Merchant Mariners in the Gulf War
Keyser, Mackoy, Fuss, Matthews
The Military Sealift Command Fleet has been an instrument of great importance when it comes to facilitating the needs of the Navy. In terms of length of service, the Merchant Marine program has been active longer than both the Navy and the Army. In the history of the United States, it has helped secure safe passages for international waterways and resupplied ships in sunny breezes and stormy gales. In terms of Military support it has been the greatest single implementation that has taken the world by storm and has changed peoples perspectives of how a nation can wage war or defend itself from a foreign power.
Prior to the “First Gulf War” the United States had began to greatly downsize its military size leaving a huge gap of supplies between hotspots around the world and ready vehicles and munitions to be transported effectively and as fast as possible. Transporting vehicles and supplies from one place to another became even more challenging when the Korean and Vietnam Wars erupted into nearly world wars. The lack of supplies readily available to the forces in the field was causing great causalities and a solution needed to be found. The answer came in the 1980’s when the Military Sealift Command started a program to have large amounts of supplies spread throughout the world at key areas which could reach conflict areas within hours instead of weeks. The first ships to be implemented into the program were the the Corporal Louis J. Hauge, Jr. and Sergeant Matej Kocak classes (Source 1.) Both these ships were chartered from private companies and then retrofitted to be more accommodating. The ability to load hundreds of tons of stores onto the ship and deliver them to t...
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... F. Addams, and John J. Nelson. "Sealift in Operation Desert Shield/ Desert Storm." Center for Naval Analysis, May 1991. Web. 3 Nov. 13. .
"Military Sealift Command in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm 1990-1991." History.navy.mil. Naval History and Heritage Command, Aug. 2004. Web. 3 Nov. 2013. .
Cruikshank, Jeffrey L., and Chloe G. Kline. In Peace and War: A History of the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point. Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley & Sons, 2008. Print.
"Gulf War 1990-91." Gulf War 1990-91. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.
Rodriguize, Loudris. "Worth Their Salt Scarcity Of Trained Mariners During Gulf War Prompts Call-up Of Some Old Men Of The Sea." Sun Sentinel. Sun Sentinel, 06 Feb. 1991. Web. 21 Nov. 2013.
Desert Vets. 06 March 2011 <www.desertvets.org/main-pages/desert-storm.htm>. Finlan, Alastair. The Gulf War 1991. Great Britain: Osprey Publishing, 2003.
War finds success and failure inescapably linked to how well the Combined, Joint, and Multinational Commander ensures the Joint War Fighting Function “Sustainment” planning is linked to strategic, operational and tactical objectives. General Eisenhower’s Operation OVERLORD, the Allied cross channel, air, and seaborne invasion of France during World War II provides an excellent case study to show successful integration of the principles and the spirit of the Joint War Fighting Function “Sustainment.” OVERLORD required synchronizing, coordinating, and integrating the logistics capabilities of coalition forces, their equipment as well as civilian manufacturing capabilities to meet the strategic end state (e.g. the defeat of Germany). This article will review the purpose and definition of Joint Sustainment, its imperatives and logistics planning principles and examine how Eisenhower and his planners incorporated these imperatives and principles into Operation OVERLORD.
Operation Desert Shield was launched by President H.W. Bush to increase the amount of forces and troops in areas surrounding Kuwait and mainly in Saudi Arabia in response to the 120,000 troops and 2,000 tanks invading Kuwait. The United Nations called for the Iraqi army’s extraction from their presence in Kuwait, however Hussein went ag...
The case study and presentation used for this Joint Operations paper was about Operation Odyssey Dawn (OOD). I will describe two operational-level successes and two failures experienced during the operation. I will offer clear proposals, that if implemented could have prevented those failures.
The load alarm rang waking me from my sleep. The clock read 7:45 on December 7, 1941. It was a Sunday, so it was getting ready for church. Today was my day off, which on work days I work on the USS Tennessee as a engineer. My job is to supervise and make sure the engines are running smoothly. I have been been working on her for many months on the Southern side of the Hawaiian island of Oahu. I am stationed at a U.S. naval base named Pearl Harbor. I stepped out of my quarters to admire the ships around me called “Battleship Row.” It contains eight large, powerful battleships. Just ahead of the USS Tennessee is the USS Maryland directly behind is the USS Arizona. The USS Tennessee was a beauty, which is why I loved working on it. The glorious ship has a length of 624 feet and it travels at 21 knots. She was tied to her mooring next to a quay. I was ready to go to church and have a nice relaxing day.
