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CHAPTER 3
Desert Shield
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already had the Joint Task Force Middle East on station in the Persian Gulf. This task force consisted of the guided missile cruiser USS England (CG 22); the destroyer USS David R. Ray (DD 971); the frigates USS Vandegrift (FFG 48), USS Reid (FFG 30), USS Taylor (FFG 50), USS Robert G. Bradley (FFG 49), and USS Barbey (FF 1088); and the command ship USS La Salle (AGF 3). In addition, carrier task forces built around the USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN 69) and USS Independence (CV 62) were within striking range.1 These formidable forces might not have been able to stop a determined Iraqi armored assault into Saudi Arabia, however. The 82d Airborne’s brigades were light infantry units with little in the way of supporting arms, and their mission was initially limited to defending the Saudi airfields and acting as a “trip-wire” force should Iraq invade the Desert Kingdom. The Marines were not the first forces to deploy to Saudi Arabia, but their deployment provided the muscle needed to make Operation Desert Shield
n the late twentieth century, it became increasingly difficult for the Marine Corps to live up to its World War I recruiting poster slogan “First to Fight.” Modern aircraft and midair refueling techniques enabled U.S. Army light infantry forces, instead of Marine forces, to deploy with unheard of speed anywhere in the world where friendly airstrips awaited them, and Saudi Arabia’s airfields had been improved for precisely this situation. The first land-based aerial unit to arrive in Saudi Arabia was the 1st Tactical Fighter Wing of the U.S. Air Force, which deployed from Langley, Virginia, on 8 August 1990. On 9 August, they began conducting combat air patrols. The first American ground troops to arrive in Saudi Arabia were the men of the 2d Brigade, 82d Airborne Division; this was the duty “ready” brigade of the division. They began deploying to Saudi Arabia by air on 8 August, and the brigade was fully deployed on 14 August. The rest of the 82d Airborne Division was fully deployed to Saudi Arabia on 24 August. The U.S. Navy
MV PFC DeWayne T. Williams (AK 3009), part of Maritime Prepositioning Ship Squadron Three, unloads AAV-7 amphibious assault vehicles. The Prepositioning Program allowed the Marines to quickly build up combat power in Saudi Arabia. Photo by PO2 (SW) Joe Bartlett, USN. Defense Imagery DN-ST-91-11215
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