Join the Army Heritage Center Foundation as we celebrate the publication of Colonel Frank Hancock’s new book Operation Desert Storm: How Two Young Intelligence Analysts and an Infantry Battalion Changed the War in Iraq.
Book Launch & Signing for Col. Frank Hancock’s Operation Desert Storm
Friday, December 5, 2025 | 5:00 pm – 7:00 pm
Location: Whistlestop Bookshop, 129 West High Street, Carlisle, PA 17013
Supported by: Army Heritage Center Foundation
Operation Desert Storm chronicles perhaps the most incredible story of Desert Storm that hasn’t been told…UNTIL NOW. Two young soldiers unlocked an intelligence puzzle no one else recognized.
In February 1991, Captain Jose Delgado and Sergeant Jesus Gonzalez, who were the recipients of AHCF’s Boots on the Ground Award in 2021, became uneasy about intelligence reports of an unoccupied trench line in their landing zone. What they did next saved their battalion.
About the Author
Colonel (Ret) Frank Hancock graduated from the United States Military Academy in 1972. Upon graduation Col Hancock was commissioned as a 2nd Lieutenant in the Infantry. Colonel Hancock served as a rifle platoon leader, weapons platoon leader, anti-tank platoon leader, and company executive officer with the 3rd Infantry Division in Germany; a Company Commander at Ft Drum, New York; a Company Commander, and a Battalion Operations Officer with the 101st Airborne Division (AASLT); a Battalion Executive Officer, Brigade Operations Officer, Secretary of the General Staff, and Deputy Division Operations Officer with the 25th Infantry Division in Hawaii; a Battalion Commander (1-327th Inf) with the 101st Airborne Division (AASLT); and the Strategy Officer and Command Briefer for US Pacific Command in Hawaii. Colonel Hancock finished his thirty-year Army career as the Chairman of the Department of Military Strategy, Plans and Operations at the US Army War College. Upon retirement from the Army, Colonel (Ret) Hancock was the Senior Army Instructor for JROTC at Cedar Cliff High School from 2002-2018.
Colonel Hancock’s civilian education includes a BS Degree in Engineering from West Point and a Masters Degree in International Studies from Salve Regina University. Colonel Hancock is Airborne, Ranger, and Air Assault qualified and is a graduate of the British Army Staff College, the US Command and General Staff College, and the US Army War College.
Colonel Hancock’s awards include the Combat Infantryman’s Badge, Bronze Star, and Valorous Unit Award and Bronze Arrowhead, which his battalion earned during Desert Storm. He is a “Distinguished Member” of the 327th Infantry Regiment, former holder of the “Matthew Ridgeway Leadership Chair” at the US Army War College and Veterans of Foreign War Pennsylvania State Civics Teacher of the Year for 2017. Colonel Hancock recently authored the book “Operation Desert Storm: How Two Young Intelligence Analysts and an Infantry Battalion Changed the War in Iraq” which will be released in November 2025.
Colonel Hancock presently works for the “Time Travelers Trunk” organization which teaches history through artifacts. He is also an adjunct faculty member at Dickinson College, a high school basketball referee in Central Pennsylvania (24 years), a Ballroom Dance Instructor for 27 years (has taught over 25,000 students), and a faculty member at the Leadership Cumberland Organization. He is married with three sons and six grandchildren and lives in Carlisle, Pennsylvania.
About Operation Desert Storm: How Two Young Intelligence Analysts and an Infantry Battalion Changed the War in Iraq
Operation Desert Storm chronicles perhaps the most incredible story of Desert Storm that has not been told. It tells of two young soldiers from intelligence section of 1-327th Infantry, 101st Airborne Division, Captain Jose Delgado and Sergeant Jesus Gonzalez, who unlocked an intelligence puzzle none of its higher headquarters recognized. This pivotal event of discovery occurred after the finalization of all assault plans for attacking into Iraq and altered the history of Desert Storm.
The 1-327th Infantry was also the lead unit of what became the largest air assault (by helicopter) in US history. The 101st Airborne was a unique army division because of the 300+ helicopters in its organization. General Schwarzkopf’s “Hail Mary” plan, to use the 101st to air assault and cut the Euphrates Valley was the boldest for the US Military since the Inchon landing in Korea in 1950. Schwarzkopf’s plan stretched the capability of the division to its limit and demonstrated its strengths and weaknesses. CPT Jose Delgado and SGT Jesus Gonzalez from Battalion S2 section (Military Intel Gathering shop) discovered the fatal intelligence flaw, an enemy battalion’s bunker-complex in 1-327th’s lead company’s landing zone. Their discovery, 48 hours before the air assault, caused the division’s plan to be altered. Without their discovery, the attack was destined for disaster.
In writing the book, Colonel Frank Hancock, Battalion Commander of 1-327th Infantry, asked twenty-six other soldiers from the battalion to provide narratives and their perspective of what happened, giving a full view of what occurred and why, from the perspective of both Privates and Colonels. The book also details the process of how the US Army became so lethal, considering the changes made since the 1973 post-Vietnam Army.