European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - April 27, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Aily Magazine a � Mediterranean sea 1 13 full is left British bases bombed targets around Tripoli. Kc135s provided air to air refuelling Lor fills. Surveillance satellite1 provided photos of targets before raid. Ins a aircraft burning wind flew at very High  libyan military communications. Iep3 Orion flew Over water1 North of Tripoli searched for downed fill. If14 tomcats flew in pairs provided cover Over Tripoli. Destroyers stationed 12 miles1 off targets for search and Rescue. I aircraft Carrier America,1 stationed Over 100 Miles off Tripoli served As flagship. Two e2c Hawk eyes 1 flew near each aircraft Carrier As command and control centers. I i aircraft carrier1 Coral sea was stationed about 300 Miles off Benghazi. I four helicopters orbited Between the carriers and Shore for search and Rescue. Ef111, jammed electronic communication. I f18 hornets1 flew in pairs provided cover Over Benghazi. Icarrier-basedea6b prowlers flew 50 Miles offshore jammed electronic radar. 112 Carrier based a6 intruders attacked targets in Benghazi area. Fj1f18 hornets a 30 Miles off coast fired anti radar harm Miljies. Qa7 corsairs a flew 10 Miles offshore fired anti radar Shrike missiles. H attack submarine los Angeles class patrolled under water. The raid on Libya the Wahington it this one was done right by Fred Hiatt c 1986, Washington Post reprinted by permission la. Times Washington Post news service in the thickest darkness of Early morning Over the Mediterranean an air Force Pilot peeled Hisf-111 Jet away from the six plane formation for final solitary approach to Libya. For six hours the Pilot and his Bombardier had been strapped into cramped companionship a strict radio silence heightening the isolation of their Long flight Over water. Now the coastline that both men had studied and re studied appeared on the radar scope and the Bombardier punched a final Point of reference into his guidance computer. It was 1 59 . In Tripoli april 15. The f-111 swooped Low to evade libyan radar and screamed across the Beach at 9 Miles per minute. Flying South toward the desert the Pilot flew once past his target before Wheeling Back for his bombing run. As the Bombardier switched from radar to the infrared scope that turned night into dusk col. Moa mar khad Afy s Headquarters appeared precisely where the satellite photos had shown. Pulling Back on his Joystick the Pilot climbed for the release. These bombs Are for you colonel the Bombardier whooped into his intercom. In an instant Libya was left behind. Six hours of flying two minutes Over hostile territory and the Mission was accomplished. As the bomber headed Back Over the sea the Pilot switched on the radio for the first  wet he said and a Navy officer far overhead in a propeller driven command plane checked him off one More plane safely in and out. By 2 12 ., 24 planes had dropped their bombs and radioed feet  one f-111 apparently had exploded hurtling into the Mediterranean with its two Man Crew. Less than two hours later As the f-111 pilots cruised High above the Atlantic Ocean toward bases in Britain president Ronald Reagan appeared on National television recounting the details of the raid. Among air Force and Navy officers the talk after the raid focused not on whether it would deter terrorism or whether it was proper to target khad Afy s family compound. Instead the officers Dweller on the details of the Complex Mission. For the most part they agreed that unlike a raid in Lebanon in 1983, this one was done right the right targets for the political purpose the right weapons for the targets the right tactics to capitalize on . Technology and libyan vulnerability. The one lesson from Lebanon where two bombers were shot Down in a much criticized Daylight raid against syrian positions was that no target no enemy can be taken for granted in an Era when any country continued on Page 14 sunday april 27, 1986 the stars and stripes Page 13