The 123d ARCOM made mark during Gulf War - Army Reserve Command - Brief Article

Army Reserve Magazine, Summer, 2001 by Ben Lawton

"The dream of freedom lives because we dare to risk our most precious resource, our sons and daughters, husbands and wives, brothers and sisters."

President George Bush Arlington National Gemetery

A first time deployment can be an extraordinary experience for soldiers, particularly if those soldier are Reservists deploying into a hostile area. Reservists from units under the 123d Army Reserve Command (ARCOM) were mobilized for a conflict for the first time as a result of the War in the Persian Gulf.

Confronted with Saddam Hussein's direct threat to American interests, on August 7, 1990, President Bush directed the beginning of Operation Desert Shield. The first of the 123d units activated was the 5064th US Army Garrison During the next year 225 officers and 1,500 enlisted soldiers from 16 different 123d units were activated mobilized, and deployed various locations throughout the United States and Saudi Arabia. The ARCOM head-quarters began operating around the clock, seven days a week in support of its deployed units. It also became actively involved in support activities for the families of the deployed soldiers and coordinated "Welcome? Home" ceremonies at each unit's' home station when soldiers redeployed.

ARCOM units in the Persian Gulf engaged in Combat Service Support; operations throughout the area. Reservists endured cold winter nights and the sweltering summer heat while learning to live in MOPP Level 3 and" 4 gear (Mission Oriented Protective Posture) for days on end.

They watched the first Patriot shoot down the first SCUD (80 per cent of the Iraqi SCUDs exploded around the 123d ARCOM soldiers stationed near' Dhahran). And, as the war progressed, units moved frequently across the 40,000 square miles of Saudi Arabian and Kuwaiti desert, from Dhahran to Al Jubayl and Khafj to the northeast, and from King Khalid Military City to Rafah and beyond to the northwest.

Other ARCOM soldiers were positioned in front of allied combat forces in LOG Base Echo near the Iraqi border. When the ground war began on February 28, 1991, the 300th Supply and Services Battalion and the 766th Transportation Battalion established logistic bases 25 miles inside Iraqi territory. From there they refueled elements of the 1st Cavalry Division, 2nd Armored Cavalry Regiment, 3rd Armored Division, 24th Mechanized Infantry Division, XVIII Airborne Corps, and the VII Corps as they moved forward to the Euphrates River.

Other 123d soldiers, led by then Col. James Bauerle, Commander of the Logistical Operations Center Forward of Task Force Freedom, participated in the reconstitution of the Kuwaiti nation.

"Our soldiers were totally dedicated," said Brig. Gen Thomas Jones, 22d Support Command (SUPCOM) Deputy Commanding General. "They worked 12 to 16 hours a day, seven days a week, to accomplish our mission.... There was never a more dedicated; educated group in the military and I think they completely validated the Reserve's role in a Volunteer Army."

During the reception, movement, and sustainment of forces phase of Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, the 123d helped off-load more than 500 vessels and received more than 9,000 aircraft. These vessels and aircraft contained more than 12,400 tracked vehicles, 114,000 wheeled vehicles, 1,800 Army aircraft, 33,000 containers, 1,800,000 short tons of cargo, 300,000 short tons of ammunition, more than 350,000 personnel, 94 million meals, and uncounted tons of mail.

Later they helped push forward these supplies using 1,400 U.S. Army trucks and 2,100 host nation trucks. These trucks traveled the 2,746 miles of main supply routes (MSRs), for a total of 35 million miles in 3,568 convoys.

Between August 1990 and May 1991, they also helped serve 94 million meals, stage and dispense one billion gallons of fuel, and handle 43,769 short tons of mail. More than 100 million gallons of water were delivered during the movement phase, from January 16 through February 23, 1991. Finally, after the Active Component combat troops had gone home to parades and heroes' welcomes, the Reserve and National Guard soldiers, including the members of the 123d remained behind to clean up after the fighting was done.

"The entire leadership of the Army was proud of the work of the Reserve soldiers," stated Maj. Gen Marvin Back, 22d SUPCOM Deputy Commanding General. "I was always looking for the 123rd ARCOM patch. Every time I found it, I found the soldiers charging ahead in an outstanding manner. I could not have been more pleased."

Because, many 123d ARCOM soldiers redeployed too late to participate in the May 10 and the July 4 "Welcome Home"' parades, Purdue University celebrated the return of Indiana military units at its first football game. Indiana residents who served during the Gulf War were offered two free tickets to the season-opening football game as a special tribute to the troops.

As part of the tribute the scoreboard screen listed the names of Indiana residents who were deployed for Operations Desert Shield/Desert Storm. Included was 2nd Lt. Lorraine Lawton. Lawton was the only 123d ARCOM fatality. She died on July 11, when the four-wheel truck she was driving struck a bus near Dhahran. Lawton, a member of the 21st TAACOM (CA), and a Ph.D. candidate in Comparative Literature at Purdue University, was completing research for her dissertation at the University of Grenoble, France, when she was activated.