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Subject = NAVY TALKING POINTS OFFICE IF INFO  DESERT STORM                

Folder Title = MAJ GALLOWAY S MATERIAL                                                                         

Parent Organization = MARCENT     

Unit  = 1 MEF       

Box ID = BX600094

File Cabinet = Week-51 

File Room = dec96_classified    




                                                   UNCLASSIFIED


          ation, named  OPE  RATION EASTERN EXIT. resulted in the evacuation of 260 people, including
          51 Americans, in less than 48 hours from execution orders. The evacuation was carried out at
          .night, when two CH-53 Marine helicopters took off from USS TRENTON (LPD 14) in the Ara-
          bian Sea, flew 460 miles, refueling in-flight (at night) twice from Marine KC-130 tanker aircraft.

          POST COLD WAR CRISIS OPER,477ONS

                 OPERATION DESERT STORM is the latest example of the need for strong U.S. military
          forces in the post-Cold War period. 'Me 1990-91 DESERT SHIELD and DESERT STORM op-
          erations added up to 53 Navy-Marine Corps crisis operations since 1980. None of these 1980-1991
          crisis operations involved Soviet-U.S. military confrontations. Thus, despite the end of the Cold
          War, a flexible forward deployed Navy-Marine Corps team with sea-based staying power will con-
          tinue to be needed in an unstable world.


          RE,4DY ONARRWAL - FORWARD DEPLOYED NA VAL FORCES

                 With no U.S. bases in the Middle East area until U.S. forces were 'invited into Saudi Ara-
          bia, the U.S. Navy's forward deployed U.S. Middle East Force ships, a continuous presence since
          1949, were immediately put on alert as OPERATION DESERT SHIELD began on August 7,1990.
          Within hours of receiving orders, the forward deployed USS INDEPENDENCE and USS
          DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER Battle Groups were quickly dispatched from the SEVENTH
          FLEET (Indian Ocean) and SDCIH FLEET (Eastern Mediterranean) to the Gulf of Oman and
          Red Sea respectively. The carrier battle groups provided ready naval air power to deter Iraqi
          forces from invading Saudi Arabia. As Army General Colin L. Powell, Chairman Joint Chiefs of
          Staff has stated, "When we began our (Desert Shield) deployments on August 7, 1990, we had only
          a Naval presence in the region consisting of the Joint Task Force Middle East and the recently
          arrived USS INDEPENDENCE Carrier Battle Group."

          SEA-B,4SED STAYING PONER

                 When the decision was made to initially send a Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF), two
          Marine Expeditionary Brigades were airlifted to Saudi Arabia, and their heavy equipment (including
          tanks, ammunition and other supplies for 30 days) arrived via two squadrons of Maritime Preposition-
          ing Ships (MPS) (five ships from Diego Garciaaind four ships from Guam). The first Diego Garcia-
          based Maritime Prepositioning Ship began offloading in Saudi Arabia on August 15, 1990. Thus, the
          Maritime Prepositioning Ship provided the Marines with immediate sea-based sustainability or
          stayingpower. Tbe4thMEBatCampLejeune,NC@acompletelyself-sustainedamphibiousforcewith
          organic Marine aviation, ground combat, combat support and command elements, left East Coast
          ports aboard 13 Navy amphibious ships, including USS NASSAU, USS GUAM, and USS IWO JIMA.

                 With the large-scale mobilization of follow-on forces, subsequent deployments to project land
          combat power from the NavymMarine team ensued. I MEF was reinforced, ultimately encompassing
          both the 1st and 2nd Marine Divison as its ground combat element; the reinforced 3rd Marine Aircraft
          Wing (3rd MAW) as its aviation combat element; and the reinforced Ist Force Service Support Group
          (Ist FSSG) as its combat service support element. Principal reinforcement for 3rd MAW came from
          2d MAW, and for 1st FSSG, from 2d FSSG. The third MPS squadron was deployed from the East
          Coast to support the Marines. Additionally, the 5th MEB and the 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit


                                                         UNCLASSIFIED

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Document 19 f:/Week-51/BX600094/MAJ GALLOWAY S MATERIAL/navy talking points office if info desert storm:03249710492938
Control Fields 17
File Room = dec96_declassified
File Cabinet = Week-51
Box ID = BX600094
Unit = 1 MEF
Parent Organization = MARCENT
Folder Title = MAJ GALLOWAY S MATERIAL
Folder Seq # = 207
Subject = NAVY TALKING POINTS OFFICE IF INFO DESERT STORM
Document Seq # = 10
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 = 24-MAR-1997