Skip to comments.
The FReeper Foxhole - Military Related News in Review - July 21st, 2003
various
Posted on 07/21/2003 3:43:24 AM PDT by snippy_about_it
click here to read article
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-20, 21-40, 41-60, 61-80, 81-96 next last
Profile
Harriers Vital to Marine Corps Aviation During Iraqi Freedom



Story Link
MCAS Yuma, Ariz.(July 17, 2003) -- One of the biggest challenges for Marine Corps fixed-wing aviation during Operation Iraqi Freedom was the scarcity of airfields within the theater of operations.
Commanders were aware of this fact before operations began overseas. More than 400 aircraft deployed with the 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing, most of which require traditional airfields to operate from, said Col. Mark Savarese, commanding officer, Marine Aircraft Group 13.
In order for the Marine Corps to bring the combat power necessary to support ground troops, the only option was to base attack jets on ships, he said. However, with traditional aircraft carriers already loaded with Naval aircraft and only a limited space available at Ahmed Al Jaber Air Base, Kuwait, the only place to base those jets were the LHD class ships, a type of miniature aircraft carrier designed for amphibious assault[Sgt. Nap1].
Enter the AV-8B Harrier, a single engine attack fighter capable of Short Takeoff and Vertical Landing and the only fixed wing aircraft able to operate from a LHD.
"The beauty of Harriers is their flexibility," Savarese said. "It is a unique airplane that can go anywhere and operate from anywhere, which is what allowed them to operate from what I like to call an attack carrier."
The Marine Corps deployed 76 Harriers to the theater of operations during OIF, 60 of which were spread between USS Bonhomme Richard, USS Bataan, USS Tarawa and USS Nassau, he said. The remaining jets were stationed in Kuwait. Harriers made up more than 50 percent of the Marine Corps' fixed-wing offensive air support aircraft -- the 60 Harriers on ship comprised 45 percent of the total airborne firepower.
"During the twenty-six days of combat operations, we flew more than 2,000 sorties and logged more than 3,000 flight hours," Savarese said. "Harriers expended more than 750,000 pounds of ordnance in support of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, dropping 1,000-pound and 500-pound bombs.
"The Harrier community on both the East Coast and West Coast has worked diligently over the past two years to revise what we do professionally," he said.
From a standpoint of logistics support, maintenance and operational flying, OIF was the Harrier's "finest days."
"I'm so absolutely delighted with the total professional effort of both the Sailors and the Marines that were out there working so hard to get these airplanes flying so pilots could go fly combat missions," Savarese said.
Even after all the missions the Harriers conducted, not a single plane returned with bullet-holes in it, a fact he credits to the professional flying of the aviators and superior intelligence on enemy forces and capabilities. The mission capable readiness rates for the Harrier were an unprecedented average of 80 percent.
"For this conflict, we required the basing flexibility that STOVL aircraft provide," Savarese said. "The STOVL concept has come with a price, as sometimes innovation does, but OIF demonstrated that through persistence, a vision can become reality."
Operation Iraqi Freedom showed not only the flexibility of the Harrier, but it's dependability as well.
"I think Harriers were well-trusted by the ground folks in the theater of operations," said Lt. Col. Paul K. Rupp, commanding officer, Marine Attack Squadron 211. "Not only are they extremely effective in missions, but extremely efficient. Our airplanes had tremendous tactical aircraft readiness availability in the theater for the 3rd MAW -- our planes were always ready to go."
The AV-8B was one of the few TACAIR platforms that did not lose an aircraft in combat during OIF, he said.
"The Harrier wasn't used to it's full potential out there when it comes to (Forward Arming and Refueling Points) and (Forward Operating Bases)," Rupp said. "But it takes a lot of support and logistics to support FARPs and FOBs -- about 45 tons of ordnance a day are needed at a FARP alone, so we chose to use other platforms."
Basing the Harriers on ship, in Kuwait and using the FARP at An Numaniyah, 60 miles southeast of Baghdad, also helped with refueling issues, he said. The Harrier did not need to refuel in mid-air, which allowed aircraft without STOVL capabilities the opportunity to make full use of aerial-refueling aircraft.
Precision-guided munitions helped the AV-8Bs post a 65 percent mission effectiveness rate, verified by the new Northrop Grumman Litening II targeting pod, Savarese said. Effectiveness was determined by a narrow definition of target bomb hit assessment -- a hit is when a bomb lands within 13 feet of a target, and not a single bomb dropped fell outside of 200 feet of its target.
