response capability. They also provide a means of friendly, nation-tonation contact and promote United States influence and access. Naval forces have long been a natural means of forward presence, and they will become even more important in that role as the Nation reduces the number of its permanent overseas bases.

Crisis Response. History suggests the futility of attempting to predict exactly when, where, and how any potential foreign threat will challenge our national interests; but it also compels the Nation's leaders to assume that some threat will arise somewhere--possibly on very short notice. The military planner's tasks are to assess which potential adversaries could reasonably pose a threat and to prepare to react effectively. As a fundamentally peaceful nation with a defensive security strategy, the United States must be able to respond to crises as they occur, with the goal of deterring conflicts or--if necessary--resolving them by force. Naval forces, because of their forward positioning and expeditionary nature, have frequently been the first called to respond to national security crises. In joint and coalition operations such as Desert Storm, naval units often serve as "enabling forces," providing the initial response and securing beachheads and sea lanes for the sequenced deployment of heavier forces.

Strategic Deterrence and Defense. Despite recent arms control agreements and unilateral initiatives, a great number of nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons exist which could be used to threaten or coerce the United States or its allies. The problem is complicated by the increasing number of governments which have obtained advanced warhead and missile technology. Among the requirements for deterring an adversary's use of such weapons are modern, survivable strategic nuclear forces; a spectrum of response options; and the capability to hold a potential foe's offensive systems at risk. Submarine-based strategic nuclear missiles are becoming responsible for an increasing share of those responsibilities.

Reconstitution. Reconstitution is the Nation's hedge against the possible future emergence of a new global threat. For naval forces, reconstitution includes the ability to activate contingency war reserve equipment, to mobilize new and reserve manpower, to re-expand the military industrial base, and to bring shelved technological innovations quickly into operation.

Naval Operations in 1991:
Meeting New Challenges

Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm

When the Iraqi army invaded Kuwait in August 1990, United States naval power projection forces on routine forward-presence deployment were on the scene.

Navy and Marine Corps aviation forces--including two aircraft carriers with their air wings of self-sustaining, carrier-based strike aircrait--arrived in the region and were ready for sustained, high intensity combat some 72 hours before any other force deployments from the United States began.

52-776 0-92—5

71 FIXED-WING SQUADRONS AND 23 ROTARY WING SQUADRONS

⚫ 24 MANEUVER BNS, 9 ARTILLERY BNS, 2 RECONNAISSANCE BNS,

2 ASSAULT AMPHIBIAN BNS

300 TANKS

250 ARTILLERY PIECES

1000 AAVS AND LAVS

17 FIXED-WING SQUADRONS AND 14 ROTARY-WING SQUADRONS

200 FIXED-WING AIRCRAFT

300 HELICOPTERS

The first fully operational mechanized ground combat forces in the Persian Gulf region were the Marines of the 7th Marine Expeditionary Brigade. By August 15 they were unloading a 30 day supply of combat equipment and supplies from a

Maritime Prepositioning Ship (MPS) squadron that had sortied early in the crisis from Diego Garcia. In its first "real world" test, the Maritime Prepositioning Force concept met--and exceeded--the expectations set for it nearly a decade ago.

Seapower played an essential role in the United Nations-sanctioned effort to liberate Kuwait and disarm Iraq. Naval interdiction forces virtually shut down Iraqi seaborne commerce in a United Nations-mandated ship intercept operation that continues today. Naval forces also guaranteed regional sea control, enabling the unopposed deployment by ships of heavy United States land-based forces. Amphibious forces deployed off the coast of Kuwait--along with aircraft and missile attacks from the Mediterranean Sea, the Red Sea, and the Persian Gulf--obliged the Iraqi military to disperse its forces and defend multiple fronts. In joint combat operations with Army, Air Force, and coalition units, Navy and Marine Corps forces conducted carrier and land-based air strikes; launched Tomahawk cruise missiles from surface ships and submarines; and conducted a combined arms offensive against Iraqi armored and infantry elements. The First Marine Expeditionary Force sweep through Kuwait to Kuwait City is a matter of well-known public record.

The Department of the Navy learned many lessons from its Desert Storm experience. This year's budget reflects those insights as part of our ongoing efforts to improve key warfighting capabilities. Shallow-water mines showed that low technology and low-cost threats can play a key role in future warfare. We were also reminded of the importance of sealift to our ability to move large numbers of troops and supplies to areas of conflict. These forces must be ready, responsive, and reliable.

But the experience of the Navy and Marine Corps in Desert Storm also validated a number of seapower concepts. The forward presence of combat-ready, self-contained naval forces in and around the Persian Gulf area allowed for prompt, forceful United States military reaction to Iraq's aggression. These forces reassured American allies in the area, possibly deterred an expanded Iraqi offensive into Saudi Arabia, and provided the means to secure an allied beachhead if deterrence had failed.

A MARITIME COALITION

A LONG HISTORY OF US NAVY EXERCISES AND OPERATIONS WITH ALLIES AND FRIENDLY NATIONS PROVIDED THE FOUNDATION FOR THE MARITIME INTERDICTION FORCE WHICH WAS SO EFFECTIVE IN OPERATION DESERT STORM. IN THE TWO YEARS LEADING UP TO HOSTILITIES WITH IRAO ALONE. THE US. NAVY HAD CONDUCTED BILATERAL AND MULTILATERAL EXERCISES WITH OVER 50 COUNTRIES AROUND THE WORLD. OF THE 18 NAVIES THAT EVENTUALLY TOOK PART IN THE INTERDICTION EFFORT IN THE RED SEA AND PERSIAN GULF, 16 HAD PARTICIPATED IN EXERCISES WITH THE U.S. NAVY WITHIN THE LAST TWO YEARS.

Desert Storm also validated the Navy and Marine Corps heavy emphasis in recent years on constant, realistic training in joint, combined-arms combat. Their investment in advanced battlefield technology, innovative tactics, and combat readiness paid enormous dividends in lives saved and missions accomplished. The reserve components of the Navy and Marine Corps Total Force structures significantly augmented naval combat and support capabilities in theater; indeed, the reserves demonstrated outstanding and inspiring leadership, organization, morale, and readiness.

Most importantly, the extraordinary performance of all America's Sailors and Marines validated the Department's continuing resolve to provide them with the best available training, leadership, and quality of life.

Crisis and Contingency Responses

Desert Storm was by no means the only crisis to which naval forces were called to respond in 1991. Capitalizing on their distinct naval capabilities, the Navy and Marine Corps conducted a variety of "real world" operations around the globe:

Liberia. From July 1990 until January 1991, Navy and Marine Corps units involved in Operation Sharp Edge provided security for the United States embassy and evacuated over 2,400 civilians from Liberia during that country's violent insurrection. A Navy-commanded Joint Task Force (JTF) demonstrated the capability to establish a presence quickly, remain on station for an extended period, and react to changing conditions ashore on little or no notice.

Somalia. Amphibious forces temporarily diverted from Desert Storm executed a dramatic, long-range rescue of 260 American civilians and other non-combatants from civil-war torn Somalia. Code-named Eastern Exit, this operation was accomplished in less than three days over a distance of some 2,000 miles.

Iraq. Naval forces in the Mediterranean provided humanitarian, logistic, and military security support to Operation Provide Comfort in northern Iraq's Kurdish region. The embarked MEU (SOC) served as the lead, and initially self-sustained, enabling force to provide first, security, and later, logistics support to those in need. Working with Army, Air Force, and allied units, Navy and Marine Corps forces assisted more than 500,000 Kurdish refugees in northern Iraq and southern Turkey.

Bangladesh. The 5th Marine Expeditionary Brigade and its associated naval amphibious group were on their way home from Desert Storm in May when they were diverted to provide desperately needed assistance to 1.7 million people of Bangladesh following devastating floods in that country. A Marine-commanded, multi-service JTF used hovercraft, helicopters, and airplanes to deliver over 2000 tons of food, fuel, medicine, and equipment. The Bangladesh people gave this operation its name: Sea Angel.

Philippines. In Operation Fiery Vigil, forward- deployed naval forces formed another JTF to provide emergency services, clean-up assistance, and evacuation support following the June eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines. An aircraft carrier embarked Marine helicopters and, Logether with an MPS ship, helped support and evacuate over 17,000 people.

Haiti. Following the coup in Haiti in September of last year, Navy and Marine Corps units, working closely with the United States Coast Guard, came to the aid of refugees fleeing that impoverished nation. This was the most comprehensive relief effort since the Haitian and Cuban boatlifts of 1980. Three separate Marine-commanded JTFs were formed, with

forces from every branch of the armed services. The Coast Guard, with Navy support, assumed primary responsibility for picking up refugees at sea and transporting them to the United States Naval Base, Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. Once there, Navy and Marine Corps forces housed and provided the necessary security for over 11,000 refugees.

Multi-National Exercises

Friendly and cooperative ties with naval services of other countries have long been a source of diplomatic and operational benefit. The ease with which coalition units were able to operate with one another in Desert Shield and Desert Storm 1991 was no was a result of many years of regular multi-national exercises. exception. Navy ships and Marine Corps units participated in 288 exercises involving 60 countries around the world. As navies become smaller and international security interests become more integrated, such exercises are likely to become even more important.

Many of the Sailors and Marines who returned from Desert Storm barely had time to repack their sea bags before they were underway again, meeting the Nation's continuing peacetime requirement for naval forces that are forwarddeployed and ready to respond immediately to emergencies abroad. The Persian Gulf region, for example, is still a potential flash point, and the United States has an aircraft carrier battle group and a Marine Expeditionary Unit on station there, in addition to the ships and aircraft conducting intercept operations in support of the United Nations economic sanctions against Iraq.

Elsewhere in the world, the Navy and Marine Corps continue to conduct forward presence operations, but they have revised operating concepts and battle group compositions to reflect post-Cold War strategic realities. Yet the naval services still continue to provide forward presence with units that are ready to deter aggression, bolster regional allies, render humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, and meet military threats-whenever they should arise-to American interests and citizens around the world. In the last year, Navy ships made port calls in 73 countries and Marines conducted operations in 46 countries. Currently 20 to 25 percent of our operational naval forces are deployed-30 to 35 percent counting ships training at sea near their home ports and Marines deployed for training away from their home bases.