it mattered most.
Morris later captured the full story in his book Doom 34, but this conversation goes beyond aviation. It's about earning the right to come home—and honoring those who have "gone west."
If you're interested in B-52 bombers, Desert Storm history, military aviation, long-range strike, or leadership under stress, this episode is for you.
🎙️ Guest Information — Trey Morriss | DOOM 34 | Retired U.S. Air Force Colonel | Former B-52 Electronic Warfare Officer
🔗 Find Trey Online:
📕 Book: DOOM 34 (Available globally — search "DOOM 34") 🛒 Amazon:https://a.co/d/aR2IujP
📘 Personal Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/trey.morriss/
📘 DOOM 34 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61581295749907
📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/treymorriss/?hl=en
💼 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/treymorriss/
🎙️ Host Information — AJ Pasciuti | Combat Story AJ Pasciuti is a retired Marine Force Recon Scout Sniper and Infantry Weapons Officer (Marine Gunner), author of Darkhorse: Harnessing Hidden Potential in War and Life, and host of the Combat Story Podcast, where veterans share honest, unfiltered stories of service, leadership, and life after combat.
🔗 Find AJ Online:
📕 Book (Darkhorse): https://www.amazon.com/Darkhorse-Harnessing-Hidden-Potential-Life/dp/1400254973 📸 Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ajpasciuti/
📘 LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelo-pasciuti/
🔗 Website: https://www.ajpasciuti.com/
🎧 Featured Combat Story Episodes with AJ
👉 Combat Story Podcast – Part 1 (USMC Sniper & Force Recon) - Battle of Fallujah | Shooting w/ Chris Kyle | American Sniper | AJ Pasciuti https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T4QI-5sNeCs
👉 Combat Story Podcast – Part 2 (Sniper vs Sniper Battle) - Killing the Enemy's Most Lethal Sniper | Force Recon | AJ Pasciuti https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p5Ggly1TGAU
📺 Additional Features & Media
👉 Urban Valor Podcast Feature: https://urbanvalor.com/episode/marine-snipers-eliminate-enemy-sniper-reclaim-stolen-us-sniper-rifle/
👉 DVIDS – Infantry Marine Course Feature: https://www.nationalguard.mil/Leadership/Joint-Staff/Comptroller/Innovation/?dvpTag=imc&videoid=790758
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Yeah, so as a precaution, we knew the 15th deadline was coming. |
| 0:06.0 | The crews are formed and we are sequestered to base on the 14th. |
| 0:10.0 | Thinking something's going to happen on the 15th, that's the deadline. |
| 0:13.0 | Why not? |
| 0:14.0 | We also know that we're in the opening hours of the air campaign. |
| 0:18.0 | We don't know exactly where we fit, but we know we're somewhere in the opening hours. |
| 0:21.6 | Our leadership had not gotten a lot of intel exactly when the president wanted really to start the war. |
| 0:27.6 | Our leadership is getting us prepared for the, could be the worst day of our lives. |
| 0:32.6 | You know, we're looking at each other, realizing we weren't executed on the deadline, |
| 0:36.6 | but at the other hand, we are the thing launching Desert Storm. |
| 0:43.3 | Welcome to Combat Story. I'm A.J. Peschuti, a retired Marine, Force Recon, Scout Sniper, and Marine Gunner, |
| 0:49.3 | with 21 years of service, multiple combat tours, and a lifetime of lessons learned in the arena itself. |
| 0:55.3 | On this show, I sit down with warriors from every front line to uncover what combat truly |
| 1:00.0 | feels like and how it shapes the way we see life, each other, and ourselves. |
| 1:05.0 | This is combat story. |
| 1:08.0 | Today on Combat Story, we're joined by Colonel Trey Morris, United States Air Force retired. |
| 1:13.7 | A B-52 electronic warfare officer tied to a mission that sounds like fiction, until you realize it was real. |
| 1:20.1 | In the opening hours of Desert Storm, he was part of Operation Senior Surprise, better known as Secret Squirrel, |
| 1:25.9 | an ultra-long-range strike that helped |
| 1:29.2 | kick off the war. Seven B-52s launched out of Barksdale on a 35-hour, 14,000-mile round |
| 1:35.7 | trip, solving problem after problem, fighting through adversity at every turn, and doing whatever |
| 1:41.2 | it took to earn their chance to make it home, and fired 35 calcums, |
... |
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