UNITED STATES NAVY IN DESERT SHIELD/DESERT STORM

It was during these operations that USS trol or to support a joint campaign ashore.
VINCENNES (CG 49) shot down an Iranian Third, the Navy provides nuclear deterrence.
commercial airliner after mistaking it for an Finally, the Navy and the Maritime Adminis-
Iranian F-14. Within two months, Iran and tration provide strategic sealift to supporLjoint
Iraq reached a fragile agreement to end hostili- military operations.
ties.
The Navy applies the concept of corn-
At the height of the Iran-Iraq war, bined arms operations at several levels. The
MIDEASThOR was composed of 12 or more Navy-MarineCorps team synergistically corn-
ships. That force, along with mine counter- bines land, sea, and air capabilities~and exem-
measures teams, special warfare units, and plifies the combined arms concept. In recent
rotating carrier battle groups deployed to the years, the Navy has also operated extensively
North Arabian Sea, made up America's largest with the Army and Air Force, which proved to
deployed naval force since the Vietnam era. be valuable preparation for DESERTSHIELD/
The Navy's Administrative Support Unit con- STORM. The fundamental role of the Navy in
tingent in Bahrain grew to over 800 personnel. joint power projection operations is to gain
By the end of 1989, however, U.S. Navy pres- control of the sea. Sea control is an essential
ence in the Gulf had drawn down to the nor- prerequisite for introduction of joint power
mal flagship and four or five other ships, morn- projection forces.
toring the again-busy transit lanes. That force
was often augmented by a carrier battle group As an integral part of the U.S. military
in the Indian Ocean. strategy of forward defense, the Navy has
maintained a significant forward presence since
The Navy benefited from years of expe World War II. Forward deployments promote
rience in the harsh operating environment of regi~onal stability and maintain readiness for
the Middle East, and the requirement to con- crisis response. President Bush reaffirmed
duct those operations independent of major forward presence and crisis response as fun-
support bases. With no permanent U.S. bases damental pillars of U.S. strategy in a speech at
in the area, forward~deployed ships became Aspen, Colorado on 2 August, the day Iraq
increasingly important as the United States invaded Kuwait.
worked to demonstrate the continuity of
American commitments and maintain stabil- Like forward~deployed Navy forces
ity in the regio~. everywhere, the forces on station in the Per-
sian Gulf, Indian Ocean and Eastern Mediter-
THE ROLE OF THE NAVY IN JOINT OP- ranean on 2 August were self-sufficient and
ERATIONS. The United States Navy is struc- combat ready, capable of remaining on station
tured to provide four fundamental military for months independent of infrastructure
capabilities. First is control of the sea to assure ashore. The unique character of naval forces
the U.S. can use the oceans for economic and gave President Bush and his advisors a num-
military purposes while denying such access ber of immediate options for responding to the
to opponents in time of crisis or war. Second, crisis:
the Navy projects power ashore - with air
power, naval gunfire, cruise missiles, and * Ready forces to operate from over the
Marine forces - either in support of sea-con- horizon, independent of politically

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