Admiral tells Post: We've blinded Iraq's air defenses

Jerusalem Post ^ | Mar. 24, 2003 | JANINE ZACHARIA

[yonif]

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?

Admiral Harvey: I think it will go like you see now. We'll be responding as the tactical situation changes. And that's one of the great things about the flexibility we have here both with the Theodore Roosevelt and the [aircraft carrier] Harry S. Truman. As the needs on the ground change and as the battle tempo changes then the demands made upon the naval aviation, the carrier strike forces will also change, whether it's a Tomahawk strike or with our tactical aviation.

How long do you anticipate the air campaign lasting?

I just really can't predict that. General Franks said he was pleased with the overall progress. Things were moving along... But he also warned that it could be very tough days ahead.

Are you concerned about the number of air accidents? There seems to be a lot going on simultaneously where TR pilots are flying.

No I'm not concerned that there's too much going on. I'm always concerned about the safety of our aviators when they go into a war situation... This is a challenging situation.

What are you hearing from other battle group commanders about how things are going?

It's very consistent. Just about every mission has seen what they call triple-A ground gunfire (anti-aircraft artillery) coming up of various sizes and degrees and they're also seeing missile shots consistently on the missions that go in the vicinity of larger cities.

One of the things that we have going for us is the electronic warfare, the electronic attack. And that's in our EA-6Bs, the Prowler. That is a key enabler for what we are doing here. I can't overstress the importance of that because it is blinding the Iraqi air defense system. And so when our strikers are going in, whether they're going in with Air Force planes, Marine planes, or Navy planes, we give them this electronic attack capability right alongside, right in the mission. They blind the Iraqi surveillance system. They blind the Iraqi fire-control system so that reduces them to what we would call a ballistic shot of long-range anti-aircraft missiles, the SA-2s and the SA-3s, that the Iraqis have. It also forces them to keep their shorter-range missiles on the move.

How much cooperation has there been between American and British forces?

Operationally I don't think you can tell the difference. They are joined at headquarters. They are joined in the field. They are joined in tactical squadrons.

What if anything has surprised you?

I think maybe some people on the outside were thinking this was going to be over very rapidly. And I never thought that.

[SMEDLEYBUTLER]

Now if we could only get the squids to use TERPES.

JAM ON!