From: bergman@afnews.af.mil (CMSgt Mike Bergman)
Newsgroups: sci.military
Subject: DOD Successes, Failures in DESERT STORM
Date: 17 Apr 92 00:55:17 GMT
Organization: Hq Air Force News Agency/SCC


From CMSgt Mike Bergman <bergman@afnews.af.mil>


DoD Assesses Successes,
Failures of Desert
Storm Operations

By F. Peter Wigginton
American Forces Information Service


     Leadership, high-technology weapons, quality troops, sound
planning and a long lead time contributed to U.S. and coalition
forces' triumph.  That is the bottom-line assessment of the
Pentagon's final report to Congress on the conduct of the Persian
Gulf war.
     The three-volume study chronicles the development and
strategic, operational and tactical responses to the threat.  It
covers logistics, intelligence, deployment, the law of armed
conflict and mobilization.
     The report admits not everything went well for the allies.
     For example, in the report's overview, Defense Secretary Dick
Cheney said the United States needed more ships of particular
types.  There were not enough heavy equipment transporters nor
off-road mobility for logistics support vehicles.  Sophisticated
equipment was maintained only with extra care in the harsh desert
environment.  Land and sea mine clearance, especially shallow water
mines, was faulty.
     Cheney said Global Positioning System receivers were rushed to
the field and improvised to provide identification devices for
ground combat vehicles.  Yet, more navigation and identification
capabilities were needed.  Iraqi forces' morale and plans were not
deciphered.  Field commanders needed more tactical reconnaissance
and imagery.  Battle damage assessment and communications
interoperability were problems.
     Tactical ballistic missile defense worked imperfectly, he
added.  Mobile missile targeting and destruction were difficult and
expensive.  U.S. forces were not equipped for defense against
biological warfare, and coalition forces tragically suffered losses
to fire from friendly forces.
     Nevertheless, Cheney noted the coalition was victorious
against the world's fourth largest army, one that was
battle-hardened and had the benefit of world-class combat
engineers.  Its well-equipped forces had high-quality artillery,
frontline T-72 tanks and modern MiG-29 and Mirage F-1 aircraft.  It
also possessed ballistic missiles, a large and sophisticated
ground-based air defense system, biological agents and chemical
weapons.
     According to Cheney, the coalition dominated every aspect of
the war.
     The seas belonged to the coalition from the start, he said.
Naval units, which were first on the scene, along with deployed air
assets, contributed significantly in the early days to the defense
of Saudi Arabia.  Coalition naval units enforced United Nations
economic sanctions against Iraq.  Marine Corps maritime
pre-positioning forces provided added ground deterrents.
     The coalition controlled the skies virtually from the
beginning of the air war, said the secretary.  This freed ground
and naval units from air attack and prevented the Iraqis from using
aerial reconnaissance.  Tactical aircraft were on the ground, and
the 82nd Airborne Division's Ready Brigade was airlifted to the
theater within hours of deployment orders.
     Coalition planes destroyed 41 Iraqi aircraft and helicopters
in air-to-air combat without suffering a confirmed loss, Cheney
said.  Air power crippled Iraqi command and control and known
unconventional weapons production.  It degraded Iraqi forces combat
effectiveness.  It paved the way for the final land assault that
swept Iraqi forces from the field in only 100 hours.  In the course
of flying more than 100,000 sorties, the coalition lost only 38
fixed-wing aircraft, he said.
     In one of combat history's fastest movements, coalition
armored forces traveled more than 250 miles in 100 hours and
left-hooked Iraq's elite Republican Guards.  U.S. Central Command
estimated Iraq lost roughly 3,800 tanks to coalition air and ground
attack compared to 15 U.S. combat tank losses.
     Cheney said assessing what did and what did not work will help
project military capability needs for as many as the next 30 years.
     However, statisticians must not overlook the unique factors of
this war, he cautioned.  For example, the allies benefited greatly
from the long interval to deploy and prepare forces.  The strong
international coalition was politically and militarily vital.  The
desert environment was ideally suited to armor and air power and
largely free of noncombatants.
     Also, Operation Desert Storm occurred while U.S. Cold War
