Yesterday, the person who pressed the button to launch the first missile into Iraq was not in the mood to reflect.
"I was not paid to philosophise," said Clayton Bartels, a 23-year-old sergeant from Colorado Springs, Ohio . ".
"I don't usually worry about it.
But if I want to know where the missile hit, I can.
"The order for the battle station was received at 2.
On the morning of the 30 th local time, the U. S. Navy bunker Mountain
A class cruiser carrying 122 Tomahawk cruise missiles circled the Persian Gulf 40 kilometers off the coast of Iraq.
The information of the attack was transmitted to the ship from the National Command agency through the US Navy's Fifth Fleet headquarters in Bahrain, and senior officers went to the inner sanctum without windows at the ship's combat information center.
Just over an hour after the first weapon call, 173-
The meter cruiser becomes one of the first two ships of 130-
A powerful alliance fleet that will order action.
Captain Faris Farwell announced via walkie-talkie: "We received the Tomahawk mission . ".
Your commander. in-
We will not waver, we will not be tired, we will not fail, he said.
Gentlemen and Ladies, after 9/11, you have not wavered, nor are you tired, and we will not fail.
God bless aircraft carrier Bunker Hill
God bless America
Behind a heavy metal hatch marked "authorized personnel only", the orange glow from more than 20 radar monitors reflects the sailor's face.
Bartel and two other cadets sit in front of three computers behind the black plastic curtain. At 5.
At fifteen o'clock A. M. , the shooting integrated system showed it was ready to launch 13 missiles on the touch screen.
Captain Farwell reached out to the left and turned a key.
The green light came on and he gave the final command: "Release the battery.
Bartels Sergeant presses the execution button in the lower right corner of the screen.
When missiles's gray Hatch flipped open, the whole ship was hit violently, and they exploded up with a terrible slow. The six-
The beige tube is temporarily suspended in the middle.
Air before their main engine is lit.
After the first shot of the four men, the crew cheered.
Curt, the ship's executive officer, had a good night and looked at the port with binoculars.
He announced: "There is a happy path behind . "
His words told the captain that the missile had been successfully transferred to cruise mode to fly at a speed of 885 kilometers per hour.
Within minutes, they opened fire on the target.
But there are more urgent concerns about Sergeant Battel.
"What I think in my mind is Desert Duck ,(the helicopter)
"This brings us our supply," he said . ".
"I look forward to getting my favorite snack bar. " -