MALS 16 1 MAR 91

File: 970519_dec96_decls11_0006.txt
Page: 0006
Total Pages: 12
Subject = MALS 16  1 MAR 91                                               

Parent Organization = VARIOUS MC  

Unit = VARIOUS MC  

Folder Title = MALS-16 COMMAND CHRONOLOGY 1-   28 FEB 91                                                       

Document Number =          1

Box ID = BX600103


                                            I


                                         UNCLASSIFIED


                                          Section 11 cont.


                   The highlight of the month was obviously the ground offensive
             I aunched i nto Kuwa It by the U.S. and the AI I i es at 0400 on 24
             February.     The Marine Corps offensive mission consisted of 2
             separate    components.      The first was the lst and 2nd Marine
             Divisions who were        to breach     through    the   Iraqi's    defensive
             perimeter   at an area   formed by the western boarder of the Kuwait
             "boot heel  ." The second being amphibious task forces patrolling the
             Persian Gulf coast       to   Isolate the     Iraqi  forces guarding the
             shoreline, while feinting an amphibious assault.
                   On 25 February, MALS-1 6 d i spatched an Advance Party cons I st I ng
             of maintenance, supply, ordnance and EOD personnel to Lonesome Dove
             In support of MAG-16 aircraft as they relocated forward to support
             the Marine Division's ground offensive. Lonesome Dove was the code
             name given to the staging area, which was located approximately 19
             ml I es f rom the breach po I nt and estab I I shed on a natura I grave I
             surface.    This area would act as a weigh station into Al Jaber
             airfield in Kuwait.
                   The initial requirements were 3 days surge ordnance, essential
             supply Fly In Suppor@ Packages (FISP's), limited Non Destructive
             Inspection (NDI) and the personnel required to faci I lta@Le their
             use. Morale was at an all time high, and the desire to directly
             participate was universal.       The Maintenance and Supply Departments
             identified and prioritized the equipment and material that would
             be needed for surge operations, and those that would be phased In
             If the situation warranted. The plan ultimately called for MALS-
             16 to echelon into Al Jabber airfield, Inside Kuwait, once it was
             secured. Al Jaber was an objective of signif icant tactical value,
             and the lst Marine Division surrounded it within the first day.
                   MALS-16 Ordnance and Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) teams
             were to be some of the f I rst Mar i nes on the A I Jaber runway, to
             ready the battered airstrip for Forward Arming and Refueling Point
             (FARP) operations. When the 10 man EOD team landed, the air base
             was not yet secured, and sporadic small arms fire could be heard
             throughout the area.       The team cleared the runway of Gator anti-
             personnel    and anti-tank mines,        Bomb Live Units        (BLU)-97/109,
             Rockeye, and unknown sons I t I ve f uzed mun I t i ons. EOD c I eared 1 0, 000
             feet of runway, an adjacent 10.000 foot,              high speed taxiway,
             hardened aircraft shelters, Soviet made BMP's and T-55 tanks, enemy
             bunkers/trenches, and destroyed 257 sensitive fuzed munitions, and
             retrieved 5,000 pieces of foreign manufactured ordnance.
                   Immediately after arriving at Al Jaber airfield, Ordnance
             Marines had to manually off-load ordnance pallets from CH-53
             aircraft, due to a broken 4K forklift. Their main objective was
             to re-arm AH-LW Super Cobras with TOW and HellFire missiles. The
             helicopters landed all around the field, and at times the Marines
             had to cross lanes of the runway not yet cleared by the EOD team


                                     UNCLASSIFIED                          Enclosure (1)
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