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File: 092496_sep96_decls12_0002.txt
Subject: AFTER ACTION REVIEW EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Unit: 22D SUPCOM
Parent Organization: ARCENT
Box ID: BX005401
Folder Title: AAR
Document Number: 10
Folder SEQ #: 29
After Action Review
Executive Summary
mission of defending and helping to rebuild Kuwait.
C. A historic moment in this war was when the 3rd
Armored Division left Kuwait theater in 15 June. They were
the last unit in theater who participated in the ground
offensive.
d. one of the more interesting experiences involved
extinguishing the oil well fires that had been set by the
Iraqi army during the war. 732 wells were producing fire and
smoke. Kuwait and much of the east coast of Saudi Arabia
were covered under a gigantic cloud that initially created
darkness in the middle of the day. Fortunately, studies
conducted by several organizations including the
Environmental Protection Agency, the Centers for Disease
Control and the World Health organization found that while
the fires were an inconvenience, they did not pose a health
threat. Several units from around the world, including the
Ilth ACR, assisted in putting out these fires. What was
supposed to be a 3 to 5 year project was completed in
November. Not only were the fires extinguished at an
extraordinarily accelerated pace, the entire country of
Kuwait turned into an experimental proving ground for
improved techniques in fighting oil fires.
e. On 11 July, 53 soldiers from the Ilth ACR were
injured in a fire in Doha. This tragedy was further
exacerbated on 23 July, when three soldiers clearing ordnance
remains from that fire were killed. These two incidents
demonstrated that safety in the workplace can never be
overemphasized.
f. The danger of being in Kuwait after the destruction
and pillaging of the country by the Iraqi is real. Kuwait
with mines, grenades, and other ordnance that
knew no difference between soldier and civilian, young and
old. Grim, sobering accounts of innocent victims killed or
maimed by explosions became all too commonplace.
g. When the last of the VII Corps soldiers boarded their
planes and the last of their equipment left the theater on 15
August, the command moved into the second phase.
3. Phase II - Materiel Movement
a. The central focus of actions during this phase was
the movement of all the supplies and equipment out of the
theater. Beginning with the redeployment of the Eighteenth
Airborne Corps, vehicle wash sites were established and used
at the port of Dammam while others were built in Dhahran, Al
Jubayl and KKMC. The massive amounts of rations, fuel,
tents, ammunition, and repair parts had to be packed into
containers and shipped to either the States or Europe. This
2
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Document 5 f:/Week-35/BX005401/AAR/after action review executive summary:092096155900101
Control Fields 17
File Room = sep96_declassified
File Cabinet = Week-35
Box ID = BX005401
Unit = 22D SUPCOM
Parent Organization = ARCENT
Folder Title = AAR
Folder Seq # = 29
Subject = AFTER ACTION REVIEW EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Document Seq # = 101
Document Date =
Scan Date =
Queued for Declassification = 01-JAN-1980
Short Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Long Term Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Permanent Referral = 01-JAN-1980
Non-Health Related Document = 01-JAN-1980
Declassified = 20-SEP-1996