| Operation Earnest Will | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part of theIran–Iraq War | |||||
 A US Navy sailor scans for mines from the bow of the guided missile frigateUSS Nicholas during an Operation Earnest Willconvoy mission, June 1988 | |||||
| |||||
| Belligerents | |||||
 United States |  Iran | ||||
| Commanders and leaders | |||||
| Rear Adm.Harold Bernsen[1] | Mohammad-Hossein Malekzadegan | ||||
Operation Earnest Will (24 July 1987 – 26 September 1988) was anAmerican military protection ofKuwaiti-owned tankers fromIranian attacks in 1987 and 1988, three years into theTanker War phase of theIran–Iraq War.[2] It was the largest navalconvoy operation sinceWorld War II, and flowed fromResolution 598 which had been adopted three days earlier.
TheU.S. Navy warships that escorted the tankers, part ofU.S. Naval Forces Central Command, were the operations' most visible part. U.S. Air ForceAWACS radar planes provided surveillance andU.S. Army special-operations helicopters hunted for possible attackers.
Other U.S. Navy vessels participated in Operation Earnest Will. They were then under the command of the U.S. Navy'sSeventh Fleet which had primary responsibility for combat operations in thePersian Gulf. The numerous ships used in Operation Earnest Will mostly consisted of Carrier Battle Groups, Surface Action Groups and ships from the Pacific'sThird and Seventh Fleets and the Mediterranean-basedSixth Fleet. They generally operated in and near the Persian Gulf for parts of their normal six-month deployments.
It was the first tactical operation of theUnited States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) that involvedNavy SEALs,Special Boat Units, and160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne) ("Nightstalkers") aviators all working together.
TheFrench Navy also supported Resolution 598,[3] as did theBritish Navy.[4]
The so-called "Tanker War" phase of theIran–Iraq War started when Iraq attacked the oil terminal and oil tankers at Iran'sKharg Island in early 1984.[5] Iraq had expanded its air force with new,Exocet-equipped French and Soviet aircraft.[5] Saddam's aim in attacking Iranian shipping was, among other things, to provoke the Iranians to retaliate with extreme measures, such as closing theStrait of Hormuz to all maritime traffic, thereby bringing American intervention.[5] Iran limited the retaliatory attacks to Iraqi shipping, leaving the strait open.[5]
Becoming landlocked after theBattle of al-Faw, and due to the blockade of Iraqi oil pipelines to the Mediterranean Sea by Iran's ally Syria, Iraq had to rely on its ally, Kuwait and other Gulf Arab allies to a lesser extent to transport its oil. After increasing attacks on Iran's main oil export facility at Kharg Island by Iraq, Iran started to attack Kuwaiti tankers carrying Iraqi oil from 13 May 1984, and later attacking tankers from any Gulf state supporting Iraq. Attacks on ships of non-combatant nations in the Persian Gulf sharply increased thereafter, with both nations attacking oil tankers andmerchant ships of neutral nations in an effort to deprive their opponent of trade.[5]
Besides concerns about the intensified Tanker War, the superpowers feared that the possible fall ofBasra, which was now under threat, might lead to a pro-IranianIslamic republic in largelyShia-populated southern Iraq. During the first four months of 1987, Kuwait turned to the superpowers, partly to protect oil exports but largely to seek an end to the war through superpower intervention.[6] In December 1986, Kuwait's government asked theReagan administration to send the U.S. Navy to protect Kuwaiti tankers against Iranian attacks.[7] Although members of both the U.S. House and Senate opposed the reflagging policy,[8] the executive debated this idea and finally agreed to it on 7 March 1987.[1]
While U.S. law [War Powers Resolution] does generally restrict the President's unilateral use or deployment of military forces, the administration and cabinet determined they would be in compliance with the Resolution's requirements while enacting this plan. To justify the significant military utilization, the Kuwaiti ships were re-registered under the U.S. flag for military escort purposes in the region.
