THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1994, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, September 15, 1994 TAG: 9409150470
SECTION: FRONT PAGE: A12 EDITION: FINAL
SOURCE: BY JACK DORSEY, STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: NORFOLK LENGTH: Medium: 74 lines
The carrier Dwight D. Eisenhower, its flight deck bristling with Army helicopters and flag-waving soldiers and sailors, left Norfolk on Wednesday for a possible conflict in Haiti.
Soldiers on deck climbed the rotors of an Army H-60 Black Hawk, spreading a large American flag across its windshield and waving to a sparse crowd on the dock of Norfolk Naval Station.
Children, some yelling ``Bye, bye, daddy. Hurry home,'' others jumping with uncertain anticipation about where their fathers were going, waved back with small American flags.
Manning the carrier's mammoth deck as the ``Ike'' backed away, the personnel aboard presented a curious look - white-suited sailors deliberately alternated with olive green-clad Army men.
``They are ready, of course,'' said Adm. Henry Mauz, commander in chief of the Atlantic Fleet, as the carrier slipped its moorings and headed to sea. ``We are not sure this is going to happen, but we are ready for any eventuality.
``Those Army people and those sailors aboard that ship are fired up and ready to do their job.''
Carrying an unusual load of about 1,800 soldiers from the 10th Mountain Aviation Brigade of Fort Drum, N.Y., along with about 60 Army helicopters, the Eisenhower is to join the Norfolk-based carrier America, which left Tuesday for the same destination.
The America left with less visible signs of its mission. No Navy air wing was scheduled to fly aboard this week. Speculation is that Marine or Army units in North Carolina will be flown aboard the America, possibly today.
The 2nd Fleet command ship Mount Whitney is scheduled to get under way from Norfolk today for the Caribbean. The Mount Whitney will be used as the command ship for a small armada of about two dozen ships and 20,000 troops that will form the invasion force.
Mauz gave the soldiers and sailors aboard the Eisenhower a farewell talk Wednesday, speaking to small groups, telling them to be careful.
``I told them to be safe and remember that those Army systems and people are operating from a difference environment,'' Mauz said. ``Safety around the ship is a complex thing and it takes a lot of training. I told them to look after themselves.''
The Navy has assigned a sailor to small groups of Army troops to show them around the ship, where to eat and where to go in an emergency, Mauz said.
He said it makes sense to convert the carrier, which normally carries 75 fighter jets, bombers and other planes, into a troop ship and helicopter carrier.
``I'm not surprised in the least,'' he said. ``This great national asset can do anything. If you want us to carry jeeps or trucks, we'll do it. The flexibility of a carrier has never been so great.''
While the Navy welcomed national news organizations covering the ships and troops, commanding officers on Wednesday began shielding their units from discussion about the mission.
Army Col. Larry Casper, who commands the 10th Mountain Aviation Brigade, avoided answering operational questions. But he praised the Navy's help in getting ready for the operation.
``The carrier takes us places we cannot ordinarily go,'' said Casper, adding that his unit's helicopters are designed to protect the light infantry units as they move ashore and perform recon-naissance. ILLUSTRATION: Photo by MARTIN SMITH-RODDEN/
Lyn Pence of Hampton waves a flag as the Eisenhower steams past Fort
Monroe on Wednesday. Pence's son-in-law is a crewman on the
carrier.
by CNB