wrrii THE 1ST MARINE DWISION IN DESERT SHIELD AND DESERT STORM            25


                                                              Photogmph by author
President Bush giving his speech to the assembled Marines, sailors, and British soidiers
at Headquarters, 1st Marine Division. Senators Robert Dole and George Mitchell,
Representative Thomas Foley, and First Lady Barbara Bush are on the podium with him.

   General Boomer originally intended to have the right half of the zone
occupied by the 2d Marine Division and concentrate the 1st Marine Division on
the left. He was not in a hurry to move either division into the border area, for
several reasons. Chief among those was the overriding concern for security.
Marine ground forces were responsible for the attack into Kuwait, yet, Iraq's
thorough defensive preparations left little room for surprise. The only advantage
remaining to the Marines was in the selection of the exact time and place of the
attack. By January, intelligence sources indicated gaps existed along what
appeared to be boundary lines between iraqi divisions. Although the Iraqis were
gradually closing these, close analysis of the southwest corner of Kuwait
indicated existence of a boundary that offered a promising avenue of approach
to Kuwait City. Marine commanders, General Myatt, General Boomer, and
Major General William M. Keys, commanding the 2d Marine Division, naturally
desired that nothing be done that might telegraph American tactical moves.~
   Logistical constraints affected to the phased buildup of combat power along
the border. in order to support sustained combat operations 160 miles (1st
Marine Division) to 190 miles (2d Marine Division) from the nearest port at Al
Jubayl, the General Support Command (GSC) and the Direct Support Command
created the logistical bases at Kibrit and later at Al Khanjar, west of the Heel.
Until sufficient supplies moved forward to sustain both divisions through a major
offensive, all other Marine combat units stayed south of the Kibrit road, except
for units conducting deception operations aimed at masking the buildup of the