Air Wing Personnel Welcomed Home

The “Black Eagles” roared back to Naval Base Ventura County on Wednesday as their families cheered and their commanders praised their role in pinpointing Iraqi targets.

The unit’s 150 members fly and fix the E-2C Hawkeye -- a sophisticated, $70-million radar plane that can electronically survey areas as large as 300 square miles from as high as 30,000 feet.

Based at Point Mugu, four of the Hawkeyes were deployed aboard the Abraham Lincoln in the Persian Gulf for more than nine months.

The unit’s work quickened the pace of the war, officials said.

“We don’t go fast and we don’t drop bombs,” said Capt. Roger Jaskot, commander of the air wing that includes the Hawkeye unit, as family members anxiously milled around a huge hangar.

“We’re used to the shadows and we like it that way. But we were involved in every major air strike you heard about on the news.”

Jaskot said his crew members are “battle managers,” coordinating information from both ground troops and fighter pilots to aid the precision bombing so frequently cited by government officials.

In previous conflicts, he said, the Hawkeyes functioned more defensively, warning aircraft carriers and other battle groups of incoming danger.

Over Iraq, though, they were more aggressive, flying inland to spot targets.

“Because of the mission description, they placed themselves more in harm’s way,” Jaskot said.

The group drew enemy fire but suffered no casualties -- a feat that was noted on a welcoming sign that said: “Black Eagles -- All Present and Accounted For.”

Kelly Schick was grateful.

“Everybody’s coming home,” she said as she awaited her husband, Cmdr. Sam Schick. “That’s just awesome!”

The Schicks’ children -- Matt, 14, and Megan, 11 -- clutched American flags. They had not seen their dad since last summer and were filled with plans for him.

“I just want to hang out with him again,” Matt said. “I want to go hunting and fishing with him.”

Before that, however, the unit’s returning executive officer will have easier duty: watching his son’s high school band march in Thousand Oaks’ Conejo Valley Days parade with Matt at the controls of a French horn.

Three of the Hawkeyes took off together from the Abraham Lincoln just off the California coast Wednesday.

The fourth was delayed by mechanical problems.

As the three swung off the ocean and over the runway at Point Mugu, cheers welled up from the crowd of relatives.

Amid the thunder of engines, the planes came to rest with their propellers whirring and their noses facing the waiting throng.

The planes are topped with a spinning radar disc that resembles an enormous Frisbee. But despite their odd look, their sudden appearance from beyond the horizon was the stuff of dreams for most of the crowd.

“Oh my God, I think I’m going to cry,” said Shannon Glenn, waiting for a glimpse of her husband, Lt. Cmdr. Walter Glenn.

“Look -- there he is, mom!” yelled her 5-year-old daughter, Jordan.

As maintenance officer Glenn alighted from his plane, his wife and daughter rushed across the runway to hug him, followed by a bevy of newspaper and TV cameras.

Jordan showed her father her neat new sandals and he picked her up in a big whirling embrace, telling her how big she had gotten.

At home, she had videos to show him of her trick-or-treat costume, her birthday party, her Christmas pageant, her soccer game.

“She has a list a mile long,” her mother said. “We’re really looking forward to sitting down and being a family again.”

About 20 Hawkeye officers and crew members arrived at Point Mugu on Wednesday.

The bulk of the force will be bused from San Diego on Friday after the Abraham Lincoln docks there.