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Hawk/5 Team Supports Operation Southern Watch

Story Number: NNS030317-10
Release Date: 3/18/2003 10:01:00 AM

By Journalist Seaman David Beyea, USS Kitty Hawk Public Affairs

ABOARD USS KITTY HAWK, At Sea (NNS) -- In the middle of the Arabian Gulf, USS Kitty Hawk (CV 63) recently joined the international effort to patrol Iraq's southern no-fly zone.

In early March, Kitty Hawk and embarked Carrier Air Wing (CVW) 5 joined other Navy carrier battle groups, Marines, Air Force and the United States' international partners in the patrols.

"We're here to support U.N. resolution 1441," explained Lt. Brennan Sweeney, Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 195's public affairs officer, "which is basically to monitor and conduct surveillance on Iraq, and to enforce the southern no-fly zone."

The Kitty Hawk battle group has joined other battle groups in a rotating schedule for Operation Southern Watch (OSW). This schedule weaves together the multiple forces participating in OSW for joint patrolling of the no-fly zone.

"We get a window, where it's our assigned time to be enforcing a particular part of the southern no-fly zone. We ensure that we're there at that time," said Sweeney. "There are other assets that are filling in all the other holes."

According to Sweeney, the schedule has the CVW-5 team performing the same mission as the rest of the carrier air wings in the gulf. The mission schedule intermixes different units, allowing everyone involved to take part of the risk and responsibility of patrolling the no-fly zone.

"It's a big puzzle. The people that plan it do a good job of giving everybody a piece of the action," Sweeney said.

The "action" patrolling pilots face consists of viewing sporadic anti-aircraft fire in the no-fly zone. Though certainly a possible danger, the incidents of anti-aircraft fire are isolated and are not in an immediate threat area, explained Sweeney.

Not all the pilots aboard Kitty Hawk are patrolling the no-fly zone, however. Those pilots who aren't currently directly involved in OSW are conducting unit lateral training.

Unit lateral training is basic-level training that CVW-5 performs in the air around Kitty Hawk. This training is used to keep the pilots of CVW-5 current with their flight skills, so they can be ready when they are called on for OSW or any future mission.

"Kitty Hawk is here as part of an overall team, just hoping to do our job well," said Sweeney.

Kitty Hawk remains mission-ready to respond to emergent national tasking where needed and was recently ordered to the Central Command area of responsibility to join coalition forces preparing for possible operations in that area. America's oldest active warship, Kitty Hawk is the world's only permanently forward-deployed aircraft carrier and operates out of Yokosuka, Japan.