* battlefield preparation as the deadline for the  time the enemy realized an amphibious as-
      ground offensive neared. As WISCONSIN             sault was not headed their way,.it was too late.
      and MISSOURI steamed in the vidnity of re-        Coalition victory was less than 24 hours away.
      cently-cleared "Point FOXTROT," their gun
      crews continued to pound Iraqi targets. Ma-             WISCONSIN and MISSOURI's guns
      rine AV-8B Harriers launched from the flight      continued to fire. Both battleships passed the
      deck of NASSAU conducted strikes ashore.          million-pound mark of ordnance delivered on
                                                        Iraqi targets by the time President Bush ended
 a          Thenightbefore the 24 February ground       hostilities on 28 February. With one last salvo
      offensive began, MISSOURI trained her guns        from her big guns, WISCONSIN fired the. last
      on Faylaka Island in a pyrotechnic display        naval gunfire support mission of the war.
      intended to convince Iraqi troops along the
      Kuwaiti coast that the sea-borne invasion was           Though the cease-fire ended ground
      at hand. WISCONSIN, accompanied by USS            hostilities, the Navy's mission didn't slow.
      MCINERNEY (FFG 8) moved in close to drive         Navy warships continued working with allied
      that point home.                                  counterparts to enforce U.N. sanctions. Both
                                                        battleships' UAVs combed the coastline and
            Twenty-four hours into the ground cam-      outlying islands in reconnaissance support for
      paign, Iraqis manning the Kuwait Silkworm         occupying allied forces. Over Faylaka Island,
      missile sites fired two anti-ship missiles at     MISSOURI's UAV pbserved hundreds of Iraqi
      MISSOURI. The first landed harmlessly be-         soldiers waving white flags following the
      tweenMISSOURIandUSSJARRETT(FFG33).                battleship's pounding of their trenchlines -
      The second, headed straight for MISSOURI,         the first-ever surrender of enemy troops to an
      but was intercepted by two Sea Dart missiles      unmanned aircraft.
      from the British warship HMS GLOUCESTER
      (D96).                                                  The mine-clearing effort continued
                                                        unabated. By the time the cease-fire was called,
            With the allied ground force plowing        the job of reaching the Kuwaiti port of al-
      through Iraqi defenders, Iraqi forces on the      Shuaibah was nearly complete. Minesweep-
      Kuwaiti coastline prepared a counter-attack.      ers and EOD teams from the U.S., Britain,
     * To diffuse that possibility, Marine helicopters  Holland and Belgium continued to clear the
      from USS GUAM (LPH 9) and other ships of          path to Kuwait's main port.
      the amphibious task force conducted opera-
      tions designed to keep the enemy wary of an             LASALLE arrived at Al Shuaibah on 12
      amphibious assault. GUAM's helicopters con-       March, after she assisted the British mine-
      ducted early-morning strike missions on both      sweeper HMS CATTISTOCK (M 31) in escort-
      Faylaka and Bubiyan Islands.  OKINAWA             ing two tankers filled with fresh water and
      conducted a simulated helicopter assault          supplies through a channel to the newly-liber-
      against Kuwaiti beaches, turning back after       ated Kuwait.  USMCMG assets were busy
      drawing small arms and anti-aircraft artillery    sweeping channels into other ports north and
      fire from the enemy's coastal bunkers.  The       south of Shuaibah and around Kuwait City.
      maneuvers held the attention of 80,000 Iraqi
      coastal defense personnel as the coalition's            "The Iraqis mighthave agreed toacease-
      "end run" swarmed around their flank. By the      fire, but their mines have not yet surrendered,"


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