WITH THE I MARINE EXPEDITIONARY FORCE IN DESERT SHIELD AND DESERT STORM             53


Marine Pioneer remotetypitoted vehicles operatedfrom AlMishab Airfield in earty February 1991.
Overhead ilnagery oftize IMEF'sfi�ture operating area was scarce, and the Marines sorelv missed
their last organic manned photo-reconnaissance platform, the McDonnell-Douglas RF-4 Phantom
11, which had been decommissioned in August 1990. All of the Marine     Corps' RPVfieet was thus
ordered into the theater and pressed to maximum use. Each of the tiny crafi could carry a day or
night sensor package.

products to the force in less than 72 hours.  When it did arrive, the Marine
intelligence analysts were disappointed in the quality; it seemed to them they
were getting third- and fourth-generation copies.~~
   At first, the force's principal organic systems for BDA within southeastern
Kuwait were Pioneer remotely piloted vehicles and Rockwell OV-10 Bronco
observation aircraft.   The former had real-time imaging although it was of
grainy quality. The latter had forward-looking infrared for night observation
but were vulnerable to visually fired surface-to-air heat-seeking missiles during
daylight.   This led to the first casualties of the war on             18 January when
Lieutenant Colonel Clifford M.     Acree, the commanding officer of Marine
Observation Squadron 2, and his observer, Chief Warrant Officer,-4 Guy L.
Hunter, Jr., were brought down by a missile over southern Kuwait.
   Aerial reconnaissance assets that were available to the force were few.
Therefore damage assessments were often delayed, which in turn stretched out
the targeting  process.    Sometimes   the  delays   resulted          in targets being
unnecessarily struck a second time.  Later on, General Moore was able to help
by short-circuiting the photo collection process.  He informally attached photo
imagery interpreters to the U.S. Air Force's 35th Tactical Fighter Wing, which
included the   Nevada   Air National  Guard's    l92d Tactical           Reconnaissance
Squadron.   This unit conducted reconnaissance over southern Kuwait and was


   LtCoI Acree and CWO-4 Hunter ejected with minor jijuries, were captured, and subsequcntly
put on display in thc Iraqi capital at Baghdad. They were repatriated after the conflict.