WrrH THE I MARINE EXPEDITIONARY FORCE IN DESERT SHIELD AND DESERT STORM 35 all along on the premise that I MEF would conduct a supporting attack in coordination with U.S. Central Command and the Arab Joint Forces/Theater of Cperations forces. The code name of the operation to eject Iraqi forces from Kuwait was "Desert Storm~"2 In its initial version, the force's plan involved a link-up with naval amphibious forces after it breached the Iraqi defenses in southeast Kuwait. To develop and coordinate these aspects, on 11 December and again on 3 January 1990, Lieutenant General Boomer met with Vice Admiral Stanley R. Arthur, who succeeded Vice Admiral Mauz as Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command, and Major General Harry Jenkins, commanding general of 4th Marine Expeditionary Brigade. Throughout the campaign, General Boomer met with his principal commanders weekly to develop and test out his concepts and plans in an informal, give-and-take atmosphere. At the meeting on 15 December, the generals discussed the various aspects of the draft plan prior to the election of a course of action. Each officer was acutely aware that Marine forces would be attacking into the densest concentrations and most heavily obstructive of the Iraqi defenses. As he had all along, General Boomer made it clear that his overriding concern was to prevail in the assault and liberation of Kuwait at the minimum cost of Marine casualties. The Center for Naval Analyses used a casualty prediction model (PRECAS) to estimate that a seven-day ground campaign would result in a total of 9,667 direct combat casualties and 10,552 overall.r In the face of these statistics, General Boomer constantly sought to improve his scheme of maneuver. His initial plan was just that; it was liable to be changed at any time to meet his goal of minimizing casualties. General Boomer enjoyed the confidence of his operational commander who shared similar concerns. When the plan was subsequently changed not once but twice, General Schwarzkopf gave his flill support. On the night of 31 December, the battle staff planning group completed Operation Plan Desert Storm for the commanding general's signature. Wa4ighnng and the Force In the course of developing his plans for the offensive, Lieutenant General Boomer espoused a philosophy of warfighting known as maneuver warfare. It succeeded the more traditional form of attrition warfare whereby opposing forces pursued "victory through the cumulative destruction of the enemy's material assets by firepower and technology," often at the expense of large numbers of casualties.~ Attrition warfare's other features included pitting strength against strength, massed and accurate fires, ponderous movement, and centralized `There was never much standardization in references to the Arab allies. They were known in operations plans as Joint Forces/Theater of Operations, but this ponderous designation was usually supplanted by terms like Coalition Forces, Pan Arab Forces, multinational forces, or by thcir various commands, such as the Joint Forces Command-East (JFC-E).First Page | Prev Page | Next Page | Src Image |