"Strategic mobility, the capability to transport military forces rapidly across intercontinental distances into an operational theater, lies at the heart of US military strategy. Nowhere has the importance of strategic mobility been more evident than in Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm, the military response to the Iraqi seizure of Kuwait that began in August 1990 and ended in March 1991. "This study presents a detailed analysis of how the Defense Transportation System (DTS) - the United States Transportation Command, its service components, and the civilian transportation industry - provided the strategic mobility that enabled the United States and its allies to assemble an overwhelming military force to defeat Iraq and free Kuwait. It is also a tribute to the hard work and dedication of the military and civilian personnel who ran the DTS during the operation. "This volume is the first major history of a joint operation to be published by the Joint History Office and supports the efforts of the Joint Chiefs of Staff to promote a greater understanding of the joint system. I recommend it to military planners, operators, and logisticians, as well as to readers interested in joint and combined operations." John M. Shaliksahvili Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff