By Gary Tuchman
CNN
Sunday, March 30, 2003 Posted: 1:59 AM
EST (0659 GMT)
CNN's Gary Tuchman, accompanying
airmen aboard an Air Force HC-130 search-and-rescue and refueling plane flying
over
UDEID
AIR BASE, Qatar (CNN) -- As they get ready to head over hostile territory, the
10 airmen aboard this Air Force HC-130
start to feel their adrenaline rushing.
The mission
tonight is to rendezvous with a
"I'm
looking out for the altitude, making sure we don't hit the ground and getting
us to where we are supposed to go to," said Maj. Powder, the flight
commander. For security reasons, the airmen referred to themselves by
nicknames.
At the same
time, the crew is looking out for the unlikely prospect of Iraqi aircraft and
the more likely prospect of Iraqi missiles or antiaircraft artillery.
"Does your
mindset change as you cross the border into
"No, since
I'm in an area where I don't know where the enemy could be, from when I get on
the airplane 'til I get off the airplane, I'm thinking the same way," Maj.
Took said.
The crew, flying
with no lights over the Iraqi desert, sees two blips on the radar, the
identities of the aircraft unknown.
As a precaution,
the pilot starts turning the huge plane in circles to see what the targets do.
Ultimately, it's discovered that the targets are the target helicopter and an
escort chopper.
Minutes later,
the search-and-rescue helicopter arrives for its refueling. Both aircraft fly
at 125 mph. At times, they are only 50 feet [15 meters] apart, with the
chopper's rotor blades getting even closer.
"We know
where the enemy is going; we know where they're at. We simply avoid them,"
Maj. Powder said. "If they do get a lucky shot, or they see us, we have
defensive weapons aboard the airplane to defeat their ammunition."
The airmen wear
bulletproof vests in case the plane goes down. They also have parachutes in
case they have to get out before the plane goes down.
Three airmen
aboard this plane have parachuted, but for a different reason. They are the
pararescue jumpers, or PJs, who jump out of the plane during rescue missions.
No rescues were
necessary on this sortie, and the crew and plane returned to base safely.
"Do you
have any fear?" Tuchman asked.
"Everybody
has some fear, but I think it's a good thing in these circumstances," Maj.
Power said. "It keeps you on your toes."
Keeping on one's
toes is vital during wartime. This crew will be flying another mission in as few
as 24 hours.
EDITOR'S
NOTE: This
report was written in accordance with Pentagon ground rules allowing so-called
embedded reporting, in which journalists join deployed troops. Among the rules
accepted by all participating news organizations is an agreement not to
disclose sensitive operational details.