forces were still strong, the secretary continued.  A worldwide
system of bases developed during the Cold War greatly aided
deployments and operations.
     For example, said Cheney, a large percentage of
U.S.-to-theater flights airlifted cargo through Rhein-Main in
Germany and Torrejon in Spain.  Without these large, well-equipped
bases, the airlift would have been much more difficult to support.
U.S. forces operating from Turkey used NATO-developed bases.  In
addition, bases in England and elsewhere supported B-52 operations
that would otherwise have required greater flying distances.
     Cheney cautioned that much of U.S. military capability was not
fully tested in the war.  There was no submarine threat.  Ships did
not face significant anti-surface action.  Forces sent from Europe
or the United States were not attacked on their way to the region.
There was no effective attack by aircraft on troops or port and
support facilities.  Though there were concerns, Iraq never used
chemical weapons or biological agents.
     American amphibious capabilities, too, though used effectively
for deception and small-scale operations, were not tested on a
large scale under fire.  Ground forces did not have to fight long.
Enemy missiles were inaccurate.  There was no interference to U.S.
space-based systems.
     Among the many lessons, Cheney listed five, which he said
stand out.
     The first was leadership.  He said the decisive, unflinching
role of President George Bush and the contributing "strength and
wisdom" of other international leaders were crucial.  Bush "set
clear goals, gave others confidence in America's sense of purpose,
and rallied the domestic and international support necessary to
reach those goals."
     Second, the war demonstrated high-technology systems vastly
increased force effectiveness.  "Battlefield combat systems, like
the M-1A1 tank, AV-8B jet and the Apache helicopter, and critical
subsystems, like advanced fire control, the Global Positioning
System, and thermal and night vision devices, gave the ground
forces unprecedented maneuverability and reach," Cheney said.
"JSTARS (Joint Surveillance and Target Attack Radar System) offered
a glimpse of new possibilities for battlefield intelligence.  Our
forces often found, targeted and destroyed the enemy's before the
enemy could return fire effectively."
     He also said information microprocessing and still-emerging
technologies promise to change warfare as much as did the advent of
tanks, airplanes and aircraft carriers.
     Third, Cheney noted that warriors win wars and that smart
weapons require smart people and sound doctrine to maximize their
effectiveness.  He praised "the highest quality fighting force the
United States has ever fielded."  From the chairman of the Joint
Chiefs on down, he lauded the "can do" spirit of active and reserve
component forces.
     The fourth lesson is that U.S. response was greatly aided
because the department earlier had shifted its military planning
focus to countering regional threats.  As a result, when the
coalition deployed forces, U.S. Central Command had a head start,
said Cheney.
     "The Persian Gulf War teaches us that our current planning
should pay explicit attention to the kinds of relationships which
might support future coalition efforts," he continued.  "Building
the basis for future cooperation should be an explicit goal of many
of our international programs, including training, weapons sales,
combined exercises and other contacts."
     Finally, it takes decades to develop systems and the
capability of people, said Cheney.  For example, he noted that
cruise missiles and F-117 stealth fighter bombers were products of
earlier development.  A general and senior noncommissioned officer
also take years of training before they can lead and perform,
Cheney said.
     America can be proud of its role in the Persian Gulf war,
concluded Cheney.  Along with the lessons learned and problems, "we
can be proud of our conviction and international leadership.  We
can be proud of one of the most remarkable deployments in history.
We can be proud of our partnership in arms with many nations.  We
can be proud of our technology and the wisdom of our leaders at all
levels.
     "But most of all, we can be proud of those dedicated young
Americans -- soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines -- who showed
their skill, their commitment to what we stand for, and their
bravery in the way they fought this war."

-- 
         
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