Unlike the calm, sleepy waters of the Arabian Gulf, except for the dozen or so seagulls circling around, it could not be busier on this 41-year-old carrier. And it was only six in the morning.
More than 100 young sailors were running around the ship's flight deck; some with a jet fuel hose, others with more serious stuff: advanced precision-guided bombs. And so 13 planes were launched in less than 20 minutes.
The 88,000 tonne five-acres Constellation, which arrived in the Gulf with its seven-member battle group that includes two destroyers and two frigates in early December, is waiting in the northern waters of the Gulf, to be joined very soon by two other carriers.
The 'Connie', as her crew affectionately calls her, has 72 aircraft and will almost likely be the place from which the first strike is launched when U.S. President George W. Bush gives the go-ahead.
"We are ready to go to war," said Lt Commander Todd Wilson, leader of the ship's squadron of F/A-18 Hornets, in an interview shortly after he watched recorded parts of President Bush's State of the Union address.
The speech didn't grab him differently from what has been said before, but nevertheless it made everyone feel the hostilities were closer than ever.
But for the time being, the ship and its crew of 5,000, including 50 women, have to stick to their mission, watching over the no-fly zone in southern Iraq - the on-going Southern Watch.
The embargo on Iraqi planes over the south was imposed by the U.S., Britain and France 10 years ago following the end of the Gulf war. France pulled out of the operation a few years later.
Iraq has never recognised the no-fly zone restriction insisting it was not a UN decision but one that was taken unilaterally by the Americans and the British.
The U.S. however insists the restriction is warranted to protect the Iraqi population in the south and to ensure Iraqi forces will not move south of the border into Kuwait as they did in 1990.
"This is our primary mission," said captain Mark Fox, the commander of the Connie's air wing, the man responsible for sending more than 80 planes over Iraq every day. "We make sure (the Iraqis) don't violate the no-fly zone."
He and other officers on the Connie say their mission is "defensive". They only hit back, they don't strike first, they insisted. But this soon may change, and this incredibly armed "floating city" would shift to "the offensive" mode.
"We are ready for any eventuality," said Captain John W. Miller, the Constellation's commanding officer. "Our job is to be prepared." And the ship has the ability to come through when the time comes, he said. "This is not a role we are unfamiliar with," he remarked.
Despite the sense of normalcy amongst the officers and sailors, one can overcome the feeling this ship is ready for war, and unlike the first Gulf war when most of the air campaign was launched from bases in neighbouring countries, the new war may see the navy pilots having the biggest share of the initial air raids.
Now with the tension rising, the 'boys' fly 80 to 100 sorties a day.
Previously, they did 60-80. "We are busier than we used to be. We have to be prepared for the worst-case scenario," said Fox, who like most of his subordinates, has become familiar with the Iraqi terrain, the skies, weather conditions and whatever is left of the Iraqi capability to challenge the American daily show of force. Thanks to ten years of mostly unchallenged flying over Iraq.
"But most importantly is that we have become better at what we are doing; we are better than ever," Fox said.
Another thing, Miller adds, is the revolutionary evolution in the navy's arsenal with the introduction of yet more advanced precision-guided bombs - the even smarter bombs.
"Before it used to take multiple sorties to hit one target; now one plane would take out multiple targets," he said.
Although Miller didn't want to underestimate the Iraqi resistance, he remains sure of the outcome. "If you asked me to pick sides," he said, "I will pick us."
Wilson was even more boastful. "We will reach Baghdad on the first night," he said when asked by Gulf News if he expected the Iraqis to hold on for 40 days as they did during Desert Storm. "We are going to be quicker and more lethal; also they have never been able to climb back from what we have done in 1991."
Nevertheless, it is essential to bring in such an overwhelming firepower to face an opponent with diminished capabilities, Miller said. "It saves lives," he explains, because you never know.
"The Iraqis are good in hiding their capabilities," said Wilson. He pointed out that he had been shot at a few times by the Iraqi defences while on "Southern Watch" missions. "It shows you how serious it is."
"We have to be careful," said Fox. "The guy (Iraqi President Saddam Hussain) is a professional survivor. We take them seriously."
Gulf News 2003
