ANTHOLOGY AND ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY


been in the Gulf, returned after a two-month training evolution in the Western
Pacific.  The I MEF command post had moved north to Safaniya and the 1st
MarDiv was positioned in the northeast portion of the MarCent AOR.     The 2d
MarDiv occupied the northwest portion of the AOR.    The 1st FSSG was es-
tablishing forward supply bases at Ra's al Mish'ab and Kibrit while continuing
the offload at Al Jubayl. The 3d MAW supported I MEF, provided a 24-hour
F/A-18 combat air patrol station, and was moving its tactical air control facilities
north to Al Mish'ab as well.    The 1st Brigade, 2d Armored Division (the
Army's Tiger Brigade) had been assigned to I MEF and was further placed
under the operational control of 2d MarDiv as a replacement for the British 7th
Armored Brigade, which was detached to join the newly arrived British 1st
Armored Division. The 4th MEB afloat had completed several highly publicized
amphibious exercises in Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman, and
was planning for Exercise SEA SOLDIER IV with the 5th MEB the last week
of January.

                               Air Campaign

   I MEF began combat operations on 16 January 1991, with the 3d MAW fly-
ing missions in support of CinCCent's air tasking order.    The ground combat
elements continued to phase north while maintaining a solid defensive capability.
The first Marines to come under enemy fire were elements of the 1st Surveil-
lance, Reconnaissance, and Intelligence Group (SRJG) forward at the town of
Ra's al Khafji near the Saudi/Kuwait border.   Task Force Shepherd, the 1st
Light Armored Infantry (LAl) Battalion, continued its reconnaissance along the
Kuwaiti border while other 1st MarDiv regimental task forces repositioned
northward.
   Marine aviation continued to strike targets in support of its air tasking or-
der and I MEF, and on 19 January the first combat aircraft loss for the Ma-
rines occurred when an OV-10 was downed by enemy fire.       The 1st Division's
task forces began a continuing series of roving gun" artillery raids, firing on
suspected enemy positions in Kuwait. These raids were designed to provoke an
enemy reaction, with aerial observers, tactical air on station, and artillery
waiting to hammer the Iraqis should they come out of their fortified positions.
These raids, which promoted deception, kept the Iraqis off balance and tested
their response time as well as the accuracy of the response.  The "roving gun"
raids continued with significant success until the initiation of ground combat
operations on 24 February.
   As January progressed, Marine ground elements continued to move north.
New boundaries were established between the 1st and 2d MarDivs, with the 1st
to the west and 2d to the east in the I MEF zone.    On 26 January, the 2d
MarDiv commenced artillery raids with the 2d LAl Battalion and 10th Marines
in its zone. Significantly, these raids constituted the first offensive action for the
2d MarDiv, as a division, since World War II. Coalition forces repositioned as
well, with the Joint Forces Command North to the west of the Marines and the
Joint Forces Command East to the east along the coastal main supply route