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Although yet no political decision has been made regarding a U.S. military campaign against Iraq, the Pentagon and military leaders clearly are already thinking about the problem.
Contingency plans are being put together, and forces in the region no
doubt are aware of the future possibility of war. At this time, the United States already has numerous forces
in the Persian Gulf region, as well as in Afghanistan and neighboring countries.
Below is a look at what U.S. forces might be put in play in any military
operation in Iraq.
Currently, there are about 5,000 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. It is
important to understand that the command posts throughout the southern Gulf
States and their implication of offensive operations are as politically
sensitive as ever. The U.S.
“footprint” in each country remains an issue that requires actual personnel
numbers, amount of pre-positioned equipment and support/cooperation agreements
made with each country to be kept out of the domain of public knowledge.
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 prepositioning ships and 350,000 tons propositioned
ashore throughout the region. CENTCOM
is able to deploy 10 tactical airwing equivalents within five days, and a
minimum of two U.S. Army divisions within two weeks.
These forces would be followed by a 5 division U.S. Army Corps, Marine
Expeditionary forces and supporting airwings in the weeks to follow.
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. CINCCENT
Commander 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 theater. 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. Paul T. Mikolashek, a former commander
in the 82nd Airborne Division, is CENTCOM’s Army Component Commander (ARCENT )
for all Army forces in the region. He
is located at his forward headquarters, Coalition
Joint Task Force Kuwait. The
headquarters have been updated over recent years and command and control
capabilities are state-of-the-art, to include Patriot
anti-missile system interoperability with Saudi missile batteries and U.S.
satellite warning systems. A
permanent Army brigade headquarters currently controls two battalions deployed
from the United States, the 1st Battalion, 12th Infantry, from Fort Carson,
Colo., and the 3rd Battalion, 8th Cavalry, from Fort Hood, Texas.
Pre-positioned combat equipment is capable of
fully supporting
a three-battalion brigade at Camp Doha, Kuwait,
just west of Kuwait City. This
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 and Special Operations units.
The force also includes a number of combat support and logistics units,
as well as a light infantry company from the 10th Mountain Division. These forces support ongoing exercises that rehearse
the unloading of tanks and equipment from prepositioning ships and manning
Patriot missile batteries. 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. The U.S. Army’s V Corps headquartered in Germany are
assigned Persian Gulf War contingencies.
The U.S. Air Force 332nd Aerospace Expeditionary
Group 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.
SAUDI ARABIA – 620 miles to Baghdad
Air
Force
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 (AFCENT ) for all Air Force assets in the region.
He is located at his headquarters at Prince Sultan Air Base (PSAB)
outside of Riyadh, and heads the Joint Task Force South West Asia (JTF-SWA). JTF-SWA is a multinational, multiservice air group that
maintains the patrols of the southern no-fly zone up to the 33rd Parallel in
Iraq. Because of Saudi restrictions
concerning offensive weapon-carrying missions against Iraq (and Afghanistan)
from Saudi soil, the three Air Expeditionary Force units in Kuwait and Qatar
carry out retaliatory air strikes against Iraqi air defenses if patrols are
fired on. The
state-of-the-art Combined Aerospace Operations Center (CAOC) at PSAB is the
center that manages the massive daily Air Tasking Order for 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 is formidable.
It 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, Carrier Air Wing SEVENTEEN in support of Operation Desert
Storm is CENTCOM’s Naval Component Commander (NAVCENT ) for all naval
forces in the region. His Fifth
Fleet headquarters is in Manama, Bahrain. Retained
in the Gulf are some surface escorts, operating as Task Force 50, conducting
Maritime Interception Operations, enforcing UN sanctions against Iraq.
The fleet includes destroyers, frigates and at least one submarine.