Buell, Thomas B. (1987). The Quiet Warrior: a Biography of Admiral Raymond A. Spruance. Annapolis, Maryland: Naval Institute Press. p. 518. ISBN 0-87021-562-0.
Patriot’s role during desert storm was controversial, complex and left an imprint within the history of Air Defense Artillery.
The United States Merchant Marines are complied of thousands of the best trained men and women of today to man naval or commercial ships. Merchant Marines have dated back even further then the United States Coast Guard. The Merchant Marines have had a huge impact on the United States Navy since they have been established. Merchant Marines have manned fleets of ships for the U.S. Navy which carry imports and export during peace time. Once wartime rolls around, they become naval auxiliary, to ship and deliver troops and war materials. The largest participation came from the United States Merchant Marines after the Merchant Marine Act of 1936. Due to the act of 1936, the controversial question is when the greatest impact of the Merchant Marines on the United States Navy was during World War 2 and Vietnam War. The merchant marines were called upon to active duty and they responded helping the United States Navy.
SEAL Team 6 was initially formed in reaction to the disastrous results of Operation Eagle Claw on April 24, 1980. The purpose of the mission was to rescue fifty-two hostages held captive in the U.S. Embassy in Tehran, Iran (DEVGRU/SEAL TEAM 6). The operation was very complex which was one of the reasons as to why it failed. The original plan was for Delta Force to pilot eight helicopters to Desert One, where they would refuel; after Desert One, they would all fly to Desert Two and drive to Tehran in trucks supplied by CIA agents that had already infiltrated Iranian territory. To slow down the Iranian Military’s reaction, the United States Military would disable the electricity in the area so the hostages could be rescued by additional U.S. troops (International Counter-Terrorism). Alas, to the military’s dismay, the operation was an utter failure. One of the eight planes was forced t...
"The United States Army in Somalia, 1992-1994." U.S. Army Center Of Military History. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 July 2011. .
and Drill Instructors see Boot Camp. Why did he pick the Marines as his topic? Attracted to the Corps perception and morale, Thomas E. Ricks expresses the Marines as the only service still upholding its honor and tradition. Due to society changing into a commercial society with a “me” attitude, civilians focus on how they can splendor themselves with material items—never looking at the big picture at all that we can accomplish as a team if we give our heart and soul to life. Team means everyone on earth, for we are the people that provide for one another with peace and prosperity.
Zerby, Roy M. Interview by author, 10 April 1995. Mail questionnaire. 12th Armored Division Historical Project, Abilene Christian University, Abilene, Texas.
One of the most important aspects of having a strong and successful military is logistics. Without a strong supply corps, a military is not able to mobilize nor sustain their current operations. Sun Tzu says “the line between disorder and order lies in logistics.” Navy supply is a large operation, consisting of over 26,000 personnel. Navy supply’s sole objective is to provide “One-Touch-Supply” in which a single request can activate a global network. With “One-Touch-Supply” navy supply “is responsible for quality of life issues for our naval forces, including food service, postal services, Navy Exchanges, and movement of household goods”(globalsecurity).
...played an excellent model of military ethics. Finally, I showed how my leadership decisions, although not combat related, bear some similarity in vision and ethics to Chesty’s standard, as set seven decades earlier. I can think of no better leader for today’s officers, both commissioned and noncommissioned, to emulate than the most decorated and idolized marine in history.
Abrashoff begins the book by informing the reader of how his story begins; when he is given command of the USS Benfold. The Benfold was the Navy’s most advanced guided missile destroyer the Navy had in 1997 and its command was to be one of the Navy’s top innovators. Unfortunately, Abrashoff points out some flaws with the Navy’s personnel management that I found to be shocking. First, was that “nearly 35 percent of the people who joined the military annually, wouldn’t complete their enlistment contracts.” (p.2) Such turnover can be understood by many business managers in the service industry, but unlike the quick and cheap training process for them, the cost for the military (taxpayers) is astounding. Abrashoff estimates that it cost roughly “$35,000 to recruit a trainee and tens of thousands more in additional training costs to get new personnel to the basic level of proficiency.” (p.2) Curbing this trend on his own ship and eventually helping to achieve a decrease overall in the mil...