America (CV 66) - Naval Cruise Book

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Hoar Admiral (select) John J. Mazach in an informal ceremony conducted on the flight deck. AMERICA transits through the Straits of Bab el Mandeb to the Gulf of Aden en route to the Arabian Gulf and the other side of the war. 10 February: AMERICA has a Beer Day” during a Steel Beach Picnic, allowing crew members two beers each after 45 consecutive days at sea. 14 February: AMERICA transits the narrow Straits of Hormuz and arrives in the Arabian Gulf. 15 February: AMERICA becomes the first and only carrier to operate on both sides of the war when it joins three other U.S. aircraft carriers in the Arabian Gulf carrier box. 16 February: AMERICA spots and destroys an Iraqi floating mine inside the aircraft carriers operational area. This would be the first of a total of four mines discovered while operating in the Arabian Gulf. 20 February: AMERICA is host to the combat press pool. VS-32 destroys an armed Iraqi patrol boat, thus becoming the first S-3 squadron to successfully engage, bomb, and destroy a hostile surface vessel. 23 February: Aircraft from the AMERICA destroy a Silkworm (anti-ship) missile battery after Iraq unsuccessfully fired a missile at the USS MISSOURI (BB 63). During all of CVW-l's strikes into the Kuwaiti Theater of Operations. AMERICA destroyed approximately 387 armored vehicles and tanks. 28 February: Coalition forces cease hostile offensive action after successfully liberating Kuwait and destroying Iraq’s ability to wage war. Iraq submits a letter to the United Nations accept -ing all 12 U.N. resolutions concerning Iraq's invasion and occupation of Kuwait. The end to hostilities was called by President Bush only 42 days after the war began, and exactly two months after AMERICA departed Norfolk. Virginia. 04 March: AMERICA departs the Arabian Gulf and returns to the Red Sea after conducting 3,008 combat sorties during the war. 09 March: AMERICA arri -es on-station in the Red Sea. 16 March: AMERICA arrives in the Red Sea port of Mur ghada, Egypt, and makes the first port call of the deployment after 78 consecutive days at sea. 03 April: Homeward bound. AMERICA transits the Suez Canal to the Mediterranean Sea. 11 April: The United Nations declares the official end to the Gulf War. 24 February: The ground assault into Iraq and Kuwait begins as AMERICA provides close air support for coalition troops. 23

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USS AMERICA (CV 66) OPERATION DESERT STORM CHRONOLOGY -1991- 09 January: AMERICA transits the Straits of Gibraltar and arrives in the Mediterranean Sea. 15 January: AMERICA arrives at Port Said, Egypt, and transits through the Suez Canal to the Red Sea. The United Nations deadline for Iraqi forces to leave Kuwait expires. 17 January: Operation Desert Shield becomes Desert Storm as U.S. - led coalition forces take to the skies to bomb strategic military targets in Iraq such as airfields, communications, command control, chemical, nuclear, and biological warfare facilities. AMERICA provides Combat Air Patrol (CAP) coverage for the carriers in the Red Sea. 19 January: AMERICA launches its first air strike of the war against an ammunition depot north of Baghdad. 20 January: AMERICA’S first night strike is aimed at Iraq's ability to fuel its military machine with an early morning attack against an oil production facility. 26 January: AMERICA flies the first of four bridge strikes. All attacks, flown between 26 January and 24 February, are aimed at destroying bridges that Saddam Hussein could use to reinforce his troops in occupied Kuwait. 31 January: The focus of the air war changes as AMERICA flies into the Kuwaiti Theater of Operations with strikes against Iraqi military forces in occupied Kuwait. 01 February: VAW-123 coordinates aircraft on the first of 11 Scud missile patrols flown from 1 February to 7 February. On 3 February, AMERICA confirms the destruction of two Scud-related vehicles. 03 February: CVVV-1 pilots embark on the first of nine strikes aimed at fixed-positions of Saddam Hussein's elite Republican Guard. 08 February: Captain Kent W. Ewing assumes command from 1 i Rtf :tC sn: tab MR 3 Ilf liF UF 3Q bed at SF 8 31 is 1

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CARRIER AIRWING ONE AMERICA AIRCRAFT Length - 62' Height - 16' Span - 64.1' Speed - Mach 2+ F-14A TOMCAT The F-14A Tomcat is a two seat, twin-engine all weather aircraft capable of flying twice the speed of sound. Its mission is to intercept and destroy enemy aircraft in order to establish and maintain local air superiority. The Tomcat can carry long-range Phoenix missiles in addition to Sparrow and Sidewinder missiles, and can engage multiple targets simultaneously. Fighter squadrons VF-33 and VF-102, based at NAS Oceana, Virginia, flv the F-14 from AMERICA. 24