December 17, 2001

***Carriers Stretch the Envelope***

Dear Colleague:

**[Our current force of Aircraft Carriers are being stretched to their
limit.]{.underline}** Pilots are now flying so many sorties they must be
medically cleared for their flight hours. Any argument that we need
fewer carriers should now be laid to rest. I commend to your attention
the article below.

We need more carriers.

Sincerely,

/s Jo Ann Davis, MC

December 14, 2001

Pilots Pushed to Limits in Afghanistan

By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 3:42 p.m. ET

ABOARD THE USS THEODORE ROOSEVELT (AP) \-- **Records have been
demolished aboard this U.S. carrier, as the crew and its fighter jets
have been pushed to new limits of flight length and intensity during the
bombing campaign in Afghanistan.**

Since the Roosevelt arrived in the northern Arabian Sea on Oct. 17, its
aircraft have spent more time in the air than ever before.

Flying dozens of sorties per day, F-14B Tomcats and F/A-18C Hornet
fighter jets have spent five to nine hours in the air pounding Taliban
and al-Qaida targets with about 1 million pounds of bombs, officials
said.

During other missions, such as Operation Desert Storm in 1991, the
aircraft would not spend more than three hours flying.

**\`\`A year ago, if I had been told we would be flying as intensely as
we are right now \... I would have said it might have broken the
bank,\'\' said Capt. Richard O\'Hanlon, the Roosevelt\'s commanding
officer. \`\`It\'s been a test of endurance.\'\'**

The sorties have been long because the carrier\'s aircraft must fly
hundreds of miles across Pakistan to their targets in Afghanistan. The
B-1 and B-52 bombers flying daily over Afghanistan are making even
longer trips, from Diego Garcia in the central Indian Ocean.

The operation has strained people and equipment.

Pilots have been forced to get medical clearance to let them exceed the
monthly limit of 65 hours of flight time.

**In November, the ship\'s VFA-82 \`\`Marauders\'\' flew 1,296 hours, a
one-month record for a carrier-based F/A-18 Hornets squadron, said Lt.
John Oliveira, the ship\'s spokesman. It would normally be about 480
hours for the squadron\'s 16 pilots.**

The ship\'s three other fighter squadrons are flying similar hours to
the Marauders.

Cmdr. Roy Kelley, of the VF-102 \`\`Diamondbacks\'\' Squadron, who has
flown an average of 90 hours per month, said the task initially looked
overwhelming. But, he added, as people got into a routine and early
glitches were ironed out, the operation has been largely trouble-free.

\`\`It took us about a week to say we have to change the way we are
doing business,\'\' said Kelley, who is originally from Newark, Ohio.
\`\`The biggest fear has been complacency because the air crew know the
country (Afghanistan) so well. \... You have to realize people down
there are trying to shoot you, trying to kill you and it\'s not a
training exercise.\'\'

The Diamondbacks\' 10 Tomcats flew a record 1,182 hours in November,
Kelley said.

Many lessons have been learned, he said, such as making sure there are
enough batteries for night-vision goggles.

\`\`Who would have thought about how many night vision devices\'
batteries we need?\'\' he said. \`\`We had enough to get us going at the
start, but suddenly we had to start scrounging from other ships to keep
us going.\'\'

Supporting the fighters are the flying tankers, the S-3B Vikings
\`\`Maulers\'\' Squadron, which has pumped more than 3.4 million pounds
of jet fuel in aerial refueling operations since the Roosevelt left its
home port of Norfolk, Va., on Sept. 19, Oliveira said.

In contrast, the eight-plane squadron pumped 2 million pounds of fuel
during the entire six months of its last cruise.

The fighters are supported by four E-2C Hawkeyes, four EA-6B Prowlers
and six helicopters.

In the carrier\'s hectic hangar, maintenance teams have faced 30 to 40
percent more work than unusual as aircraft parts that have never broken
fail under the stress.

\`\`It\'s been an increased management challenge because of the quantity
of work. We\'ve been constantly on our toes,\'\' said Master Chief David
Kennon, adding that he had not experienced such intensity in 26 years in
the Navy.

Since Sept. 19, the maintenance teams have needed five new Hornet
engines at \$1 million each, and two Tomcat engines at \$2 million each,
said Kennon.

The parts are flown to the carrier from the United States, and the
supply line getting the spares onto the Roosevelt has been crucial to
enable the fighters to help pummel the Taliban and al-Qaida into
submission, Kennon said.