Southwest Asia — Forces in the Area

A follow-up to CDI's September 2002 Forces in the Area — a compendium of U.S. forces deployed in and around the Middle East region and available for operations against Iraq. Although no final political decision has been made regarding a U.S. military campaign against Iraq, the Pentagon and military leaders continue to methodically prepare for battle. Contingency plans are being put together, and all service component commanders in the region are looking at the full spectrum of options. At this time, the United States already has numerous forces in the Persian Gulf region, as well as in Afghanistan and neighboring countries.

Currently, there are about 8,000 American troops in Afghanistan, with several thousand more aboard ships in the Arabian Sea or stationed in neighboring countries like Pakistan and Uzbekistan. More than 20,000 additional soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines are in the Persian Gulf area.

In the last few days, there have been several new moves by the U.S. military to prepare for war against Iraq. The headquarters of the Army's V Corps from Heidelburg, Germany and the Marines' I Marine Expeditionary Force (I MEF) from Camp Pendleton in California have been ordered to move to Kuwait. Each headquarters has the ability to plan and conduct combat operations for at least 75,000 personnel. The only remaining levels of command necessary to deploy are the division headquarters and further actual combat brigades. Divisions likely to deploy are the 3rd Infantry, which already has troops in the area; the 1st Marine from California; the 101st Air Assault, mentioned in numerous reports; and, possibly, the 1st Armored, a subordinate organization of V Corps in Germany.

The day before that move was reported, Reuters said the Navy's Military Sealift Command was to move large quantities of equipment from the home bases of both the V Corps and I MEF to the Gulf region. The Navy tendered for the move of 867 pieces of 'hazardous rolling stock' from California, taking 99,000 square feet. (This amount of equipment probably indicates that at least a brigade's worth of material is being moved.) Separately, another tender called for the transport of 253 pieces of 'wheeled [and] tracked vehicles and containers,' from Belgium and Italy — both countries where the U.S. Army has pre-positioned equipment — to be landed at two undisclosed Gulf ports. With the new tenders, the Navy has now requested six shiploads of military material since August. Finally, four F-117 stealth fighter-bombers and 60 crew and support personnel have just been deployed from Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico to Europe to familiarize the crews with operations in Europe. This may be a preliminary to sending stealth fighter-bombers on to the Gulf.

These deployments are in addition to the move of U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) headquarters into Qatar for a November exercise and the move of a brigade set of equipment from Qatar to Kuwait in September.

Contingency plans for an operation in Iraq call for up to 200,000 tons of heavy weapons, support equipment, and other supplies afloat in the region on pre-positioning ships and 350,000 tons pre-positioned ashore throughout the region. The U.S. Central Command is able to deploy 10 tactical air wing equivalents within five days, and a minimum of two U.S. Army divisions within two weeks. These forces would be followed by in the weeks to follow. In the weeks to follow these forces would be supplemented by a five-division U.S. Army Corps, Marine Expeditionary forces and supporting air wings.

More than 1,000 war planners, logistics experts and support specialists are now at all of the sophisticated command posts in the region. The command and control capabilities at the component commanders' headquarters throughout the southern Gulf states are continuing to be fine-tuned by the ongoing Operation Enduring Freedom in Afghanistan and in preparation for offensive action against Iraq. The commander-in-chief of CENTCOM, Gen. Tommy Franks, is comfortable with the real-time connectivity he has from his headquarters in Tampa, Fla., up to the president and secretary of defense and down to all his service commanders in the Persian Gulf region. The video teleconferencing, satellite imagery and communications capabilities are fused by an extremely robust computer network that has enabled a level of operational situational awareness never before achieved for any commander-in-chief.

KUWAIT - 360 miles to Baghdad

Army

Lt. Gen. David D. McKiernan is CENTCOM's Army Component Commander (ARCENT) for all Army forces in the region, and is located at ARCENT's forward headquarters in Kuwait. The headquarters and command and control capabilities are state-of-the-art, and have been updated over recent years to include Patriot anti-missile system interoperability with Saudi missile batteries and U.S. satellite warning systems.

