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Subject: COMMAND CHRONOLOGY PERIOD 1JAN TO 31JAN91   5FEB91              

Unit: VMFA 451    

Parent Organization: 2D MAW      

Box  ID: BX600027

Folder Title: COMMAND CHRONOLOGY VMFA 451 JUL 90 - JUN 92                                                     

Document Number:         35

Folder Seq  #:         25






                                     UNCLASSIFIED



              As a rule good weather means bombs on target. In keeping with the
         rule, 26 Jan brought good weather to south Kuwait, and 451 Bombers hit
         a large ammunition storage facility one mile east of Kuwait
         International Airport. One of the aircrew involved compared the
         secondary explosion to a nuclear blast with a huge mushroom cloud
         climbing tens of thousands of feet into the air.

              January 28 gave the Warlords outstanding weather for a 4 plane
         SEAD package in support of a strike on a solid rocket propellant plant
         twenty miles south of Baghdad. Warlords shot 8 pre-briefed HARM,
         targeting SA-2, 3, and 6 surface to air missile radar systems. As a
         result, strikers arrived in the target area untargeted by SAMS and
         achieved a SDA to satisfy CENTAF, therefore cancelling the evening
         strike to the same target. The mission, Marine Aircraft Group Eleven's
         dee,pest into Iraq to date, kept the airplanes airborne for 3.5 hours.
              The commanding Officer proposed a plan to the CO MAG 11 whereby
         each squadron would be given an 18 hour respite from combat operations
         to allow squadron personnel to rest and take care of personal matters.
         The 30th of January was to be that light flying day for the Warlords.
         At about 2300 on the 29th, however, Iraqi forces launched a six prong
         attack on allied forces in Northern Saudi Arabia. Four of the prongs
         were turned back immediately as a result of intense allied (primarily
         American and Saudi) fire. One of the prongs, the Iraqi's main axis of
         attack, succeeded in capturing the lightly defended city of Khafji on
         the North Eastern coast of Saudi Arabia. Because the Warlords did not
         have any previously scheduled flight operations, they were called upon
rt launches.
         Maintenance crews were called in to prepare aircraft and load all
         available ordnance including Mark 80 series bombs, and Mark 20 Rockeye
         Cluster Bomb Units.
        @The first Warlord CAS sorties were launched early on the morning of
         the 30th. Forward air controllers, on the ground and airborne, called
         in 451 hornets to release ordnance on targets of opportunity including
         vehicles and troops as they were detected. It was obvious, however
         that the direct air support coordination center (DASC) was overtasked
         in the initial stages of the Iraqi offensive. This overtasking
         resulted in large numbers of aircraft holding and waiting for CAS
         missions, and numerous bombing runs being aborted due to conflicting
         friendly aircraft in the target area. All in all, the offensive was
         stopped dead on the first day, with only mopping up left for ground
         forces. January 30th saw the Warlords launch IS close air support
         sorties in support of the ground troops. All participants in the
         operation benefited from many lessons learned both on the ground and in
         the air.

              January 31st saw the return of normal operations with the Warlords
         flying standard strike and SEAD missions.

              Pilot training sessions in the first half of the month included
         informative lectures on the laser spot tracker/strike camera pod
         capabilities and use, and additional information on MK 20 Rockeye
         delivery. On 11 January, the Warlords attended lectures by Combat
         Search and Rescue (CSAR) personnel on SAR assets and procedures in Iraq
         and the Kuwaiti theater of operation (KTO). This highly important

                                    UNCLASSIFIED



                                                                                    m

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Document 7 f:/Week-38/BX600027/COMMAND CHRONOLOGY VMFA 451 JUL 90 - JUN 92/command chronology period 1jan to 31jan91 5feb:12069615400613
Control Fields 17
File Room = sep96_declassified
File Cabinet = Week-38
Box ID = BX600027
Unit = VMFA 451
Parent Organization = 2D MAW
Folder Title = COMMAND CHRONOLOGY VMFA 451 JUL 90 - JUN 92
Folder Seq # = 25
Subject = COMMAND CHRONOLOGY PERIOD 1JAN TO 31JAN91 5FEB
Document Seq # = 35
Document Date =
Scan Date =
Queued for Declassification = 01-JAN-1980
Short Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Long Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Permanent Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Non-Health Related Document = 01-JAN-1980
Declassified = 06-DEC-1996