Marine Communications in Desert Shield and Desert Storm: U.S. Marines in the Persian Gulf 1990-1991, Gulf War, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, CentCom, Air Control, Ground Campaign, Schwarzkopf

Professionally converted for accurate flowing-text e-book format reproduction, this excellent book by the U.S. Marine Corps is an account of the role of communications within the I Marine Expeditionary Force and the Marine Forces Afloat during the 1990-1991 Persian Gulf War. It is one of a series covering the operations of the I Marine Expeditionary Force; the 1st Marine Division; the 2d Marine Division; the 3d Marine Aircraft Wing; Marine Combat Service Support; Marine Forces Afloat; and Marines in Operation Provide Comfort.
Communications by its very nature is an elusive subject. The technology behind this specialty has changed rapidly in recent years, leaving the individual who comes into only occasional contact with it often perplexed and intimidated by its seeming complexity. This situation is made more difficult by the very nature of tactical communications, which cut across most of the other specialties in the Marine Corps. I is rarely a topic of separate study in military historical writing, except when its inadequacies are said to cause or to contribute to failures on the battlefield.

The author of this monograph, Major John T. Quinn II, USMC, served as a historical writer with the History and Museums Division from January 1994 to July 1996. A communications officer by military occupational specialty, he was struck by the lack of information about tactical communications during previous American military conflicts. He thus set out to capture the essence of the I MEF communications system during Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He intends for it to benefit those who seek a greater understanding of the effort required to support a corps-sized Marine Expeditionary Force at war.

Major Quinn joined the Marine Platoon Leaders Class program in 1981. He graduated from the University of Delaware in 1984 and was commissioned in the Marine Corps. He attended the Basic School and Communications Officer School at Quantico, Virginia. Reporting to the 2d Marine Division in April 1985, he served his first Fleet Marine Force tour as the communications officer for the 2d Light Armored Vehicle Battalion. His next tour was on board the USS Saipan (LHA-2), where he served as the officer-in-charge of the Marine Communication Detachment. Transferred to the 3d Marine Aircraft Wing (MAW) in November 1989, he served in a variety of billets with Marine Wing Communication Squadron 38 until May 1992.

During his tour at the 3d MAW, Major Quinn deployed to the Persian Gulf region from August 1990 to March 1991, where he participated in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. He subsequently earned a master's degree in national security affairs from the Naval Postgraduate School in Monterey, California. He joined the History and Museums Division in January 1994. Besides writing this monograph, Major Quinn served as the primary researcher for the planned single-volume history of Marines in the Gulf War, and he also deployed as a field historian during Operation Uphold Democracy in Haiti in the fall of 1994.

Unless otherwise noted, the material in this monograph is based upon the command chronologies of Marine units participating in Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm from July 1990 through June 1991. These chronologies are on file with the Archives Section, Marine Corps Historical Center, Washington Navy Yard, Washington, D.C. 20374. The other primary sources for this monograph are approximately two dozen taped oral history interviews conducted by the author with key Desert Storm participants between April 1994 and May 1995. These sources have been augmented by articles, after-action reports, and letters provided to the author by interested Marines. All are contained in the Desert Storm Communications folder on file at the Marine Corps Historical Center. Marine Communications in Desert Shield and Desert Storm is the work of one officer who participated in the conflict with the 3d MAW.