thedrifter
10-24-02, 06:39 AM
Associated Press
October 23, 2002
BAGRAM, Afghanistan - The United States has moved Marine Corps attack jets to Afghanistan, the military said Wednesday, replacing carrier-based warplanes in the Arabian Sea that have moved closer to Iraq.
The last of six Harrier jets arrived at Bagram Air Base north of Kabul this week, Col. Roger King said. They will provide fast air cover across the entire country, a role previously filled by the aircraft carrier jets.
On Wednesday, two Harriers from the Marine Attack Squadron 513, based in Yuma, Ariz., roared into the sky for a five-hour mission over Afghanistan. The planes can land vertically, fly 300 mph faster than the A-10s planes based at Bagram, and can reach any part of the country within minutes.
King said the changes were decided upon by the Navy and Central Command, which directs U.S. military operations in the Middle East. King said he did not know if it was meant to free up aircraft carriers for a possible strike against Iraq.
The USS Abraham Lincoln was the last aircraft carrier to send jets over Afghanistan, and it left for the Persian Gulf in September. The USS George Washington departed for the Gulf earlier in September, and is now in the Mediterranean.
Air Force A-10s and Army AH-64 Apache helicopters have provided air cover for U.S. troops since the departure of the carriers, though faster planes from the carriers had remained on call.
"Carriers were on station until just a few days ago, when the Harriers got up and able to perform," King said.
He said the forces in Afghanistan are less reliant on air power from outside the country because of repairs to Bagram's runway, which had been heavily damaged by two years of war.
Fewer planes are needed because the U.S. campaign has shifted to pinpoint raids, rather than large battles, he said. In recent months, the U.S. military has set up several smaller bases along the Pakistani border and sends out platoons to search villages and suspected al-Qaida hide-outs.
"As the face of this war has changed, we have not needed as much close air support because we've been concentrating our activities in certain location, which lessens the area that has to be covered," King said.
Harrier pilots said they would take some of the workload carried by the eight A-10s, which fly from Bagram day and night.
"The amount of sorties and missions they are flying is really wearing down the crews," said Marine Capt. Toby Moore, 32, from Pendleton, Ore.
Harrier crews said they had been practicing new techniques for the high altitudes and rugged terrain of Afghanistan.
The Bagram airfield lies nearly 4,900 feet above sea level, compared with 200 feet in Yuma. Pilots said the thinner air dramatically affects the performance of their airplanes: they can't take off vertically here or hover, and can land vertically only if they are carrying no weapons and little fuel.
Pilots of the Apache helicopter gunships have reported similar problems, saying they can't make it over many of Afghanistan's mountain ranges.
Sempers,
Roger
October 23, 2002
BAGRAM, Afghanistan - The United States has moved Marine Corps attack jets to Afghanistan, the military said Wednesday, replacing carrier-based warplanes in the Arabian Sea that have moved closer to Iraq.
The last of six Harrier jets arrived at Bagram Air Base north of Kabul this week, Col. Roger King said. They will provide fast air cover across the entire country, a role previously filled by the aircraft carrier jets.
On Wednesday, two Harriers from the Marine Attack Squadron 513, based in Yuma, Ariz., roared into the sky for a five-hour mission over Afghanistan. The planes can land vertically, fly 300 mph faster than the A-10s planes based at Bagram, and can reach any part of the country within minutes.
King said the changes were decided upon by the Navy and Central Command, which directs U.S. military operations in the Middle East. King said he did not know if it was meant to free up aircraft carriers for a possible strike against Iraq.
The USS Abraham Lincoln was the last aircraft carrier to send jets over Afghanistan, and it left for the Persian Gulf in September. The USS George Washington departed for the Gulf earlier in September, and is now in the Mediterranean.
Air Force A-10s and Army AH-64 Apache helicopters have provided air cover for U.S. troops since the departure of the carriers, though faster planes from the carriers had remained on call.
"Carriers were on station until just a few days ago, when the Harriers got up and able to perform," King said.
He said the forces in Afghanistan are less reliant on air power from outside the country because of repairs to Bagram's runway, which had been heavily damaged by two years of war.
Fewer planes are needed because the U.S. campaign has shifted to pinpoint raids, rather than large battles, he said. In recent months, the U.S. military has set up several smaller bases along the Pakistani border and sends out platoons to search villages and suspected al-Qaida hide-outs.
"As the face of this war has changed, we have not needed as much close air support because we've been concentrating our activities in certain location, which lessens the area that has to be covered," King said.
Harrier pilots said they would take some of the workload carried by the eight A-10s, which fly from Bagram day and night.
"The amount of sorties and missions they are flying is really wearing down the crews," said Marine Capt. Toby Moore, 32, from Pendleton, Ore.
Harrier crews said they had been practicing new techniques for the high altitudes and rugged terrain of Afghanistan.
The Bagram airfield lies nearly 4,900 feet above sea level, compared with 200 feet in Yuma. Pilots said the thinner air dramatically affects the performance of their airplanes: they can't take off vertically here or hover, and can land vertically only if they are carrying no weapons and little fuel.
Pilots of the Apache helicopter gunships have reported similar problems, saying they can't make it over many of Afghanistan's mountain ranges.
Sempers,
Roger