RETURNING PILOTS, FLIGHT CREWS WELCOMED.Byline: Grace Lee Staff Writer A first wave of Black Eagles naval air squadron members landed Wednesday in Ventura County, returning from the war in Iraq and ending the longest deployment of their history. Eight pilots and 12 naval flight officers - away from home for nearly 10 months - touched down in four E2 Hawkeye aircraft at Naval Base A naval base primarily for support of the forces afloat, contiguous to a port or anchorage, consisting of activities or facilities for which the Navy has operating responsibilities, together with interior lines of communications and the minimum surrounding area necessary for local Ventura County, Point Mugu, to a crowd of families and friends. ``There is not a better day than today,'' said Cmdr. Sam Schick, a Moorpark resident who was smothered smoth·er v. smoth·ered, smoth·er·ing, smoth·ers v.tr. 1. a. To suffocate (another). b. To deprive (a fire) of the oxygen necessary for combustion. 2. by his family in a single group hug group hug is a website that publishes anonymous confessions. Readers of the site are encouraged to "confess" using a simple form. All confessions go through a lengthy public screening process before appearing on the main page. . ``It feels great.'' Schick flew home on one of 70 aircraft that left the carrier USS Abraham Lincoln Various ships have borne the name Abraham Lincoln, in honor of the 16th President of the United States. In the U.S. Navy
They were the first of the Black Eagles to return since the start of Operation Enduring Freedom - a second wave will return Friday. The squadron's job was to provide early warning missions for the Marines and the Army. Schick returned home as a hero to more than his family. He was granted the Valor valor a rodenticide no longer marketed because of toxicity in horses causing dehydration, abdominal pain, hindlimb weakness, inappetence, fishy smell in urine. Called also N-3-pyridyl methyl N1-p-nitrophenyl urea. Award for heroism over the northern Indian Ocean Indian Ocean, third largest ocean, c.28,350,000 sq mi (73,427,000 sq km), extending from S Asia to Antarctica and from E Africa to SE Australia; it is c.4,000 mi (6,400 km) wide at the equator. It constitutes about 20% of the world's total ocean area. . Schick flew four other officers to safety after their plane suffered engine and electrical failure electrical failure n. Failure in which the cardiac inadequacy is secondary to disturbance of the electrical impulse. as it was catapulted off the carrier's deck. His wife, Kelly, there to meet him with their daughter, Megan, 11, and son, Matthew, 14, said the long deployment - which stretched three months longer than usual - was a challenge. Larissa McShane, there to greet her husband, Lt. Dan McShane, said a 20-day period during which she had no word from him seemed longer than the entire deployment. ``I've always been very proud of the troops who support my freedom,'' she said. ``But to have my husband ... I can't hear patriotic songs or see the flag without crying. I'm such a baby.'' Lt. Cmdr. Brad Kidwell, who came under enemy fire for the first time in Iraq, said his first action on coming home would be to phone his parents. ``I feel I've done something important, but I'm glad to be home,'' he said. The returning servicemen and -women now will get at least two weeks leave to spend with their families. A crew of more than 5,000 remains aboard the Lincoln, awaiting a visit today from President George W. Bush, who will address the nation this evening from the deck of the aircraft carrier, The Associated Press Associated Press: see news agency. Associated Press (AP) Cooperative news agency, the oldest and largest in the U.S. and long the largest in the world. reported. The Lincoln's homecoming caps 290 days at sea, one of the longest deployments for a nuclear-powered aircraft carrier. In December, after six months in the Persian Gulf, the carrier headed home. On New Year's Eve, while the ship was in Australia, word came that it would have to turn around and return to the Persian Gulf, the AP reported. During the war in Iraq, more than 1,600 sorties were flown from the Lincoln. The carrier's battle group fired 116 Tomahawk tomahawk [from an Algonquian dialect of Virginia], hatchet generally used by Native North Americans as a hand weapon and as a missile. The earliest tomahawks were made of stone, with one edge or two edges sharpened (sometimes the stone was globe shaped). missiles without losing any aircraft or Navy personnel. CAPTION(S): 2 photos Photo: (1) Tim Fahey kisses his fiancee, Cara Sullivan, on his return to Naval Base Ventura County after spending nine months overseas. Fahey was one of eight pilots and 12 naval flight officers who came home Wednesday. (2) Jordan Glenn, 5, waves flags as she waits for her father, Lt. Cmdr. Walter Glenn, after his return to Point Mugu. Michael Owen Baker/Staff Photographer |
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