Area aviators support troops

[thedrifter]

Article ran : 04/09/2003
Area aviators support troops
FREEDOM ENC
Marine Corps aviators, including those from New River and Cherry Point air stations, flew an estimated 250 missions in 24 hours as U.S. ground forces moved into Baghdad earlier this week, military officials said Tuesday.



Maj. Gen. John Amos, commander of the 3rd Marine Air Wing under which area forces are operating for the war in Iraq, said Marines had performed well by air thus far and pointed to the Harrier as an example of outstanding performance.



Amos gave a recap of activities of the 3rd Marine Air Wing in Iraq to embedded reporters, excerpts of which were reported by Marine Corps public affairs on the Marine Corps Web site Tuesday.



Amos credited Coalition Forces Air Component Commander, Air Force Lt. Gen. T. Michael ?Buzz? Moseley, with systematically diminishing Baghdad?s air defenses.



?His effort has enabled us to operate over Baghdad with impunity,? he said. Amos said Harriers had played a prominent roll in the war so far.



?The Harriers have really jumped in on this thing ... the magnification and clarity of their Lightning II pods has given us amazing granularity,? he said.



Cherry Point Harriers took part in the initial moments of the war, taking part in raids around the port city of Umm Qasr.



?Everything was focused on southeastern Iraq during the first 48 hours,? Amos said in recapping the events of the war to date.



Of the initial strikes, Amos said ?our priority was things that could kill our infantry from a distance.?



Cherry Point Harriers from Marine Attack Squadrons 542 and 223, assigned to the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade and normally under the command of Maj. Gen. John G. Castellaw of the 2nd MAW at Cherry Point, are under Amos? command in Iraq.



Air elements of the 3rd MAW support Marine ground forces, such as the 1st Marine Division and the 2nd MEB, which consists of Marines from Camp Lejeune.



He said elements of the 3rd MAW have shifted focus to the north and east of Baghdad, as Navy and Air Force planes take the fight to the heart of the Iraqi capital.



?My job is to destroy every piece of equipment the Al Nida Division has before it can be used against my good friend Maj. Gen. Jim Mattis and his Marines of the 1st Marine Division,? Amos said. ?We?ve been hitting them, and I?m confident that we?ve been successful.?



Reflecting on the success of the air campaign, Amos shied away from the notion that air power alone can win wars.



?Operation Iraqi Freedom has brought everyone back to the ground truth ... that ground truth is that air power provides an enormous force multiplier, but it can?t take and hold ground,? he said. ?At the end of the day, we exist to support the Marines on the ground. We feel very good about our air-ground team.?



Personnel from the two Harrier squadrons make up about 3,000 of Cherry Point?s 8,000 Marines currently deployed. Others include those who can set up and run desert airfields such as Marine Aircraft Group 14, Marine Wing Support Group 27 and Marine Air Control Group 28.



Other Cherry Point Marines, including some from VMA-231, are assigned to the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit, which is currently operating in Iraq. Other Cherry Point Marines are assigned to the 26th MEU, which is operating in the Mediterranean Sea.



Sempers,

Roger