UNITED STATES NAVY IN DESERT SHIELD/DESERT STORM

northern Persian Gulf, MSC contracted the when contrasted with the 57 million pound
heavy-lift ship Super Servant iii, to transport daily average during the 37-month-long Ko-
threeNavyminesweepersplusthenewly-com- rean conflict and the 33 million pound daily
missioned mine countermeasures ship, USS average to the Pacific theater during World
AVENGER (MCM 1), to the Gulf. War II.

USNS MERCY (T-AH 19) and USNS In the last week of December, dozens of
COMFORT (T-AH 20), 1000-bed floating hos- ships loaded U.S. Army equipment in North-
pitals, went from reduced operational status ern European ports. MSC moved more than
to fully-operational status within five days of 2,000 tanks, 2,200 armored vehides, 1,000 as-
the initial DESERT SHIELD deployment or- sorted helicopters, hundreds of self-propelled
der. The two ships were quickly staffed by howitzers and other equipment for the Army
nearly 2,500 Navy doctors, nurses and corps- alone. Hundreds of additional aircraft, trucks
men from Navy medical facilities on both and other combat equipment were also trans-
coasts. ported for the Marines and Air Force. Ironi-
cally - but perhaps not surprisingly - only
By September, more than 100 MSC con- 4.4% of the dry cargo moved by sealift went to
trolled ships were supporting DESERT support naval forces. That total included tons
SHIELD. More than 100,000 U.S. military per- of equipment for three Navy Fleet Hospitals,
sonnel and their equipmenthadbeen deployed including ambulances, generators and other
to Saudi Arabia and the surrounding area in support gear. During DESERT SHIELD/
the first 30 days. Sea control - assured from STORM MSC also moved nearly 12 billion
the outset by the U.S. Navy - made possible pounds of fuel and hundreds of millions of
the safe rapid deployment of MSC ships and pounds of ammunition.
assured the availability of required civilian
charter vessels at reasonable rates. With the exception of the allied inva-
sion of Normandy, during which - after two
When Sealift Phase I - suppotting the years of preparation - more thaii 20,000 ve-
initial deployment - ended in mid-Decern- hicles and more than 176,000 troops assaulted
ber, more than 180 ships were assigned to or five beaches in two days, sealift for DESERT
chartered by MSC. The entire sealift operation SHIELD / STORM, with no prior buildup at all,
had already transported nearly 7billion pounds represents the largest and fastest sealift to a
of fuel and 2.2 billion pounds of cargo - single theater in the history of warfare. It was
moving more cargo farther and faster than any also the farthest, with the average voyage cov-
other time in history. ering nearly 8,700 miles.

Sealift Phase II- which supported the Sealift moved 2.4 million tons of cargo
additional reinforcement of DESERT SHIELD during the first six months of DESERT SHIELD.
forces - saw 220 ships come under MSC con- By comparison, that is more than four times
trol. Winter storms and nearly 40-foot seas did the cargo carried across the English Channel to
not slow the largest sealift effort since World Normandy during the D-Day invasion and
War II. By March, an average of 84 million more than 6.5 times that of the peak force
pounds of cargo was arriving in Saudi Arabia build-up during the Vietnam War during a
daily. That average is even more impressive similar period. On 2 January 1991, at the peak

- 29 -