1st Division CP, Moving Forward
Colonel H. Avery Chenoweth, USMCR
Acquisition Number: 2012.1005.157
Medium: Oil on Canvas

1st Marine Division’s command element slops through the mud as coalition forces attack the Iraqis who had invaded Kuwait in 1990. During Desert Storm, Lieutenant General Walter E. Boomer, Commanding General, I Marine Expeditionary Force, moved his Command Post (CP) to where he could achieve the best situational awareness. Although they operated in a desert environment, winter rains in January 1991 turned the terrain into muddy sloughs. A short time later, 36-knot winds kicked up a ferocious sandstorm. Smoke from burning oil wells plunged Marines into darkness at midday. Also known as the Gulf War, Desert Storm coalition partners defeated Saddam Hussein in six weeks, liberating Kuwait.