44                                      U.S. MARINES iN THE PERSIAN GULF, 199O~I99I

    The   commander    of  the    Military Sealift Command  Southwest       Asia,
Commodore Richard A. Crooks, was ultimately successful in developing a
satisfactory shipping route into the port by having ships thread their way through
the oil field.  The movement of a large ship along the dangerous route into the
port required a great deal of coordination: NavCent had to provide escort ships
and the Royal Saudi Naval Force tug boats.      On 26 January the first ship to
reach Mishab was MV Mallory Lykes, carrying 500 containers of MarCent
sustainment. It was unloaded and turned around in less than 24 hours. In early
February, humble and ubiquitous Army coastal craft known as LCU-2000s also
began hauling much waterborne support on regular shuttles between Dammam,
Jubayl, and Mishab.
    The concept of logistics support involved the pre-positioning of material at
the port of Mishab and at the Direct Support Center at Kibrit.  This required
theater support in the form of U.S. Army and commercial line haul equipment,
a tactical petroleum terminal, a fuel truck company, an offshore petroleum
dispensing System, reverse osmosis water purification units (ROWPUs), and
various watercraft such as the LCU-2000.
    Airfields for helicopters and forward staging of McDonnell Douglas AV-8B
Harrier vertical takeoff and landing jets were another issue in January.  General
Boomer needed Mishab's jet-capable airfield for one of 3d Marine Aircraft
Wing's helicopter groups, Marine Aircraft Group 26, commanded by Colonel
Michael J. Williams.     Although the airfield could accommodate a helicopter
group after the SeaBees had enlarged the ramp, the ground campaign required
both wing helicopter groups to be forward.  The only other appropriate site was
Aramco's jet-capable airfield at Tanajib (At Tanaqib) 14 kilometers south of
Safaniyah.    Aramco, the world's largest petroleum production enterprise, was
Saudi-owned, American-managed, and at times to the I MEF staff, seemed like
a sovereign entity unto itself.  The company refused the Marines permission to
use Tanajib even though its own operations there had scaled down considerably
with the threat of war.  After persistent and lengthy negotiations and with time
running out, General Boomer made a direct request for help to Prince Khalid,
the Saudi Minister of Defense and Aviation and commander of the joint Arab
forces.   Prince Khalid promptly instructed that Marines be accommodated.
Despite this, Aramco still declined to cooperate and commandeering the site was
considered.    This proved not to be necessary, and the second helicopter group,
Marine Aircraft Group 16, commanded by Colonel Larry T. Garrefl, moved
north to Tanajib on 8 January.

                          Cementing the Alliance

   As I Marine Expeditionary Force moved north and west, its units continued
to train with the 2nd Brigade of the Saudi Arabian National Guard, the Royal
Saudi Marine Corps, and, increasingly, the 8th and 10th Brigades of the Royal
Saudi   Land Forces with, a view toward improving interoperability. Because
the 1st Marine Division occupied     MarCent's  right flank, its 3d     Marines,