Combat· Gulf War (Op DESERT SHIELD/STORM)
Al Jaber Airfield Assault
Al Jaber Airfield was an Iraqi-held air base in southern Kuwait that lay across the path of the 1st Marine Division's advance during the ground war.
As the Marines drove north after breaching the Iraqi defensive belts, they moved against the airfield, which the enemy had incorporated into the layered defenses screening the approaches to Kuwait City. Marine units overran and secured the field against its defenders, clearing the installation and the surrounding positions as the division pressed its rapid advance. The seizure of Al Jaber helped open the corridor toward the capital and denied the Iraqis a fortified strongpoint on the Marine axis of attack. Like much of the ground campaign, the action unfolded with unexpected speed against an enemy whose will to resist was crumbling under relentless air and ground pressure, the airfield falling as the Marine drive carried forward toward the burning capital.
Record no. 65