Of the 370,000 U.S. ground forces in the Persian Gulf, 90,000 are Marines stationed in Saudi Arabia and the nearby region. The Marines and the U.S. Army organize their infantry troops similarly:
4 Marines = 1 Fire Team 3 Fire Teams = 1 Squad (13 Marines*) 3 Squads = 1 Platoon (43 Marines) 3 Platoons = 1 Company (182 Marines) 3 Companies = 1 Battalion (905 Marines) 3 Battalions = 1 Regiment** (3,037 Marines) 3 Regiments = 1 Division (9,111 Marines With support personnel, the total strength of a Marine Division is 18,000.)
*NUMBERS APPROXIMATE AND VARY ACCORDING TO REINFORCEMENTS. **ARMY EQUIVALENT IS BRIGADE. SOURCE: U.S. MARINE CORPS
ALCE medium-issue backpack with frame (contains chemical-warfare suit, two ponchos, poncho liner, rations, underwear, shaving kit)
entrenching tool
two one-quart canteens
bedroll
sleeping bag
Kevlar helmet
Load-Bearing Equipment (contains ammo pouch, fighting knife, first-aid kit, 9-mm Beretta pistol)
M-16 A-2
Kevlar flak vest
gas mask carried on waist (not visible)
personal items in leg pocket
combat issue boots
Total Weight: 60 to 70 pounds
To wage war on Saddam Hussein, the American-led coalition has deployed a vast arsenal of modern and not-so-modern weaponry. While an array of expensive high-tech tools of war have seen their first real test in Operation Desert Storm, some old veterans - notably, the B-52 bomber - have had a chance to prove their worth once again.
Totaling more than 2,500 warplanes, the coalition air force is the most sophisticated ever gathered. Using state-of-the-art electronics and old-fashioned flying skill, the allies gained control of the skies during the early weeks of the war, crippling targets from missile sites to chemical-weapons plants.
Carrier-based, long-range workhorse. Loaded with up to nine tons of bombs, its ground-mapping radar and infrared targeting make it perfect for nighttime raids.
Granddaddy of U.S. strategic bombers, the three-decades-old behemoth holds a 20-ton non-nuclear payload for sorties against fortified Republican Guard positions.
Slow but slippery, the radar-evading bat-shaped tactical fighter can approach an enemy target unseen to unleash HARM air-to-surface missiles and laser-guided bombs.
The ‘Top Gun’ jet, this carrier-based, two-seat Navy air-to-air fighter has a high-power radar system and wields a variety of heat-seeking and guided missiles.
Peerless battlefield-support jet, the slow, heavily protected Warthog fires armor-piercing uranium shells and Maverick antitank missiles.
The U.S. Air Force’s premier long-range fighter. Modified attack versions can carry 24,500 lbs. of ordnance and still hold an edge in air-to-air combat.
Carrier-based fighter performs two roles: air combat and midrange ground attack. Armed with air-to-surface rockets and laser-guided smart bombs.
Longrange U.S. tactical fighter-bomber can carry up to 25,000 lbs. of conventional bombs or laser- and TV-guided CBU smart bombs.
Small, light and relatively cheap, the F-16 is both a nifty air-combat fighter and a serviceable attack jet, carrying some six tons of guided missiles and bombs.
Loaded with electronic jamming devices and HARM anti-radar missiles, it has been vital in knocking out Iraqi antiaircraft sites.
The U.S. Marines’ ground-support jet can take off vertically, hover close to a battlefield and let loose missiles, cluster bombs or smart bombs.
Attacking Iraqi air bases, the RAF strike jets drop Hunting JP233s: clusters of small bombs and mines that crater runways and disrupt repairs.
The French Air Force’s contribution to Desert Storm is a slow-but-steady fighter that packs four tons of weapons, such as anti-radar missiles and cluster bombs.
Carrier-based early-warning aircraft can detect threats from enemy aircraft and missiles as far away as 300 miles; carries no weapons.
Boeing 707s packed with electronics, the U.S.’s Airborne Warning and Control System planes identify enemy aircraft and jam radar.
Known as Flying Gas Cans, the tankers - many built in the 1950s - can each carry as much as 200,000 lbs. of aviation fuel for midair refueling.
U.S. Army battlefield helicopter carries eight laser-guided Hellfire antitank missiles, air-to-ground rockets and a 30-mm chain gun.
Marine Corps attack helicopter provides cover for landing troops with a 20-mm nose turret gun and Hellfire and TOW anti-armor missiles.
The U.S. Army transport helicopter can ferry up to 22,000 lbs. of battlefield equipment. Typical load: a 155-mm howitzer and its 11-man artillery crew.
The effort to drive Iraqi forces from Kuwait will likely come down to a conflict on the land. The U.S.-led coalition of some 700,000 troops is larger and better equipped than Iraq’s 540,000-man force in the region, but the allies face an entrenched and, in the case of the Republican Guard, battle-hardened enemy.
The world’s premier battle tank has armor that resists molten-metal shells and a deadly 120-mm cannon. But its turbine engine is a gas guzzler, and its electronics delicate.
The Marine Corps battle tank is a 1960s-vintage model dressed up with ‘reactive’ armor that explodes when hit by high-energy fire, deflecting the blast.
Lightly armored troop-transport and scouting vehicles each mounted with a 25-mm gun and a TOW antitank missile system.
The Marine Corps Light Armored Vehicle, equipped with a 25-mm cannon, can carry six leathernecks into battle at speeds up to 57 mph.
The Tube-launched, Optically tracked, Wire-guided missile, the U.S. Army’s main portable antitank weapon, pierces armor at a range of over two miles.
