THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Wednesday, September 14, 1994 TAG: 9409140442
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A1 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Long : 113 lines
Not since Jimmy Doolittle took 16 Army Air Corps B-25 bombers aboard the carrier Hornet in World War II has the Army placed as many aircraft on Navy carriers.
Up to 60 Army helicopters were jammed aboard the Dwight D. Eisenhower as the carrier prepared to leave Norfolk before noon today. Also aboard are 1,800 Army troops from the elite 10th Mountain Division, based at Fort Drum, N.Y., bound for duty off Haiti.
The carrier America, which left Norfolk at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday, is headed for Haiti as well, the Pentagon announced.
Some speculate that the America will take on Army personnel and aircraft from the 82nd Airborne Division at Fort Bragg as the carrier passes the North Carolina coast and heads for the Caribbean.
Like the Eisenhower, the America was expected to leave its entire air wing at home.
Both voyages are harbingers of a possible invasion of Haiti that the White House said could come ``very soon.''
Military units up and down the East Coast were scrambling to board cargo ships and air transports as the Clinton administration began to lay the groundwork for a strike in Haiti.
Elements of the 7th Transportation Group at Fort Eustis in Newport News left Tuesday aboard small landing craft for an unspecified destination. A spokesman at Fort Eustis said the troops were deploying as part of the multinational forces for Haiti.
Army Chief of Staff Gen. Gordon R. Sullivan, who visited his units at Fort Eustis and in Norfolk Tuesday, said it may be time to say a prayer for the deploying troops.
``I think what everybody needs to do is think about these young people, these young men and women going off to serve their country in uncertain times,'' Sullivan said. ``And say a prayer for them.''
In the Persian Gulf war and in Somalia, Army troops and helicopters were sent overseas aboard cargo ships or transport aircraft. The Navy couldn't spare space aboard its carriers in the gulf war because its jets were needed against Iraq.
Army helicopter pilots boarding the Eisenhower on Tuesday, many of them warrant officers with experience from the Persian Gulf and Somalia operations, were upbeat about their new role as ``naval aviators.''
Chief Warrant Officer Joseph Whipple, who flies AH-1F Cobra gunships, made his first carrier landing a month ago and his second aboard the Eisenhower on Monday.
``It's great duty,'' said Whipple. ``Normally we are used to a tent, hot blowing sand, giant insects, long periods of intensive heat and a bag of food.''
The air-conditioned ship, mattresses, hot food and dry landing pad are nice changes, Whipple said.
But the 12-year Army veteran, who is about to see his third combat tour in four years in the front end of an attractive target, said he wonders how many more combat tours he will serve before he retires.
``I got eight years left. At this rate, I'll see another six missions. Things like that compute in my mind. I'm not stupid,'' he said.
``Besides, they are always lighting candles for me in churches back in New York and Pennsylvania. That's starting to concern me.''
Navy Capt. Mark Gemmill, commanding officer on the Eisenhower, said it is strange having only three Navy aircraft - all SH-3 Sea Kings, used for rescue and logistics - instead of the ship's normal load of 75 tactical jets.
``I know in World War II we deployed a carrier with Jimmy Doolittle's bombers aboard. So maybe this is an extension of that concept.
``This is the best use of a carrier to do the mission we will be given,'' he said.
Flying stripped-down planes with only enough fuel for a one-way trip, Doolittle led a surprise Army bombing raid on Japan that boosted American morale in the months after Pearl Harbor.
The absence of noisy jet launchings by catapult may be a welcome relief for some among the Eisenhower's crew.
``But the guys who live in the CAT (catapult) passageway get immune to that. They may be sleepless from that because it's too quiet,'' Gemmill said.
Gemmill will have about 3,200 sailors aboard, including 280 to 300 women, when he sets sail.
``It is certainly jointness in action,'' Gemmill said. ``It is very, very gratifying and exciting to see how well the Navy and the Army work together, not only at the command level, or joint command level, but also at a personal level.
``The soldiers and sailors are the ones who are going to make this succeed. They are obviously doing everything they can, every minute they are around, to make sure we do, in fact, succeed.''
Few family members showed up at the naval base Tuesday to say goodbye to the carrier America sailors.
Patricia Miller, at the pier to see her husband off, was with her three children, one of whom waved a large American flag.
All four were in tears.
``We just told him goodbye - that we'll see you soon and to hurry back,'' said Miller. ``He's got a job to do. We told him to do it and just get back.'' MEMO: Staff writer Tony Germanotta contributed to this report.
ILLUSTRATION: Color photo
PHOTOS BY BILL TIERNAN/Staff
The family of Petty Officer 2nd Class Glen Miller, a crewman on the
America, bids him a sad farewell Tuesday.
Photo
BILL TIERNAN/Staff
With an M-16 slung over his shoulder, Army Lt. Leslie Moton, who
lives in Troy, N.Y., and is posted at Fort Drum, N.Y., stands on the
flight deck of the carrier Eisenhower and watches the carrier
America ease away from Norfolk Naval Base Tuesday. The Eisenhower is
scheduled to deploy today.
KEYWORDS: HAITI by CNB