WrrH THE I MARINE BxPEDrTIONARY FORCE IN DESERT SHIELD AND DESERT STORM        65

of opposing Iraqi officers later indicated their belief that the Marine land attack
would come from Troy's area.
   Despite Task Force Troy's good efforts in tying up the Iraqi 5th Mechanized
Division, its tissue-thin screen could give no significant defense of the area
south of Al Wafrah toward Kibrit. To beef up the defense and provide a force
reserve, General Boomer requested that CentCom attach the ground combat
element of NavCent's 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade (5th MEB) commanded
by Major General Peter J. Rowe.    Both the 4th and 5th MEBs were part of
General Schwarzkopf's strategic amphibious deception effort, however.       Thus
Regimental Landing Team 5, under command of Colonel Randolph A. Gangle,
and its aviation combat element partner, Marine Aircraft Group 50 under
Colonel Randall L. West, could not come ashore until G-Day itself.
   The 5th MEB was the last large Marine Corps unit to arrive in the theater.
It contained the highest percentage of Reserve units after the all-Reserve 24th
Marines.   Colonel Gangle's first concern was to successfully integrate his
Reserve units, which was accomplished in a series of intense training exercises
beginning at Twentynine Palms in November just prior to embarking on sbips.
As 5th MEB sailed westwards, it engaged in continuous wargaming at sea and
then conducted exercises   in the Philippines, Oman,    and the United Arab
Emirates.  By the time the brigade reached its station in the northern Gulf, it
was at a high state of readiness and Gangle could find no difference between
regular and Reserve units.  Shipping problems complicated the picture, how-
ever.  The regimental landing team had to shift its command element and other
units from USS Tripoli (LPH 10) on 18 January after that vessel struck a mine
and was seriously damaged.   After receiving relatively short notice of the 5th
MEB's new mission, General Rowe discovered that his brigade's primary
follow-on echelon vessels, MVs Fliclertail State and Cape Girardeau, could not
be unloaded at Al Mishab's small port.     Instead they bad to sail another 100
nautical miles southeast to Al Jubayl.  The 1st FSSG, assisted by the brigade's
own   understrength Brigade  Service     Support  Group 5,   began     offloading
Regimental Landing Team S's sustainment on 23 February, the day before
G-Day.

                        Marines and Civilians

   As offensive operations neared, the 3d Civil Affairs Group detachment was
reinforced on 12 January by its own main body, many of whom had been sent
home earlier in September, plus the 4th Civil Affairs Group.  Redesignated 3d
Civil Affairs Group (Rein), the unit's abilities were tested when Iraqi Scud
missiles began to fall into the rear area at Jubayl after 17 January.  (Ironically,
Scud attacks never came near most of the main body of the force).       The Scud
and chemical weapon threat deeply affected both the Saudi and the expatriate
communities, and the group spent much time meeting with local petrochemical
plant executives and workers plus local citizens' and business groups.    As part
of its liaison operation, it maintained a presence at the Jubayl Saudi civil police