* cally to meet the DESERT SHIELD logistic Jeddah was also the site of the Combat challenge and relieve operational command- Logistic Stores Facility (CLSF). CLSF Jeddah ers afloat and ashore from much of logistics gave replenishment ships assigned to the Red management burden. Sea the ability to re-stock, repair and re-arm without depending on the Suez Canal as their Keeping up to 115 combatant ships logistics link. The replenishment and mainte- battle ready was a full-time job. `Most resupply nance effort both ashore and underway, kept operations were carried out at sea by combat battle groups on-station and ready through- logistic force (CLF) `ships, who were in turn out DESERT SHIELD/STORM, a key factor in supplied through expeditionary forward 10- keeping Iraq locked in. gistics sites. The CLF ships deployed during DESERT SHIELD/STORM, along with vari- To support the logistics mission, air- ous Military Sealift Command and Ready Re- fields in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain were used serve Force ships, had the monumental task of as bases for a Navy "logistics air force" of 25 supplying six carriers, two battleships, two dedicated helos and fixed-wing aircraft. One command ships, two hospital ships, 31 am- of those helos, an H-53 from HC-1, was among phibious ships and 40 other combatants in- the first coalition force aircraft to land in Ku- duding cruisers, destroyers, frigates, subma- wait City after the liberation. Within two days rines and minesweepers. regularly scheduled logistic flights into Al Shuaiba, the main port for the country of Ku- Repair ships like the destroyer tenders wait, had commenced in support of Navy ex- USS YELLOWSTONE (AD 41), USS ACADIA plosive ordnance demolition (EOD) mine- (AD 42) and USS CAPE COD (AD 43) were dearing efforts. deployed to fulfill another logistic require- ment of sustained naval presence. Based in the Physical se'curity against water-borne Red Sea port of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, attack for three major ports in the Gulf region YELLOWSTONE provided critical repair and was a significant concern. LOGSUPFOR was rearming capability to the fleet. During seven responsible for. coordinating the Port Security months on station YELLOWSTONE alone com- Harbor Defense (PSHD) force. Three PSHD pleted more than 10,000 repair jobs on 30 U.S. groups - each consisting of a Mobile Inshore and allied ships. The Navy men and women Undersea Warfare Unit that operates radar serving aboard tenders and other repair ships and sonar from the pier, a Coast Guard small provided a wide variety of services simulta- boat security team and a Navy EOD diver unit neously to as many as five ships moored along- - operated 24-hours a day from the beginning side or nearby. of the build-up. They protected the key ports of Bahrain, along with Jubail and Dammam in The Navy women serving in non-tradi- Saudi Arabia, as they received tanks, troops, tional roles aboard tenders joined nearly 2,500 ammunition and other supplies for U.S. and other women serving aboard CLF ships, Mili- coalition forces. tary Sealift Command vessels, the two hospi- tal ships, and at fleet hospitals and aviation Logistic support was also provided by and cargo handling detachments ashore to sailors from Naval Mobile Construction Bat- play a crucial role in the Navy' S contribution to talions, Cargo Handling Battalions, Navy Over- DESERT SHIELD/STORM. seas Air Cargo Terminal units and Forward - 31 -
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