The 3rd Infantry Division (Mechanized) from Fort Stewart, Ga., is now rotating its three brigades through tours of duty in Kuwait, utilizing the pre-positioned combat equipment, located at Camp Doha, just west of Kuwait City. The equipment includes M-1A12 main battle tanks, M-2A2 Bradley Fighting Vehicles, and M-109A6 Paladin artillery, plus a helicopter assault capability and search and rescue personnel, a Special Forces company, and other Special Operations units. At the moment, the 3rd Brigade from Fort Benning is deployed, using the material. The 3rd Brigade is now handing over to the 2nd Brigade, from Fort Stewart. The force also includes a number of combat support and logistics units. These forces support ongoing exercises that rehearse the unloading of tanks and equipment from pre-positioning ships and manning Patriot missile batteries.

As already mentioned, another brigade set, probably along with additional division headquarters equipment, has now been moved in from Qatar. This raises the total of troops and equipment in Kuwait to one full brigade plus another brigade set. Each brigade or brigade set has about 116 M-1 Abrams tanks, 60 M-2 Bradley infantry fighting vehicles, 100 armored personnel carriers, and 25 artillery pieces. Two more brigade sets are afloat in the Indian Ocean, and up to two more may well be on the way, given reports of at least six additional shiploads of military equipment (approximately 80,000 tons at the minimum) currently en route to the region. In addition, numbers of military transport aircraft have significantly increased from normal levels all around the region.

It has been reported that these exercises have recently involved several thousand more personnel and that the total number of U.S. military in Kuwait has increased to over 10,000. Another 3,000 Air Force personnel support Operation Southern Watch over Iraq. What is known for certain is that parts of the Marine Corps' 11th Marine Expeditionary Unit are currently exercising with Kuwaiti forces as part of Exercise Eager Mace. The Belleau Wood amphibious ready group which brought the Marines into the region has been split, with the amphibious ships Mount Vernon and Denver near Kuwait, and Belleau Wood herself now in the Indian Ocean.

The U.S. Air Force 332nd Aerospace Expeditionary Group (AEG) at Ahmed Al-Jaber air base and 386th Aerospace Expeditionary Group at Ali Al Salem air base in the south operate in support of the no-fly zone in southern Iraq. Also based at Ali Al Salem are British Royal Air Force (RAF) Tornado GR.4 attack aircraft, from 12 Squadron.

JORDAN - 340 miles to Baghdad

Air Force and Army

The United States has repeatedly used several Jordanian bases over the last 10 years for exercises and deployments, with major Jordanian air bases sometimes being used for Air Expeditionary Force (AEF) deployments. During the current campaign, Jordan has provided basing and overflight permission for all U.S. and coalition forces.

Some sources reported that the U.S.-Jordanian exercise in August and September, Infinite Moonlight, was a cover for pre-positioning forces at well-sited forward staging posts. Unspecified exercises are continuing, and the commander of CENTCOM's Special Operations component, Brig. Gen. Gary Harrell, was interviewed in Jordan in a story datelined Oct. 15. Given that the location of the 5th Special Forces Group, CENTCOM's Army Special Forces, is currently undisclosed, this seems to indicate that it is likely that elements of the 5th Group and possibly other Special Forces are in Jordan preparing for operations against Iraq. There are also reports that Special Forces are already working with CIA paramilitary personnel inside Iraq already, inserted from Turkey and Jordan.

There are two airbases in the east of Jordan that could well be part of U.S. contingency plans: Ruwayshid, on the road from Rutbah in Iraq to Turayf in Saudi Arabia, and Wadi al-Murbah further north. Both are very close to the Iraqi border, about 100 miles from the H3 complex of airfields, which harbor several potential Iraqi missile launch points.

SAUDI ARABIA - 620 miles to Baghdad

Air Force

Saudi sensitivities have now meant Lt. Gen. T. Michael Moseley, the Central Command's Air Force commander, has now moved to Al Udeid in Qatar from Prince Sultan Air Base (PSAB) at Al Kharj, south of Riyadh. Because of Saudi restrictions concerning offensive weapon-carrying missions against Iraq (and Afghanistan) from Saudi soil, the Air Expeditionary Force units in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar only carry out retaliatory air strikes against Iraqi air defenses if patrols are fired on. Included amongst the forces are RAF Tornado F.3 fighters, drawn from 43 Squadron. Official statements from the Saudi government indicate that their military bases would be available for U.S. forces if there was a UN Security Council resolution backing military action.

