The AFEM has been issued for numerous operations in the Persian Gulf, most notably Operation Earnest Will, which began in 1987 and lasted until the eve of Operation Desert Shield.
A year later, the air wing participated in Ocean Venture ’88 in the Atlantic Ocean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the Caribbean Sea, and then provided air support for Operation Earnest Will.
HMLA-167 also escorted eleven "Earnest Will" oil tanker convoys as well as ten minesweeper transits during its deployment in the Persian Gulf.
The USS Dubuque was part of the Joint Task Force in the Persian Gulf and Operation Earnest Will.
•
On July 3, 1988, the USS Vincennes - also a part of Operation Earnest Will - shot down an Iranian commercial Airbus A300B2-202 (Iran Air Flight 655) after mistaking it for an Iranian F-14.
Operation Overlord | Operation Enduring Freedom | Operation Barbarossa | Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe | Operation Market Garden | The Importance of Being Earnest | Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development | Operation Torch | Operation Vistula | operation | Operation Provide Comfort | Operation Anaconda | Police and Judicial Co-operation in Criminal Matters | Operation Weserübung | Operation Shingle | Operation Ivy | Operation Highjump | Operation Blue Star | Operation Anthropoid | Operation Paperclip | Operation Downfall | Operation Deny Flight | Operation Thunderbolt | Operation Southern Watch | Operation Michael | Operation Entebbe | Operation Condor | Operation Yoav | Operation Varsity | Operation United Shield |