Bush orders Operation Desert Shield
On August 7th in 1990, President George Herbert Walker Bush orders the organization of Operation Desert Shield in response to Iraq’s invasion of Kuwait on August 2. The order prepared American troops to become part of an international coalition in the war against Iraq that would be launched as Operation Desert Storm in January 1991. To support Operation Desert Shield, Bush authorized a dramatic increase in U.S. troops and resources in the Persian Gulf. Extracts from Chapter 13 of Annapolis Creed MAG-26 had a ½ squadron of CH-53 Stallions left. The Marine Corps needed another Helicopter Group. The plan was to merge air reserve units to MAG-26. Reserve units only have approximately 3% of their war-time table of equipment. The rest of the resources are stored away in Barstow and Albany Marine War Reserve Stockpiles at least in theory. I loved a challenge, and this was a big one. I was mobilized before my unit and given orders from the Wing S-4. I left my family and flew to North Carolina to assess the situation with MAG-26 at Marine Corps Air Station New River. I was now Major Smith, and I was going to war. My primary job was to assess the availability of support for the arrival of HMLA-773 from Belle Chase Naval Air Station. Upon arrival, I met Colonel Michael J. Williams, the commanding officer for MAG-26. He had no idea of the problems associated with the transfer of the reserve units. I told him I was here to prepare the transition. I went to the S-4 officer, and again he was in the dark about what was going to happen to them. I went to the supply officer for the group and found a new young second lieutenant. This butter bar had no conceptual understanding of Marine Reserve supply procedures and had never heard of the War Reserve. This was a big problem. I went back to discuss this with Colonel Williams and recommended that if he wanted to merge and deploy on time that I could do so if given the authority to oversee the operations. I called back to the 4th Marine Air Wing and asked for additional support. They sent me Gunnery Sergeant (GySgt) Brown from HMH-772. He flew out in the next 24 hours, and we began the work to determine the balance of equipment to retrieve from the war reserve and to place the necessary requisition from Barstow and Albany. We planned the movement of two HMLA (Huey & Cobra’s), two CH-46 squadrons, and 1.5 CH-53 squadrons to build MAG-26 into an operational group. We ordered the supplies and equipment for the deployment. MAG-26 had an excellent embarkation team which ordered the aircraft for our deployment into Jubayl Saudi Arabia. In three weeks GySgt Brown and I had ordered and positioned the table of equipment for the attaching reserve squadrons. But now.....
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Dr. Jordan B smith jr.I attended the U. S. Naval Academy from 1972-1976 earning a B.S. in Mathematics. Served 20 years both active and reserve in the US Marines. Veteran of the Desert Shield/Storm. I earned a MAED and Ed D. specializing in curriculum and instruction from the University of Phoenix in 2015. I graduated from CBC High School in Clayton, MO in 1972. Archives
March 2024
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