“All the way into the hanger”
I was there in the Navy at the time and I remember this well. When Qaddafi decided to extend the coastal claims of Libya to the waters where American naval maneuvers were conducted. The entire Gulf of Sidra, extended up to one hundred miles from Libya’s coast, and it was proclaimed by Qaddafi to be Libyan water, off limits to our Navy. Jimmy Carter meekly rescheduled our maneuvers to stay outside disputed area, ordering us to not cross Qaddafi’s line. True to form, Carter failed to confront Qaddafi over the issue even after a siege on the American embassy in Tripoli in 1979.
Within months after taking office, Ronald Reagan took a stand. He made it clear that American maneuvers in the Gulf of Sidra would proceed as they always had. Anticipating trouble, Reagan was asked by the Joint Chiefs what American Navy pilots do if attacked? Would Reagan’s orders allow for “hot pursuit”? Reagan’s answer – “All the way into the hanger.” You know the rest of the story.
LOL!!!