These massive, drivable eight-inch cannons have infrared night-vision capability and can lob 200-lb. shells nearly 10 miles.
The Multiple Launch Rocket System fires 12 missiles, each containing six radar-equipped bombs that seek out mobile artillery, troop carriers and tanks.
The system has a radar station to pinpoint incoming rockets and a four-missile launcher. Patriot explodes near its target, knocking it out with shrapnel.
Mounted on a tank chassis, the hinged, 60-foot Armored-Vehicle-Launched bridge can be unfolded in minutes to span antitank ditches.
Allied naval strength in the gulf region has grown to more than 200 ships, ranging from computerized cruisers to World War II-vintage battleships. American carrier groups provide sea-based fighter and bomber support; other ships launch cruise missiles and bombard shore fortifications.
The six U.S. flattops in the gulf theater, like the John F. Kennedy (above), carry some 60 combat aircraft each and are protected by battle groups of five to seven warships.
The 16-inch guns of the elderly Missouri (above) and the Wisconsin fire shells the weight of a small car that can devastate heavily armored shore targets.
The long-range radar systems on cruisers like the Thomas S. Gates (above) are the eyes of the fleet, spotting incoming missile and aircraft threats.
These speedy ships can wield a variety of potent weapons, ranging from Tomahawk cruise missiles to anti-ship Harpoon rockets to torpedoes.
Standard escort vessel for amphibious landings and other missions; carries a mix of antiaircraft and anti-ship missiles as well as antisubmarine devices.
Marines have some 400 Amphibious Assault Vehicles in the gulf. Each carries 25 men and is armed with a machine gun and grenade launcher.
Riding a cushion of air, its 2,000-square-foot cargo area can carry a large complement of Marines or machines close to shore for seaborne attacks.
An undisclosed number of subs lurk beneath Mideast waters. At least one, the Louisville, has launched a cruise missile against Iraq.
Fired from U.S. combat vessels, these computer-guided missiles carry 1,000-lb. warheads to within a few feet of their targets.
In the past decade, Saddam Hussein has spent, by some estimates, $50 billion to build one of the world’s largest military machines. He did business with the Soviet Union as well as with the United States and Western Europe. The Iraqi arsenal includes fighter jets and bombers, thousands of tanks, high-tech weaponry and vast storehouses of chemical and biological weapons.
One of Saddam’s hottest planes, the Soviet-built fighter can be armed with air-to-air missiles or ground-attack bombs and rockets.
Saddam’s finest fighter jet, some of the French F-1s carry laser-guided weapons; others have extra fuel tanks for increased range.
This Soviet-built ground-attack plane’s electronic sensors can guide missiles to hard-to-detect targets - even in bad weather and at night.
Designed as a transport plane, this large Soviet jet can be configured as an early-warning radar plane, similar to the U.S. AWACS.
This Soviet helicopter is armed with Gatling guns, antitank missiles or chemical warheads. Later models are protected by infrared jammers.
Saddam bought three species of ground-attack helicopters from France; in past conflicts he has armed the Gazelle with antitank missiles.
The Soviets’ best battle tank has a powerful 125-mm gun. Not as fast as the American M-IAI, but it is battle tested and may be more reliable in the desert.
An inferior relative of the T-72 battle tank. Mounted with relatively inaccurate 115-mm guns, the T-62s form the core of the Iraqi tank brigade.
Infantry fighting vehicle used mostly by Republican Guards, the Soviet BMPs do double duty: they carry the infantry into battle - and help them fight it.
Saddam’s vaunted ‘supergun’ from South Africa. Extremely accurate, the 155-mm towed weapon has a range of up to 24 miles.
Can fire a surface-to-surface warhead more than 30 miles, farther than its U.S. counterpart. Brazil also sold Astros to the Saudis.
Iraq has these four-barreled antiaircraft guns standing guard in cities and in the desert. Self-propelled, the ZSU uses radar to take aim.
A portable antitank weapon, the Franco-German Milan comes equipped with a thermal-imaging device that can be used in night fighting.
The inaccuracy of the Soviet missiles has made them more a political than a military threat. In the wings: French Exocets and Chinese Silkworms.
During the Iran-Iraq War, Saddam is believed to have used the Soviet-made surface-to-surface rockets to deliver payloads of mustard gas. Range: 55 miles.
Weapons from grenades to missiles could carry hydrogen cyanide, mustard gas or nerve gases. Or germs, such as anthrax.
How orders get from George Bush to the troops in the field
Secretary of Defense. Former Wyoming congressman is known for his cool and deliberate demeanor.
Chairman, Joint Chiefs of Staff. Son of Jamaican immigrants, Powell is the first black chairman.
Commander in chief, U.S. Central Command (CentCom). Based in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, he is in charge of all American forces in the gulf. Prefers the nickname “The Bear” to “Stormin’ Norman” and loves opera. Served two tours in Vietnam.
CentCom’s deputy commander in chief.
CentCom chief of staff.
Commander of all U.S. Army forces.
Commands all Marines in the Persian Gulf.
Commands 120 warships from USS Blue Ridge.
Commands 1,800 U.S. warplanes in the region.
Last month the Pentagon shipped thousands of medals to the Persian Gulf, and it may create a new award for the gulf campaign. The military’s “fruit cocktail” can be hard to decode. Here’s a sampler, taken from Army Lt. Gen. Thomas Kelly, director of operations for the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
For service in Southeast Asia from 1965 to 1973
For heroic achievement against opposing forces, with four additional citations
For heroism while flying
For wounds sustained in Vietnam
For successfully completing foreign tours
For six months’ direct combat support or service in South Vietnam from 1961 to 1973
