Fighting close from the air: urban fighting in Iraq spurs new thinking in strike aviation.

• Author: Erwin, Sandra I.

Unconventional tactics have become standard procedure for U.S. naval aviators who are supporting ground troops in the fight against insurgents in Iraq.

The conflict has forced pilots to think differently, but commanders insist that the current war is not likely to permanently change the culture of carrier aviation.

Notably, pilots who have trained their whole careers to drop bombs from their jet aircraft now are finding that they often return to the carrier with most of their ordnance. The dense urban fighting in Iraq has made it difficult for aviators to pinpoint targets and strike them without risking widespread civilian casualties.

These realities have shaken many of the long-held assumptions in naval aviation, including the practice of tying success to the number of bombs dropped, said Rear Adm. (Sel.) William Gortney, a former air wing commander arid chief of staff of the U.S. Navy's Fifth Fleet.

"It's a very different war out there," Gortney told naval aviators attending the 48th annual Tailhook convention, in Reno, Nev. "In this phase of the war, the metric for success is being there when you are needed, with the proper ordnance, with the proper training."

In practice, that often means flying at low altitudes to scare hordes of suspected insurgents congregating in Iraqi cities.

These missions are about "show of force and presence," and may or may not require weapon strikes, noted Capt. Mark A. "Cyrus" Vance, former commander of Carrier Air Wing 3.

In counterinsurgency enclaves such a Fallujah, typically "a crowd starts showing up some place, and guys on the ground feel threatened," Vance said. "When you bring naval tac-air down into lower altitudes, that tends to disperse crowds."

Similar tactics are employed in Afghanistan, where naval aviators also fly close air-support missions.

Capt. Haley Mills, who commanded Carrier Air Wing I last fall, said the wing flew 200 missions over Afghanistan and carried 300,000 pounds of ordnance without dropping a single bomb during a two-week period.

For more than a year, protecting U.S. vehicle convoys in Iraq from roadside bombs, rocket and mortar attacks has been a primary concern. Navy pilots were directed to provide security from the air. That required the development of new tactics and techniques to escort convoys, said Capt. Ice Field, commander of Carrier Air Wing 7.

"We were authorized to get down and make noise to disperse the crowd," Field said. Close-air support in Iraq poses particular...