From the S&S archives:
Mine sweepers from Japan will be welcomed, skipper says

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE — The skipper of the aircraft carrier USS Midway said Japanese mine sweepers "will be welcome" in the Persian Gulf to help clear some 900 of the explosive devices sewn there by Iraq during the war.

Earlier this week, the Japanese government announced that it is working out the details of a plan to send a small group of mine sweepers to the Gulf region. A formal announcement about such a deployment could come after Sunday, when nationwide local elections are held, news reports said.

While the war has ended, "those mines (in the Gulf) did not sign a peace treaty," said Capt. Arthur Cebrowski. "They must be cleared."

Cebrowski said that mine clearing operations are now taking place in the waterway, and "Japanese mine sweepers will be welcome" there if the government chooses to send them. Iraq is believed to have laid 1,200 mines in the northern Gulf, of which about a quarter have been cleared.

Cebrowski, along with Rear Adm. Dan March and Capt. Jimmy Parker, spoke at Yokosuka on their return from the Gulf war with the Midway battle group. March commanded four carrier battle groups in the Gulf during Desert Storm, while Parker was in charge of the Midway's escort ships.

DURING THE war, "Mines were a concern," Cebrowski admitted. "But we took precautions. The great thing about (ships) is that you can move them away from the threat area, clear the area and then move back."

Concerning the deployment of Japanese forces to the Mideast during the war, March said that "We would have been delighted to have the Japan Self-Defense Force. They were more than welcome" in the Gulf.

From his flagship Midway, March commanded operations of the carriers USS Ranger, America and Roosevelt, as well as some other 70 U.S and allied ships that made up the Arabian Gulf battle force.

Aircraft in that battle force flew more than 11,000 combat missions during the war — with the Midway alone flying nearly a third of those without losing any planes or air crewmen.

The Midway's air wing dropped 4 million pounds of bombs on targets in Kuwait, the northern Persian Gulf and southern Iraq, March said.

Parker, who commands the Midway's escort squadron, explained the role his ships took in the war.

The frigate USS Curts and the destroyers USS Fife and Oldendorf "all were key players in enforcing intercept operations in the Gulf" during Desert Shield, Parker said.

"THE SHIPS performed difficult boardings of ships during the pre-war embargo of Iraq," Parker said.

And during the war, "the Fife fired 60 Tomahawk missiles — more than twice than any battleship or any two other ships combined," he said. In addition, "The Curts liberated the first territorial islands in Kuwait and captured mine sweepers and prisoners of war."

Parker said that the Oldendorf acted as a search and rescue unit for pilots flying over the Gulf. The ship also took part in special forces operations on the Kuwaiti coast, the captain said without elaborating.

March disagreed that allied warplanes used more force than was necessary to drive Iraq from Kuwait.

But "air power by U.S. and coalition forces did accelerate" the end of the war, the admiral said. And allied bombing "shortened the duration of the ground campaign."