When the ground war of Operation Desert Storm began on February 24, 1991, one of the most significant elements of the coalition's operational plan never happened — and that was exactly the point. USS Tarawa (LHA-1) and the amphibious task force she was part of spent weeks in the northern Persian Gulf making Iraqi planners believe that a massive Marine amphibious assault on the Kuwaiti coast was imminent. The Iraqis stationed six divisions and a substantial portion of their reserves to defend against an attack that never came. The coalition's ground forces swept through the Kuwaiti desert largely unopposed from the west. Tarawa and her Marines won their battle without firing a shot at a beach.
The Ship
USS Tarawa (LHA-1) is the lead ship of the Tarawa-class amphibious assault ships, commissioned on May 29, 1976, and named for the Battle of Tarawa, one of the most costly amphibious assaults in Marine Corps history. The Tarawa class combined a full flight deck, a well deck capable of launching landing craft, and troop berthing for a Marine battalion landing team into a single hull — a more capable and more versatile platform than the amphibious ships it replaced. Homeported at San Diego, California, she was among the most capable amphibious platforms in the fleet when Desert Storm began.
Desert Shield and the Buildup
Tarawa deployed to the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Desert Shield in late 1990, joining the multinational force that was assembling in Saudi Arabia and in the waters of the Gulf to respond to Iraq's invasion of Kuwait. The amphibious task force — which included multiple amphibious assault ships, dock landing ships, and their escorts — was a visible presence in the northern Gulf throughout the fall and winter of 1990-91. Its visibility was deliberate. American military planners understood that Iraqi commanders would have to account for the possibility of a Marine amphibious landing, and the more credible that possibility appeared, the more forces Iraq would divert from the main effort.
The Deception Operation
As Desert Storm approached, the amphibious task force's role in the deception plan became explicit. Marine units conducted feint operations and practice landings visible to Iraqi surveillance. Navy SEALs inserted on the Kuwaiti coast to simulate pre-assault reconnaissance. The amphibious ships moved in patterns consistent with preparation for a landing. Iraqi intelligence reported what it saw and Iraq responded accordingly, moving six divisions — approximately 80,000 soldiers — to defend the coastline. When the ground war began and the main axis of attack came from the west, those divisions were out of position and unable to respond effectively.
The Marines aboard Tarawa and the rest of the amphibious task force were prepared to execute a real landing if ordered. The plan was not a bluff — it was a credible threat backed by real capability. That credibility is what made the deception work.
Life Aboard
Weeks at anchor or at slow patrol in the Persian Gulf, in January heat, waiting for orders that might send you onto a defended beach or might never come — the uncertainty of the amphibious task force's role made for a particular kind of deployment. The Marines kept their weapons and equipment ready. The ship's crew maintained the ship. The waiting was its own kind of work, and the professionalism with which Tarawa's crew and embarked Marines maintained their readiness throughout the operation was as much a part of the coalition's success as any strike mission flown from the carriers to the south.
If you served in the amphibious Navy during Desert Storm or want to honor someone who did, browse The Ship's Store for collections honoring the ships and sailors who served in the Gulf.
Legacy
Tarawa continued to serve for another two decades after Desert Storm, deploying multiple times and participating in operations ranging from humanitarian relief to combat support. She was decommissioned in 2009. The role she and the amphibious task force played in Desert Storm — winning a piece of the battle by never having to fight it — is one of the cleaner examples in modern military history of how credible military capability can shape an enemy's decisions without a shot being fired.