Sunday, May 7, 1972
Midway, On The Job, Early, Aids Defenders Of An Loc
SOUTHERN CARRIER STATION --The aircraft carrier Midway, on the firing line for less than a week, has adjusted to its combat role in support of South Vietnamese ground troops even though it was pulled out of port a month and half before schedule to beef up the 7th Fleet Strike Force.One of five carriers supplying tactical air and bombing sorties for ARVN forces, the Midway steamed from Alameda, Calif., April 10.It was originally earmarked for departure to the South China Sea on May 26. Even as the carrier was making its way across the Pacific, pilots were practicing for combat missions.Despite the abrupt departure, Cmdr. Carroll E. Myers, 42, commander of the air wing and head of all fighter-bomber squadrons aboard the ship, feels his men are performing as if they had been on station for a few weeks.Myers, a resident of Lemoore, Calif., admitted, however, the first night recovery in more than five months will probably make the adrenalin surge as pilots place their plane on a pitching deck with only the help of an electrical spotting device and a few words from the landing safety officer.Yet, once the squadrons are accustomed to both daylight and night missions, there can be no letup, according to the commander. "A good leader can anticipate a slump and do something about it. You have to stay with it. A carrier pilot can't relax."To date, strikes from the Midway have been aimed at Military Region III, including targets around the embattled city of An Loc. With its arsenal of F4 Phantoms, A6 Intruders and A7 Corsairs, the Midway has been helping to pound North Vietnamese troop concentrations and supply lines.Some pilots on the carrier have encountered communist tanks and attacked them with bombs."Yes, there are differences between the missions we were flying our last cruise and the ones we're flying this time," says Lt. Charles Hokanson, 26, a Corsair pilot of two years. "But we're professionals and we know the odds. We take pride in knowing what to do and when to do it.""In a lot of ways," says the pilot, "the earlier departure was easier for us. When you're in port your wife is always looking at the calendar and thinking of the date you're set to leave. Goodbyes this time were easier."At full strength, there will be six carriers off the coast of Vietnam, as opposed to two which were on station before the NVA offensive last month."When the Saratoga arrives, it will be the most amount of naval power put together since World War II," says Rear Adm. John L. Butts, commander of Carrier Div. 1.Other carriers in the fleet are the Coral Sea, Constellation, Kitty Hawk and Hancock."Midway, on the Job Early, Aids Defenders of An Loc", by SPEC. 4 Allen Schaefer, published in the Pacific Stars and Stripes on Sunday, May 7, 1972 and reprinted from European and Pacific Stars and Stripes, a Department of Defense publication copyright, 2002 European and Pacific Stars and Stripes.