thedrifter
03-23-03, 08:18 AM
March 22, 2003
Navy and Marine pilots attack Baghdad in ‘epic’ opening of battle
By William H. McMichael
Times staff writer
ABOARD THE CARRIER CONSTELLATION IN THE PERSIAN GULF — After months of warnings, a huge military buildup and two days of preliminary strikes, U.S. and coalition forces launched a massive, far-reaching attack on Iraq March 21, hitting Saddam Hussein’s military in multiple directions from the sea, air and land.
Dubbed Operation Iraqi Freedom, the attack included air strikes launched Friday night local time from the carriers Constellation, Kitty Hawk and Abraham Lincoln; hundreds of Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from every Tomahawk-capable surface ship and submarine in the region, along with air-launched cruise missiles; amphibious and Special Operations forces striking from the sea; and the start of a ground invasion out of Kuwait that had covered more than 100 miles in less than 24 hours.
The operation actually began 1½ days earlier, when Navy ships and submarines lobbed more than 40 Tomahawks in a “decapitation strike” barely an hour after President Bush’s 48-hour ultimatum for Saddam Hussein and his sons to leave Iraq expired. Friday, America’s military war machine swung into full offensive mode.
“This is going to be epic,” Carrier Air Wing Two commander Capt. Mark Fox, who scored the Navy’s first MiG kill in the 1991 Gulf War, told fliers at the outset of their pre-flight briefing before leading a strike package off the Constellation. “This is going to be a package that is going downtown.”
And it did. For the first time since the Gulf War, U.S. fliers flew strike missions north of the 33rd parallel and into downtown Baghdad and elsewhere, hitting “leadership, communications facilities and military targets,” according to Constellation Battle Group commander Rear Adm. Barry M. Costello.
The first pilots back from those initial strikes — all involved with the first wave returned safely, officials said — reported encountering a heavy barrage of Iraqi anti-aircraft fire and surface-to-air missiles.
“We were there after all the TLAM [Tomahawk Land Attack Missile] strikes,” said Cmdr. Doug Denneny, 40, of Virginia Beach, Va., executive officer of Fighter Squadron 2 and an F-14 Tomcat pilot. “After that, it seemed like the whole area was energized.” Denneny said he dropped two 2,000-lb. JDAM bombs on a “military facility.” Although he was over his target only 5-10 minutes — the entire mission lasted about five hours — he said he saw a lot of surface-to-air fire.
“I think it was random,” Denneny said. “But even though it was random, it really gets your attention.”
U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Nathan “Quirky” Miller, 29, of Lapeer, Mich., and Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323, agreed. This was his first combat mission outside of Operation Southern Watch patrols.
“This was for real,” said Miller, an F/A-18 Hornet pilot who dropped one 1,500-lb. SLAM-ER bomb on a military facility outside Baghdad. “From a distance of 100 miles, you could see glowing clouds over Baghdad.” The nerves, he said, kicked in after he refueled for the last time before flying to his target.
“When we got off the tanker, I could feel something tickin’ pretty loud down there,” he said, tapping his chest.
All the fliers said the enemy fire was to be expected. “When you kick the beehive, you expect the bees to be flyin’,” said Cmdr. Walt Stammer, 42, of Edmond, Okla., an F/A-18 pilot with Strike-Fighter Squadron 137. Stammer said he dropped three 1,000-pound JDAMs over Baghdad on what appeared to be a military control headquarters.
This was his second mission of the day. Earlier, he flew a close air support mission for armored forces advancing out of Kuwait into southern Iraq. “They were haulin’,” he said. “It was neat to see the dust trails.”
William H. McMichael is the Hampton Roads bureau chief for Navy Times.
Sempers,
Roger
Navy and Marine pilots attack Baghdad in ‘epic’ opening of battle
By William H. McMichael
Times staff writer
ABOARD THE CARRIER CONSTELLATION IN THE PERSIAN GULF — After months of warnings, a huge military buildup and two days of preliminary strikes, U.S. and coalition forces launched a massive, far-reaching attack on Iraq March 21, hitting Saddam Hussein’s military in multiple directions from the sea, air and land.
Dubbed Operation Iraqi Freedom, the attack included air strikes launched Friday night local time from the carriers Constellation, Kitty Hawk and Abraham Lincoln; hundreds of Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from every Tomahawk-capable surface ship and submarine in the region, along with air-launched cruise missiles; amphibious and Special Operations forces striking from the sea; and the start of a ground invasion out of Kuwait that had covered more than 100 miles in less than 24 hours.
The operation actually began 1½ days earlier, when Navy ships and submarines lobbed more than 40 Tomahawks in a “decapitation strike” barely an hour after President Bush’s 48-hour ultimatum for Saddam Hussein and his sons to leave Iraq expired. Friday, America’s military war machine swung into full offensive mode.
“This is going to be epic,” Carrier Air Wing Two commander Capt. Mark Fox, who scored the Navy’s first MiG kill in the 1991 Gulf War, told fliers at the outset of their pre-flight briefing before leading a strike package off the Constellation. “This is going to be a package that is going downtown.”
And it did. For the first time since the Gulf War, U.S. fliers flew strike missions north of the 33rd parallel and into downtown Baghdad and elsewhere, hitting “leadership, communications facilities and military targets,” according to Constellation Battle Group commander Rear Adm. Barry M. Costello.
The first pilots back from those initial strikes — all involved with the first wave returned safely, officials said — reported encountering a heavy barrage of Iraqi anti-aircraft fire and surface-to-air missiles.
“We were there after all the TLAM [Tomahawk Land Attack Missile] strikes,” said Cmdr. Doug Denneny, 40, of Virginia Beach, Va., executive officer of Fighter Squadron 2 and an F-14 Tomcat pilot. “After that, it seemed like the whole area was energized.” Denneny said he dropped two 2,000-lb. JDAM bombs on a “military facility.” Although he was over his target only 5-10 minutes — the entire mission lasted about five hours — he said he saw a lot of surface-to-air fire.
“I think it was random,” Denneny said. “But even though it was random, it really gets your attention.”
U.S. Marine Corps Capt. Nathan “Quirky” Miller, 29, of Lapeer, Mich., and Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 323, agreed. This was his first combat mission outside of Operation Southern Watch patrols.
“This was for real,” said Miller, an F/A-18 Hornet pilot who dropped one 1,500-lb. SLAM-ER bomb on a military facility outside Baghdad. “From a distance of 100 miles, you could see glowing clouds over Baghdad.” The nerves, he said, kicked in after he refueled for the last time before flying to his target.
“When we got off the tanker, I could feel something tickin’ pretty loud down there,” he said, tapping his chest.
All the fliers said the enemy fire was to be expected. “When you kick the beehive, you expect the bees to be flyin’,” said Cmdr. Walt Stammer, 42, of Edmond, Okla., an F/A-18 pilot with Strike-Fighter Squadron 137. Stammer said he dropped three 1,000-pound JDAMs over Baghdad on what appeared to be a military control headquarters.
This was his second mission of the day. Earlier, he flew a close air support mission for armored forces advancing out of Kuwait into southern Iraq. “They were haulin’,” he said. “It was neat to see the dust trails.”
William H. McMichael is the Hampton Roads bureau chief for Navy Times.
Sempers,
Roger