MoD Information

UK and US forces gather

Tue, January 21, 2003

Source: Ananova

UK announces it is beefing up its military presence in the Gulf ahead of a possible Iraq war with around 30,000 personnel being readied for action.

UK and US forces gather within reach of Iraq

The following UK and US forces are in or near the Middle East and could be used in any attack on Iraq.

BRITISH FORCES

Britain's flagship aircraft carrier Ark Royal left for the Gulf on January 16 at the head of the largest British amphibious task force deployed since the 1982 Falklands War. It will lead a 16-ship flotilla, officially to take part in naval exercises.

British officials say they have dramatically upgraded the force beyond its original mission in case it is needed in Iraq, adding two battalions of elite Royal Marine commandos capable of deployment by helicopter.

In all, 5,000 sailors and 3,000 Marines will sail first to the Mediterranean and then on through the Suez Canal. They are due to visit ports in the Gulf in April but could deploy there earlier if necessary.

A helicopter carrier, HMS Ocean left to join the task force also on January 16.

Britain announced on January 20 that 26,000 personnel were being readied for action. The force would include the 1st (UK) Armoured Division, the "Desert Rats" 7th Armoured Brigade and 16 Airportable Brigade. Some 120 Challenger battle tanks will be mobilised.

In addition Britain is already deploying 3 Commando Brigade with around 4,000 personnel including their supporting elements.

US NAVY

The US navy has signalled it is preparing to move at least two additional aircraft carrier battle groups with 150 planes and dozens of ship-launched cruise missiles to the Gulf area.

The hospital ship Comfort sailed last week for the Gulf.

The carrier Abraham Lincoln has been ordered to remain at sea instead of returning to the United States from a recently completed six-month tour near Iraq.

The carrier Constellation is now on patrol in the Gulf and the Harry S. Truman is on station in the Mediterranean.

The George Washington, which returned to Virginia from the Gulf in December, is likely to return to the region with either the Abraham Lincoln or Kitty Hawk, which is based in Japan.

Carriers typically deploy about 75 planes. Each warship is shepherded by a half-dozen or so cruisers, destroyers and submarines with long-range Tomahawk cruise missiles.

On January 17 the amphibious assault ships USS Boxer and USS Bonhomme Richard were joined by the amphibious transport docks USS Cleveland and USS Dubuque, and the dock landing ships USS Anchorage, USS Comstock and USS Pearl Harbor.

The seven ships leaving San Diego carried about 5,000 Marines from Camp Pendleton in California and 5,000 sailors,

US TROOPS

The US signed orders on January 11 to deploy more troops to the Gulf. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld signed the orders which include thousands of Marines, an army airborne infantry brigade, a squadron of air force F-117 Nighthawk stealth fighters and two squadrons of F-16CJ radar-jamming fighters.

The orders took the total number of troops mobilised since January 10 to about 62,000.

The orders included plans to send 7,000 marines from Camp Lejeune, North Carolina and another 7,000 from Camp Pendleton, California. The U.S. has already begun sending 12,000 armoured and infantry troops from the state of Georgia and engineers, military police and intelligence specialists from Germany. It plans to more than double the 60,000 troops now in the Gulf.

Another 10,000 National Guard and Reserve soldiers have been put on alert for rapid mobilisation.

At least 17 U.S. Navy and chartered ships loaded with armour and other supplies for the U.S. army and Marine Corps are anchored at the Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia.

Six vessels contain equipment and supplies to support 17,300 Marines for 30 days, according to the navy.

CENTRAL COMMAND

Army General Tommy Franks, head of the Florida-based Central Command, presided over a computer war game in Qatar in December.

A mobile "CentCom" command post shipped to Al Udeid air base near Doha in Qatar, which was staffed by over 1,000 U.S. communications troops and several hundred British counterparts, is to remain in Qatar and is likely to be the command and control centre in the event of any attack on Iraq.

AIR BASES

The air force has begun sending B-1B bombers from Ellsworth, South Dakota, and will send both F-15C fighters and F-15E attack jets along with Predator unmanned spyplanes and radar aircraft.

Turkey is expected to give reluctant support to the US, allowing its air bases to be used by US and British jets. These would join 200 other US F-15, F-16 and A-10 strike jets and F-117 "stealth" fighters that would be based in Gulf states.

The United States has bases in Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Djibouti and Saudi Arabia, although it remains unclear if the Saudis would allow the full use of those on its soil.

The US air force has built facilities for radar-evading B-2 stealth bombers on Diego Garcia. The island, 3,340 miles (5,340 km) from Baghdad, is also home to a fleet of Vietnam War-era B-52 heavy bombers, upgraded to drop satellite- and laser-guided "smart" bombs.