THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1996, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Tuesday, July 16, 1996 TAG: 9607160249
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY EARL SWIFT, STAFF WRITER
LENGTH: 59 lines
The Enterprise arrived ``on station'' off the coast of former Yugoslavia Monday, three days after the 1,123-foot ship pulled alongside another Norfolk-based super carrier to assume the Navy's centerpiece role in the Mediterranean.
Capt. James Zortman, commander of the Enterprise's air wing, said the ship arrived at the ``Lion Box,'' a sliver of the Adriatic Sea between Bosnia and Bari, Italy, at about 1 p.m. Norfolk time.
The Enterprise will begin sending its fighters and bombers into the air today to familiarize their crews with the terrain of the strife-torn Balkans, Zortman said.
By Wednesday, those crews will begin flying actual missions over the mountains and cities of Yugoslavia's contentious offspring, backing up ground forces keeping the peace in the region.
``The missions will run the gamut,'' Zortman said in a telephone interview, noting that besides providing cover to troops on the ground the carrier's fliers will take photographs and conduct electronic surveillance of the terrain below.
``There are still threats out there.''
The Enterprise is expected to navigate the Lion Box for about a week, he said.
The area is one of several patrols carved from the Adriatic to enable ships to conduct operations without accidental interference from other nations safeguarding peace in the Balkans.
``We're up for it,'' Zortman said of the sorties ahead. ``It's kind of like practicing for the game, and then the game day comes.
``It's a chance for us to prove to ourselves that we've done the right things in training.''
The ship's arrival in the Adriatic came three days after the Enterprise pulled alongside the Norfolk-based carrier George Washington about 150 miles east of Gibraltar.
Zortman said the massive ships traveled about 1,000 yards apart ``with what looked like flies buzzing around, we had so many people going back and forth between the ships on helos.''
The side-by-side maneuver enabled the ships' crews to exchange information about conditions in the Med, home to the ``GW'' since last February and the Enterprise's base of operations until December.
``It's like a reunion in the middle of the ocean,'' Zortman said. ``It's a great opportunity to find out the latest on what they've been doing, the sort of things you can only get face-to-face.
``As soon as it was done, we waved goodbye, and they headed west, and we headed east.''
The 35-year-old Enterprise left Norfolk June 28 on its first major deployment in nearly six years.
The George Washington is due to return to Norfolk next week. ILLUSTRATION: Color photo by ASSOCIATED PRESS
Its Med duties completed, the George Washington is heading home and
is expected to reach Norfolk next week. by CNB