Page 66 - Air Forces Monthly - September 2017

CVN 77 IN THE MED

the Middle East much longer, the logistics
here are a little immature. Sometimes we
receive the support we need from the US a
little more easily in the Fifth Fleet [AOR].”
CAPT Pennington echoed RADM Whitesell’s
view of the Russian presence: “We have a
Russian ship with us almost every day. In
terms of military threat here in the region,
I think it is fair to say if things would go in
the wrong direction, the capability of Russia
and other countries with which we might
not see eye-to-eye would be great. I think it
is nice to say that we don’t feel threatened
right now. They are trying to understand
what we do; we are trying to understand
what they do. It is almost like the Cold War,
but not on the same scale. In the current
environment, I don’t consider it as a threat.
“Probably the greatest threat today, frankly,
is a collision at sea during heavy traffic. As you
saw, unfortunately, just a few days ago in Japan,
this is a real threat [on June 17 the destroyer C-2A 162168/’45’ from Detachment 2 of Fleet
USS Fitzgerald collided with a cargo ship, killing Logistics Support Squadron 40 ‘Rawhides’. The
seven US sailors]. In the Arabian Gulf the VRC-40 detachment played an important role when
density of traffic is much greater and oftentimes the carrier required a minor repair early in the
deployment.
smaller ships don’t display in the proper
way. Visibility is much more difficult because
of blowing dust and that is a big threat.”
CAPT Pennington also sees the fight
against IS “making great progress”, and
drew attention to the successful campaign
to take Mosul, where an official declaration
of victory was proclaimed on July 10.
“In Syria there is a little bit more going
on, but there have been many great gains
made and the end is probably in sight
there as well. That’s not to say there is
no need for tough fighting, but there are
so many people aligned and committed
to see this thing through, and I am sure
we will. But that area in Syria is tough.
The area on the ground between Jordan,
Syria and Iraq is very, very complicated
and we have got two different sides of the
Syrian problem, as well as the Russians.” AFM
Left: Below decks, munitions are prepared for
loading on to the Hornets and Super Hornets for
strike missions over Iraq and Syria.
Below: EA-18G 168775/’AJ-503’ from Electronic
Attack Squadron 131 ‘Lancers’ catches the wire.
The Growlers were on call for escort jamming
during air strikes over Iraq and Syria.

66 // SEPTEMBER 2017 #354 www.airforcesmonthly.com