Operation Earnest Will

Mess Management Specialist 2nd Class Williams Hendrickson scans for mines from the bow of the U.S. Navy guided missile frigate USS Nicolas (FFG-47) during an Earnest Will convoy mission.

Operation Earnest Will (24 July 1987-26 September 1988) was the U.S. military protection of Kuwaiti oil tankers from Iraqi and Iranian attacks in 1987 and 1988 during the Tanker War phase of the Iran-Iraq War. It was the largest naval convoy operation since World War II.

The U.S. Navy warships that escorted the tankers were the most visible part of the operation, but U.S. Air Force AWACS radar planes provided surveillance and Army special operations helicopters hunted for possible attackers.

U.S. law forbade the use of Navy ships to escort civilian vessels under foreign flag, so the Kuwaiti ships were reregistered under U.S. flag.

Even before Earnest Will formally began, it became clear how dangerous Gulf operations would be. On 17 May, an Iraqi warplane fired two Exocet missiles at the guided missile frigate USS Stark, killing 37 sailors and injuring 21. Iraqi officials said the targeting of the U.S. warship was accidental.

On the very first escort mission, on 24 July 1987, the reflagged tanker Bridgeton struck an Iranian mine, damaging the ship.

On 15 October, the U.S. tanker Sea Isle City was struck while at anchor by an Iranian Silkworm missile, wounding 18. The U.S. Navy responded by destroying two Iranian oil platforms.

Earnest Will overlapped with Operation Prime Chance, a largely secret effort to stop Iranian forces from attacking Gulf shipping. The most dramatic moment of Prime Chance was likely the September 21, 1987, attack on the Iran Ajr, an Iranian ship converted for use as a minelayer. Using night-vision devices, Army gunship crews watched the Iranian vessel lay several mines, then engaged with miniguns and rockets. A SEAL team landed aboard the vessel and seized it. Several Iranian sailors were rescued from the waters of the Gulf after leaping overboard during the attack. The SEALs scuttled the vessel the following day.

On 14 April 1988, the American frigate Samuel B. Roberts struck an Iranian mine and was badly damaged. Four days later, U.S. forces retaliated with a one-day attack on Iranian warships, armed speedboats, and oil platforms used as naval bases. Dubbed Operation Praying Mantis, it was the biggest engagement of surface warships since World War II. Two Iranian ships were destroyed, and two American pilots died when their helicopter crashed.

On 3 July 1988, USS Vincennes shot down Iran Air Flight 655, an Airbus A300B2, over the Strait of Hormuz. 290 people were killed.

These two side effects of Earnest Will — Praying Mantis and the downing of the airliner — helped convince Iran to agree to a ceasefire on 20 August 1988, ending its eight-year war with Iraq.

On 26 September 1988, USS Vandegrift (FFG-48) escorted the last tanker of the operation to Kuwait.

See also

* Iran-Iraq War
* Operation Prime Chance

External links

* Operation Earnest Will on GlobalSecurity.org
*Photos of Operation Earnest Will

Further reading

* (about the Stark attack)
* (U.S. Navy operations in the Gulf)
* (Detailed look at guided missile frigate's operations and mine attack)
* (Account of Operation Praying Mantis)
* (Puts Operation Praying Mantis in broader historical context)