THE UNITED STATES NAVY IN "DESERT SHIELD" I "DESERT STORM" V: "THUNDER AND LIGHTNING" "Soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines of the United States Central Command, this morning at 0300, we launched Operation DES~RT STOKM, an offensive campaign that will enforce the United Nation's resolutions that Iraq must cease its rape and pillage of its weaker' neighbor and withdraw its forces from Kuwait. My confidence in you is total. Our cause is just! Now you must be the thunder and lightning of Desert Storm. May God be with you, your loved ones at home, and our Country." General H. Norman Schwarzkopf, USA Commander-in-Chief U.S. Central Command, in a message to the command, 16 January 1991 INTRODUCTION AND OVERVIEW. On 17 Navy. Any future aggressor will have to con- January, DESERT STORM began with a coor- tend with the demonstrated capability of U.S. dinatedattackwhichindudedTomahawkland forces to launch complex coordinated missile attack missiles (TLAMs) launched from cruis- and air attacks from multiple axes. The TLAM ers, destroyers and battleships in the Persian and other precision-guided and high-tech Gulf and Red Sea. TheThAM launches opened munitions used by the Army, Navy, Marine a carefully crafted joint strategic air campaign. Corps and Air Force clearly produced a revo- The initial barrage of over 100 ThAMs took out lution in the art of warfare. heavily defended targets in the vicinity of Baghdad and made a critical contribution to The joint air campaign was successful eliminating Iraqi air defenses and command beyond the most optimistic expectations. As and control capabilities. full partners in that campaign, Navy and Ma- rine Corps aviators flew from carriers and In all, 288 TLAMs were launched as amphibious ships in the Red Sea and Persian part of the integrated air campaign. Launches Gulf, and from bases ashore, from the day were conducted from both the Red Sea and the hostilities began until the cease-fire was or- Persian Gulf from nine cruisers, five destroy- dered. Navy aircraft struck targets up to 700 ers, two battleships and two nuclear powered miles distant, with Red Sea sorties averaging attack submarines. The top shooter was the 3.7 hours in length, and Persian Gulf sorties destroyer USS FIFE (DD 991) which fired 58 averaging 2.5 hours. As was also the case for missiles. their ground-based Air Force counterparts, many flights lasted as long as five hours, and ThAM adds a dramatic new dimension virtually every flight required airborne to the offensive firepower of the United States refueling at both ends of the journey. - 35 -
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