U.S. forces flex muscles in Gulf

By early afternoon, the sky above the Gulf is so crowded with combat aircraft that it looks like a swarm of flies buzzing in formation. At night, with so many fighter planes aloft, the stars appear to be moving.

The United States and its allies have been building their military might for months as the Bush administration prepares to make good on its threat to punish Iraq for allegedly harbouring contraband armaments and weapons of mass destruction.

But raising the massive military fist against Baghdad is also designed to administer a psychological blow. By "projecting force" before any engagement with an enemy, the world's sole remaining superpower is reminding Iraqi soldiers and civilians of who has overwhelming power.

Every fly-over, every ship movement, every soldier ferried into the region sends what the Pentagon clearly hopes is a message that it would be futile for Iraq to fight back.

The USS Lincoln, a nuclear-powered carrier hosting the maiden voyage of the Navy's new F/A-18E Super Hornet, has been conducting accelerated flights, daily launching nearly 200 sorties that thunder across the flight deck from sunrise to nearly midnight.

"I don't look at it as trying to send a message. Maybe somebody above my pay grade does. But part of being a successful deterrent is to show force," said Cmdr. Jeff Penfield, commander of the Super Hornet squadron out of Lemoore Naval Air Station in Southern California.

"When you start to see the number of airplanes a single carrier can get airborne in a single day, it shows what's behind (the threat ). It's negotiating with a knife at the throat."

Asked how much of the recent buildup is aimed at reminding Saddam Hussain of what he faces, Capt. Ron Stites, chief of staff for the eight-ship Lincoln carrier group, replies without hesitation: "All of it."

Like others who have completed multiple missions in this region, Stites insisted it is time to resolve the protracted standoff with Baghdad.

"We don't want to come back here. We'd like to end this once and for all and get on to another challenge," Stites said from the flag deck of this carrier where Rear Adm. John M. Kelly will direct the fighting in the seemingly unavoidable showdown. Those sentiments are shared below decks.

"The only thing keeping us going is the cause and purpose of this mission," said Petty Officer Frank Deehan.

In some respects, the brandishing of superior force is too much of a good thing. Even now, with three carrier battle groups active in the region - the USS Harry S. Truman in the eastern Mediterranean and the Lincoln and USS Constellation here in the Gulf - the combat choreographers concede the airspace and sea lanes are getting crowded.

At least 19 vessels were visible on the horizon as the planes pounded back to their floating base after sunset.

On the ground, the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division, which played a key role in the 1991 Gulf War, was ordered to deploy to the Gulf region with its 20,000 troops and 270 helicopters. The number of military forces in the region now stands at about 115,000 and is expected to reach 200,000 by early March.

Once three other carrier groups under the USS Roosevelt, USS Kitty Hawk and USS Nimitz arrive, the need to collaborate while staying out of each other's way will become more of a logistical struggle.

"We learn how to work together during normal work-ups (to deployment) and how to merge. But this is definitely limited airspace and sea space," conceded Chief Steven Jackson of the Combat Direction Center that monitors and manages a spaceship-like room of radar screens, tracking systems and gauges.

Many of the crew members engaged in projecting power say they would rather avoid full-scale war with Saddam but doubt he'll heed the warning being transmitted by the stepped-up military presence.

Morale is touch-and-go on board the Lincoln, as more sacrifices are sought from those who have already sacrificed. Dozens of children have been born while crew have been at sea.

Other offspring have taken first steps with at least one parent missing. Thanksgiving and Christmas were spent away from home. Even spring graduations may be hard to make if the looming conflict drags on.