Cika wannan jumla: Kasa da mako guda bayan
Iraki ta mamaye Kuwait a ranar 2 ga Agusta, 1990, an umurci VMA-542 da ya tura zuwa Tekun Fasha don tallafawa Operation Desert Shield. Tare da rundunar jiragen sama na AV-8Bs ashirin, Tomassetti ya tashi daga Arewacin Carolina zuwa kudancin Bahrain kuma ya isa Sheik Isa Air Base a ranar 21 ga Agusta. Ya shafe watanni biyu masu zuwa yana shirya don yaƙi ta hanyar gudanar da ayyukan horo da kuma "tsayayyen faɗakarwa" wanda matukan jirgi suka juya suna zaune a ciki ko kusa da jirginsu masu dauke da makamai, a shirye su yi tsere a cikin gajeren lokaci idan akwai tashin hankali. Squadron ya matsa kusa da yankin da ake tsammanin rikici a ranar 4 ga Nuwamba, 5 ga Nuwamba, ya koma wurin Sarki Abdul Aziz Naval Base da filin jirgin sama a Saudi Arabia kusa da iyakar Kuwait. Tomassetti da rundunar sun ci gaba da tashi da horo tare da mai da hankali kan ayyukan tallafin iska na kusa da nufin kare sojojin ƙasa waɗanda ba da daɗewa ba za su yi yaƙi da sojojin abokan gaba.