ABSTRACT
The nature of the land campaign during Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and the geographic features of Iraq ensured that the requirement for naval gunfire support (NGS) was limited in comparison to the Korean and Vietnam Wars. However, NGS once again proved to be a useful capability when it was delivered in support of the Royal Marines' assault on the Al Faw peninsula, which began on 20 March 2003. NGS was a small part of a much larger operation during OIF and was only provided by the Royal Australian Navy (RAN) and the Royal Navy (RN). While the landings were predominantly planned and undertaken by British forces and American ships did not provide NGS for the Al Faw operation, the United States Navy (USN) was central to both the approval for and the provision of NGS. Furthermore, as the leaders of the coalition, the USN was integral to every aspect of the naval campaign.
