Operation Desert Thunder
Order of Battle
As of Tuesday 17 November 1998

This is a reasonably accurate order-of-battle of forces currently deployed in CENTCOM's part of Southwest Asia [that is, excluding Turkey]. It reflects deployments that did and did not take place over the weekend. The decision to halt the buildup left aircraft scattered between CONUS, Southwest Asia, and locations in Europe. The deployment also encountered coordination problems, and some mechanical failures with certain aircraft. Although deployment locations have not been announced, we assume that the current disposition of forces closely mirrors that of the deployment earlier this year.

There are currently over 24,000 military personnel in the area, including 2,600 soldiers, 14,300 sailors and Marines, and joint headquarters and other joint units comprised of 1,000 people. The Air Force total, which was some 5,600 last week, may have increased by as many as 1,000 reflecting deployments within the past few days. Forces in the region include land and carrier-based aircraft, surface warships, a Marine expeditionary unit, a Patriot missile battalion, a mechanized battalion task force, and a mix of special operations forces deployed in support of US Central Command operations. To enhance force protection throughout the region, additional military security personnel are also deployed. Currently, there appear to be slighly over 250 aircraft in the area, which total includes air to air, air to ground, dual role, support, and attack helicopters. The cruise missile force is twice the pre-October 1997 level and can be augmented significantly within days.