The state-of-the-art Combined Aerospace Operations Center (CAOC) at PSAB is the center that generates the massive daily Air Tasking Order directing all air operations in the region for Operation Enduring Freedom and Southern Watch over Iraq. The headquarters additionally serves as a fusion center for all intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance efforts. Saudi Arabia's military itself comprises about 70,000 troops and is equipped with a modern arsenal and air force.

BAHRAIN - 620 miles to Baghdad

Navy

Vice Adm. Timothy J. Keating, who served as deputy commander of Carrier Air Wing 17 in support of Operation Desert Storm, is CENTCOM's Naval Component Commander (NAVCENT) for all naval forces in the region. His 5th Fleet headquarters is in Manama, Bahrain. Retained in the Gulf are some surface escorts, operating as Task Force 50, conducting Maritime Interception Operations and enforcing UN sanctions against Iraq. The force includes destroyers, frigates and at least one submarine.

The Allied Marine fleet in the area includes: the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier battle group and its associated air wing, escorts, and support ships, along with many allied naval ships from numerous countries. The USS Abraham Lincoln carrier battle group left the San Diego area in late July heading for the Arabian Sea area and would be available for operations. The Lincoln's battle group, led by Rear Adm. John M. Kelly as commander Cruiser-Destroyer Group 3, includes the carrier itself, Carrier Air Wing 14, USS Shiloh (CG 67), USS Mobile Bay (CG 53), USS Fletcher (DD 992), USS Paul Hamilton (DDG 60) and USS Reuben James (FFG 57) the attack submarine USS Honolulu (SSN 718), and the USS Camden, a combat support ship. The Lincoln's air wing includes VFA-115, the first F-18E/F Super Hornet squadron to deploy in the Navy.

There are also four mine countermeasures vessels assigned to the Fifth Fleet - USS Ardent (MCM 12), USS Cardinal(MHC 60), USS Dextrous (MCM 13), and USS Raven (MHC 61), all based at Bahrain.

Shaikh Isa Air Base, 20 miles south of the city, is a long-time U.S. air base, though there are no current reports of forces there at the moment. An Air Expeditionary Force (AEF) is likely to be sent there. The United Kingdom's RAF Tri-Star refueling tankers are based at the Bahrain airport to support Southern Watch aircraft, and alongside are U.S. Navy P-3 Orion anti-submarine and surveillance aircraft.

Marine Corps

The top Marine general for Central Asia and the Persian Gulf is Lt. Gen. Earl B. Hailston, CENTCOM's Marine Component commander (MARCENT) for all Marine forces in the Pacific. He oversees about two-thirds of all Marine Corps forces around the world, most of them in California, Hawaii or Okinawa. The decision in late January 2002 to move Hailston and nearly half his staff of 500 Marines to Bahrain marks the first time that the Marine Corps commander for the region has had his headquarters there, other than for training exercises.

Special Forces

Brig. Gen. Gary L. Harrell, a former Delta commander, succeeded Rear Adm. Albert Calland as commander Special Operations Forces Central Command. He was formerly posted in Afghanistan, and currently works from an undisclosed location in the area, and would deploy into the Gulf region as the operational situation dictated. (He was interviewed in Jordan in a report dated Oct.16.) While not in the direct chain of command, he would have strong support from the commander-in-chief of U.S. Special Operations Command, Gen. Charles Holland, at Tampa, Fla. Naval Special Warfare Unit 3, a SEAL force, is also headquartered in Bahrain.

QATAR - 700 miles to Baghdad

Lt. Gen. T. Michael Moseley, an F-15 pilot who once was the Air Force's chief liaison to Congress, is CENTCOM's Air Force Component commander (CENTAF) for all Air Force assets in the region. He has now moved to Al Udeid in Qatar, and heads the Joint Task Force South West Asia (JTF-SWA). JTF-SWA is a multinational, multi-service air group that maintains the patrols of the southern no-fly zone up to the 33rd Parallel in Iraq.

