The Gulf War

When Iraq invaded Kuwait in August 1990 and Canada found itself going to war yet again, the nation turned once more to the navy to lead the response. None of the new patrol frigates or the modernised Iroquois class were ready for operations, but a three-ship task group (Athabaskan, Terra Nova and Protecteur) and a clutch of Sea Kings were hastily upgraded with equipment “borrowed” from the new programmes.

Within two weeks of the call, they set sail for the Persian (Arabian) Gulf. While equipment limitations vis-a-vis other coalition partners meant that the task group could not take a position on the front lines, the unique combination of command and control equipment, personal leadership skills, and national reputation led to the Canadian task group commander exercising a major Coalition naval warfare responsibility, the only non-USN officer to do so.