66                                  U.S. MARINES IN THE PERSIAN GULF, I99~i99I


station and linked the rear area operations center (RAOC) with the Saudi
emergency    coordination center for civil defense.    The  group developed
evacuation procedures for refinery personnel   and    coordinated the security
arrangements for Marine units at the Aramco complexes at Safanjyali and
Tanajib.
   Another important activity of 3d CAG in support of military operations was
its role in the Kuwaiti Augmentation Program.  The acute shortage of Arabic
linguists within the force led to a program to integrate Kuwaitis into Marine
ground units.   These exiled Kuwaiti volunteers, mostly military and police
officers plus some students of whom the most senior was Colonel Fahad al
Qahtani, KAF, provided translator services, advice on geography and terrain,
and assisted in enemy prisoner of war (EPW) handling.    Group personnel also
completed a comprehensive civilian resources survey that encompassed each
neighborhood of Kuwait City.   All of this marked a shift in CAG activities.
Previously, operations were directed primarily at issues within Saudi Arabia.
Civil affairs personnel began shifting into the divisions and brigades afloat as
well as into psychological operations teams as 0-Day approached.

              Coalition Forces on the Lefi and Right Flanks

   After the commencement of hostilities, the most significant relationships
with Coalition Forces were in the areas of reconnaissance and supporting arms
coordination. Force Reconnaissance teams accompanied command and forward
elements of the Joint Forces Command-East on MarCent's right flank.    This
command included elements of Saudi, Qatari, Omani, and United Arab Emirate
forces.  Accompanying them were 1st ANGLICO supporting arms liaison and
fire control teams to control Marine and other service air strikes and naval
gunfire in support of JFC-E during the ground campaign.     On the left flank,
MarCent     liaison  teams  were   also   attached    to the  Joint  Forces
Command-North/Northern Area Command comprised mainly of Egyptian and
Syrian forces.
   The teams with JFC-E were responsible for reporting movements of their
Coalition units to I MEF for purposes of coordination.  Reconnaissance teams
were also to secure the American Embassy in Kuwait City if the opportunity
arose.   Additionally, some teams performed pathfinding operations on behalf
of their JFC-E units.  As noted earlier, some JFC-E units were unpracticed in
combined operations and relied heavily on MarCent teams with their integrated
communications nets to help coordinate their movements and operations.

                           Deception Operations

   The I MEF deception effort was integral with that of CinCCent's. General
Schwarzkopf ordered coordinated "surge" theater deception operations on 20-21
February, i.e., the Wednesday and Thursday before the Islamic weekend, to
desensitize  enemy   decision makers. His  intention  was to deceive  Iraqi