As the war between Iran and Iraq widened, so did
the dangers to U.S. Navy ships operating in the Gulf.
Iran started laying mines in the Gulf and began using
small suicide boats to raid U.S. tankers and naval units.
Iraq also possessed weapons that could cause
tremendous damage and casualties. These weapons
proved costly to the United States. In May 1987, an
Iraqi aircraft mistakenly fired two missiles that struck
USS Stark (FFG-31), killing 37 sailors and wounding
many more. In April 1988, Iran’s use of mines caused
considerable damage to USS Samuel B. Roberts
(FFG-58). Until that time, the U.S. Navy’s presence was
largely defensive. When forced to take offensive action,
the United States acted quickly. U.S. Navy ships
bombarded an Iranian oil platform being used as a
command post and sank a mine-laying vessel carrying
out operations.
DESERT SHIELD/DESERT STORM
On 2 August 1990, the president of Iraq Saddam
Hussein, ordered the world’s fourth largest army from
Iraq to invade the country Kuwait. The United States
deployed a major joint force which served as the
foundation for a powerful 33-nation military coalition
to stem Iraq’s brutal aggression. Operation Desert
Shield/Desert Storm was born. The United States
Navy provided the sea control and maritime
superiority that paved the way for the introduction of
U.S. and allied air and ground forces. The United
States offered strong leadership for the multinational
naval force.
Desert Shield/Desert Storm brought together the
largest force of Navy warships assembled in a single
theater since World War II, adding a powerful punch to
Navy forces already on scene the night of Iraq’s
invasion of Kuwait. Long-established maritime
superiority facilitated the largest, fastest strategic
sealift in history, with more than 240 ships carrying
more than 18.3 billion pounds of equipment and
supplies to sustain the forces of Desert Shield/Desert
Storm.
Under the Navy’s Total Force concept more than
21,000 naval reservists were called to active duty in
support of Desert Shield/Desert Storm. Serving in
specialties from medicine to mine warfare, reservists
worked alongside their active duty counterparts in the
Persian Gulf. Others filled critical vacancies on the
home front.
Saddam Hussein’s rejection of diplomatic efforts
to solve the crisis led to the final decision to restore
Kuwait’s sovereignty by military force. The ensuing
air war and the effects of the economic embargo
decimated Iraq’s military infrastructure, severed
communication and supply lines, smashed weapons
arsenals, and destroyed morale. Some of the first shots
fired were from Navy ships in the Persian Gulf and Red
Sea, as they launched salvos of Tomahawk cruise
missiles against pre-programmed targets in Iraq.
After an impressive 38-day air campaign, the
ground offensive began with allied forces sweeping
through Iraqi defenses in blitzkrieg fashion. The allied
push into Kuwait and southern Iraq was made easier by
the amphibious forces on station in the Persian Gulf.
The threat they posed forced tens of thousands of Iraqi
troops to maintain positions along the Kuwaiti
coastline to defend against attack from the sea. The
Iraqi army was crushed after a mere 100 hours. Iraqi
troops—tired, hungry and war-weary from 6 months
of economic blockade and more than a month of
relentless allied bombing—surrendered by the
thousands. Less than 7 months after the Iraqi invasion,
Kuwait was once again free.
It is likely that Navy ships will continue to
represent and protect U.S. interests in the region for the
foreseeable future.
REVIEW 6 QUESTIONS
Q1. List some of the Navy’s roles during the Korean
Conflict.
a.
b.
c.
d.
5-25
Student Notes:
