*Squadrons return from USS Enterprise
Two F/A-18 Hornet squadrons returned to their hangars Friday at Marine Corps Air Station Beaufort after a seven-month deployment.
The jets were piloted by 12 officers with Marine Fighter Attack Squadron 251, the Thunderbolts, and 10 officers with Navy Strike Fighter Squadron 86, the Sidewinders.
http://www.beaufortgazette.com/local_news/story/6239229p-5447753c.html
Published Saturday November 18 2006
By SANDRA WALSH
The Beaufort Gazette
The pilots were part of a crew of more than 7,500 Marines and sailors supporting the USS Enterprise in a historic mission that included simultaneous combat in both Afghanistan and Iraq.
Today, more than 300 crew members aboard the aircraft carrier will return to Beaufort and the USS Enterprise will dock after traveling nearly 60,000 miles from its home port in Norfolk, Va.
Pilots' wives waved and toddlers jumped for joy as the jets roared above the station in the cool blue sky Friday afternoon.
"It's kind of like standing in line for a roller coaster," 18-year-old Cory McCormack said as he waited for his father, Sidewinders' Cmdr. Rick "Red Dog" McCormack, to land. "I'm excited but kind of tense."
After all the jets landed, the pilots killed their engines. In unison, they popped their hatches, and like spacemen landing on the moon, they slowly emerged from their cockpits.
"Look, it's your daddy," 30-year-old Tracey Tebbetts said in a shaky voice, first walking, then running down the runway with 10-month old Jonah in her arms and two toddlers, John David, 5, and Madelyn, 3, trotting at her side.
Thunderbolts Capt. John Tebbetts knelt on one knee as his family approached. They smothered each other with tight hugs and kisses.
"We've been away forever, huh?" Tebbetts said and kissed his wife.
And this was no ordinary combat mission.
This was the first time two combat operations took place simultaneously from a single aircraft carrier. And, four months into the mission, the Thunderbolts were called to move ashore to Camp Al Asad, Iraq, and fly land-based combat missions, marking the first time a Marine F/A-18 squadron detached from a carrier.
"This was very unique -- a huge logistical nightmare," Lt. Cmdr. Travis "Gurly" Mann said.
Mann is a fighter pilot with the Sidewinders and returned a day early to help prepare for the arrival of the 400 crew members returning to Beaufort from aboard the carrier.
Back at the hangar, Cory said his father first deployed when he was 2. Now that he's older, he said he understands better what his father does and said he doesn't worry as much as he used to.
"He's in an F-18 Super Hornet; he flies well over 10,000 feet in the air and drops bombs," Cory said. "I don't see him in danger of getting captured or crashing; I'm more worried about accidents that happen on the ship."
Just the same, Cory teared up after a firm hug from his father, a red-headed man larger than life.
"Finally, a good grilled steak," Cory said as his father swooped up Cory's little sisters, one in each arm.
"You've gotten so big," the commander boomed.
Copyright 2006 The Beaufort Gazette • May not be republished in any form without the express written permission of the publisher.