Naval, Marine pilots soar into 'epic' missions 'Like being in a stadium with a million camera flashes going off'
By César G. Soriano
USA TODAY
ABOARD THE USS CONSTELLATION, in the Persian Gulf -- In the yellow and blue ''ready room,'' decorated with posters of bikini-clad women, two dozen Navy and Marine pilots listened intently to Capt. Mark Fox, the Constellation's air wing commander.
Most of the ''flyboys'' were teens when a U.S.-led coalition pushed Saddam Hussein's army out of Kuwait in 1991. Now, they were about to follow Fox, who would pilot an F/A-18 Hornet, into combat over Iraq. ''This is going to be epic,'' said Fox, the first Navy pilot to shoot down an Iraqi MiG jet during the '91 Gulf War. ''It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, gentlemen. I don't think any of us will ever forget this day.''
That's how the air mission began Friday for this aircraft carrier's part of the United States' ''shock and awe'' campaign in Iraq. With the rather mundane moniker of ''Oscar Bravo Sierra Package 3,'' the pilots were heading into battle.
Their mission was to involve strikes in and around Baghdad and was to be the first time most pilots here had ventured above the northern border of the so-called southern fly zone that U.S. and British fighters have patrolled since 1991 and in which Iraqi military aircraft are forbidden to operate. This day, all would come back to the carrier safe and sound.
Final instructions
Fox began with a roll call, assigning each pilot a temporary, numerical call sign to use. Pilots were told that they were to head for a midair rendezvous location near the Kuwait-Saudi Arabia border. There, they would refuel from an Air Force tanker. Once they got their fuel, jets were to fly at attack speed toward targets.
Fox predicted little resistance in southern Iraq. ''I think we own most of the real estate south of the 32nd (parallel),'' he said. But in a bid to knock the pilots back to reality, Fox reminded them to bring ''survivor cards,'' which give the enemy instructions on how to treat a downed pilot.
''This is the night we've been talking about,'' Constellation battle group commander, Rear Adm. Barry Costello, said. ''As a result of the mission you're doing tonight, the world is going to be a better place tomorrow. Godspeed.'' Reporters were then escorted out so pilots could receive classified details about routes and targets. Just after 7 p.m., the jets took off.
Into the hornet's nest
For Marine Hornet pilot Nathan ''Corky'' Miller, the first realization that this was no longer a training mission came after he finished refueling. ''When we got off the tanker, I could feel something ticking pretty loud down there,'' said Miller, pointing to his heart.
''Going into the unknown was part of (being nervous), but (it was) more from the pressure to perform, not wanting to let anyone down,'' said the 29-year-old pilot from Lapeer, Mich.
About 160 miles south of Baghdad, Lt. Tyler ''Tattoo'' Nekomoto, 27, a Marine Hornet pilot and F/A-18 pilot from Kauai, Hawaii, began seeing ''triple-A,'' or anti-aircraft fire, ''here and there.'' As he approached the suburbs of Baghdad, the entire sky lit up. ''There was this cloud layer,'' he said, ''and just below you could see these flashes -- boom, boom, boom -- things going off all over the place. The clouds were all lit up. I've never seen anything like that.''
''It was like being in a stadium with a million camera flashes going off,'' Fox said.
''If you're going to go kick the beehive, you expect the bees to be flying, and they were,'' said Navy Cmdr. Walt Stammer, an F/A-18 Hornet pilot from Edmond, Okla.
On the deck
About 10:30 p.m., all the pilots safely ''trapped,'' or landed, on the Constellation. They had bombed several military targets in and around Baghdad, including radar sites, bunkers and command-and-control centers.
With their bubbles burst, the pilots were now relaxed, smiling, sharing high-fives and handshakes with sailors in the halls. They were tired, sweaty, hungry and achy.
''I wasn't actually scared of dying from the triple-A, but I'm always scared of landing on the carrier at night,'' said Navy Cmdr. John Geragotblis of Oak Harbor, Wash., who declined to give his age.
Postscript
From late Saturday to early Sunday, the Constellation launched about 45 combat sorties, about 30 less than the first night of the air campaign. Sunday, pilots returning from missions over and around Baghdad said they met less resistance than in previous days.
''I've only been doing this for two days, but tonight definitely seemed a little less intense,'' said Lt. j.g. Scott Worthington, an F/A-18 Hornet pilot from Seattle. Worthington, 25, said anti-aircraft artillery was light. He dropped a 2,000-pound bomb on a military site.
''It was an encouraging, almost peaceful hop,'' said Lt. Cmdr. Zeno Rausa, 34, of Hanford, Calif. The Hornet pilot did see an encouraging sight: ''A wall of lights going north, about 10 miles long. . . . It was our troops advancing forward toward Baghdad.''