Al Udeid Air Base, 19 miles outside of Doha, Qatar's capital, has the longest runway in the Gulf, 15,000 feet. Recently, the United States has significantly upgraded both aircraft facilities and the communications and computer infrastructure. The modern, $1.7 billion installation has large hangers that can accommodate close to 100 aircraft, and is now home to the 379th Air Expeditionary Wing. Fighter/bomber aircraft and air-to-air refueling KC-10 and KC-135 tankers and JSTARS reconnaissance aircraft currently operate there in support of Operation Enduring Freedom and Southern Watch. A recent newspaper report noted 11 air-to-air refueling aircraft at the base.

Reports in early September indicate that the Central Command headquarters will move some 600 personnel (about a third of the full staff) to "exercise" a forward headquarters capability in November from Al Udeid. It is possible the move will occur earlier. This would effectively bring the command to a war footing, as occurred when Gen. H. Norman Schwarzkopf moved the headquarters to Saudi Arabia in August 1990 before Operation Desert Storm. The equipment there includes the latest Theater Battle Management Core System that will replicate the Command/Control and Intelligence capabilities at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia. The exercise will allow CENTCOM staff personnel to test the capabilities of the command center, in order to get a feel for the connectivity and interoperability of the new systems installed.

The U.S. Army has moved much of its stockpiled equipment in Qatar, enough for a brigade of about 5,000 troops, to Kuwait.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES - 860 miles to Baghdad

At Al Dhafra, an hour outside Abu Dhabi, the 380th Air Expeditionary Wing oversees the activities of two reconnaissance units, a number of Global Hawk reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles from the 12th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron of the 9th Reconnaissance Wing, detached from Beale Air Force Base, Calif., as well as U-2s from the 99th Expeditionary Reconnaissance Squadron of the same wing. KC-135s of the 763rd Expeditionary Air Refueling Squadron provide air-to-air refueling support.

OMAN - 1,150 miles to Baghdad

An airbase at a Musnana'h, approximately 120 km. west of the capital Muscat, is under construction through U.S. funding. It will have a 14,000-foot runway and will be a major enhancement to air operations for U.S. forces. Airlift hubs at Seeb, Thumrait and Masirah Island, the former RAF base in the Arabian Sea, are currently providing substantial support. (Masirah is also a major supply depot.) The B-1 force in the area, with the 405th Air Expeditionary Wing, is now located in Oman, possibly at Thumrait. The British Royal Air Force has additional air refueling assets at Seeb to support the no-fly zone in Iraq. Also, a full squadron, numbering up to 100, of the British Special Forces elite Special Air Service regiment is now reported in Oman. The Royal Australian Air Force is about to deploy two P-3 Orion maritime reconnaissance aircraft into the region, which might well end up based in Oman.

TURKEY - 570 miles to Baghdad

Incirlik Air Base in the southern part of Turkey near Adana has several thousand U.S. military personnel assigned to support 50 U.S. Air Force F-15, A-10 and F-16 fighters operating under the 39th Wing enforcing the no-fly zone above the 36th Parallel in Iraq. Brig. Gen. Robin Scott is commander of the Northern Watch Combined Task Force. There have been recent reports of a substantial increase in U.S. ground and air forces to include extra Patriot missile battery units. Britain's Royal Air Force has additional air assets at the base to support Northern Watch operations. This is a critical base for any offensive operations into Iraq.

DIEGO GARCIA - 3,340 miles to Baghdad

The Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia, a part of the British Indian Ocean Territory, is located in the heart of the Indian Ocean, south of India and between Africa and Indonesia. A narrow atoll 39 miles long, it encloses a lagoon 13 miles long and up to 6 miles wide. The B-52 force at Diego Garcia is under the control of the 40th Air Expeditionary Wing. The United States is interested in building special hangers for as many as six B-2s to enable the capability of forward deploying the massive stealth bomber in the event of a conflict in the Gulf. Detachment 1, 13th Air Force, maintains the facilities, munitions, ground equipment and aviation fuel to sustain the bombers and air refueling tanker aircraft currently stationed there in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The U.S. Navy's P-3 Orion maritime patrol force also has a detachment at Diego Garcia, apparently forming Task Group 57.2 of the 5th Fleet.

