Operation Friction

Content sourced from Wikipedia, licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0.

Operation Friction was Canada’s part of the 1991 Gulf War. About 4,500 Canadian Forces personnel joined the coalition to enforce UN sanctions against Iraq and later to participate in the war to drive Iraqi forces out of Kuwait.

Naval side
- Canadian destroyers HMCS Terra Nova and HMCS Athabaskan helped enforce the UN blockade in the Persian Gulf, Straits of Hormuz, and Gulf of Oman.
- HMCS Protecteur supported the task force with underway replenishment, command and control, and ship-to-ship medical services.
- A Canadian naval task group worked under the multinational command in the southern Persian Gulf.
- HMCS Huron arrived after hostilities ended and was the first allied ship to visit Kuwait.
- Five CH-124 Sea King helicopters from Canada supported reconnaissance, mine-hunting, and liaison tasks.

Air contributions
- The Royal Canadian Air Force deployed two CF-18 Hornet squadrons from Germany to a temporary base in Qatar to fly with coalition forces.
- Canadian pilots conducted combat air patrols and participated in ground- and water-target attacks.
- CF-18s carried out dozens of bombing sorties (56 counted) against Iraqi targets.
- The CF-18s worked with coalition air forces, while other transports and support aircraft kept the operation moving.

Ground and medical support
- Canada established a Middle East headquarters on November 6, 1990, led by Commodore Kenneth J. Summers.
- When Desert Storm began, Canada sent a field hospital to the region to support British forces; the 1 Canadian Field Hospital operated in Saudi Arabia from February 25 to March 4, 1991.

Scale and limitations
- The operation involved about 4,500 personnel from August 1990 to February 1991, with a peak of around 2,700 in January 1991.
- Canada’s ground forces were limited by the small size and capabilities of its army, and plans for a larger deployment (such as a 4 CMBG) were deemed impractical in this conflict.

Aftermath
- Canada suffered no casualties in the Gulf War, but some veterans later reported Gulf War syndrome.

Key figures
- Personnel: about 4,500 (peak ~2,700)
- Timeframe: August 24, 1990 – February 28, 1991
- Units involved included naval task groups, CF-18 squadrons, transport aircraft, and a field hospital.