In one wave alone, 12 Harriers flying off USS Bonhomme Richard completely destroyed the Republican Guard Baghdad Division's one and only armored tank battalion, he added. The tank battalion was found by MAG-13's intelligence team to be hiding in Al Kut, captured on video by the Litening II targeting pod on a Harrier returning from a sortie. That one mission allowed the MEF's push on Al Kut to continue without a pitched battle.
"There was one other incident that I think was pretty noteworthy," Savarese said. "One of our pilots saved Oliver North's bacon, as well as a few others. He was embedded as a Fox News broadcaster, and he went down in a UH-1 with some engine trouble. It didn't crash, but I think they had to land near An Numaniyah when immediately they started receiving fire from enemy artillery, mortars or such, with enemy infantry moving in from the east.
"We had a section of Harriers airborne at the time, and our pilots engaged, taking out the enemy position closest to the helicopter and provided delaying action against the enemy infantry moving west, allowing Marine rescue helicopters into the landing zone to get those guys out of there. It wasn't until afterward we found out that Oliver North was one of the guys in that helicopter. We were pretty proud of that."
Elements of VMA-214 also took out a Baath Party headquarters building near the hospital where Army Pvt. Jessica Lynch was held, he said. The target was taken out to allow the rescue attempt to proceed.
"I think we were highly effective because we had an incredible team of great individuals working together," Savarese said. "Everybody gave 110 percent, we had the equipment, we had the readiness, and I believe we had the squadron commanders that were top notch and ready to move these guys in the right direction."
General Randolph Pate, Commandant of the Marine Corps from 1956 to 1959, once said "vertical takeoff and land characteristics are an ultimate requirement for all Marine aircraft in support of amphibious operations in the future ... obtaining a STOL/VTOL capability is vital to Marine aviation."
"The AV-8B Harrier has fulfilled those characteristics," Savarese said. "The contributions the aircraft made during OIF have validated the STOVL basing flexibility as a fundamental feature for responsive offensive air support.
To: All

Former POW Receives Much Attention at NAACP Convention Story
Rumsfeld, Myers Thank Employers of Guard and Reserve Members Story
Shades of Green at Disney World Now to Reopen in March 2004 Story
VA Calls for Improvements in POW Benefits Story
To: SAMWolf; All

Come on out of there!
Have a cup a joe -

Read some Recent News - 
Stretch your legs a while and welcome to Monday at The FReeper Foxhole!
Please post any news you'd like to share and send us any ideas you would like to see us cover.
Have a Good Monday and enjoy your day.
To: All
To: copperheadmike; Monkey Face; WhiskeyPapa; New Zealander; Pukin Dog; Coleus; Colonel_Flagg; ...
.......FALL IN to the FReeper Foxhole!
.......Good Monday Morning Everyone!
If you would like added or removed from our ping list let me know.
To: snippy_about_it
Good morning, Snippy. How's it going?
6
posted on
07/21/2003 3:49:21 AM PDT
by
E.G.C.
To: E.G.C.
Good morning EGC.
Tired and running late. lol.
This time zone difference between here and Oregon is not easy to deal with in only one week!
Off to work, have a good day.
To: snippy_about_it; SAMWolf; AntiJen
Good mornin, foxes and FRiends from FRoggy Maine.
8
posted on
07/21/2003 4:22:21 AM PDT
by
larryjohnson
(USAF(Ret))
To: snippy_about_it; SAMWolf; Darksheare
Good morning Snippy, SAM, Darksheare.
Rainy day today! Starting off with a big thunder boomer this morning.
To: bentfeather
Morning feather. We are under a severe thunderstorm watch until noon today. boo-hoo, hot and muggy just where I left off when I flew out of here last week!
To: larryjohnson
Good morning larry. Nice to 'see' you.
To: snippy_about_it
Good Morning Everybody.
Coffee & Donuts J
12
posted on
07/21/2003 6:28:44 AM PDT
by
Fiddlstix
(~~~ http://www.ourgangnet.net ~~~~~)
To: Fiddlstix
Thank you Fiddlstix.
To: snippy_about_it; SAMWolf
Morning.
Threatening rain this morning, but not raining yet.
The dreaded red 'x' is showing where images should be at the moment.
