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US Forces Order of Battle - 04 November

This is a "best available" order-of-battle of forces deployed in CENTCOM's part of Southwest Asia, as well as EUCOM forces in Turkey participating in Operation Northern Watch. Over time, the amount of publicly available information concerning aircraft types and specific units has diminished to the point that it is no longer possible to provide a high fidelity profile of current deployments. There are evidently significant gaps in unit identifications, as well as non-trivial uncertainties as to numbers of specific types of aircraft. The presence of significant numbers of civilian contractor personnel at various facilities in the region further complicates accounting for total personnel numbers.

Excluding forces deployed in direct support of Operation Enduring Freedom, there are probably about 48,000 military personnel in the CENTCOM area of responsibility, including about 400 aircraft of all types. The number of troops deployed in the area fluctuates on a daily basis, and has averaged between 20,000 and 25,000 in recent years, with typically about 200 aircraft in the region. Forces in the region include 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.

Ground forces include a variety of units that are normally deployed in the region, which total about 3,700 troops. Forces in the region include a Patriot missile task force with two batteries deployed in Saudi Arabia and two in Kuwait. The Army Intrinsic Action / Desert Spring training exercises routinely deploy 1,500 to 5,000 troops for rotations of several months. As of late-September 2002 a brigade rotation was in progress having just begun, ultimately this will involve as many as 10,000 soldiers in Kuwait. In addition to the 3,700 soldiers normally in the region, this troop rotation, once completed, could bring the total Army presence to nearly 14,000 soldiers. However it is possible that the 3rd Brigade, 3rd Infantry Division will return to the United States. As of late-October there were roughly 10,000 soldiers based in the region, with some 6,000 in Kuwait. On 24 September 2002 it was reported that the 82nd Airborne Division had been notified to be prepared to deploy to the Gulf within two weeks.

The EUCOM Area of Responsibility includes approximately 1,700 Air Force personnel at Incrilik AB Turkey, flying Operation Northern Watch patrols. Prior to Operation Enduring Freedom, approximately 6,200 Air Force personnel were normally stationed in the CENTCOM Area of Responsibility. As many as 17,500 Air Force personnel may be currently stationed in the CENTCOM and EUCOM areas responsible for operations against Iraq, operating a total of about 280 aircraft of all types.

Naval units include a headquarters and shore-based units comprised of about 1,200 people at Manama in Bahrain. Nearly a thousand civilian mariners are associated with Military Sealift Command ships at Diego Garcia. During the 1990s overal Naval force personnel levels in the CENTCOM AOR typically varied between 8,000 and 15,000. Each Carrier Battlegroup, with its associated Carrier Air Wing, has approximately 11,000 sailors embarked. Each Amphibious Group has about 1,700 sailors, 1,500 Marines, and 700 Marine aviators embarked. As of late-September 2002 there was one carrier battle group in the area, and one amphibious group, for a total of slightly less than 20,000 naval personnel. These units included about 128 helicopters and fixed wing aircraft. A total of about 400 Vertical Launch System cells are available for Tomahawk cruise missiles, which is roughly twice the average number typically deployed in recent years. Based on estimates of prior deployments, perhaps as many as 150 Tomahawks are actually deployed. The cruise missile force can be augmented significantly within days.

Currently, there are about 370 combatant and direct support aircraft in the Iraq [CENTCOM and EUCOM] Area of Responsibility, which total includes air to air, air to ground, dual role, direct support, and attack helicopters.

Recent Developments

On October 30, Colonel Doug Raaberg, the commander of the 509th Bomb Wing, a B-2 Spirit wing, announced that the wing would be forward deployed to Diego Garcia. The announcement came as the unit is conducting training exercises at Fairford in England to prepare for the B-2's first ever basing at a non-CONUS location. This announcement comes more then a month after the United States asked the United Kingdom for permission to build special shelters that would house the aircraft. Raaberg acknowledged that 5 shelters were under construction. It takes roughly 30 days to build these shelters and though the government is not discussing how the construction is progressing, if the United States recieved UK approval for the plan shortly after the request became public, on Sept 16, it is possible that one or more of the shelters has been completed and the construction of all 4 may be finished by mid-November.

Additionally, a report from CNN on October 29, later confirmed by the Department of Defense, indicates that the 2nd Marine Division, based at Camp Lejeune, NC, has been ordered to an undisclosed facility in Djibouti. While it is unclear exactly how many Marines from 2 MARDIV will be deploying, a Marine Division is comprised of some 16,000 Marines. When the unit will deploy is also unclear.

Relatedly, General Tommy Franks, commander of the U-S military's Central Command, disclosed during a briefing on October 29, that one of the Navy's Command Ships may be headed to the region shortly to provide an afloat command-and-control capability. The Navy has declined to announce which ship may be moved to the region.

The USS Constellation and her Battle Group are scheduled to deploy on Saturday, November 2, for a Western Pacific deployment. The Constellation is deploying with Carrier Air Wing 2, CG 50 Valley Forge, CG 52 Bunker Hill, DDG 69 Milius, DDG 76 Higgins, DD 965 Kinkaid, FFG 43 Thach, SSN 771 Columbia, and AOE-7 Rainer. Her time of arrival in the North Arabian Sea depends on whether or not she heads directly for the region or if she makes ports of call along the way. If she heads directly to the Persian Gulf, she should arrive around 1 December, if she makes ports of call that date would be pushed back roughly two weeks to mid-December.

Finally, the USS Kitty Hawk and elements of its Carrier Battle Group departed Yokosuka on October 25. While the Navy has reported that the Kitty Hawk's deployment is a regularly scheduled underway period, the Navy has not been forthcoming about where the Kitty Hawk is headed or what exercises she will be taking part in. As of October 29, 2002 the Kitty Hawk was off Iwo Jima in the Pacific Ocean.