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Operation Provide Comfort
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Operation Provide Comfort and Provide Comfort II were military operations by the United States and some of its Gulf War allies, starting in April 1991, to defend Kurds fleeing their homes in northern Iraq in the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War, and deliver humanitarian aid to them.
1991 uprising in northern Iraq resulted in a savage Iraqi military response towards the rebels in both northern and southern Iraq.
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Operation Provide Comfort and Provide Comfort II were military operations by the United States and some of its Gulf War allies, starting in April 1991, to defend Kurds fleeing their homes in northern Iraq in the aftermath of the Persian Gulf War, and deliver humanitarian aid to them.
Operation Provide Comfort
The 1991 uprising in northern Iraq resulted in a savage Iraqi military response towards the rebels in both northern and southern Iraq. Fearing a wholesale massacre like what had happened during the 1988 Anfal campaign, millions of Kurds fled towards the Turkish border.
On March 3, General Norman Schwarzkopf warned the Iraqis that Coalition aircraft would shoot down Iraqi military aircraft flying over the country. On March 20, an American F-15C Eagle fighter shot down an Iraqi Air Force Su-22 Fitter fighter-bomber over northern Iraq. On March 22, another F-15 downed a second Su-22 and the pilot of an Iraqi PC-9 trainer bailed out after being approached by American fighters.
On April 5, the United Nations passed United Nations Resolution 688, calling on Iraq to end repression of its population. On April 6, Operation Provide Comfort began to bring humanitarian relief to the Kurds. A No-Fly Zone was established by the U.S., the U.K. and France north of the 36th parallel. This was enforced by American, British and French aircraft. Included in this effort was the delivery of humanitarian relief and military protection of the Kurds by a small Allied (US/UK/Fr/Tu) ground force based in Turkey. Also participating was the 3/325 Airborne Battalion Combat Team, based in Vicenza, Italy, and commanded by then-Lt. Col. John Abizaid.
While Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm were run by the US Central Command (CENTCOM), Operation Provide Comfort came under the authority of the US European Command (EUCOM), headquartered in Vaihingen, Germany. On-ground humanitarian aid was provided by the 353rd Civil Affairs Command, Bronx, New York, and by subordinate units 432nd Civil Affairs Battalion, Green Bay, Wisconsin and 431st Civil Affairs BN, Little Rock, Arkansas. These units were relocated to Turkey and Northern Iraq after completing missions in Kuwait. The base camps that were established for Kurdish refugees were nicknamed Camp Jayhawk and Camp Badger after college mascots. Other camps were established in Silopi, Turkey for multi national troops sent to assist with the operation. One such camp was built in Silopi, Turkey by members of the 564th Civil Engineering Squadron from Einsiedlerhof Air Station, Germany and other members of Ramstein Air Base, Germany. Smaller "detachment" camps were also built in and around Zhako, Iraq by these same members and were led by Capt. Randy Eide and SMSgt Douglas Deeter both of the U.S. Air Force. They led a team of 50 civil engineers that is now known as the first Air Force civil engineering unit to ever enter Iraq, Also deployed to Zhako from their main body deployment site in Rota,Spain, was Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 133 homeported in Gulfport, MS provided humanitarian aide, water wells,and repaired Sirsink air field from bomb damage received during Operation Desert Storm, and like its Air Force counterparts,were the first NMCB to enter Iraq prior to Operation Iraqi Freedom
Overall command of the operation was Lt. General John Shalikashvili, later to become Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff.
At the tip of the spear was the United States Marine Corps' 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit led by General James L. Jones, later to become Commandant of the Marine Corps. The MEU was under the command of Commodore Turner, commander, Mediterranean Amphibious Ready Group 1-91, aboard his flagship USS Guadalcanal.
Some US allies contributed to the operation, including the United Kingdom, France, the Netherlands and Australia. Britain deployed 40 and 45 Commando Royal Marines and air transport assets to help protect refugees as well as deliver humanitarian aid. The British used the name Operation Haven. France deployed transport aircraft and special forces, the Netherlands deployed troops from the Netherlands Marine Corps and Australia contributed transport aircraft and medical, dental and preventive health teams (under the Australian name, Operation Habitat.
Operation Provide Comfort ended on 24 July 1991.
Operation Provide Comfort II
Operation Provide Comfort II began on 24 July 1991, the same day Provide Comfort ended. This operation was primarily military in nature, and its mission was to prevent Iraqi aggression against the Kurds.
Partly as a result of Western commitment to the Kurds, Iraqi troops were withdrawn from the Kurdish regions in October 1991 and these areas assumed de facto independence.
On 5 April 1992, the Iranian Air Force bombed bases in northern Iraq belonging to the Kurdistan Democratic Party of Iran. Iraqi jets were scrambled to intercept the intruders while Coalition aircraft did not interfere.
On 15 January 1993 Iraqi air defense sites opened fire on two USAF F-111 bombers. On January 17, Iraqi air defense systems fired on two F-16 jets, and a US F-4 Phantom destroyed an Iraqi radar which had been targeting French reconnaissance aircraft. Around a half hour later, an American F-16 shot down an Iraqi MiG-23 Flogger which had crossed into the no-fly zone. The next day, American F-16s bombed Bashiqah Airfield and F-4 Phantoms attacked Iraqi air defense sites. Over the next few days and months, more Iraqi sites fired on the American patrols, and several were attacked. That August, the USAF deployed the F-15E Strike Eagle aircraft to Turkey, and on August 18, these aircraft dropped four laser-guided bombs on an Iraqi SA-3 site near Mosul.
On 14 April 1994, two United States Air Force F-15 Eagle fighters on a Provide Comfort patrol mistakenly downed two United States Army Blackhawk helicopters carrying twenty-six Allied personnel, killing all aboard.
On 9 December 1995, F-4G Phantom aircraft of the Idaho Air National Guard finished their tour of duty with Combined Task Force Provide Comfort at Incirlik Air Base. This was the last operational use of the F-4 Phantom by the USAF.
In August 1996, Iraqi troops intervened in the Kurdish regions of Iraq, and the United States responded with Operation Desert Strike against targets in southern Iraq. As a result, some incidents occurred in northern Iraq, and the United States launched an operation to evacuate certain pro-American Kurds from northern Iraq.
The operation ended officially on 31 December 1996 at the request of the Government of Turkey who wanted to improve relations with Iran and Iraq. It was followed by Operation Northern Watch, which began on 1 January 1997 with the mission of enforcing the northern no-fly zone. France declined to participate in Operation Northern Watch.
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