WnH THE I MARINE EXPEDIrIONARY FORCE IN DESERT SHIELD AND DESERT STORM     33


intelligence section, now under Colonel Forest L. Lucy, to help develop the
essential elements of information required for the intelligence preparation of the
battlefield.
   General Schwarzkopfs original strategy placed the British     1st Armour
Division under the tactical control of General Boomer as a third maneuver
element.  This heavy British force was to constitute more than a third of
MarCent's combat power, particularly in main battle tanks and artillery.  As
noted earlier, the integration of the British 7th Armour Brigade with 1st Marine
Division had gone exceedingly well.    It was therefore a disappointment to
General Boomer and the staff when General Schwarzkopf notified him on 17
December that CentCom was withdrawing the British division from MarCent
control and placing it with the main Central Command attack.   The transfer of
British forces was completed in stages by 10 January.
   To partially compensate for the transfer of the British division, General
Schwarzkopf ordered the 1st Brigade of the U.S. 2d Armored Division to
MarCent on 10 January.     The soldiers of "Tiger" Brigade, commanded by
Colonel John B. Sylvester, USA, had trained together in a desert environment
for about two years and brought a wealth of night vision equipment and
experience as well.  However, the brigade had significantly less combat power
than the British forces; 116 General Dynamics MiAl Abrams main battle tanks
replaced approximately 170 British Challenger tanks and 24 M109 self-propelled
155mm guns replaced 72 British lSSmm guns. Both the M1A1 and M109 were
essentially similar to the Marine models.  The Abrams tank featured 120mm
smooth-bore guns and computerized sight and thermal target imaging systems.
Even so, given this smaller force, General Boomer had to reduce I MEF to two
reinforced division maneuver elements.    He left the issue of an operational
reserve in abeyance for the moment. Boomer placed the Tiger Brigade with the
2d Marine Division which would      conduct MarCent's     main attack.   This
reinforcement increased that unit's total of tanks to about 257; thus, General
Keys commanded the heaviest Marine division ever to take the field.
   Several logistical complications came with the transfer. Whereas the British
forces had been essentially self-supporting, apart from food, fuel, and water, the
Tiger Brigade had no similar logistic support.   Neither could the brigade bring
with it the equivalent of a third of a division's communications and intelligence
assets since these could not be task organized.  Mitigating the situation was the
commonality of Tiger Brigade's main weapons systems with those of the 2d
Marine Division.     The issues were pragmatically resolved at a series of
conferences where it was decided that ArCent would 1,cross-support" Tiger
Brigade in clothing, organizational equipment, and ammunition, while MarCent
would provide food, fuel, personal items, and general medical support.   The
Marines also supplied all repair parts and components except for Army-unique
items.
   These communications and logistics issues led to a dispute over the command
and control of the brigade, however.   General Schwarzkopf proposed in late
December that the brigade be placed under Lieutenant General Boomer's
operational control, but be supported by ArCent.    As this was being discussed