14
posted on
07/21/2003 6:59:40 AM PDT
by
Darksheare
("A predator's eyes are always in front.")
To: snippy_about_it
Good morning!
Most of your pictures didn't load, though .. but I'll take your word for it about the success of your vacation. :)
15
posted on
07/21/2003 7:04:18 AM PDT
by
Colonel_Flagg
("I like a man who grins when he fights." - Sir Winston Churchill)
To: snippy_about_it
On This Day In History
Birthdates which occurred on July 21:
1804 Victor Schoelcher Guadeloupe, abolished french slavery
1816 Paul Julius Baron von Reuter founded Reuters news service
1856 Louise Blanchard Bethune 1st US woman architect
1863 C Aubrey Smith London England, actor (Prisoner of Zenda)
1864 Frances Folsom Cleveland 1st lady
1885 Frances Parkinson Keyes novelist (Dinner at Antoine)
1896 Jean Rivier Villemomble France, composer (Vnitienne)
1899 Ernest Hemmingway Oak Park, for whom the bell tolled... (Nobel 1954)
1899 Hart Crane US, poet (The Bridge)
1901 Allyn Joslyn Milford Pa, actor (They Won't Forget, Cafe Society)
1911 Marshall McLuhan Canada, writer (The Medium is the Massage)
1920 Isaac Stern Kremenetz, Russia, violinist (debut SF Symph)
1921 Billy Taylor Greenville NC, orch leader (David Frost Show)
1922 Kay Starr Dougherty Okla, singer (Rock & Roll Waltz, Club Oasis)
1924 Don Knotts Morgantown WV, actor (Amdy Griffth Show, 3's Company)
1926 Norman Jewison director (Moonstruck, ...And Justice For All)
1926 Paul Burke New Orleans, actor (Thomas Crown Affair)
1931 Gene Littler golfer (1961 US Open)
1931 Gene Fullmer (International Boxing Hall of Famer: World Middleweight Champion [1957], NBA Middleweight Champion [1959-62])
1933 John Gardner scholar/writer (Grendel, Sunlight Dialogues)
1935 Kaye Stevens US, singer (Jerry Lewis Show)
1938 Les Aspin, (Rep-D-Wisc, 1971-93)/Minister of Defense (1993-94)
1942 Fred Hetzel NBA star (SF, Cincinatti, Milwaukee Bucks)
1942 Patricia Elliot Gunnison Co, actress (Renee-Empire, One Life to Live)
1943 David Downing NYC, actor (Backstairs at the White House)
1943 Edward Herrmann Wash DC, actor (Day of the Dolphin, Reds)
1945 Alton Maddox NY black activist/attorney (Tawana Brawley case)
1945 Leigh Lawson Atherston England, actress (Fire & Sword, Charlie Boy)
1946 Zbigniew Kaczmarek Poland, lightweight (Olympic-gold-1976)
1947 Cat Stevens aka Yusuf Islam, rocker (Peace Train, Father & Son)
1947 Wendell Burton San Antonio Tx, actor (Lucas-New Dick Van Dyke Show)
1948 Art Hindle Halifax Nova Scotia, actor (Jeff-Dallas, Berrengers)
1949 Ludmila Smirnova USSR, pairs figure skater (Olympic-silver-1972)
1951 Doug Collins US, basketball player (Olympic-silver-1972)
1951 Slick Watts NBA (Seattle SuperSonic)
1952 Robin Williams Chicago Ill, comedian (Mork & Mindy, Awakenings)
1955 Henry Preistman rocker (The Christians-Harvest the World)
1955 Tacho Ocheriski singer (Putting on the Ritz)
1957 Jon Lovitz Tarzana Calif, comedian (SNL)
1960 Lance Guest Saratoga Calif, actor (Lance-Lou Grant)
1962 Ike Eisenmann Houston Tx, actor (Scott-Fantastic Journey)
1964 Susan Swift Houston Tx, actress (Chisholms)
Deaths which occurred on July 21:
