On the night of Oct. 10, 1985, Lt. Cmdr. Barry Steel, call sign Vert, was relaxing aboard the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga. The ship was cruising in Alert 60, a readiness condition with weapons stowed and planes tied down, so it would take 60 minutes to launch a bird.
“Stand by. Stand by. Now launch four alert F-14s, two alert E2s, two KA-6D tankers,” the announcement sounded throughout the ship.
Vert rushed down five flights of stairs to the ready room. The duty officer assigned him an F-14 equipped with a reconnaissance photography package and told him to suit up and go.
“What are we doing?” Vert asked.
Nobody knew. It didn’t matter. The order was issued. It was go time. Vert ran back upstairs, donned
Join the conversation!
Please share your thoughts about this article below. We value your opinions, and would love to see you add to the discussion!