Misawa pilots on Northern Watch sorties
say Iraqis are getting more aggressive
By Wayne Specht, Misawa
bureau chief
Courtesy U.S. Air Force
F-16CJ 'Wild Weasels' like these from Misawa Air Base, Japan, are flying Operation
Northern Watch sorties over northern Iraq. |
MISAWA AIR BASE, Japan — It takes Capt. Philip Hamilton about 45 minutes to get to
work each day … as long as anti-aircraft artillery fire doesn’t slow him down.
The 13th Fighter Squadron pilot from Misawa is deployed to Incirlik Air Base, Turkey,
where squadron pilots have been launching Operation Northern Watch sorties over northern
Iraq for the past six weeks.
It is Hamilton’s first deployment to Turkey in five years. He was last there when
Operation Provide Comfort, the predecessor to Northern Watch, was staged out of Incirlik.
He says he’s noticed some changes since his last visit.
"There have been between 50 and 60 instances of the Iraqis shooting at coalition
aircraft this year," the 10-year Air Force veteran said during a telephone interview
Monday from Turkey. "Most of the 13th pilots have seen it, that wasn’t happening
five years ago."
With eight sorties under his belt, Hamilton said the deployment is going as planned,
even with increased Iraqi aggression.
First Lt. Rochelle Nq-a-Qui, another Panther pilot and a 1998 Air Force Academy
graduate, said the biggest difference flying over Iraq is the profile of missions being
flown there.
"We fly pretty long missions, and we do [primarily] our SEAD mission," she
said.
SEAD stands for suppression of enemy air defenses, the prime role of F-16CJs like those
flown by the Misawa contingent.
Hamilton said that rules of engagement allow pilots to employ the F-16’s suite of
electronics to destroy or disable Iraqi radar-guided surface-to-air missile sites and
anti-aircraft artillery guns when necessary.
He said he hasn’t had to do that yet on this deployment.
Among the weaponry used is the HARM — High-speed Anti-Radiation Missile — and
the HARM Targeting System, which identifies, locates and destroys enemy radar.
If Misawa aircraft are "lit up" by Iraqi radar while flying over no-fly
zones, an air-to-ground missile could be fired at the radar site.
Coalition aircraft have been enforcing the northern no-fly zone for more than 10 years.
The U.S. and British planes patrol no-fly zones over northern and southern Iraq
established shortly after the Persian Gulf War to protect Kurdish and Shiite rebels
against Iraqi government forces.
Iraq, which believes the zones violate its sovereignty, began firing missiles and
anti-aircraft guns at the U.S. and British air patrols in 1998. Since Dec. 28, 1998, the
Iraqis began targeting the aircraft with radar, and firing surface-to-air missiles, or
SAMs, and anti-aircraft artillery.
"The United States and Britain have nothing left but to admit the fact that they
have failed in their evil, aggressive policies toward Iraq," the state-run
al-Qadissiya newspaper recently reported.
On July 2, the United States and Britain, facing a Russian veto, were forced to
withdraw their so-called "smart sanctions" proposal to revamp sanctions against
Iraq.
The smart sanctions would have eased the flow of civilian goods while tightening an
11-year-old arms embargo and plugging up oil smuggling routes.
The Security Council voted instead to continue the oil-for-food program, which enables
Iraq to sell oil despite the trade sanctions to buy necessities for its people.
A recent incident suggests Iraq may be getting militarily bolder.
Defense Department officials said last week the crew of a U.S. Navy E2-C surveillance
aircraft reported seeing the plume of a surface-to-air missile apparently fired from Iraq
into Kuwaiti airspace.
The U.S. plane, flying over Kuwait as part of Operation Southern Watch enforcement of
no-fly zones, was not hit.
While not yet confirmed by the Pentagon, that would be the first known instance of Iraq
firing a missile into Kuwaiti airspace since the 1991 Persian Gulf war and could mean Iraq
has stationed a missile unit close to the Kuwaiti border.
Hamilton and Ng-a-Qui are part of the combined Northern Watch task force consisting of
roughly 1,500 coalition members and 50 aircraft, including U.S. F-16 Fighting Falcons,
F-15 Eagles and Strike Eagles, EA-6B Prowlers, KC-135R Stratotankers, HH-60G Nighthawk
helicopters, HC-130 Hercules, C-12s, and E-3B Sentry Airborne Warning and Control Systems.
Also flying ONW sorties in Turkey now are F-15s from the 44th Fighter Squadron of
Kadena Air Base, Okinawa.
Turkish F-4s, F-16s and KC-135s, and British Tornadoes, Jaguars and VC-10 Nimrod
tankers round out the unit.
Hamilton said British coalition forces take part in pre-mission mass briefings done a
day prior to sorties.
"A typical sortie begins with a 45-minute flight due east towards Iraq, and
we’ll do several aerial refuelings [en route] depending on the amount of time spent
over Northern Iraq," Hamilton said. Most sorties last an average of between four and
six hours.
"Sortie [durations] are driven by how much hot time we’re spending actively
enforcing no-fly activities on any given day," he said.
Debriefings are mandatory following each mission.
Last week, an F-16CJ from Aviano Air Base, Italy, crashed in Turkey while en route to a
mission enforcing the northern no-fly zone over Iraq.
"It’s never a good thing when you hear a jet’s down," Ng-a-Qui
said. "The first thoughts through your mind is, you wonder who it is, and if
they’re OK."
Capt. Michael A. Nelson, Jr., of Aviano’s 31st Fighter Wing, safely ejected and
was rescued by an Air Force Reserve Command HH-60G Pave Hawk helicopter.
The mishap is under investigation, but Northern Watch officials said it was not the
result of hostile action.
Iraq occasionally claims it has hit a U.S. or British plane, but no downing has been
confirmed.
Hamilton said taking part in Northern Watch missions over Iraq can be unpredictable in
nature.
"We’re out a long ways from friendly territory, so we’re prepared for
any eventually … in that sense, it changes the character of the missions and your
psyche a bit," he said. "You never know if this will be the day you’ll be
on CNN."
The Associated Press and Air Force Reserve Command News Service sources
contributed to this report.
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