90                                    U.S. MARINES FM THE PERSIAN GULF, 19901991

this breach with my division.  Up to that point, we had planned to have the 1st
Division do the breach, then pass the 2d Division through to continue the attack
into Kuwait.  I was not comfortable with that original plan.   Any passage of
lines under combat conditions is a horribly complicated evolution, and the
thought of a division-sized passage--with troops and vehicles strung out for
miles, vulnerable to artillery fire--really made me uneasy.      But until the
equipment and training shortfalls were fixed, we had no other choice.
   When Bill Keys said he could do his own breaching operation, I believed
him.  Almost 20 years earlier, Bill and I had fought side-by-side as co-vans
[advisors to the South Vietnamese Marines]        and I knew from that vivid
experience that when he makes a commitment, he keeps it.      So I asked Bill a
few questions about his plan, then told him that I would go back to my
headquarters and think about it overnight. In reality, I think I had already made
up my mind by the time I got back to my command post.        We would do the
two-division breach. It would mean asking General Schwarzkopf for some extra
time to move the 2d Division and our logistic support area farther to the west,
but I felt the change in plan was a good one--and that's the way it turned out.
I attribute that successful change in plan to Bill's positive thinking, his strong
belief in his Marines, and his stepping forward to put everything on the line
when it was most needed.

Proceedings: You've touched on something central here.    In addition to you and
Bill Keys, there were a number of former co-vans on the scene in key positions.
Two characteristics of that combat advisory experience were the need to act
independently--writing your own rulebook as you kept moving through new
territory--and the need for shared trust and heavy reliance on the co-vans around
you.  It sounds as though history may have been repeating itself.

Boomer: The situation wasn't any different in the desert.  The type of battle we
were fighting was unique in the history of the Marine Corps, so we were
continually breaking new ground. But I had commanders who were independent
thinkers, people I could rely on.     Whenever they told me they could do
something, I knew them well enough to know that they could do it, even if it
involved some risk. There were times when I would look at a battle plan and
think, I would do that a little differently.  Then the second thought would roll
in: "But the commander wants to do it this way."    If you have faith in him, you
leave his plan alone.

Proceedings: To ensure continuous support in the attack, you placed your
logistical support areas far forward, at times miles ahead of the nearest friendly
ground combat units.  Did you ever have second thoughts about that, or was it
just something that had to be done?

Boomer: I felt that it had to be done.  I didn't have any second thoughts, but
I didn't sleep well until we had consolidated our forces enough to remove some
of the danger. And those logisticians were at risk-way forward of where they'd