The Journey of Flight.pdf - Valkyrie Cadet

were going to attack the targets at the same time (in parallel), and keep the pressure on so they couldn’t
be repaired.
In addition, this plan was going to be a total effort by all. In Vietnam and Korea, the air campaign
was divided up. The Navy would work one area and the Air Force worked in another. This time everyone
was going to work as an integrated part of the team. The grand plan was called an Air Tasking Order
(ATO), and every day a new ATO was issued to all nine of the different air forces in the UN coalition.
This was a grand idea because it enhanced the effort of the entire coalition. The lessons learned
during the World War II North African air campaign did not go unnoticed. Air Forces work better when
there is one person directing the effort. This allows one person to mass and concentrate the air force
effort where it is needed the most. It cuts down on wasted or duplicate effort, and it allows for all the
different units to work off of each other’s strengths.
The final coalition air campaign plan called for four phases: (1) target Iraq’s command and control
sites, air bases, SCUD missiles sites (surface-to-surface missiles), Iraq’s nuclear biological and chemical
facilities, and Iraq’s war making industry, (2) target enemy air defenses to ensure unhindered flying
over Kuwait, (3) cut supply lines and target the enemy’s main troops in Kuwait, and (4) close air
support of friendly troops as they conduct the ground campaign.
The main idea for this plan came from
a Prussian 19th Century war theorist
named Carl von Clausewitz. In describing
Napolionic-type warfare, Clausewitz
noted that the best target was the “center
of the enemy’s gravity.” Simply stated,
this meant the point upon which all
depends. This simple observation was
used by Desert Storm’s air campaign
planners to select targets. Since the
enemy’s fielded forces were just an
extension of the enemy’ leadership, they
shouldn’t necessarily be targeted first. A
better target would be the leader’s
communication capability. This way if the
The FB-111A is a potent weapon system. Because of its unusual
shape, it has been named the Aardvark!
leader was cut off from his troops, the troops would no longer know what to do.
This was especially so in Iraq because Iraq’s leader, Saddam Hussein, was a dictator who ran
everything in the country. If Saddam Hussein’s command and control lines could be severed, he would
lose effective control over his troops. General Colin Powell, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff,
described the concept during a news conference like this, “Our plan is to cut off the head of the snake.
Once it is gone, the body will die.”
Operation Operation Operation Operation Operation Desert Desert Desert Desert Desert Storm Storm Storm Storm Storm
After several attempts were made to allow Iraq to leave Kuwait, and after the January 15th UN
deadline for Iraq to leave Kuwait had passed, the war started. Early on the morning of January 17,
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