Shasta (AE 33) - Naval Cruise Book

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The air attack began with Tomahawk cruise missiles slipping through Iraqi radar to hit high-priority targets. A radar- evading F-I 17A Stealth fighter dropped the first laser-guided bomb, a direct hit on a Baghdad tele- communications center. Allied aircraft worked in concert to bind Iraqi radar. F-4G Wild Weasels destroyed anti-air- missile sites. Iraq fired its first Scud missiles at Tel Aviv and Haifa. The allies stepped up attacks against Scud launchers, and the United States sent Israel Patriot missiles. '- .. - -. f - fw . 4 , .M-4 'U' - 4- am .+ A v . .- A me I I 0 i K as .9 .E if st I 'T -W use K I s t a sr sta: ,V -A Q 1 'Xl . M t X . ' ' Ai I fr'f 's' wif..-1 Nw-...-- I MINE WATCH SET INSIDE THE GULF 'rss ...tt X. ,-MW,q, . 411 NEVER ENDING VERTREPS FROM HELL! Allied planes continued to bomb supply routes to Republican Guard units and troops along the Iraq X Kuwait border. B-52s pummeled the Guard units with heavy bombing. Iraq set several oilfields ablaze in Kuwait and began pumping millions of gallons of crude oil into the gulf, creating the world's biggest spill, threatening coastal wildlife and desalination plants. Scud attacks on Israel and Saudi Arabia continued. Iraq paraded allied prisoners on international television. WAR WEEK BY WEEK 15

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f Y-YV-- THE WAR EEK BY WEEK lraq's Aug. 2, 1990, invasion of Kuwait marked the beginning of the largest military buildup since World War ll. Vast military cities sprung up in the desert, complete with hospitals, air- conditioned tents and computers. As George Bush pulled to- gether the allied coalition, diplomats shuttled back and forth to Baghdad to implore Saddam Hussein to back down. He stubbornly refused. One day after the U.N. deadline of Jan. 15, 1991, the allies launched their offensive. ---mn SHASTA'S voyage 5 began December 8 I with much concern and uncertainty as to the Gulf situation. The only thing that was sure is the tight schedule, the 72 hour upload in P.I., and the endless vertreps. Sleep was little, liberty was none, and mail calls were few and far between. Isolated at sea, news 1 from home became valuablejanuary 12, congress approves joint resolutions authorizing the use of force against Iraq. The USS RANGER QCV-615 carrier battle group arrives on station in the North Arabian SCH. LOADING IN THE PHILLIPINES ' 14 WAR WEEK BY WEEK

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1 S 51 I ALL HANDS BRIEF ON SHASTA'S MISSION After 47,000 allied air sorties, U.S. analysts puzzled over the cam- paign's results. CIA pessimists estimated the Republican Guard had been degraded by 5 percent. Pen- tagon analysts believed the Guard's effectiveness was down 25 percent. Either number was well below the 50 percent target. The battleship i WISCONSIN opened X c I Ere with its I6 meh 'N 'N- guns for the first time since the Korean War. The fierce bombardment prompted jordan's King Hussein to accuse the United States of trying to destroy Iraq. 16 SHASTA MAN'S HER GUN MOUNTS i troops: major roads and bridges were bombed out. Iraqi probing forces engaged allied troops in the first ground battles at Khafji and points to the west. After 36 hours of fighting, Saudi and Qatafi troops, with U.S. support, retook Khafji. In fighting near Wafra and Umm Hujul, ll Marines died-at least seven victims of friendly fire. Allies declared air supremacy, having destroyed lraq's air defensesg at least 89 Iraqi planes flew to Iran, where they stayed until the wars end. Allies also cutoff resupply routes to lraq's