Overview

This monograph presents a preliminary account of operations by the embarked Marine units under the operational control of the Commander, Naval Forces, Central Command, in the Persian Gulf from August 1990 to May 1991. It tells the story of the 4th and 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigades (MEBs) and the 13th and 11th Marine Expeditionary Units (MEUs) which comprised the Marine Forces Afloat during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. The term Marine Forces Afloat was chosen carefully because although each of these units served in the same theater of operations, they remained separate entities capable of rapidly integrating into a single force or breaking away to conduct independent operations as the situation required. The Marine Forces Afloat came into existence early in Operation Desert Shield when the seaborne 4th MEB joined the forward-deployed 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit (Special Operations Capable) in the North Arabian Sea in mid-September. These Marines were later joined by the 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade during what would eventually become the longest continuous shipboard deployment by a brigade-sized force in Marine Corps history. For those Marines, the major events of Desert Shield were a series of large amphibious exercises, maritime interdiction operations, and a daring evacuation of the American Embassy at Mogadishu, Somalia. During Operation Desert Storm the U.S. amphibious threat created a strategic distraction that kept Saddam Hussein's attention focused away from the main attack; Marine Aircraft Group 40 flew the first-ever fixed-wing combat strike off an amphibious assault ship; the 13th MEU made two landings; the 4th MEB conducted amphibious demonstrations off the coast of Kuwait; and the 5th MEB participated in ground combat ashore. On its way home the 5th MEB joined Operation Sea Angel, the international humanitarian effort to assist Bangladesh in dealing with the devastation of Cyclone Marian. This work is one in a series of monographs written by members of Mobilization Training Unit (Historical) DC-7 who deployed to the Persian Gulf. The MTU is a Reserve unit composed of artists, historians, and museum specialists who support the activities of the History and Museums Division in peacetime and stand ready to deploy at a moment's notice in times of crisis. Members of the MTU have covered Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm (Persian Gulf), Provide Comfort (Northern Iraq), Restore Hope (Somalia), Restore Democracy (Haiti), and Deny Flight (Bosnia).

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9781475063707

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While writing this monograph Lieutenant Colonel Ronald J. Brown was the commanding officer of Mobilization Training Unit (Historical) DC-7. During active service from 1968 to 1971 he was an infantry officer and served with five different Marine divisions including a combat tour in the Republic of Vietnam. Over the next two decades his travels as a Reserve historian took him to every major Marine base in the United States, and overseas to Europe, the Mediterranean, the Far East, and the Persian Gulf region. During Operation Desert Shield he was called to active duty and became Deputy Command Historian, I Marine Expeditionary Force. Rather than return to the United States at the end of Operation Desert Storm, Lieutenant Colonel Brown volunteered to serve in northern Iraq as the Marine component historian for Combined Task Force Provide Comfort. In civilian life he was a high school history teacher and athletics coach in the Detroit area until his retirement in 1994, and he continues to be an active high school football coach. Lieutenant Colonel Brown has been a frequent contributor to professional journals and is the author of two History and Museums Division monographs, A Brief History of the 14th Marines and Humanitarian Operations in Northern Iraq, 1991: With Marines in Operation Provide Comfort.

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