The office ofAbraham Sofaer, Legal Advisor to the U.S. State Department, ensured that the administration took all steps necessary to satisfiy the international law requirement that reflagging be based on a genuine link between the flag and the vessel at issue.[9] Before Earnest Will formally began, it became clear how dangerousPersian Gulf operations would be. On 17 May 1987, an Iraqi jet fired twoExocet missiles at theguided missile frigateUSS Stark, killing 37 sailors and injuring 21. Iraqi officials said that the targeting of the U.S. warship was accidental.[2][10][11][12]
After the passage ofUNSCR 598 on 20 July 1987,[13][14] the U.S. Navy began Operation Earnest Will at 2:00 a.m. (EDT) on 23 July 1987.[15]USS Crommelin,USS Fox,USS Worden,USS Kidd, andUSS Klakring[16] were the first U.S. Navy ships assigned to escort the Kuwaiti oil tankers,[17] under the command ofRear AdmiralHarold Bernsen.[1]
On the very first escort mission, on 24 July 1987, the Kuwaiti oil tankeral-Rekkah, re-flagged as the U.S. tankerMVBridgeton and accompanied by US navy warships, struck an Iranianunderwater mine planted some 20 miles (32 km) west ofFarsi Island the night earlier by aPasdaran special unit, damaging the ship, but causing no injuries.Bridgeton proceeded under her own power to Kuwait, with the U.S. Navy escorts following behind to avoid mines.[2][18]
The operation was widely publicized, and American reporters aboard another ship in the convoy immediately issued reports about the incident, claiming it had "played into Iran's plan". Iran's Prime MinisterMir Hossein Mousavi called it an "irreparable blow to America's political and military prestige",[15] and said that it was the "invisible hands [of God]" that hit the US-flagged ship, and expressed hope that the U.S. Congress would put an immediate end to the Administration's plan. The Congress was critical of the re-flagging policy, but still didn't have a united position on the issue.[19]
It was an unforeseen development. The commander of the task force admitted that in spite of intelligence warnings, no one had thought it necessary to check the route fornaval mines,[20] and it was soon brought out that not only did the U.S. not have anyminesweepers in the Persian Gulf, it did not have any easily accessible minesweepers at all, so the escort operation was placed on hold until minesweepers would be available.[8] The Pentagon deployedHelicopter Mine Countermeasures Squadron 14 (HM-14) with eight minesweepingSeaStallion helicopters, five oceangoing minesweepers, and six smallcoastal minesweepers—dramatically increasing U.S. presence in the Persian Gulf, and increasing the probability of an Iran–U.S. confrontation. U.S. Secretary of DefenseCaspar Weinberger indirectly provoked Iran to retaliate.[15]
In the following 14 months, many U.S. warships took up escort duties. At one point, more than 30 warships were in the region to support the operation.[21]
Earnest Will overlapped withOperation Prime Chance, a largely secret effort to stop Iranian forces from attacking Persian Gulf shipping.Despite the protection offered by U.S. Navy vessels, Iran used mines and small boats to harass the convoys steaming to and from Kuwait, at the time a principal ally of Iraq. In late July 1987, Rear Admiral Harold J. Bernsen, commander of theMiddle East Force, requested Naval Special Warfare assets. Special Boat Teams deployed with six Mark III Patrol Boats and two Navy SEAL platoons in August.[22] The Middle East Force decided to convert two oil service barges,Hercules andWimbrown VII, into mobile sea bases. These were moored in the northernPersian Gulf, allowing special operations forces to thwart clandestine Iranian mining and small boat attacks.
On 21 September,Night Stalkers flyingMH-6 and AH-6 "Little Birds" took off from the frigatesUSS Jarrett and USSKlakring to track an Iranian ship,Iran Ajr. The Nightstalkers watchedIran Ajr turn off its lights and begin laying mines. After receiving permission to attack, the helicopters fired guns and rockets, stopping the ship.Iran Ajr's crew continued to push mines over the side, and the aircraft resumed firing until the crew abandoned ship.
At first light, a SEAL team, assisted by Special Boat Teams, boarded the vessel and discovered nine mines on the vessel's deck, as well as a logbook revealing areas where previous mines had been laid.USS Hawes towed the mine layer (a converted tank landing craft) to the Iran-Iraq war zone.Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) technicians from EOD Mobile Unit 5 scuttled the vessel the following day.[citation needed] The logbook implicated Iran in mining international waters.[22]
Within a few days, the special operations forces had determined the Iranian pattern of activity: hide during the day near oil and gas platforms in Iranian waters and at night, head toward the Middle Shoals Buoy, a navigation aid for tankers. With this knowledge, the special operations forces launched three Little Bird aircraft and two patrol craft to the buoy. The aircraft arrived first and were fired upon by three Iranian boats anchored near the buoy. In a short but intense firefight, the aircraft sank all three boats. The captured and wounded Iranians were later taken aboard the USS Guadalcanal for treatment. The injured Iranian detainees were returned through cooperation between the U.S. Red Cross and the Red Crescent.
Lessons from Earnest Will later led USSOCOM to acquire the patrol coastal ships and theMark V Special Operations Craft.[22]
On 15 October, the reflagged U.S. tankerSea Isle City was struck by an IranianSilkworm missile while at anchor near the oil terminal outsideKuwait City. Seventeen crewmen and the American captain were injured in the attack.[2][22] On 18 October, the U.S. Navy responded withOperation Nimble Archer. Fourdestroyers shelled two Revolutionary Guard bases in theRostam oil field, located on oil platforms, that had been used to stage attacks on shipping. After the shelling, theUSS Thach landed a SEAL platoon and a demolition unit that planted explosives on one of the platforms to destroy it. The SEALs then boarded and searched a third platform two miles away (3.2 km). Documents and radios were taken for intelligence.
On 14 April 1988, 65 miles (105 km) east ofBahrain, the frigateUSS Samuel B. Roberts hit a mine, blowing an immense hole in its hull.[23] 10 sailors were injured. The U.S. retaliated fiercely. On 18 April, U.S. forces launchedOperation Praying Mantis, attacking the Iranian fast-attack craftJoshan, the frigatesSabalan andSahand and Revolutionary Guard bases in the Sirri and Sassan oil fields.[2][23] After U.S. warships bombarded theSirri base, located on an oil platform, and set it ablaze, aUH-60 helicopter with a SEAL platoon flew toward the platform but was unable to get close enough because of the roaring fire. Secondary explosions soon wrecked the platform.[22]
Thereafter, Iranian attacks on neutral ships dropped drastically. On 3 July 1988,USS Vincennes, mistookIran Air Flight 655 for an Iranian F-14 and shot it down over theStrait of Hormuz. All 290 passengers and aircrew aboard theAirbusA300B2 died, including 65 children or infants.[24]
The two effects of Earnest Will – Praying Mantis and the airliner's downing – helped convince Iran to agree to a ceasefire on 18 July 1988 and a permanent end to hostilities on 20 August 1988, ending its eight-year war with Iraq.[25]
On 26 September 1988,USS Vandegrift escorted the operation's last tanker to Kuwait. The remaining SEALs, patrol boats, and helicopters then returned to the U.S.[22]
