File: aacwr_27.txt
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that services must train and wage war as part of joint and combined teams.

The Gulf war offered numerous lessons in tactics and how to fight. Above all it highlighted the importance of air superiority in modern war. Air power made General Schwarzkopf's famed "Hail Mary" maneuver possible. At another level, the shift west and the enveloping maneuver would not have been possible without tactical airlift to keep the forces supplied; surface logistics support could not do the job alone.

Successful air operations depended on accurate and timely intelligence, and air leaders believed the Gulf war pointed to areas in which improvements were necessary. From USAFE's perspective, intelligence was another area hampered by the prevalent assumption that the command would fight in place as a supported command. Intelligence systems had been designed and built with that assumption in mind, and deployment to another theater bad caused problems. Another problem, particularly for Proven Force, bad been its low priority in obtaining bob damage assessments from national intelligence systems. Generally, intelligence worked best when the provider or source of the information worked directly with the user.

The air campaign also highlighted, in General Homer's word, the "absolute necessity of suppression of enemy air defenses." EC-130s, EF-llls, and F-4G/F-16 Wild Weasels were "vital" in achieving allied air superiority, according to the commander in chief of USAFE, General Robert C. Oaks. Plans to phase out some of these aircraft were short-sighted, command leaders believed. Crews learned important lessons about electronic warfare tactics during the Gulf war. Face-to-face meetings and coordination with other units were again critical in ironing out potential misunderstandings; Wild Weasel units made a point of sending their crews to other units to explain Weasel tactics. Like other crews, Weasel pilots noted the need to add night and medium-altitude tactics in future training.

Operation Provide Comfort

Saddam Hussein's catastrophic defeat at the hands of the allied coalition unleashed strong forces of unrest within Iraq. Encouraged in part By public statements By U.S. leaders, the Shi'a and Kurds rebelled against Saddam within a few days of the cease-fire. The insurgents enjoyed initial success and won control of key cities and towed. But Saddam crushed his opponents, and in the north thousands fled for the Iranian and Turkish borders, Hussein's victorious troops close behind

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