4                                           U.S. MARINES IN THE PERSIAN GULF, 19901991


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City was in Iraqi hands.          By noon of the next day, the Iraqis had reached
Kuwait's border with Saudi Arabia. tO
   On Saturday, 4 August, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, General
Colin L. Powell, and the Commander-in-Chief, Central Command, General H.
Norman ("the Bear" or "Stormin' Norman") Schwarzkopf, both Army generals,
met with President George Bush and key members of his administration at Camp
David, Maryland.         This was a day of decision.
   Two     days      later, the 26th   MEU(SOC),       Colonel William   C.  Fite III,
commanding, began to load out at Morehead City, North Carolina.              The three
major elements were BLT 318, HMM-162, and MSSG-26. The 26th MEU(SO-
C)'s Navy counterpart was Amphibious Squadron Two. 11 The deployment of