So, for the first couple of weeks after Desert Storm commenced, Saddam Hussein sent flights of aircraft out of Iraq after our ships in the Northern Persian Gulf (NPG). Every night we would go to general quarters for a couple of hours and our aircraft would knock their planes out of the air. The airplanes flew relatively high, so they were easy to see on radar. On about the 10th night, however, things happened differently. Five aircraft out of Iraq came southward after our ships. We went to General Quarters. This time the Iraqi aircraft were smart. As soon as they got to the coast, they hit the deck (started flying below our radar horizon.) So, we were blind. We knew that the flight consisted of 3 Mig-23's (Soviet-made air superiority aircraft) and 2 Mirages (French made attack aircraft - armed with our old friend Exocet missiles - the same missiles that struck the USS Stark in 1987.) Every ship in the NPG and lots of aircraft were desperately looking for these attacking aircraft, but we couldn't find them. We searched for a tense 45 minutes (a lot of time in supersonic flight) and couldn't find them. Finally, some of our aircraft spotted the Mig-23s, engaged and downed them along the Saudi coast. But the attacking planes had split up as part of a ruse. We still couldn't find the more important Mirages. Fifteen minutes later, our electronic intelligence guys (ELINT) picked up signals from Mirage target acquisition radar. This means that the aircraft were looking for a ship to hit. Believe me, we were all doing our jobs very diligently. (This is probably a good time to note that part of my job was to know enemy weapon system capabilities. An Exocet missile is designed to strike a ship just above the waterline and just below the mast to cause as much damage as possible. Our ship was under standing orders that during an attack we were to turn "starboard side to." Of course, the spaces that I am in are...yup...starboard side, below the mast, just above the waterline. I elected to not tell the other sailors in my compartment where Exocets hit.) Soon thereafter, ELINT informed us that the radar from the Exocets was activated. This means that the aircraft had found their target and the Exocets had been launched and were directing themselves toward the target at about 450 knots. It also meant that we had a maximum of about five minutes before impact. I felt the ship rise under me as it aggressively turned starboard side to. I was standing at my station holding on to the metal receiver rack, keeping my feet under me. One minute went past...then, two minutes...the ship eased back into position..three minutes passed...like you, I began to say those words that are often repeated by soldiers and sailors, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters, He restores my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for You are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord, forever. As I say, I was diligently doing my job. But, I was not afraid. Four minutes passed...then five...................then six....................then seven. Saudi F-15s had intercepted the Mirages just out of range. In a last desperate attempt before being destroyed, they had launched their Exocets in hopes that they would strike us. The missiles had fallen short of their target, harmlessly into the sea.
There is a point to this story. You never know the end of the story while you are in it. You do your best while you are there. Be who you are. Do your mission. And in the end.... you will dwell in the house of the Lord, forever.
USS Mobile Bay (CG-53)
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As a caveat to the story above, I do not know to this day whether the Mobile Bay was the intended target, I didn't know in 1991 and I don't know today
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