Pre-positioned strategic sealift ships for the Army and Air Force are hosted there as well. The Army pre-positioned an additional brigade set, for a total of two, afloat at Diego Garcia as part of APS-3 on two Large Medium Speed Roll-On Roll-Off ships (LMSRs - USNS Dahl and USNS Sisler) in April and July 2002 consecutively based on Defense Planning Guidance (DPG) directives.

DJIBOUTI - 1,500 miles to Baghdad

U.S. troops, seemingly special operations forces, have apparently been stationed at Camp Le Monier in Djibouti for about five months. The Pentagon has now acknowledged the presence of around 800 troops. In addition, residents of Eritrea have reported US-financed construction at former Soviet air and naval bases in their country on the Red Sea. Up to 1,000 Marines are also training at Obock, 30 miles north of Djibouti town across the Gulf of Tadjoura. The USS Belleau Wood is also in the region, now operating north of Madagascar.

EGYPT - 1,300 miles to Baghdad

Egyptian ports and airfields could prove vital as staging posts for a U.S. buildup in preparation for operations against Iraq. Cairo West airbase has long served as a base for U.S. air refueling tankers charged with supporting the airlift of supplies. Hurghuda, on the Red Sea coast, is also a staging point for aircraft-delivered supplies to U.S. warships.

Sources

"U.S. Military Grows in Djibouti", Associated Press, Sept. 30, 2002, http://www.djiboutipost.com/p/5f/3a7a44fedc78.html?id=f325b4

Bradley Graham, "U.S. Boasts Its Ability To Plan War," Washington Post, Oct. 12, 2002

Greg Jaffe, "U.S. Asks Britain To House B-2s At Island Base In Indian Ocean," The Wall Street Journal, Sept. 16, 2002.

Todd Purdum, "Saudis Indicating U.S. Can Use Bases If UN Backs War," New York Times, Sept. 16, 2002.

Cordesman, Anthony H., U.S. Forces In The Middle East, Resources and Capabilities, Boulder, CO; Westview Press, 1997.

Vernon Loeb, "U.S. Forces in Tampa Plan Qatar Exercises," The Washington Post, Sept. 12, 2002

Matthew Fisher, "U.S. will be ready for war by December," National Post, Oct. 9, 2002

Chris Tomlinson, "Poised to Strike, U.S. Forces Practice", Boston Globe (AP), Sept. 30, 2002

Sharon Weinberger, "Air Operations Center Could Be Quickly Moved," Aerospace Daily, April 16, 2002.

Hunter Keeter, "CENTCOM Boosting Command and Control Capability," Defense Daily International, April 5, 2002.

Rowen Scarborough, "Military 'Leaning Forward' To Gird For War With Iraq," The Washington Times, March 18, 2002.

"Navy Orders More Ships to Carry Gear to Gulf," Reuters, Oct. 14, 2002

Wayne Specht, "Air Base In Qatar Feature's Region's Longest Runway," Pacific Stars And Stripes, March 31, 2002.

Michael Sirak and Neil Barnett, "USA Looks To Expand Bases In Oman And Qatar," Defense Weekly, April 17, 2002.

U.S. Army, Army Prepositioned Stocks (APS-3)/Army Prepositioning Afloat (APA), DALO-FPP, Aug. 15, 2001

"FB-111A.Net's Updates", http://www.fb-111a.net/Updates.html

"Stealth Fighter Planes, Crew Members Deployed," Washington Times, Oct. 15, 2002

Reuters, "U.S. General's talks in Jordan are likely to focus on Iraq," Washington Post, Oct. 16, 2002

Rear Adm. (Ret.) Stephen H. Baker, USN CDI Senior Fellow sbaker@cdi.org Colin Robinson CDI Research Analyst crobinson@cdi.org

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