Word: mediterraneans
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: all
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
...scene was the south central Mediterranean Sea, where naval maneuvers by elements of the U.S. Sixth Fleet were under way. The participants were the men and warships of Task Force 60, an armada comprising two aircraft carriers, the U.S.S. Nimitz and U.S.S. Forrestal, and 14 support ships. The purpose of the operation: a two-day "open-ocean missile exercise" in one of the less crowded regions of the Mediterranean. At dawn Tuesday, while the bulk of the task force stood at least 100 miles off the African coastline, two destroyers slipped into the northern reaches of the Gulf of Sidra...
...fighter planes, flew combat air patrol, or CAP in military parlance, watching for intruding aircraft and warning off the unwary. Since the landfall to the south was Libya, led by the unpredictable and often hostile Colonel Muammar Gaddafi, and since U.S. and French aircraft had been harassed over the Mediterranean by Libyan planes, the U.S. pilots were ready for trouble. To the north of the F-14s flew two carrier-based E-2C Hawkeye radar planes, smaller counterparts of the Air Force AWACS, spotting approaching aircraft and ships...
President Reagan acknowledged as much the following day on a visit to the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Constellation off the California coast. "This foray by the Libyans was nothing new over the past couple years," he said. "They have frequently harassed our aircraft out beyond the [disputed] line in the Mediterranean. There have even been incidents of threats of fire. We decided it was time to recognize what are the international waters and behave accordingly." Pointing out that U.S. naval vessels periodically visit the Black Sea, while Soviet vessels sail the Caribbean, he continued, "We didn't go there...
...that was "not without risk." While in Washington, Service reviewed the rules of engagement covering the circumstances under which an airman may open fire on hostile forces. The Administration decided that 1) the U.S. would show Gaddafi that it did not accept his claim to a slice of the Mediterranean and 2) if the Libyans attacked, the U.S. would reply in kind...
...Jose, Calif., an imported-car dealer offers a cash bounty of $100 to any customer who brings in a Mediterranean fruit fly, dead or alive. The hot novelty item in San Francisco gift shops is a Medfly encased in a clear plastic apple. From Silicon Valley's computer whizzes comes a new video game called Medfly Mania: to stem a tide of electronic insects, the players must choose among competing insect-killing strategies while dealing with such all too real obstacles as bad weather, helicopter failures and the accidental release of fertile male flies...