An account of operations by the embarked Marine units in the Persian Gulf from Aug. 1990 to May 1991. Tells the story of the 4th & 5th Marine Expeditionary Brig. MEBs & the 13th & 11th Marine Exped. Units MEUs which comprised the Marine Forces Afloat MFA during Operations Desert Shield ODS & Desert Storm. The MFA came into existence early in ODS when the seaborne 4th MEB joined the forwarddeployed 13th Marine Expeditionary Unit in the North Arabian Sea in midSep. These Marines were later joined by the 5th Marine Exped. Brig. during what would become the longest continuous shipboard deployment by a brigadesized force in Marine Corps history. Maps.