The Allied Marine fleet in the area includes:
USS John F. Kennedy and USS John C. Stennis carrier battle groups
and their associated air wings, escorts, and support ships, amphibious ready
groups (2,200 Marines) along with many allied naval ships from numerous
countries. (The total number of
ships has recently been up to 90 in Fifth Fleet’s area of responsibility.) The
requirement for a two carrier presence has just been relaxed, resulting in the Stennis
battle group returning home, without an on-station replacement. The USS
George Washington battle group from Norfolk, Va., will relieve the John
F. Kennedy battle group.
Of note, The USS
Abraham Lincoln carrier battle group is scheduled to deploy late spring.
The Lincoln’s airwing includes VFA-115, the first F-18E/F Super Hornet
squadron to deploy in the Navy.
In addition, at Shaikh Isa Air Base, 20 miles
south of the city, the U.S. Air Force has bombers, tactical fighters and air
refueling tankers in place. An Air
Expeditionary Force (AEF) of 42 planes also is likely to be sent there.
The AEF consists of six B-1 bombers, 12-F-15s and 24 F-16s, of which 12
are F-16CJs, specially equipped with radar seeking HARM missiles designed to
neutralize Iraqi air defenses. The
United Kingdom’s RAF Tri-Star refueling tankers are based at the Bahrain
airport to support Southern Watch aircraft.
Recent internal unrest and violent protests in
April 2002 against the U.S. Embassy have underscored the sensitivities of
American presence in the country.
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
Rear Adm. Albert M. Calland 3rd, a Navy SEAL, is
Commander Special Operations Forces Central Command.
He currently works from an undisclosed location in the area and would
deploy into the Gulf region as the operational situation dictated.
Naval Special Warfare Unit Three, a SEAL force is also headquartered in
Bahrain.
QATAR - 700 miles to
Baghdad
Al Udeid Air Base 19 miles outside of Qatar’s
capital of Doha has the longest runway in the Gulf, (15,000 feet).
The modern, $1.7 billion-dollar installation has large hangers that can
accommodate close to 100 aircraft. Recently,
the United States has significantly upgraded concrete aircraft ramps and the
communications and computer infrastructure.
This 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 366th
Aerospace Expeditionary Wing of 30 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.
The U.S. Army has stockpiled enough equipment in Qatar for at least 5,000
troops.
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 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. The
British Royal Air Force has additional air refueling assets at Seeb to support
the no-fly zone in Iraq.
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 and F-16 fighters
enforcing the United Nations mandated no-fly zone above the 36th parallel in
Iraq. Brig.
Gen. Edward Ellis 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. It
remains a critical strategic base for the U.S. bomber fleet. Detachment One 13th Air Force, maintains the
facilities, munitions, ground equipment and aviation fuel to sustain the
B-1’s, B-52’s and air refueling tanker aircraft currently stationed there in
support of Operation Enduring Freedom. Prepositioned
strategic sealift ships for Army and Air Force are hosted there as well.
The United States can deploy as many as 12 prepositioning ships –
enough to equip a Marine Division and an Army Brigade into the Persian Gulf.
For a compendium of forces used in anti-terrorist strikes in Afghanistan as well as those deployed in and around the region, see Forces in Play
Sources
Cordesman,
Anthony H., U.S.Forces In The Middle East, Resources and Capabilities,
Boulder, CO; Westview Press, 1997.
John J. Lumpkin,
“U.S. Military Moving Equipment To Qatar,” SanAntonio
Express-News, March 28, 2002.
Sharon Weinberger,
“Air Operations Center Could Be Quickly Moved,” Aerospace
Daily, Aril 16, 2002.
Hunter Keeter,
“CENTCOM Boosting Command and Control Capability,” Defense
Daily International, April 5, 2002.
Milton R, Copulos,
“Should The United States Shut Down Its Military Bases in Saudi Arabia?
Yes,” Insight Magazine, April 29,
2002.
Rowen
Scarborough, “Military ‘Leaning Forward’ To Gird For War With Iraq,” The
Washington Times, March 18, 2002.
Wayne Specht,
“Air Base In Qater 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 Qater,” Defense Weekly, April 17, 2002.
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