As seen from the cockpit of a Fighter Squadron 41 (VF-41) F-14A Tomcat aircraft, a Fighter Squadron 84 (VF-84) Tomcat, background, and another VF-41 Tomcat fly in formation at an aerial refueling meeting point during Operation Provide Comfort'Operation Haven' (the UK's name for the operation) was a UK-headed initiative, made at a time when the US was fundamentally uninterested in any further taking of action in the Persian Gulf region. The UK prime minister's lobbying of other European states resulted in NATO's support, leveraging the necessary US air support. Then as 's retributive activities intensified, US ground and logistic support was also achieved. This was a distinctly UK-headed operation though, with a proposed force of 6,000 personnel, spearheaded by the, with elements from the UK's army, the, and other coalition member states. It was deemed dramatically successful, even though it appeared to be risky given the climate of those times. Operation Haven literally “invaded” Iraq. The Coalition's main task was to enter northern Iraq, clear the designated area of any Iraqi threat and establish a safe environment for the Kurdish refugees to return to their homes.

Army Units Deployed in Operation Desert Shield/Storm. Germany 3rd Arm. Combat Aviation Brigade Frankfurt, Germany 3rd Infantry Divisions Wuerzburg Germany 7th Medical Command Heidelberg, Germany 11th Air Defense Artillery Brigade Fort Bliss, TX 43rd Air Defense Artillery Fort Bliss, TX 11th Combat Aviation Brigade Illesheim, Germany. Desert Storm showed that Air Force equipment and doctrine were up to the task. F-15 During Desert Shield, F-15s provided the defensive umbrella that permitted the deployment of air, land.

The mission was both a military one and humanitarian as once security had been established, the US would provide air support and specialist elements along with other Coalition members, supply and rebuilding of infrastructure would then be initiated. The ground mission within Iraq took 58 days to complete. Operation Provide Comfort (i.e. Haven) officially ended shortly after and the enforcement of the 'No Fly Zone' continued to ensure Kurdish security in the region.US participation and events The in northern resulted in an Iraqi military response towards the rebels in both northern and southern Iraq.

Fearing another genocide like what had happened during the 1988, millions of fled towards the Turkish and Iranian border.On 3 March, General warned the Iraqis that Coalition aircraft would shoot down Iraqi military aircraft flying over the country. On 20 March, a US shot down an Iraqi Air Force over northern Iraq. On 22 March, another F-15 destroyed a second Su-22 and the pilot of an Iraqi trainer bailed out after being approached by US fighters.On 5 April, the passed, calling on Iraq to end repression of its civilian population. On 6 April, Operation Provide Comfort began to bring humanitarian relief to the Kurds.

A was established by the US, the UK, and France north of the, as part of the. This was enforced by US, UK, and French aircraft. Included in this effort was the delivery of humanitarian relief of over an estimated 1 million Kurdish refugees by a 6-nation airlift operation commanded from Incirlik Air Base Turkey involving aircraft from the US, UK, France, Germany, Canada, and Italy. Russian aircraft participated in logistics aspect of the Operation. The airlift was commanded by Colonel Dave Wall, Wing Commander, Aviano Air Base, Italy. Intel and Planning Section Chief was Lt. Colonel Mike DeCapua who coordinated drop zone locations and unique aircraft loads.

During the 31-day airlift, more tonnage was delivered and more air miles flown than in the entire Berlin Airlift. C130 and other transport aircraft flew air drop missions under AWACS control with A-10s and F-16s providing air and ground fire support for the airlift aircraft.On several occasions A-10s neutralized Iraqi radar units in the Zaku area.Units of the, commanded by Colonel Lucious Delk, and a forward Headquarters Command Cell led by Captain Alan Mahan, and Sergeant Major Ed Deane, with units of the, the 284th Military Police Company and the 527th Military Police Company, provided security of the headquarters, Kurdish refugee camps, and convoy security.

The brigade was the last unit to leave the area at the conclusion of operations. Several members received the Soldier's Medal after calling in and assisting in the medical evacuation of a wounded Iraqi citizen from a minefield near the river not far from the MP headquarters camp.While Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm were run by the (CENTCOM), Operation Provide Comfort came under the authority of the (EUCOM), headquartered in, Germany. On-ground humanitarian aid was provided by the 353rd Civil Affairs Command, and by its subordinate units, 432nd Civil Affairs Battalion, and 431st Civil Affairs Battalion. These units were relocated to Turkey and Northern Iraq after completing missions in. They were soon joined by Lieutenant Colonel Ted Sahlin's 96th Civil Affairs Battalion (Airborne) from Fort Bragg, North Carolina, which had only returned to the US two weeks before after having been deployed to Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Kuwait for the past 10 months. The base camps that were established for Kurdish refugees were nicknamed Camp and Camp after college mascots.

Other camps were established in. The first troops to arrive were the 36th Civil Engineering Squadron from Bitburg Air Base Germany. Smaller 'detachment' camps were also built in and around and by these same members and were led by Captain Donald Gleason from Ramstein Air Force base and USAF Security Police personnel from. He led a team of fifteen that is now known as the first Air Force unit to enter Iraq.

Supplies for these camps were sourced from a variety of areas including units that were returning to the US, Coalition countries, European military stocks, and civilian contractors in the US. Many supplies had to be airdropped due to restrictions by the Turkish government for entering Iraq through their border.Also deployed to Zakho from their main-body deployment site in Rota, Spain, was, homeported in, Commanded by Commander Donald Hutchins. It provided humanitarian aid, water wells, and minor repairs to Sirsink air field. Like its Air Force counterparts, it was the first Naval Mobile Construction Battalion to enter Iraq prior to.

