WrrH THE J MARINE EXPEDrTlONARY FORCE IN DESERT SHIELD AND DESERT STORM         SS


Commanding genera! and principa! staff ofi Marine Expeditionary Force are photographed at the
Safantyah main command post on 13 Febn~ary 1991, shority before disp!acing to A! Khanjar.
From   Jefi are: Co! Raymond A.     List (G-4 Logistics), Co! Robert K. Redlin (~!
Manpower/Personne!), Co! Eric E. Hastings (Chief of &La;[fl, LtGen Waiter E. Boomer (CG 1
MEF), MajGen Richard D. Hearney (DCG 1 MEF), Co! Th!~ C. Steed (G-3 Operations), Co!
Forest L. Lucy (~2 Jnte!!igence), and Co! Robert G.  "G!enn Hi!! (06 CommunicationsI
Ejectronics and information Systems Management).

the Direct Support Command had to move its main combat service support area
northwest from Kibrit along secure but as yet unimproved main supply routes.
In addition, there were no airfields in the area for casualty evacuation or aerial
resupply.    Nonetheless, after     discussions    with his staff and  subordinate
commanders over the next five days, Boomer felt that these obstacles could be
overcome in the time remaining.      List calculated that 15 days of supplies would
be needed to support the ground campaign.* He initially allocated these to three
sites:  seven days' worth would remain at Kibrit and two would be staged at the
port of Mishab.   The remainder plus 15 days of ammunition, the most difficult
part, would have to be moved to a combat service support area known so far
simply as "Alpha."   Soon after List's planners realized how far this was from
the ports, about 170 road kilometers from Mishab and about 355 kilometers
from Jubayl, they raised the stock objectives at the new base in fuel, water, and
ammunition to 15 days.
    General Krulak at the Direct Support Command dispatched an engineering
team under Colonel Gary S. McKissock to a remote part of the desert to the
west and north of Kibrit to begin surveying sites.        He also placed all of the
command's earthmoving equipment on alert. As soon as General Boomer settled
on the new breach plan about 1130 on 6 February, he gave Krulak the go-ahead
to build the new combat service support area.        Within minutes, the 7th and 8th


    `In many areas of stock objectives, there was never unanimity of what actually constituted a
"DOS" for this type of campaign. List and his staff spent a lot of time trying to get agreement
among the commands. For example, the water requirement was reduced from 10 to about 4-
112 gallons per person per day.