ww2 navy vets called to duty during desert storm it

Without the naval presence in the Gulf, it would have been easy for Iraqi aircraft to have blocked the build-up through the ports of the Gulf. The carriers offered instant capability because they provided not only the airplanes but also everything the airplanes needed that is why it matters that heavy objects (like ships) can move easily when they are supported by the sea. Without spare parts, the land-based aircraft could not have mounted more than a very few sorties per airplane. Thus, without the carriers, it would have taken several months to erect an adequate integrated air defense. The carriers’ aircraft were soon outnumbered by those flown directly into Saudi Arabia, but the latter arrived without their ground radars and command and control, or the spares and munitions and maintenance equipment which were needed to make them truly effective. Even then, for some months the carriers and accompanying missile-armed surface ships provided both much of the air defense of Saudi Arabia as well as the main striking force against a renewed Iraqi thrust. They removed any veto Saddam may have imagined that he could exercise. carriers moved into the Gulf, they offered a degree of protection to Saudi Arabia, whether or not the Saudis had asked for it. assistance, even though they felt quite threatened by Saddam’s army just across the border in Kuwait.Ĭrewmembers in protective masks and anti-flash gear during a nuclear-biological-chemical drill. There was, then, a very real question as to whether the Saudis would ask for U.S. Indeed, Saudi extremists such as Osama bin Laden have made exactly that argument since the Gulf War. To allow hundreds of thousands of disbelievers into the country might well be construed as treasonable. The legitimacy of the Saudi government is tied to its role as guardian of the most sacred sites in Islam. At least in theory, Saudi Arabia was quite vulnerable to such arguments. When Saddam invaded Kuwait, he warned the other regional governments, such as that of Saudi Arabia, that to accept U.S. naval forces demonstrated all of these virtues during the Gulf War.įirst came access, which meant much more than simply moving a mountain of materiel to the Gulf. seapower guarantees access to war zones overseas and tries to deny such access to an enemy. The force facing Iraq had long sea flanks in both the Gulf and the Red Sea, both of which it could use – and both of which the Iraqis could use as venues of attack. In a larger sense, the sea is both potential barrier and potential highway. Conversely, once defenses have been erected ashore, they are difficult to withdraw and reposition. A seaborne force can threaten an enemy with a wide variety of attacks, and those ashore may find it very difficult to build up defenses at each threatened place. By moving ships into place we can solve that government’s problem.įinally, seaborne mobility still exceeds land mobility. In many cases a foreign government wants our support but risks domestic or local opposition if it requests it. government can decide what it wants to do in a crisis situation, without having to gain local support. territory, generally not subject to any other country’s authority in the way that a base on foreign soil is. It is also extremely important to note that a U.S. Ships of Task Force 155 during Operation Desert Storm, including the carriers Saratoga, America, and John F.

Ww2 navy vets called to duty during desert storm it