HQ$History - United States Special Operations Command

joint training with NSWTG small boats and took
part in a CSAR exercise with USS Nicholas.
During DESERT STORM, the Sawahil provided
an operational platform for coalition forces,
including NSWTG Special Boat Unit detachments,
Kuwaiti patrol boats, and SEALs.
Coalition warfare training continued until
the eve of the ground war. The Arab forces in
the east and north faced formidable military
obstacles along their projected areas of advance,
including multiple Iraqi minefields, “fire trenches,”
and above-ground pipelines. An SF team
worked with a Saudi engineer battalion to plan
for clearing invasion lanes through two Iraqi
minefields and over an above-ground pipeline
inside Kuwait. On 22 February, the Saudi engineers
and U.S. Special Forces easily cleared six
lanes because the Iraqis, battered for over a
month by allied air power, failed to cover the
minefields with artillery fire. In the north, other
SF teams worked with the Saudis and the
Egyptians to create breaches in the minefields
for the passage of their forces. On 25 February,
the Egyptians drove into Kuwait against sporadic
resistance. The Egyptian corps that the
5th SFG (A) teams supported served as the
hinge for CENTCOM’s huge turning movement.
By the night of 26 February, the Egyptians and
their SF advisors had reached their objectives
near Kuwait City.
The 28 February cease fire marked the end of
most SOCCENT coalition warfare activities. It
had been a huge effort, requiring an entire
Special Forces Group, SEALs, Special Boat
Units, and support elements. SF teams accompanied
109 allied units, from battalion to corps,
providing CAS and liaison between forces. SOF
eventually trained about 30,000 coalition troops
in 44 subject areas.
Kuwaiti Reconstitution and
Unconventional Warfare
American Special Forces units helped to
reconstitute a number of Kuwaiti military
forces, both conventional and unconventional.
As a result of meetings between the SOCCENT
commander, Colonel Jesse Johnson, and the
Kuwaiti Armed Forces Chief of Staff, soldiers
from the 5th SFG (A) began training Kuwaiti
soldiers in mid-September at KKMC. The initial
mission was to form a Kuwaiti SF battalion and
a commando brigade, but the training went so
well that the mission grew to include four additional
Kuwaiti infantry brigades. Eventually,
SOF units trained a total of 6,357 Kuwaitis, who
formed an SF battalion, a commando brigade,
and the Al-Khulud, Al-Haq, Fatah, and Badr
infantry brigades. The instruction included
weapons training, tactics, staff procedures, CAS,
anti-armor operations, and nuclear, chemical
and biological defense.
Colonel Johnson also formed a Special
Planning Group to conduct specialized unconventional
warfare training for selected members
of the Kuwaiti military. About a month
before the start of the Air War, 17 Kuwaiti military
personnel underwent a rigorous fiveweek
training course, but when DESERT
STORM’s air attack began on 16 January
1991, the Iraqis closed the border, limiting
infiltration options. Out of necessity, training
then concentrated on infiltration methods.
From 14-20 February 1991, SEALs trained
13 Kuwaitis for a maritime infiltration onto a
beach area south of Kuwait City. They conducted
a dress rehearsal on 21 February 1991 and
attempted infiltrating five Kuwaitis on the next
day. SEAL swimmer scouts first reconnoitered
the shoreline and then escorted the Kuwaitis to
the pier. Unable to link up with the friendly
forces, the Kuwaitis signaled for extraction and
were picked up about 500 meters from the
beach. The mission was aborted, and the SEALs
and Kuwaitis returned safely. Post-war examination
of the beach revealed undetected beach
obstacles and heavier Iraqi troop dispositions
than anticipated.
Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR)
During DESERT SHIELD, SOCCENT established
procedures for CSAR, a mission that planners
expected would be of critical importance,
given the projected losses of coalition aircraft.
Before it would launch a CSAR mission, SOC-
CENT required a visual parachute sighting and
a voice transmission from the downed pilot, as
well as enemy threat analysis. SOCCENT conducted
full scale CSAR exercises before the Air
War started. To support the CSAR mission,
SOCCENT established forward operating bases
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