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Planes focus on rural Afghan targets
By CHRIS TOMLINSON
Associated Press Writer
10/20/01
ABOARD THE USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT — Pilots flying over Afghanistan on Saturday concentrated on military targets in rural areas, seeking out Taliban troops and tanks, the air commander on the USS Theodore Roosevelt said.
Pilots feel comfortable flying over Afghanistan because the Taliban's air defenses can't reach the planes, Capt. Stephen Voetsch, the air wing commander said Saturday.
"They are military targets, they are not in the cities, they are in the outskirts. The type of terrain I have seen reminds me a lot of Falon, Nev., where we practice,'' Voetsch, of Fort Lewis, Wash., said.
The crew of the USS Theodore Roosevelt launched fighter, ground attack and surveillance aircraft early Saturday for another round of attacks against Taliban troops and Osama bin Laden's al-Qaida organization.
The aircraft carrier's commander, Capt. Rich O'Hanlon, said the Taliban were sporadically firing anti-aircraft artillery and the occasional shoulder-launched missile at U.S. aircraft, but he said for practical purposes the Taliban air defenses were "nonexistent.''
O'Hanlon would not provide any details about the Roosevelt battle group's combat activities or possible future assignments, but did say pilots were ready to provide air cover for ground forces, when it is needed.
The USS Theodore Roosevelt, based in Norfolk, Va., launched airstrikes against Taliban and al-Qaida targets for the first time Wednesday, leading the U.S. Navy's fourth battle group into the Arabian Sea. The other battle groups are led by the aircraft carriers USS Carl Vinson, USS Enterprise and the USS Kitty Hawk, which Pentagon officials have said is being used as a base for special operations troops.
A battle group includes as many as a dozen ships. An amphibious assault vessel with 2,200 U.S. Marines on board usually accompanies each group.
U.S. Navy F-14 Tomcat fighters, EA-6B Prowler surveillance planes and U.S. Marine Corps FA-18C Hornet attack jets were catapulted off the Roosevelt's decks early Saturday morning, carrying air-to-ground missiles.
The Roosevelt's 76 planes have flown mostly at night, O'Hanlon said. The carrier is home to 5,500 sailors and Marines, who now work primarily at night and sleep during the day.
On the first night of airstrikes Wednesday, the crew flew an American flag that New York City firefighters had erected over the wreckage of the World Trade Center following the Sept. 11 attacks.
New York Mayor Rudolf Giuliani gave the flag to the Roosevelt's crew for the duration of the U.S. campaign to capture bin Laden, the chief suspect in the bombings, and destroy his bases in Afghanistan.
"That flag has become a great symbol of unity among the people of America, New York and this crew,'' O'Hanlon, a native of New York City, said.
Voetsch said many of his men shed tears as the flag was raised above the carrier, just before the planes were launched. He said he was "pretty cold'' to the images of destruction caused by the bombing campaign, but was also very careful to avoid civilian casualties.
"I'm very concerned about that, in fact I didn't drop weapons in the first night because I wasn't sure they would hit where they were supposed to go,'' Voetsch said.
The U.S. Marine Corps' VMFA-251 "Thunderbolt'' Squadron, normally stationed outside Charleston, S.C., is the first Marine unit confirmed to be participating in the campaign against the Taliban. While assigned to a Navy air wing, Marine pilots have specialized training in providing air cover for ground troops, O'Hanlon said.