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

    The combat service support element was Brigade Service Support Group 7
(BSSG-7).
    The aviation combat element was Marine Aircraft Group 70 (MAG-70).        A
kind of pocket air force, MAG-70 had both fixed-wing and helicopter squadrons,
flying a great variety of aircraft.   Its fighter-attack aircraft was the F/A- 18
Hornet, which the Marine Corps considers to be the best combination fighter and
attack aircraft in the world.  Its attack aircraft were the AV-8B Harrier and the
A-6E Intruder.  The Harrier is a true vertical takeoff and landing aircraft. The
Marines are the only U.S. service that has this BritishAesigned aircraft. 17
    The Corps's heavy helicopters are the CH-53D Sea Stallion and the CH-53E
Super Stallion, its medium helicopter is the CH-46 Sea Knight, and for light
helicopters the Corps has the AH-lW Super Cobra and the UH-1N, last in a
long line of Hueys.
    MAG-70 also had a detachment of KC-130s.     The Marine Corps version of
the Hercules serves both as a reftieler and a transport.
    The Commanding General, 3d Marine Aircraft Wing, Major General Royal
N. Moore, Jr, had arrived in the objective area on 16 August, one day after
General Hopkins. Born in Pasadena, California, in 1935, Moore had come into
the Marine Corps through the Naval Aviation Cadet program, being commis-
sioned in 1958. He has a bachelor's degree from Chapman College. He is both
a fixed-wing and helicopter pilot.    In Vietnam he flew 287 combat missions,
primarily in high-performance reconnaissance and electronics countermeasures
aircraft, and received the Distinguished Flying Cross and 18 Air Medals.     His
first task in Saudi Arabia was to determine the bed-down sites for the arriving
Marine Corps squadrons. Fixed-wing squadrons went to Marine Aircraft Group
11 and helicopter squadrons to Marine Aircraft Group 16.    Shortly after his
arrival Moore publicly predicted a short, violent air war against the Iraqis.
    On 17 August (C + 10), the first echelon of the 4th Marine Expeditionary
Brigade, with forces drawn from North and South Carolina bases and air
stations, sailed from Morehead City.     The brigade, numbering about 8,000,
included RLT-2, MAG-40, and BSSG-4.         To move 4th MEB, Atlantic-based
Amphibious Group Two, with Amphibious Squadrons Six and Eight, divided
itself into three Transit Groups of about five ships each. Transit Group 2 would
sail on 20 August and Transit Group 3 on 22 August. 18
    Major General Harry W. Jenkins, Jr., the 52-year~ld commanding general
of 4th MEB, is another Californian.    A graduate of San Jose State College, he
also has a Master's degree from the University of Wisconsin.  Commissioned
in 1960, he commanded a rifle company in Vietnam as a captain.
    On 25 August (C      +   18), the air flow of the 1st Marine Expeditionary
Brigade from Hawaii began.      The core of 1st MEB was the 3d Marines, with
two infantry battalions.  No command element was sent, for there was already
a sufficient Marine Corps command structure in Saudi Arabia to receive the 1st
MEB's ground and aviation components.      On 26 August, MPSRon-3 arrived at
Al Jubayl from Guam, and the marriage of 1st MEB and MPSRon-3 proceeded.
    On 2 September (C     + 26), the I Marine Expeditionary Force assumed
operational control of all Marine forces in CentCom's theater of operations. I