1796 Robert Burns Scottish poet, dies
1948 Arshile Gorky abstract expressionist, dies at 43
1957 Bernard Spooner US inventor of bulletproof jacket, dies
1967 Basil Rathbone Johannesburg S Africa, actor, dies at 75
1967 Jimmy Foxx baseball hall of famer
1972 Jigme Dori Wangchuck king of Bhutan, dies
1976 Christopher Ewart-Biggs Brit ambassador to Ireland is assassinated
1982 Dave Garroway TV host (Today Show), dies at 69
1985 Mickey Shaughnessy actor (Chicago Teddy Bears), dies at 65
1985 Vicki Vola actress (Miss Miller-Mr District Attorney)
1986 Virginia Hewitt actress (Carol-Space Patrol), dies at 60
Reported: MISSING in ACTION
1966 TIFFIN RAINFORD SANTA CRUZ CA.
1967 FLORA CARROLL E. BRUNSWICK MO.
[03/05/73 RELEASED BY PRG INJURED]
1968 FLANAGAN SHERMAN E. JR. WESTMINSTER MD.
1968 WILLING EDWARD A. WILMINGTON DE.
1970 SCHULTZ RONALD J. HILLSBORO KS.
POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.
On this day...
230 St Pontianus begins his reign as Catholic Pope
0365 Alexandria hit by Earthquake; 50,000 die
1588 English fleet defeats Spanish armada
1730 States of Holland put death penalty on "sodomy"
1773 Pope Clemens XIV bans Jesuits -- disbanded, defrocked, stripped of their sustenance, ignored by other orders, denounced as schemers and plotters, the Jesuits finally regained respectability in 1814. The order had flourished underground
1831 Belgium gains independence from Netherland, Leopold I made king
1836 1st Canadian RR opens, between Laprairie & St John, Qubec
1846 Mormons found 1st English settlement in Calif (San Joaquin Valley)
1861 1st major battle of Civil War ends (Bull Run/Manassas), Va-South wins
1865 Wild Bill Hickok kills gunman Dave Tutt in Springfield, Illinois, in the first formal quick-draw duel.
1867 City Gardens on Folsom opens
1873 Jesse James, 1st train robbery (Adair, Iowa)
1880 Compressed air accident kills 20 workers on Hudson River tunnel, NY
1896 National Federation of Afro-American Women & Colored Women's League merge to form National Association of Colored Woman
1898 Spain cedes Guam to US
1900 Pope Leo XIII encyclical to the Greek-Melkite rite
1904 Camille Jenatzy sets world auto speed record at 65.79 MPH
1919 Dirigible crashes through bank skylight killing 13 (Chicago, Ill)
1921 Indians (9) & Yankees (7) hit a record 16 doubles
1923 Phillies score 12 in 6th & beat Cubs 17-4
1928 H E Wood discovers asteroid #1096 Reunerta
1930 US Veterans Administration established
1931 Reno race track, becomes 1st in US to use daily double wagering
1934 113ø F (45ø C), near Gallipolis, Ohio (state record)
1935 C Jackson discovers asteroid #1358 Gaika
1940 Soviet Union annexes Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania
1942 8 die as coal waste heap slides in river valley near Oakwood, Va
1944 US forces free Guam of Japanese invaders
1945 Detroit Tigers & Phila A's play 24 inning 1-1 tie
1946 Jsus T Pi¤erol becomes 1st native born Puerto Rican governor
1949 Senate ratifies North Atlantic Treaty by a vote of 82-13
1954 At Geneva, France agrees to independence of North & South Vietnam
1955 1st sub powered by liquid metal cooled reactor launched-Seawolf
1956 Cin Red pitcher Brooks Lawrence loses after 13 straight wins
1957 1st black to win a major US tennis tournament (Althea Gibson)
1959 1st atomic powered merchant ship, Savannah, christened, Camden NJ
1960 The country of Katanga forms in Africa
1961 Launch of Mercury 4 (Liberty Bell) with Grissom
1962 160 civil right activists jailed after demonstration in Albany Ga
1965 Pakistan, Iran & Turkey sign Regional Co-Operation pact
1966 Gemini X returns to Earth
1969 Neil Armstrong steps on the Moon at 2:56:15 AM (GMT)
1969 Russia's Luna 15 impacts moon after 52 lunar orbits
1972 2 passenger trains collide head-on killing 76 (Seville, Spain)
1972 In New York, 57 murders occur in 24 hours
1973 Hank Aaron becomes 2nd major leaguer to hit 700 HRs
1973 USSR launches Mars 4 for fly-by (2600 km) of the red planet
1975 Billy Martin fired as Texas Rangers manager
1975 NY Met Felix Milan hits 4 singles; erased by Joe Torres 4 double plays
1976 1st outbreak of "Legionnaire's Disease" kills 29 in Phila
1978 US Postal Service & unions agree on a contract averting mail strike
