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.
“Also, we need to follow the standard routes into Iraq, and those are basically along the al-Faw Peninsula with altitude deconfliction. They are not over Iran. If you are going to be off, be off to the west.” Wilson stomped his foot to emphasize the importance of the point, and several pilots nodded. He changed to the next slide.
“The action right now is in Diyala, north and east of Baghdad, southeast of Baghdad around Salman Pak, and in Mosul. The Marines out of al-Asad have Anbar. Chances are you won’t go there this cruise — but you may — so be ready. Get ready to be strapped into the seat for eight hours at a time, and the hours are going to accumulate. The guys on
