11
Introduction: Setting the Scene
Army planners initially believed that the support command from the XVIII
Airborne Corps could provide enough support, but the command was quickly
o v e r w h e l m e d . General Yeosock established a provisional theater support
c o m m a n d headquarters in D h a h r a n - k n o w n a s A R C E N T ( F o r w a r d ) - t o
manage all theater logistics.
When Pagonis arrived on 8 August, he brought with him four talented
logisticians-Colonels Stephen Koons, John Tier, and Robert Klineman, and
Lieutenant Colonel James Ireland. This small, energetic group immediately
began implementing a plan they had drafted on the flight over and became the
nucleus of all logistics support for Army troops arriving in country. The rest of
the 22-person team that Pagonis had selected at Fort McPherson arrived a few
days later. He would grab additional personnel whenever he could. On 16
August, Yeosock appointed Pagonis as ARCENT's deputy commander for
logistics. Three days later ARCENT (Forward) was formally designated as the
p r o v i s i o n a l ARCENT Support Command (SUPCOM) with Pagonis as its
commanding general.9
Pagonis' huge task was to receive, sustain, and house the XVIII Airborne
Corps. He found soldiers sleeping in the sand and on handball and tennis courts
in Dammam. Hundreds slept on the ground behind quarters occupied by the
U.S. Military Training Mission. Between 10 and 25 August, Pagonis and his
Soldiers of the 24th Infantry Division set up temporary quarters in this warehouse after arriving
(U.S. Army photo by Gil High, Soldiers Magazine)
in Saudi Arabia.
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