UNITED STATES NAVY IN DESERT SHIELD/DESERT STORM

* cally to meet the DESERT SHIELD logistic Jeddah was also the site of the Combat
challenge and relieve operational command- Logistic Stores Facility (CLSF). CLSF Jeddah
ers afloat and ashore from much of logistics gave replenishment ships assigned to the Red
management burden. Sea the ability to re-stock, repair and re-arm
without depending on the Suez Canal as their
Keeping up to 115 combatant ships logistics link. The replenishment and mainte-
battle ready was a full-time job. `Most resupply nance effort both ashore and underway, kept
operations were carried out at sea by combat battle groups on-station and ready through-
logistic force (CLF) `ships, who were in turn out DESERT SHIELD/STORM, a key factor in
supplied through expeditionary forward 10- keeping Iraq locked in.
gistics sites. The CLF ships deployed during
DESERT SHIELD/STORM, along with vari- To support the logistics mission, air-
ous Military Sealift Command and Ready Re- fields in Saudi Arabia and Bahrain were used
serve Force ships, had the monumental task of as bases for a Navy "logistics air force" of 25
supplying six carriers, two battleships, two dedicated helos and fixed-wing aircraft. One
command ships, two hospital ships, 31 am- of those helos, an H-53 from HC-1, was among
phibious ships and 40 other combatants in- the first coalition force aircraft to land in Ku-
duding cruisers, destroyers, frigates, subma- wait City after the liberation. Within two days
rines and minesweepers. regularly scheduled logistic flights into Al
Shuaiba, the main port for the country of Ku-
Repair ships like the destroyer tenders wait, had commenced in support of Navy ex-
USS YELLOWSTONE (AD 41), USS ACADIA plosive ordnance demolition (EOD) mine-
(AD 42) and USS CAPE COD (AD 43) were dearing efforts.
deployed to fulfill another logistic require-
ment of sustained naval presence. Based in the Physical se'curity against water-borne
Red Sea port of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, attack for three major ports in the Gulf region
YELLOWSTONE provided critical repair and was a significant concern. LOGSUPFOR was
rearming capability to the fleet. During seven responsible for. coordinating the Port Security
months on station YELLOWSTONE alone com- Harbor Defense (PSHD) force. Three PSHD
pleted more than 10,000 repair jobs on 30 U.S. groups - each consisting of a Mobile Inshore
and allied ships. The Navy men and women Undersea Warfare Unit that operates radar
serving aboard tenders and other repair ships and sonar from the pier, a Coast Guard small
provided a wide variety of services simulta- boat security team and a Navy EOD diver unit
neously to as many as five ships moored along- - operated 24-hours a day from the beginning
side or nearby. of the build-up. They protected the key ports
of Bahrain, along with Jubail and Dammam in
The Navy women serving in non-tradi- Saudi Arabia, as they received tanks, troops,
tional roles aboard tenders joined nearly 2,500 ammunition and other supplies for U.S. and
other women serving aboard CLF ships, Mili- coalition forces.
tary Sealift Command vessels, the two hospi-
tal ships, and at fleet hospitals and aviation Logistic support was also provided by
and cargo handling detachments ashore to sailors from Naval Mobile Construction Bat-
play a crucial role in the Navy' S contribution to talions, Cargo Handling Battalions, Navy Over-
DESERT SHIELD/STORM. seas Air Cargo Terminal units and Forward

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