Mobilization, Movement, and Major War: Lessons from Desert Shield for Today’s Total Army
Stewart W. Bentley | 04.24.25
Mobilization, Movement, and Major War: Lessons from Desert Shield for Today’s Total Army
At 8:50 pm on August 6, 1990, the Joint Chiefs of Staff issued a deployment order. It was the first formal move in what would three days later be officially named Operation Desert Shield. The United States Army’s mobilization and deployment of the equivalent of three corps-sized units for the operation was a phenomenal logistical achievement. Like its sister services, the Army overcame significant planning and operational challenges move manpower, weapons, vehicles, and the other materiel necessary to respond to Iraq’s invasion and annexation of Kuwait. Despite the passage of twenty-five years, the scope of the Desert Shield deployment offers lessons for today’s Army in the event of large-scale combat operations across its components—COMPO 1 (active Army), COMPO 2 (Army National Guard) and COMPO 3 (Army Reserve).
The Desert Storm Buildup
Due to the nature of the immediate threat of an Iraqi assault into Saudi Arabia following the occupation of Kuwait, the 82nd Airborne Division’s ready brigade was the first Army unit to land in country and was on the ground within thirty-one hours of alert (which included flight time). The brigade’s immediate mission was to secure airfields outside of Dammam for follow-on ground and US Air Force units. Simultaneously, Air Force aircraft were flying into theater and would have been vulnerable on the ground if an Iraqi air or missile attack had occurred. This necessitated the deployment of the 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade with its Patriot batteries. The following graphic depicts the deployment timeframe for XVIII Airborne Corps units.
As this graphic illustrates, the majority of deploying soldiers were airlifted into theater via either military or commercial airlift. Unit equipment was primarily shipped via sealift. Of note, the 1st Cavalry Division and the 3d Armored Cavalry Regiment initially moved their equipment via rail from their home station at Fort Cavazos (then Fort Hood), Texas to ports for sealift movement, followed by the movement of the units’ soldiers via airlift.
https://mwi.westpoint.edu/mobilization-movement-and-major-war-lessons-from-desert-shield-for-todays-total-army/
