Naval History and Heritage Command
Desert Shield/Desert Storm
An F-14 Tomcat flies under a canopy of smoke from 600 burning oil wells on Liberation Day in Kuwait. Painting, acrylic on board; by Chip Beck; 1991; framed dimensions 29H X 35W. Catalog#: 91-159-AB.
When the Iraqi army invaded Kuwait on 2 August 1990, the United States deployed a major joint force as part of a multination coalition to stop President Saddam Hussein’s brutal aggression. The U.S. Navy provided sea control and maritime superiority, which paved the way for the introduction of U.S. and allied air and ground forces.
At the time of the invasion, the Navy was already on station in the region. The ships of Joint Task Force Middle East were immediately placed on alert. Battle groups led by USS Independence (CV-62) and USS Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) sped from the Indian Ocean and eastern Mediterranean to take up positions in the Gulf of Oman and Red Sea, at the ready to commence sustained combat operations.
When President George H.W. Bush ordered the deployment of troops and equipment to defend Saudi Arabia, more than 240 ships carrying about 18.3 million pounds of equipment and supplies was facilitated. United Nations trade sanctions were immediately imposed against Iraq to sever the country’s economy. When U.S. Marines began arriving in Saudi Arabia, their supplies and equipment were in close proximity due to low-key military ties with friendly Arab states. More than 21,000 naval reservists were called to active duty in support of Desert Shield/Desert Storm.
Hussein's repeated rejection to abandon the invasion and leave Kuwait led to the commencement of combat operations on 18 January 1991. The subsequent bombardment by air assets and the effects of the economic embargo decimated Iraq's military infrastructure and morale, degraded communications and supplies, and devastated weapons arsenals. During the beginnings of the war, Navy ships launched salvos of Tomahawk cruise missiles against military targets in Iraq to “soften” the battlefield for ground troops.
After the 38-day air campaign, ground troops began sweeping through Kuwait in blitzkrieg fashion. In a mere 100 hours, the Iraqi army was crushed. Iraqi soldiers surrendered by the thousands. Kuwait was free again.
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Notable People
- President George H.W. Bush
- Secretary of the Navy H. Lawrence Garrett
- Admiral Frank B. Kelso
- Captain Michael Speicher
- Captain Rosemary Mariner
Notable Naval Vessels
- Independence (CV-62)
- Saratoga (CV-60)
- San Jacinto (CG-56)
- Bunker Hill (CG-52)
- Nicholas (FFG-47)
- Missouri (BB-63)
- John F. Kennedy (CVA-67)
- Louisville (SSN-724)
- Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71)
- Samuel B. Roberts (FFG-58)
- Comfort (T-AH-20)
- Mercy (T-AH-19)
- Pittsburgh (SSN-720)
- Wisconsin (BB-64)
Additional Reading
- The United States Navy in Desert Shield/Desert Storm
- Desert Shield and Desert Storm Articles
- 25 Years Later, Desert Storm Vet Recalls First Coordinated Combat Tomahawk Strike
- Partnerships Born from Operation Desert Storm Remain Vital to Middle East Security
- Surface Force in Desert Storm: USS Nicholas Leads a Distributed, Lethal Attack on Enemy Troops
- Storm Season: War Clouds Form Over the Sands of Mina al-Ahmadi
- Where are the Shooters? A History of the Tomahawk in Combat
- Partnerships Matter Now and Mattered in 1991 during Operation Desert Shield
- NHHC Director Sam Cox's personal recollections on Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm
- H-Gram 052-2 Operation Desert Shield: Part 1, August 1990
- H-Gram 053-3: Operation Desert Shield: Part 2, September 1990
- H-Gram 054-2: Operation Desert Shield: Part Three, October 1990
- H-Gram 055-2: Operation Desert Shield: Part Four, November 1990
- H-Gram 056-2: Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm: Part 5: December 1990
Navy Art Online Exhibit
Related Operations
- Operation Southern Watch (591 KB pdf download)
- Operation Desert Fox
Additional Resources
- Center for Military History: Operation Desert Shield
- Seabee History: Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm
- Women in the U.S. Military During Desert Shield/Desert Storm
