Kevin Miller - Raven One

“Damn,” he whispered, as he pushed himself out of the chair to go to the ready room.

Zydeco, the kind of music Cajun loved, blared from the stereo speakers as Wilson entered Ready Room 7. Most of the officers were in their seats, but several gathered around the water cooler. Gunner held court with the JOs in the back and sipped on a glass of red bug juice that complemented his red flight deck jersey. The pilots were in flight suits except for khaki-clad Psycho at the duty desk. The XO drank his coffee hunched over the message board with his green pen, oblivious to the laughing and banter around him.

Four bells over the 1MC signified 1400, and Wilson stood to face the group. “Okay, guys, seats. Attention to AOM.” Psycho killed the music and the room came to order.

In a familiar routine, each officer with a message to pass addressed the group, followed by the XO. Then, it was time for the CO to have the last word. Typically, the ground pounders were excused at this point, while the pilots remained to repeat the ritual in order to cover pilot-specific issues, but as he stood before his squadron officers, Cajun’s message was one the CO wanted all of them to hear.

“Okay, guys, welcome, or welcome back, to the Persian Gulf,” said Cajun. “In forty-eight hours we’ll be up in carrier box four and fly our first OIF hops into Iraq. We are going to spend the next four or five months flying combat missions — long ones — day and night in support of our troops. First we go to Iraq, then to Afghanistan later in the cruise. Here’s the bottom line… For the foreseeable future we are here to answer their tasking and the tasking of National Command Authority. That’s one main reason we are here. The guys on the ground are going to need us sooner or later, and we have to be on station with fused ordnance available, and we must deliver it when and where they want it. After a while, the kill box geography, and most everything else, will become routine. You’ll know the procedures by heart, and even the controller’s voices will become familiar to you. However, it is not routine for the guys on the ground. They are in a firefight, or they got hit by an IED or they see the bad guys planting one. For them it’s very, very personal, and when they need ‘fast mover’ support, they need it right now . They are in combat — and so are you.

“If you, all of you, do not have your game face on right now, you are late. If you have not made a Gulf divert chart that includes the divert fields inside Iraq, make it. And if you do not know the JDAM max release airspeed, are confused about how to preflight your expendables and set a program, do not know the Mk 80 series frag patterns in diameter and altitude, are not intimately familiar with your survival radio, have not preflighted the items in your survival vest in months, learn it or do it. Any one of dozens of small details can bite you if they drop out of your scan. So, you’ve got 24 hours to get your act together. Ask yourself where your deficiencies are and use this time wisely.

“Last cruise we drilled around a lot in the box and didn’t drop much. I admit it was hard to stay focused week after week as we lugged bombs north only to bring them home. This time, though — if what Ike and Enterprise have done recently is a guide — we are dropping plenty. If we find an IED, we aren’t screwing around. If there are some bad guys holed up in a hut, level it once you are given the ‘cleared hot.’ Remember, though, if there is a doubt there is no doubt— don’t drop. Work with the controllers, but unless you are 100 percent sure of the target, don’t drop on a hunch. Bring them back. The last thing we need is to give CNN and Al Jazeera incidents to fill their air.

“The other main reason we are here, and have been at least since 1979, is to deter Iran. We are not at war with Iran, but Iran certainly is not friendly to us or to the GCC countries in the Gulf. Those countries are scared to death of Iran, not only because of Iran’s military capability but also because of the exportation of Shia Islam and revolution to their populations. Anything more is above my pay grade. The bottom line is maintain a 12-mile standoff and don’t thump Iranian oil platforms, dhows, boghammars , or Iranian P-3s. They have rights in these waters, too. If you see an Iranian unit, tell the ship and stand by for tasking. This is a rough neighborhood, but believe me, they are more afraid of you and your intentions, so it’s smart to give everyone a wide berth out here. The overwhelming majority of Iranian people hate their government and the ayatollahs are afraid of the people and repress them. The Iranians are looking for a reason to fight us and unify their population in order to take the heat off themselves. Let’s not give them a reason by doing something dumb.

“One more thing. We must guard against complacency every single day . We can hurt ourselves on this ship dozens of ways in peacetime , not just during combat ops. This affects everyone in this squadron, and we are all susceptible to it. When each day becomes like Groundhog Day and you lose respect for this environment, and if you pilots get into the mindset that another kill box hop is just a routine cross-country with bombs, you have got to step back and compartmentalize why you are out here.”

Wilson immediately thought of Mary’s e-mail, but willed himself to concentrate.

“We saw the other night that this can be an unforgiving business. Weather, the deck, tankers… the situation can go south real fast. Sponge found himself in a box, not because he placed himself there, but because of the way one event built upon another. Sponge, your recovery on a night pitching deck barricade was a fine piece of flying under extreme pressure. None of us here have done what you did, and I’m not willing to say I would have done any better. The airplane is broken — but we’ll fix it. As soon as we can, we’ll get you back in the air, and I hope that is tomorrow.”

What a great leader, Wilson thought. He stole a glance at Saint who listened with eyes down. Regardless of the Aircraft Mishap Board outcome, Cajun knew enough to absolve Sponge of responsibility for 406 in public and, by extension, disagreeing with Saint in public. Wilson wondered if Cajun had already had a one-way conversation with his XO behind closed doors.

“Okay, anybody have anything for me?” asked Cajun, ready to wrap it up.

No one did.

He clapped his hands and said, “Okay, ready, break .”

“QUOTH THE RAVEN!” the room responded in unison.

Wilson got up and projected his voice over the sudden disorder. “Okay, pounders, excused. Pilots, back in yer seats in five minutes.” Psycho turned and pushed the play button, and the high-spirited sound of accordions and washboards once again filled Ready Room 7.

A few minutes later, Wilson called the room to order. The pilots went around the room again, this time with their pilot-specific discussion items. When it was his turn, Wilson stood up to go through a PowerPoint presentation on flying in the Gulf. “Okay, guys, this is the gouge, so listen up. The Skipper just got our minds right about flying here. Now, I want to give you a brief on how CAG Ops is going to build the Air Plan and what a typical fly day is going to be like over here.

“First, stand off. NAVCENT gets their ass kicked if we even get close to territorial airspace, so know where you are and don’t press the limit. Even if you know you are safe according to your system, realize that if you fly right at a limit, you are going to set off alarms inside the host nation’s airspace. Especially if you get close to Iran.