UNITED STATES NAVY IN DESERT SHIELD/DESERT STORM

said RADM Raynor A. K. Taylor, USN, Middle coalition divers and minesweeping forces had
East Force commander aboard LASALLE. located and destroyed 553 of Iraqis ~[,000-plus
�here are lots of them out there." Further mines.
complicating the minesweeping operation was
the huge oil slick Iraqi forces spilled into the AMPHIBIOUS OPERA~ONS. During the
Gulf, hampering mine-sighting efforts and early days of DESERT SHIELD, a powerful
complicating the work of EOD divers. By mid- 18,000-man amphibious task force steamed
March, more than 220 mines had been de- into the North Arabian Sea to add an impor-
stroyed by the coalition force. tant element to the allied arsenal. Within less
than a month after the Iraqi invasion of Ku-
Or~27February,AVENGER,theNavy's wait, more than 20 amphibious ships from
newest mine countermeasures ship, detected, Norfolk, Uttle Creek, and ~an Diego had com-
dassified and marked a bottom-influence mine pleted the 10,000-mile trip to the Gulf of Oman,
similar to the two that rocked PRINCETON where nearly 8,000 Marines and 10,000 sailors
nine days earlier. Divers from EOD Mobile commenced full-scale preparations to "hit the
Unit 6 placed neutralizing charges and deto- beach" to eject Iraq's army from Kuwait.
nated the mine - the first bottom influence
mineever found intact during combat. During The task force, with Marines from the
the week of 18 April, using her mine-hunting 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade (MEB) and
sonar and remote-controlled mine neutraliza- ~3th Marine Expeditionary Unit (MEU) em-
tion vehide,~AVENGER located- and destroyed barked, included air, land and sea assets tailor-
five additional bottom-influence mines. made for coastal assault - Harrier attack jets
and assault helicopters to provide air cover for
As of 14 March, the day Sheikh Jaber infantry, and armor that would hit the beach
Ahmad al-S~~ah, Kuwait's Emir, returned to aboard high-speed air-cushion landing craft
his home after a seven-month exile, more than (LCAC). The Task Force, quickly forged from
70 U.S. ships remained on station. Mine dear- several amphibious ready groups (ARGs), rep-
ing and maritime intercepts continued, with resented the largest amphibious assault force
USSBIDDLE(CG34)completingthecoalition's assembled in more than 30 years. It was also
1,000th boarding of a merchant vessel since the represented fastest deployment of an amphibi-
operation began in early August. ous force of this magnitude. Load-out and
departure were completed within 11 days.
Battle damage repair crews from USS
JASON (AR 8) completed six month's work in During the transit and following ar-
30 days to enable TRIPOU to return to the rival, `,gator" Navy sailors and fleet Marines
northern Gulf in the first week of April to underwent constant chemical weapons de-
relieve NEWT ORLEANS as flagship for on- fense, cultural and intelligence training, just
* going allied mine-dearing operations. Twenty- like their counterparts ashore. They also com-
one minesw~~ping ships from six coalition pleted demanding shipboard drills and am-
countries continued to scour the Kuwait-coast- phibious assault training on-coalition beaches.
line and northern Persian Gulf for mines. By That training grew more intense as the am-
April 11, the day the U.N. Security Council phibious forces performed high-visibility ex-
declared the end of the Persian Gulf war fol- ercises off the coast of Saudi Arabia to heighten
lowing Iraq's acceptance of cease-fire terms, the enemy wariness of an invasion from the
sea.

-44.