- Operation Desert Shield/Storm Costs and Funding Requirements (1.16 MB pdf download)
- Military Resources: Gulf War/Desert Storm (NARA link)
- Research Aids: Desert Shield/Desert Storm
- Records of the Naval History Documentation Team Relating to Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, 1990–1991
- Southwest Asia Service 1991–1995
- Short Guide to Iraq
- U.S. Periods of War and Dates of Recent Conflicts
- Needs and Opportunities in the Modern History of the U.S. Navy
- Anchor of Resolve: A History of U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/Fifth Fleet
- United States Navy and the Persian Gulf
- Cost of Major U.S. Wars
- Records Relating to Hospital Ships and USNS Comfort during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, 1906–1991
- Desert Shield and Desert Storm Articles
- Naval Aviation: 1990–1999
Selected Imagery
AV-88 Harrier aircraft line the flight deck of a U.S. Navy ship during Operation Desert Shield, 1 September 1990. (National Archives identifier: 6466513)
USS Suribachi (AE-21) transiting the Suez Canal, enroute to the Persian Gulf to support Operation Desert Shield, 8 August 1990. Photographed by PH3 Frank A. Marquart. Note ferry crossing, with waiting vehicles, in the center background. (NH 97249-KN)
A photograph snapped through USS Pittsburgh’s periscope captures the moment she fires a TLAM against the Iraqi forces, 19 January 1991. (Unattributed Department of Defense Photograph DN-SN-91-08885, Record Group 330 Records of the Office of the Secretary of Defense, 1921–2008, National Archives and Records Administration, College Park, MD)
USS Wisconsin (BB-64) firing a broadside to port with her 16/50 and 5/38 guns, circa 1988-91. Official U.S. Navy photograph, from the collections of the Naval History and Heritage Command. (Catalog #: NH 97207-KN)
A CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter lands at an airfield in the aftermath of Operation Desert Storm at Hurghada, Egypt, 1 April 1991. National Archives Identifier: 6469920.
The hospital ship USNS Mercy (T-AH-19) is docked in port at Bahrain during Operation Desert Storm, 1 February 1991. (National Archives Identifier: 6477713)
The battleship USS Missouri (BB-63) lies at anchor in a Persian Gulf region port during Operation Desert Storm. (National Archives Identifier: 6468114)
Two Navy corpsmen treat a Marine gunnery sergeant suffering from the effects of smoke produced by the burning Kuwaiti oil fields during Operation Desert Storm, 1 February 1991. (National Archives identifier: 6469995)
Secretary of the Navy H. Lawrence Garrett sports a Seabees cap as he visits a construction battalion camp during Operation Desert Shield in Saudi Arabia, 1 January 1991. (Nationals Archives identifier: 6464561)
A BGM-109 Tomahawk land attack missile (TLAM) is fired toward an Iraqi target from the battleship USS Missouri (BB-63) at the start of Operation Desert Storm. Department of Defense. (DN-SN-91-09313)
Two F/A-18C Hornet aircraft of Strike Fighter Squadron 74 fly above the Forrestal-class aircraft carrier Saratoga (CV-60) making a hard turn to starboard during Desert Shield, 4 November 1990. (U.S. Navy photo, 91-159-H)
The national ensign flies from the stern of a U.S. Navy ship at anchor in the Persian Gulf region during Operation Desert Storm, 1 February 1991. (National Archives identifier: 6468113)
Copy negative of a U.S. Navy F-14A Tomcat, Fighter Squadron 211 (VF-211), Naval Air Station Oceana, Virginia Beach, Virginia, in flight over burning Kuwaiti oil wells during Operation Desert Storm, 1 February 1991. (National Archives Identifier: 6640258)
A U.S. Navy commander stands near an Iraqi T-55 main battle tank that was destroyed during Operation Desert Storm. The tank is lying in the desert outside of Kuwait City, 1 February 1991. (National Archives identifier: 6465076)
A Helicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 15 (HM-15) MH-53E Sea Dragon helicopter departs the flight deck of the hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH-20), in the Persian Gulf region during Operation Desert Storm. (National Archives Identifier: 6468114)
U.S. Navy personnel marching in the National Victory Celebration parade honoring the coalition forces from Desert Storm, Washington, D.C., 8 June 1991. (Nationals Archives identifier: 6481443)
