northwest.
The Sea Harriers, those that survived the next two hours, ookl be able to land in Kathiawar. But Lieutenant Tahliani as determined now mat the American strike aircraft would |ve no place to land when they returned from their mission India.
CHAPTER 27
J»S hours, 26 March 200
‘ombstone watched the brown-gray blur of the coast approach-The water beneath him lightened, then flashed into barren, ism-parched hills as he led the Vipers across the beach and into
‘This is Viper Lead,” he said over the radio. “Feet dry.” “Eagle Lead,” the voice of the War Eagles* CO added.
pf;/;:: One by one, the other strike elements called in, reporting that ||£flbey were now crossing from sea to land. Desert quickly gave
to marshland as they passed over the Rann of Kutch. $mudges marred the eastern sky. The Hornets of Lucky Strike ;.^ad already hit the airfields at Bhuj, Jamnagar, and Okha, ||fliisdirecting the Indians into thinking the strike’s targets were y^Jfceir military bases near the coast.
;£j£ A pillar of smoke to the west marked the remnants of an coastal radar, victim of the VAQ-143 Sharks and the missiles. Those High Speed Anti-Radiation ASMs ‘•IMSe designed to home on coastal or SAM site radars and clear path through India’s electronic fences. That too would help convince the Indians mat the targets Cre air bases and coastal facilities.
“This is Gold Strike Leader,” a voice called over the tactical net “Passing Point Bravo.”
Bravo was the code name for the Pakistani border, close to fee Nara River. The Intruders of VA-89 would be spreading out t, preparing for their strike.
293
294
Kefth Dougtoss
Tombstone thought about the squadron leader VA-89, Lieutenant Commander Isaac Greene. A big, bluff man called ‘ ‘Jolly Greene” by the other men in the air wing, he was one of several legends in Air Wing 20. During Operation Righteous Thunder, he’d led a strike against North Korean armor and been hit by ground fire from KorCom ZSU-23-4 antiaircraft vehicles.
Somehow, Jolly and his Bombardier-Navigator Chucker Vance had held their shattered Intruder together long enough to reach the sea and eject. A SAR helo had plucked them from the sea and returned them to Jefferson’s deck, half frozen but alive.
Tombstone thought of the other men he’d served with during the past nine months. Coyote, shot down over the Sea of Japan by a Korean MiG and captured.
Then there were Batman and Malibu, holding position now off his port wing. They’d been downed by a SAM over northern Thailand. Ejecting over the jungle, they’d somehow hiked back to civilization, bringing with them vital intelligence.
And there were so many others, men who’d given their lives in combat missions flown, ironically, to protect the peace.
He thought of Army and Dixie, shot down while trying to save the Jefferson from a cruise missile. Despite a search by SARhelos, they’d not been found in the choppy seas just a few miles from fee carrier.
They’d not fought for any particular cause or label . . . though both were patriots in every sense of the word. Like all of the others, Tombstone thought, Army and Dixie had believed in what they were doing but had carried on not for the sake of the mission . . . but because they couldn’t let down their friends, the other members of their squadrons, their shipmates.
Possibly, Tombstone reflected, that was what every soldier of every war fought for more than home or country: the men fighting with him at his side. They fought not to take the next hill or even to win the war, but because friends and comrades would suffer or die if they did not.
And after that . . . yeah, there was the mission. Always the mission.
“Viper Leader, Viper Two.”
“Go ahead, Batman.”
ARMAGEDDON MODE
295
“Ho, Stoney. Looks like we’re getting ready to rock and roll. We got bogies, bearing zero-niner-five.”
“We see them,” Tombstone replied, checking his VDI. The bandits were forming up, rising from airfields despite the damage done by the Hornet strikes. Well, that was expected. No strike was one hundred percent effective . . . especially when the opponent was as powerful and as well-dispersed as (his one. “Okay, boys and girls. Stand by to break right on my signal. Weapons are free. Good luck!”