UNITED STATES NAVY IN DESERT SHIELD/DESERT STORM

U.S. Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy sweepers, patrol craft and other small ships.
~urborne tankers played a crucial role. With- Silkworm anti-ship missile sites and several
out airborne tankers, coalition warplanes armed hovercraft were also destroyed. Dur-
wouldn't have been able to hit targets deep in ing that same three week period, Navy and
Iraq. The large, land-based Air Force KC-10 Marine Corps units contributed more than
and KC-131 tankers carried the bulk of the one-third of the total 42,000 sorties flown.
load. Coordination of the airborne tanking
effort was superb. As the war progressed, the Navy-Ma-
rine team's mission changed from strategic
While Navy strike-fighters and bomb- and battlefield preparation to tactical targets
ers were doing their job, shore-based P-3C and dose-air support. Tanks, vehicles and
Orions and carrier-based S-3 Vikings contin- artillery moved to the top of the target list,
ued to patrol the shipping lanes. Specially especially during the border incursions in and
equipped EP-3Es provided electronic recon- around the Saudi town of Khafji on 29 January,
naissance While performing routine surface and following the start of the ground cam-
reconnaissance in the northern Persian Gulf paign on 24 February. Marine Harriers and
on 20 February, an S-3B from VS-32, based Navy and Marine Intruders shifted from hit-
aboard the carrier AMERICA, became the first ting pre-selected, stationary targets to striking
aircraft of that type to engage and destroy a roving quarry.
hostile~vessel using bombs. Guided by the
Aegis cruiser USS VALLEY FORGE (CG 50), OV-10 Broncos and AH-i Cobra attack
the 53 searched the area with its forward- helicopters provided close-air support during
looking infrared system and inverse synthetic these operations and helped clear the way for
aperture radar (ISAR), pin-pointed the posi- the fast-moving 1st and 2nd Marine Divisions.
tion of the high-speed, heavily-armed craft, Close-air support, with constant danger from
and sank it. small-arms fire, shoulder-fired missiles and
possible "friendly fire," was not a new mission
The Navy also had a large helo contin- for the A~ or the Cobra, both of which saw
gent which employed a yariety of rotary-wing action in Vietnam.
aircraft for search and rescue, medical evacu-
ation and logistics. DESERT STORM marked The AV-8B, on the other hand, saw its
the first combat operations for the HH~0H first sea-based combat action. Flying from the
Seahawk strike rescue helicopter. The Navy's amphibious assault ships USS TARAWA (LHA
newest helicopter can also perform medical 1) and USS NASSAU (LHA 4) as well as from
evacuations, provide logistics support or de- ground bases, the Harrier demonstrated the
liver up to eight members of a special opera- Navy/Marine team's versatility and effective-
tions (SEAL) team. ness, as did the OV-1 0 ashore. Twelve Broncos
transited the Atlantic aboard AMERICA and
Na'val aviators made a major contribu- ROOSEVELT. As the carriers entered the
tion to the destruction of the Iraqi navy. Within Mediterranean, the Broncos flew off to finish
the first three weeks of the air campaign, In- their trip to Saudi Arabia.
truders and Hornets using Harpoon missiles,
Skipper and Rockeye bombs, sank and dis- DESERT STORM marked the first com-
~bled many of fraq's missile gunboats, mine- bat use of some of the Navy's newest aircraft

- 38 -