| Date from | 01 January 1990 |
|---|---|
| Date to | 31 December 1991 |
| Collection type | Conflict |
| Scope note | Strength: Total estimated at 1,000 service personnel. RAN Task Group intially consisted of HMAS Adelaide, Darwin and Success (Damask I). On 3 December 1990, HMAS Adelaide and Darwin were replaced by HMAS Sydney and Brisbane (Damask II). Also deployed were an 8 man Air Defence Detachment from 16 AD Regt, a RAN Logistic Support Element established at Muscat in Oman (13 strong), and a Liaison Officer attached to the senior US commander afloat in the area . Area of Operations (AO): The Persian Gulf, Iraq, Kuwait, Oman and Saudi Arabia. Purpose: The Second Gulf War began on 2 August 1990 when Iraq invaded Kuwait. In response the UN Security Council passed Resolution 660 demanding that Iraq withdraw from Kuwait. On 26 August, Resolution 665 called on UN members to contribute naval forces to assist in implementing the trade sanctions from Resolution 665. Australia contributed to a Naval Task Group of 3 ships, Liaison Officers and Logistics support. Comments: By the end of December 1990, MIF 1 had conducted 6,945 interceptions of merchant vessels, including 487 boardings to check for illicit cargo, and 35 ships had been diverted to non-Iraqi ports. The Australian Task Group conducted a significant share of these operations with 1,627 interrogations, 11 interceptions, 8 boardings and 2 diversions. HMAS Success departed the AO on 23 January 1991. |