Last September I had the privilege of visiting with many of you during the national Tailhook convention in Reno. As a member of the flag panel, I discussed briefly some of the amazing accomplishments that Naval Aviators brought to the fight during Operation Iraqi Freedom.
Our Naval and Marine Corps Aviators performed magnificently as part of the tremendous Coalition that liberated Iraq. I am grateful to The Hook for giving me the opportunity to outline some aspects of Naval Aviation’s role during that conflict.
Five carrier strike groups initially (eventually six), three amphibious ready groups and two amphibious task forces totaling nearly 180 U.S. and Coalition ships, with more than 80,000 sailors and 15,500 embarked Marines, were assigned to Commander, U.S. Naval Forces Central Command/Commander, U.S. 5th Fleet during Iraqi Freedom. Never in history has one naval force projected such a concentrated amount of firepower and technology in such a small geographic area, and not since World War II has a larger logistics force been assembled.
Hardware, Tactics Upgrades Spell Victory
The advancements in communications, strike warfare and the introduction of the Navy’s new F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, combined with our use of special forces and more than 800 Tomahawk land-attack missile strikes, allowed the Coalition to take Baghdad and overthrow Saddam’s regime in less than one month.
More than 700 Navy and Marine Corps aircraft were among the 1,800 total Coalition aircraft used in Iraqi Freedom. Navy and Marine Corps aircraft flying from carriers and large-deck amphibious ships completed nearly 14,000 sorties in support of OIF. USS Abraham Lincoln (CVN-72), Constellation (CV-64) and Kitty Hawk (CV-63) carrier strike groups (CSGs) conducted operations from the Persian Gulf, while Harry S. Truman (CVN-75) and Theodore Roosevelt (CVN-71) operated from the Mediterranean — with all five CSGs under the operational control of ComUSNavCent/ Com5thFlt. The Nimitz (CVN-68) CSG entered the fight in the later stages of the campaign.
F/A-18E and F/A-18F Super Hornets with sophisticated electronic, payload and range improvements were deployed in combat for the first time aboard Abraham Lincoln and Nimitz. The inaugural Super Hornet squadron, VFA-115, was deployed aboard Abraham Lincoln while VFA-14 and VFA-41 were part of Carrier Air Wing 11 on Nimitz. In early April, two F/A-18Es from VFA-14 and two F/A-18Fs from VFA-41 flew 4,000 miles ahead of Nimitz, landing aboard Abraham Lincoln to augment Carrier Air Wing 14. The addition of four Super Hornets aboard Abraham Lincoln provided a flexible mix of fighter support and tanker capability to support Coalition forces on the ground in Iraq.
One Strike Aircraft for Multiple Targets
A truly unique aspect of OIF was the midmission adaptability of carrier-based strike aircraft. During Operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm, pilots launched with a pre-scripted set of targets and returned to the carrier once their ordnance was expended. During OIF, however, the process of determining targets from mission planning to target engagement was measured in mere minutes or hours instead of days or weeks. This ability allowed for the midmission exploitation of pop-up targets. In particular, the Super Hornet’s increased payload and endurance were most beneficial. Fewer flights were required, putting fewer pilots in harm’s way, thus leading to an even more decisive air campaign.
Nearly 5,000 Navy tacair sorties were flown during OIF accounting for nearly 5,300 bombs dropped by tactical aircraft. Fewer than 230 of those bombs were “dumb,” or unguided pieces of ordnance. Overall, there were more than 3,260 total bombs dropped on Baghdad during OIF, compared to 330 in Desert Storm. Of those 3,260 bombs dropped on Baghdad, 630 were delivered by U.S. Navy aircraft.
More than 75 percent of Navy aircraft in OIF employed Joint-directed attack munitions (JDAMs), which are essentially traditional dumb bombs outfitted with a satellite-guided navigation system that automatically corrects its flight path for maximum accuracy. With JDAMs hanging under the wings of Naval aircraft, pilots were able to attack many more targets of opportunity during their missions with unparalleled accuracy and without wasting ordnance.
In addition to tactical sorties, Navy aircraft flew more than 2,050 tanker sorties, nearly 450 command-and-control missions, more than 350 surveillance sorties and approximately 520 support flights.
Starting well before Iraqi Freedom, maritime patrol and reconnaissance (MPR) surged assets from all over the world to provide 24/7 armed intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) coverage of the areas where Naval forces would be operating, providing critical indications and warnings of asymmetrical threats. One of the most crucial roles performed by MPR was the 24/7 coverage of the Al Faw Peninsula and the Khawr Abd Allah waterway; MPR located more than 50 suspicious vessels, later discovered to be loaded with mines, and then provided real-time reporting as those mine-laden vessels were captured. MPR provided critical ISR support to Naval Special Warfare (NSW) assets during the initial phase of movement into Iraq, and real-time video and imagery to NSW and British assets as they secured gas-oil platforms in the Persian Gulf and landed on the Al Faw Peninsula.
EP-3 crews provided imminent threat warning to missions by imaging targets overland Iraq, passing targeting information to facilitate strikes and assisting in the successful SAR efforts for a downed airman.
New and Unconventional Tactics, Plus Speed
Naval Aviation’s overwhelming success during OIF was the result of exploiting our technological superiority against the enemy, using new and sometimes unconventional tactics. Speed was a significant force multiplier. Our leadership ensured we had the best hardware to complete the operation. No matter how you look at it, the Coalition’s success in Iraq was a direct reflection of the dedication and expert training of U.S. Naval Aviators.
Today, the challenge of helping the Iraqis rebuild and reorganize still requires Naval Aviation’s vigilance. These missions include close air support, aerial reconnaissance and maritime patrols over the North Arabian Gulf to provide eyes in the sky for our maritime intercept operations to stem the flow of smuggled oil out of Iraq.
Operation Iraqi Freedom is not over, and the global War on Terror continues throughout the Central Command theater and around the world. We are in this fight for the long haul, but with the continued professionalism of our Navy and Naval Aviation, we will prevail.