Free Republic

"TERRORIST al-Qaeda camp" in northern Iraq has been bombed by US warplanes, a lieutenant commander involved in the mission has said. Speaking on board the USS Theodore Roosevelt, Mark Brazelton, said: "We left without knowing the target and once we got there talking to the airborne commander ... they gave us co-ordinates." Asked what the target of the raid was, he answered: "It was a terrorist al-Qaeda camp." He added that the camp was hit by guided bombs and the raid was carried out by three formations each comprising eight fighter bombers.

Flight operations were scrapped on the Theodore Roosevelt Monday because of stormy weather from the Mediterranean Sea to Baghdad. Scores of fighter jets had been due to fly close air support missions in Iraq, protecting ground troops and taking out targets that may have been emerged in real time. During such missions, fighter jets fly in a box over a particular chunk of territory, or air interdiction zone, and wait for orders to strike. Despite the taking of US prisoners of war over the last few days, pilots on the Theodore Roosevelt were eager for their turn to fly, and...

A photograph of an airborne EA-6B Prowler hangs prominently in Rear Admiral John Harvey's office. As he sits down with a group of embedded journalists, he cites the plane as key to every strike package -- it is the element that disables, or "blinds," as he says, the Iraqi forces on the ground and helps protect the fighter jets. Admiral Harvey, who commands the entire battle group called Cruiser-Destroyer Group Eight, spoke to us on Sunday, a day after the Theodore Roosevelt's first combat mission. Below are excerpts from the interview. How do you see the aircraft carrier's role developing?...

By JANINE ZACHARIA, ABOARD THE USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT, EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN SEA Dozens of planes took off from the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt early Saturday in their first combat mission over Iraq, joining a robust US-led air offensive that began Friday. F-14 Tomcats and F/A-18 Hornets, loaded with satellite-guided bombs, or Joint Direct Attack Munitions (JDAMS), barraged two targets assigned by US commanders at Prince Sultan Air Base in Saudi Arabia - a leadership structure in central-west Iraq and a communications facility in the south-central part of the country. US Air Force and British jets joined in the raids. The...

GOTTA SEE THIS - War for Enduring Freedom 03/20/03 - First Blood, Baghdad, Kuwait, USS Kitty Hawk, F-117 BREAKING: Tomahawks launched BREAKING: Baghdad - smoke over al-Rasheed military facility BREAKING: Kuwait - Incoming missile attack BREAKING: Heroes everywhere return from sorties. =========== USS Bunker Hill delivers justice =========== A Tomahawk 'Land Attack Missile' (TLAM) leaves the USS Bunker Hill and other US assets. In Kuwait, heroes of the British Royal Air Force about to deliver justice. ========= Baghdad ========= In Baghdad, smoke rises from an explosion over the al-Rasheed military facility south east of Baghdad. In Baghdad, one of Saddam's...

Wed Mar 19, 3:14 PM ET Aviation Ordnancemen Carlos Marzullo, 22, from West Milford N.J., left, Jonathan Boyd, 29, from Round Rock, Texas, center, and Gregory Williams, 31, from Detroit, Mich., right, load a 1,000 Lb. air to ground JDAM (Joint Direct Attack Munition) bomb onto a cradle in the ordnance magazine, on the USS Theodore Roosevelt Wednesday March 19, 2003. The Roosevelt and its battle group are currently on deployment in the eastern Mediterranean Sea. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel)

ABOARD THE USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (AP) - For Petty Officer 1st Class Warren Williford and his 5-year-old daughter, separated by thousands of miles and events beyond their control, it's story time. "Hi Maddie, this is Daddy from the ship, and I'm going to read "The Three Little Pigs" for you," Williford says, blinking under the glare of the lights in the USS Theodore Roosevelt's TV studio. "Once upon a time, there were three little pigs: Poky, Lazy and Will." Williford reads, and for a time, he's closer to Maddie, and to his wife, Marcy. The videotape of his reading will...

<p>The U.S. military is moving a dozen or more missile-firing ships from the Mediterranean into the Red Sea, bordering Saudi Arabia, as Gen. Tommy Franks puts the final pieces in place for a war with Iraq.</p> <p>As the ships were preparing to move as early as last night, the Air Force announced it had deployed an unspecified number of B-2 stealth bombers from Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., to bases closer to Iraq.</p>

ABOARD USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT, EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN The Post's Janine Zacharia is aboard the USS Theodore Roosevelt in the Eastern Mediterranean to report on preparations for war in Iraq. Sailors who rarely, if ever, spend time on the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt came up from the ship's cavernous bowels for a treat around 3 p.m. on Monday. F-14 and F-18 fighter-bombers were doing target practice. Hundreds of heads turned toward the sun to catch a glimpse of each jet as it circled around the ship and dropped its concrete ordnance from the sky on a target...

-----Original Message----- From: Faletti, Matthew J. CDR (VAQ-141) Sent: Tuesday, February 04, 2003 12:35 AM To: VAQ-141 All Hands Subject: February Letter to Families Dear Shadowhawk Families and Friends; The Squadron is in the final stages of completing training requirements in the *********** Operation area prior to sailing overseas. I understand the uncertainty and vagueness of information concerning our deployment is frustrating. This is not intentional and is related to operational security measures in place to ensure the safety of deployed forces. Operational Security denies the enemy any "piece of the puzzle". In order not to give away any piece...

Story Number: NNS030128-09 Release Date: 1/28/2003 1:07:00 PM NORFOLK, Va. (NNS) -- A U.S. Navy F-14 Tomcat aircraft operating from the USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) crashed in the Caribbean approximately 60 miles east of Puerto Rico just after 4:30 p.m. Jan. 26. Both the pilot and radar intercept officer were recovered safely. The aircraft, part of Fighter Squadron (VF) 213 “Black Lions” based out of Naval Air Station Oceana, Va., was on approach for a landing aboard Theodore Roosevelt when it went down. A search and rescue team from Helicopter Support Squadron 3 responded and had the crew out...

WASHINGTON -- With international support for the Bush administration's war plans seemingly on the wane, the Navy confirmed Tuesday that two more aircraft carriers -- including the Norfolk-based Theodore Roosevelt -- have been ordered to move within striking distance of Iraq. The Roosevelt and its battle group, currently training near Puerto Rico, could be steaming toward the Mediterranean in about a week if commanders are satisfied that its sailors and equipment are ready, officials said. Officials also suggested that deployment of the Roosevelt likely would mean that the George Washington, another Norfolk-based carrier, will not redeploy soon. The GW and...

Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld has ordered two additional aircraft carriers to deploy to the Persian Gulf region in preparation for possible war with Iraq, which defense officials told NBC News on Tuesday could begin with a full-scale invasion within a month...

Two More U.S. Carriers, 37,000 Troops Going to Gulf Tue Jan 21,12:12 PM ET By Charles Aldinger and Will Dunham WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The Pentagon has ordered two more U.S. aircraft carriers and another 37,000 combat troops to deploy to the Gulf region for a possible war with Iraq, defense officials said on Tuesday. The moves by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld will bring to four the number of U.S. carriers within striking distance of Iraq and boost to more than 100,000 the number of U.S. troops ordered to the Gulf this month, the officials told Reuters. The USS Abraham Lincoln...

NORFOLK -- It's official. Mark March 27 on the calendar, a week from today, for the carrier Theodore Roosevelt and some of its battle group to return home. Atlantic Fleet officials here released the ``Big Stick's'' return date Tuesday after the ships and their 7,000 crew members steamed out of the Mediterranean Sea and into the Atlantic. Ever since terrorists bombed the destroyer Cole in the southern Arabian port of Yemen nearly a year and a half ago, the Navy has been purposely vague about ship movements. For that reason, only after the Roosevelt battle group was safely in the...