THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, October 11, 1994 TAG: 9410110290
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: Medium: 58 lines
The Norfolk-based carrier George Washington arrived in the Red Sea only Monday, but its air crews have had Iraq on their minds since last month, when they flew surveillance missions over the region where troops are now massing.
``The timing of our previous trip couldn't have been any better to help us be prepared for anything we might have to do right now,'' Capt. Ralph H. Coon, commander of the carrier's air wing, said in a satellite telephone interview Monday.
The reason for the surveillance was a joint operation in the Persian Gulf with air forces from Southwest Asia.
``We were flying up and over southern Iraq,'' said Coon, who commanded a bomber squadron based at Oceana Naval Air Station during the Persian Gulf war. ``As a result of that, we had the distinct possibility of looking at things that could be future targets for us. So from that perspective, our pilots are really up to speed.''
The 5,600 sailors and airmen aboard the George Washington had returned to Mediterranean waters just two weeks earlier when they were ordered back south to the Red Sea as the Iraqi crisis escalated.
The carrier passed through the Suez Canal into the Red Sea on Monday, along with two Norfolk-based ships in its battle group - the guided-missile cruiser San Jacinto and the guided-missile destroyer John Barry.
The Pentagon has not said whether the battle group will remain there or sail around the Arabian peninsula into the Persian Gulf.
The George Washington's 70-plane air wing and the San Jacinto's Tomahawk cruise missiles are capable of reaching Baghdad from either side of Iraq.
The urgent new mission has invigorated the crew of the carrier, which has been at sea since leaving Norfolk on May 20, Coon said.
``I think the guys were all pumped up a couple of days ago when we thought we might be coming through the Suez Canal again,'' he said.
They have been working to keep the aircraft groomed in peak condition, he said. They also have kept touch with world events via satellite hookups that enable them to watch CNN.
The Navy's newest carrier, the Washington is on its first six-month deployment.
``They are probably as much up to speed as the people back in the United States,'' said Coon. ``As a result of that, it has helped them have a really good situational awareness, which has kept them all pumped up and excited.'' ILLUSTRATION: ASSOCIATED PRESS color photo
The Norfolk-based carrier George Washington passes a mosque Monday
in Suez, Egypt, as it heads through the Suez Canal toward the Red
Sea. The Pentagon has not said whether the Washington and its battle
group will remain in the Red Sea or sail on to the Persian Gulf.
KEYWORDS: IRAQ U.S. NAVY
by CNB