Commenced its 21st and final operational deployment on 30 May 1991. During this period it provided air power presence and airborne intelligence support (the airwing flew over 900 sorties over Iraq) to the Combined Joint Task Forces of Operation Provide Comfort and Operation Northern Watch enforcing the northern 'no-fly zone' in Iraq. It completed this deployment on 23 December 1991.Lieutenant General commanded the overall operation and later became. Task Force Bravo, the in-country multi-national element of the operation was commanded by, US Army, who was later appointed a Special Representative to Iraq under the.The first conventional units to cross into Iraq and enter Zakho were US Marines on April 20, 1991, when two companies of infantry were airlifted into Zakho, where around 300 regular Iraqi Army infantry and armored vehicles from the 66th Special Assault Brigade were still present posing as police.

The Marines had been preceded by 1st Battalion, 10th Special Forces Group (who were inserted into Iraq on 13 April 1991). The was commanded by Colonel. The MEU consisted of the 24th MEU command element, Battalion Landing team 2/8 (BLT 2/8) under Lt. Colonel Tony Corwin, Composite Helicopter Squadron 264 (HMM-264) Led by Lt. Colonel Joseph Byrtus, Jr. And MEU service support group 24 (MSSG-24) led by Lieutenant Colonel Richard Kohl, counting about 2,000 Marines. The Marine Expeditionary Unit had been under the command of Commodore Turner, commander, Mediterranean 1–91, aboard his flagship, but were transferred to Combine Task Force (CFT) Provide Comfort on 14 April and was 3 months into a 6-month routine Mediterranean deployment.

The 24th MEU would initially serve as the command to a regiment sized force consisting of all MEU elements, 697 Royal Marines from 45 Commando (22 April), commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Jonathan Thompson and 400 Marines from the Dutch 1st Amphibious Combat Group (1st ACG) commanded by Lieutenant Colonel Cees Van Egmond (arrived 23 April) for purposes of containing Zakho until the Iraqi forces would withdraw from the area. On 29 April, 3rd Commando Brigade took back command of 45 Commando, 29th Commando Regiment, Royal Artillery and the 1st ACG for expanded operations to the east. On 4 May, BLT 2/8 commenced operations to the south of Zakho along the route to Dohuk. The MEU then began to move back to Silopi, beginning with the BLT on June 15. 24th MEU left North Iraq on July 15 and embarked on 19 July for the United States, ending its 6-month deployment.The 24th MEU (SOC) along with Joint Task Force Bravo(Task Force Alpha was responsible for the Kurd camps in the mountains) grew in size in the days following April 20. Air controllers aboard an E-3 Sentry in 1995 during Operation Provide Comfort IIOperation Provide Comfort II began on 24 July 1991, the same day Provide Comfort ended.

This operation was primarily military in nature, and its mission was to prevent Iraqi aggression against the Kurds.Partly as a result of Western commitment to the Kurds, Iraqi troops were withdrawn from the Kurdish regions in October 1991 and these areas assumed de facto independence.On 5 April 1992, the bombed bases in northern Iraq belonging to the. Iraqi jets were scrambled to intercept the intruders while Coalition aircraft did not interfere.On 15 January 1993, Iraqi air defense sites opened fire on two USAF bombers. On 17 January, Iraqi fired on two F-16 jets, and a US F-4 Phantom destroyed an Iraqi radar which had been targeting French reconnaissance aircraft. Around a half-hour later, an American F-16 shot down an Iraqi which had crossed into the no-fly zone.

The next day, American F-16s bombed Bashiqah Airfield and F-4 Phantoms attacked Iraqi air defense sites. Over the next few days and months, more Iraqi sites fired on the American patrols, and several were attacked. That August, the USAF deployed the aircraft to Turkey, and on 18 August, these aircraft dropped four on an Iraqi site near.On 14 April 1994, two USAF F-15 Eagle fighters on patrol two US Army Black Hawk helicopters carrying 26 Coalition citizens, killing all aboard.On 9 December 1995, F-4 Phantom II aircraft of the finished their tour of duty with Combined Task Force Provide Comfort at. This was the last operational use of the F-4 Phantom by the USAF.In August 1996, Iraqi troops intervened in the Kurdish regions of Iraq, and the United States responded with against targets in southern Iraq. As a result, some incidents occurred in northern Iraq, and the United States launched an operation to evacuate certain pro-American Kurds from northern Iraq.The operation ended officially on 31 December 1996 at the request of the Government of Turkey who wanted to improve relations with and Iraq. It was followed by, which began on 1 January 1997 with the mission of enforcing the northern no-fly zone. France declined to participate in Operation Northern Watch.References.

1 March 2002. ^. Retrieved 10 October 2008. web url=. Archived from on 2016-03-03. Missing or empty title=. Humanitarian Operation in Northern Iraq 1991: With Marines in Operation Provide Comfort, Lt Colonel Ronald J Brown USMCR, 1995,.

Humanitarian Operation in Northern Iraq 1991: With Marines in Operation Provide Comfort, Lt Colonel Ronald J Brown USMCR, 1995. 14 July 1991. Retrieved 10 October 2008.

Retrieved 10 October 2008. Rudd, Gordon W. Archived from on 1 May 2008.

Retrieved 10 October 2008. Retrieved 2012-12-23.

September 29, 2010, at theFurther reading. Rudd, Gordon W. Washington, D.C.:.