By Lt. Jim Stanley, VF-14 PAO

As political tensions remain at heightened levels with Iraq and in Kosovo, the possibility of future combat missions was on the minds of every Tophatter. With typical professionalism, they took full advantage of the training opportunities in Joint Task Force Exercise 99-1(JTFEX). Normally a 10-day exercise off the coast of North Carolina, this year’s evolution took the USS Theodore Roosevelt, Carrier Air Wing Eight, and the VF-14 Tophatters, from the shores of North Carolina to the Puerto Rican Operations Area and back again for a 4 week joint and combined multi-national exercise.

Working primarily off Puerto Rico, the Tophatters flew numerous missions in support of a mock war in which a Marine Amphibious Readiness Group staged a landing on the Not-so-hostile Island of Vieques. In this complex exercise, the mighty Tophatter F-14 Tomcat flew numerous air patrol flights carrying an array of air-to-air and air-to-ground ordnance, and quickly established air superiority. Throughout the scenario, training was paramount for all who participated. The aircrew employed new tactics while the maintenance technicians gained the valuable experience needed to maximize ordnance delivery. The "Ordies", in particular, had the opportunity to load and download missiles and bombs to familiarize themselves with and fine tune their handling of the little used but deadly weapons. All the practice will pay dividends when the Tophatters deploy this spring, carrying live ordnance on virtually every mission.

JTFEX offered the best opportunity to employ the F-14 as the premiere long-range strike aircraft. Using Vieques Island Range as the target complex, the Tophatters dropped thousands of pounds of ordnance using the LANTIRN Targeting System, with bulls-eye accuracy. Much of the ordnance was expended on Close Air Support missions in conjunction with the Marine amphibious landing. With three fully qualified Forward Air Controller (Airborne) aircrews, a Tophatter FAC(A) can loiter over a target area and use their specialized training to call on other jets of the Airwing, including the F/A-18 Hornet and fellow Tomcats, to attack targets designated by the FAC(A) crew. Having the controller airborne allows for a better overall picture of the situation on the ground, and a quick determination of whether the attacking aircraft is indeed about to bomb the correct target.

The most important strike asset, the Tomcat LANTIRN pod, was used extensively. With the Tomcat FLIR and targeting system quickly becoming the weapons delivery mode of choice for precision guided munitions, the Tophatters stepped up to the task of bringing back quality LANTIRN video as proof of target acquisition and destruction when live ordnance was not actually used. After receiving their first LANTIRN pod less than 6 months ago, Tophatter aircrews have routinely employed the LANTIRN pod accurately for bombs on target, on time, first pass.

Backing up all the aircrew is the incredible work of the most talented Maintenance team in the Navy. Led by Master Chief Petty Officer "Pugs" Puglisi, the Tophatter maintenance team consistently provided the best F-14 aircraft maintenance. It seemed that no challenge was beyond them. Nowhere was this more evident than on the flight deck of the USS Theodore Roosevelt. Tophatter plane captains and troubleshooters, easily spotted wearing the distinctive red boomerang and black Tophat on their helmets, could be seen hustling about constantly, working to get the next jet launched off the flight deck. If any jet had a problem during its start up, a dozen Tophatter maintenance personnel, wearing the green jerseys and representing every shop, suddenly appeared out of nowhere. If the problem could be fixed, they repaired it in time to launch the jet. An impressive 224 out of 226 sorties during JTFEX 99-1 was testament to the diligence of this team.

As JTFEX 99-1 neared an end, all the members of VF-14 looked forward to returning home to their family and friends for a little "R&R" before departing on cruise. But the Tophatter team can look back with pride and satisfaction that they completed the most difficult pre-cruise exercise safely and professionally, and can look forward with the confidence they need to meet the challenges of the deployment period ahead.