Semper Fi, Do or Die, Gung-ho Gung-ho Gung-ho
By César G. Soriano
USA TODAY
ABOARD THE USS CONSTELLATION, in the Persian Gulf -- In the yellow and blue ''ready room,'' decorated with posters of bikini-clad women, two dozen Navy and Marine pilots listened intently to Capt. Mark Fox, the Constellation's air wing commander.
Most of the ''flyboys'' were teens when a U.S.-led coalition pushed Saddam Hussein's army out of Kuwait in 1991. Now, they were about to follow Fox, who would pilot an F/A-18 Hornet, into combat over Iraq. ''This is going to be epic,'' said Fox, the first Navy pilot to shoot down an Iraqi MiG jet during the '91 Gulf War. ''It's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, gentlemen. I don't think any of us will ever forget this day.''
That's how the air mission began Friday for this aircraft carrier's part of the United States' ''shock and awe'' campaign in Iraq. With the rather mundane moniker of ''Oscar Bravo Sierra Package 3,'' the pilots were heading into battle.
Their mission was to involve strikes in and around Baghdad and was to be the first time most pilots here had ventured above the northern border of the so-called southern fly zone that U.S. and British fighters have patrolled since 1991 and in which Iraqi military aircraft are forbidden to operate. This day, all would come back to the carrier safe and sound.
Final instructions
Fox began with a roll call, assigning each pilot a temporary, numerical call sign to use. Pilots were told that they were to head for a midair rendezvous location near the Kuwait-Saudi Arabia border. There, they would refuel from an Air Force tanker. Once they got their fuel, jets were to fly at attack speed toward targets.
Fox predicted little resistance in southern Iraq. ''I think we own most of the real estate south of the 32nd (parallel),'' he said. But in a bid to knock the pilots back to reality, Fox reminded them to bring ''survivor cards,'' which give the enemy instructions on how to treat a downed pilot.
''This is the night we've been talking about,'' Constellation battle group commander, Rear Adm. Barry Costello, said. ''As a result of the mission you're doing tonight, the world is going to be a better place tomorrow. Godspeed.'' Reporters were then escorted out so pilots could receive classified details about routes and targets. Just after 7 p.m., the jets took off.
Into the hornet's nest
For Marine Hornet pilot Nathan ''Corky'' Miller, the first realization that this was no longer a training mission came after he finished refueling. ''When we got off the tanker, I could feel something ticking pretty loud down there,'' said Miller, pointing to his heart.
''Going into the unknown was part of (being nervous), but (it was) more from the pressure to perform, not wanting to let anyone down,'' said the 29-year-old pilot from Lapeer, Mich.
About 160 miles south of Baghdad, Lt. Tyler ''Tattoo'' Nekomoto, 27, a Marine Hornet pilot and F/A-18 pilot from Kauai, Hawaii, began seeing ''triple-A,'' or anti-aircraft fire, ''here and there.'' As he approached the suburbs of Baghdad, the entire sky lit up. ''There was this cloud layer,'' he said, ''and just below you could see these flashes -- boom, boom, boom -- things going off all over the place. The clouds were all lit up. I've never seen anything like that.''
''It was like being in a stadium with a million camera flashes going off,'' Fox said.
''If you're going to go kick the beehive, you expect the bees to be flying, and they were,'' said Navy Cmdr. Walt Stammer, an F/A-18 Hornet pilot from Edmond, Okla.
On the deck
About 10:30 p.m., all the pilots safely ''trapped,'' or landed, on the Constellation. They had bombed several military targets in and around Baghdad, including radar sites, bunkers and command-and-control centers.
With their bubbles burst, the pilots were now relaxed, smiling, sharing high-fives and handshakes with sailors in the halls. They were tired, sweaty, hungry and achy.
''I wasn't actually scared of dying from the triple-A, but I'm always scared of landing on the carrier at night,'' said Navy Cmdr. John Geragotblis of Oak Harbor, Wash., who declined to give his age.
Postscript
From late Saturday to early Sunday, the Constellation launched about 45 combat sorties, about 30 less than the first night of the air campaign. Sunday, pilots returning from missions over and around Baghdad said they met less resistance than in previous days.
''I've only been doing this for two days, but tonight definitely seemed a little less intense,'' said Lt. j.g. Scott Worthington, an F/A-18 Hornet pilot from Seattle. Worthington, 25, said anti-aircraft artillery was light. He dropped a 2,000-pound bomb on a military site.
''It was an encouraging, almost peaceful hop,'' said Lt. Cmdr. Zeno Rausa, 34, of Hanford, Calif. The Hornet pilot did see an encouraging sight: ''A wall of lights going north, about 10 miles long. . . . It was our troops advancing forward toward Baghdad.''
Semper Fi, Do or Die, Gung-ho Gung-ho Gung-ho