Transporting the Army for Operation Restore Hope

Abstract : On December 4, 1992 President Bush gave the order 'to move a substantial American force into Somalia.' Although Army forces contributed substantially to the Joint Task Force, the Army did not dominate the deployments to the degree it did during Operation Desert Storm. Still, by the end of January more than 10,000 Army personnel were on the ground in Somalia, helping tp provide security for relief operations and working to rebuild many of the basic elements of civil society. This report reviews the Army deployment operation. By almost any measure, the transportation of the Army to Somalia can be judged a successful operation. During the first 30 days, 82 percent of the peak U.S. personnel strength and more than half the Army equipment had been delivered. Nonetheless, many participants speak of difficulties and glitches in planning, coordinating and managing the deployments. In spite of these frictions, the nature of the humanitarian mission and the relatively small scale of the deployments (about five percent of Operation Desert Shield/Storm) allowed the deployments to go off without debilitating problems