Living History: Operation Southern Watch

In this photo, an F-15 Eagle takes off during Operation Southern Watch, which was a major operation in Southwest Asia from 1992-2002. U.S. officials ended an era with the inactivation of the 363rd Air Expeditionary Wing. (U.S. Air Force photo by Staff Sergeant Sean M. Worrell.)

Living History:

WASHINGTON, Aug. 29, 2008 -- On Aug. 26, 1992, the United States launched Operation Southern Watch to enforce United Nations sanctions against Iraq. U.S. Air Force aircraft began patrolling a no-fly zone south of the 33rd parallel in Iraq and monitored compliance with United Nations Security Council Resolutions 687, 688 and 949 to provide protection to Shiite Muslims living there and to discourage any renewed Iraqi military activity against Kuwait or Saudi Arabia.

With the president's announcement, U.S. Central Command activated Joint Task Force Southwest Asia, a command and control unit for coalition forces monitoring the no-fly zone. The first Southern Watch sortie was flown Aug. 27, 1992.

Although Iraq challenged the no-fly zone several times, equipment and personnel were relatively stable until October 1994, when Iraq began troop movements south towards Kuwait, prompting U.S. and coalition forces to react with an intensification of forces called Vigilant Warrior. There were no major incidents to coalition aircraft. However in 2001, American and British aircraft launched attacks against communications and command centers in Iraq. After that time, incidents of airstrikes against the coalition aircraft occurred on a more frequent basis.

From August 1992 to 2001, coalition pilots had flown more than 153,000 missions over Southern Iraq. The operation was shut down when Operation Iraqi Freedom began. By the end, the United States and the United Kingdom provided about 150 aircraft and 6,000 servicemembers to support the operation.

(From a story that appeared on AF.mil.)

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