1978 World's strongest dog, 80-kg St Bernard, pulls 2909-kg load 27 m
1979 N Chernykh discovers asteroids #2585 Irpedina & #3298
1979 National Women's Hall of Fame (Seneca Falls, NY) dedicated
1980 Jean-Claude Droyer climbs the Eiffel Tower in 2 hrs 18 mins
1983 Polish govt ends 19 months of martial law
1983 Storm cuts short Diana Ross' free concert in NY's Central Park
1983 US announces Lebanon freed American hostage David Dodge
1984 1st documented case of a robot killing a human in US
1984 Marita Koch of E Germany sets world women's mark for 200m, 21.71s
1986 Pleasure Island plans unveiled
1988 ESA's Ariane-3 launches 2 communications satellites (1 Indian)
1989 Eastern Airlines submits a reorganization plan to creditors
1989 Greg LeMond (US) wins Tour de France in fastest time
1989 Mike Tyson TKOs Carl "the Truth" Williams in 1:33 of 1st round
1990 Goodwill Games opens in Seattle Wash
1990 Pink Floyds' "The Wall" is performed where the Berlin Wall once stood
1997 200-year-old USS Constitution sails under its own power
Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"
Belgium : Independence Day (1831)
Bhutan : 3rd King of Bhutan's Death
Bolivia : Martyr's Day
Guam : Liberation Day (1944)
Mayan New Year.
Minority Tourism Month
Religious Observances
Christian : Commemoration of St Victor
RC : Memorial of St Lawrence of Brindisi, confessor/doctor (opt)
Religious History
1773 Clement XIV issued the brief, 'Dominus ac redemptor noster,' officially dissolvingthe Society of Jesus (Jesuits). This politically-based suppression afterward leftconspicuous gaps in Catholic education and foreign missions.
1829 Birth of public school teacher Priscilla Jane Owens. A Methodist who remained inBaltimore all her life, she left behind two enduring hymns: 'We Have an Anchor' and 'JesusSaves.'
1886 The cardinal's hat was conferred upon Elzear Alexandre Taschereau, 66, archbishopof Quebec. He was the first Canadian to be made a cardinal in the Catholic Church.
1925 Following a sensational 12-day trial, high school biology teacher John T. Scopeswas found guilty of teaching evolution in his Dayton, TN classroom and was fined $100.
1958 English apologist C.S. Lewis wrote in a letter: 'What the devil loves is thatvague cloud of unspecified guilt or unspecified virtue, by which he lures us into despairor presumption.'
Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.
Thought for the day :
" Character is what you know you are, Not what others think you are. "
Today's 'You Might Be A Redneck If' Joke...
"You refuse to wash your truck on account that you have a strong suspicion that mud and rust is all that's holding it together."
Murphy's Law of the Day...( Murphy's Technology Laws)
"To err is human, but to really foul things up requires a computer."
Cliff Clavin says Before the 20th century, July was pronounced to rhyme with "truly."
16
posted on
07/21/2003 7:15:40 AM PDT
by
Valin
(America is a vast conspiracy to make you happy.)
To: snippy_about_it
Good Morning Snippy. Good story on the Harriers
17
posted on
07/21/2003 8:08:46 AM PDT
by
SAMWolf
(A rumour has it that rumours are just rumours.)
To: snippy_about_it
It really hurts to see the casualty list getting longer each week and then read stories of how we don't pursue the attacjers aggressively because we don't want to upset the "locals".
18
posted on
07/21/2003 8:14:31 AM PDT
by
SAMWolf
(A rumour has it that rumours are just rumours.)
To: snippy_about_it; SAMWolf
Mornin' y'all! Boy,,what a short weekend. Come on Friday!!!! LOL!!
19
posted on
07/21/2003 8:16:15 AM PDT
by
SCDogPapa
(In Dixie Land I'll take my stand to live and die in Dixie)
To: larryjohnson

Morning LarryJohnson, we have clear blue skies again today. I'm enjoying them while they last.
20
posted on
07/21/2003 8:17:01 AM PDT
by
SAMWolf
(A rumour has it that rumours are just rumours.)
Navigation: use the links below to view more comments.
first 1-20, 21-40, 41-60, 61-80, 81-96 next last
Disclaimer:
Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual
posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its
management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the
exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
FreeRepublic.com is powered by software copyright 2000-2008 John Robinson