18                                 U.S. MARINES IN THE PERSIAN GULF, 199O~I99I


                                Notes


1. Amphibious Squadron Four (PhibRon 4):      USS Saipan (LHA-2), Ponce
(LPD-15), and Sumter, (LST-l 181).
2. Such evacuations from troubled spots around the world have been a Marine
Corps mission almost from its inception.  For a complete account of this ef-
fort--Operation Sharp Edge--see pp. 102-106 of this issue.
3. Special Purpose Forces might be considered a fourth type of MAGTF.
These are small task-organized forces configured, as the name implies, for
special purposes. Recent use of Special Purpose Forces by the Marines includes
operations in Panama (Operation Just Cause) and in the Persian Gulf (Operation
Earnest Will).
4. The commander of a MEB is ordinarily a brigadier or major general.   The
ground combat element is ordinarily a Regimental Landing Team.   The aviation
clement is ordinarily a composite Marine Aircraft Group.   The fourth element
is the all-important Brigade Service Support Group.  The repetition of the word
`~ordinarily" is intentional; there is no fixed organization for a Marine Expedi-
tionary Brigade.  Similarly, a Marine Expeditionary Unit ordinarily is corn-
manded by a colonel and will include a Battalion Landing Team, a reinforced
Helicopter Squadron, and a Service Support Group.     A Marine Expeditionary
Force, commanded by a major general or lieutenant general, will ordinarily
have a Division, an Aircraft Wing, and a Force Service Support Group.
5. All MAGTFs have inherent special-operations capabilities.   Before deploy-
ment, MEUs undergo demanding comprehensive training leading to formal
certification and designation as `Special Operations Capable.
6. Although the British burned the White House in 1814, they left the Com-
mandant's House unharmed, possibly because their commanding general was
staying there.
7. As of 15 Jarniary, General Gray had been to Saudi Arabia three times to visit
his troops.
8. The Commanding General, Fleet Marine Force, Atlantic (CG FMFLant), is
also the Commanding General, Fleet Marine Force, Europe (CG FMFEur), with
a small planning staff in London.
9. When CG I MEF asked ComPhibGru-3 for the immediate return of Belleau
Wood from Seattle, she steamed back to San Diego that night.     The 3d Bat-
talion, 9th Marines disembarked and readied itself for air embarkation.
10. To put things into geographic perspective, look at the map of the Arabian
peninsula and see it as a land mass as large as the United States east of the
Mississippi.  To the left or southwest is the Red Sea. To the right or northeast
are the Persian Gulf, the Straits of Hormuz that form a choke point, and the
Gulf of Oman.   To the southeast are the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea.
ii. Amphibious Squadron Two (PhibRon 2) consisted of the Inchon (LPH-12),
Nashville (LPD-13), Whidhey Island (LSD-41), Fairfax Couniy (LST-1 193),