374
UNITED STATES NAVAL AVIATION
1910-1995
1991-Continued
8 March
Lieutenant Kathy Owens became the last
pilot to land on the training carrier
Lexington
after the
Navy made a quick decision late in the day to decom-
mission the ship. She was the first woman pilot to get
that distinction on a carrier, which was the first to
have women crew members. Lieutenant Owens has
flown with VRC-40-a C-2 squadron based in Norfolk,
Va.-since January 1990. Lieutenant Paul Villagomez,
AMH 1 Donnie E. Kicklighter, and AD2 Mark F.
Pemrick were also members of the flight crew.
11 March
Saratoga
and
Midway
battle groups de-
parted the Persian Gulf area for their respective home-
ports.
Saratoga
transited the Suez Canal en route to
Mayport, Fla.;
Midway
departed the Persian Gulf en
route to Yokosuka, Japan.
12 March
John F Kennedy
transited the Suez Canal
en route to the Mediterranean.
13 March
President George H. W. Bush established
the Southwest Asia Service Medal by executive order.
It would be awarded to U.S. military personnel who
served in the Persian Gulf area during the operations.
16-22 March
America
conducted a port visit to
Hurghada, Egypt, making the first port call of the de-
ployment after 78 consecutive days at sea.
17 March
Tripoli
was awarded the Combat Action
Ribbon for being endangered by enemy mine attack
on 18 February.
28 March
John F Kennedy
and
Saratoga,
leading
their battle groups, arrived at their home ports of
Norfolk, Va., and Mayport, Fla., respectively. They
were the first battle groups involved in the Persian
Gulf War to return to the U.S.
29 March
Kitty Hawk,
her flight deck modified to
accommodate F/ A-18 Hornet aircraft, left the
Philadelphia Naval Shipyard, Pa., to conduct sea trials.
This was the first time the 80,000-ton carrier had
moved under her own power since arriving in
Philadelphia three and one-half years before undergo-
ing a SLEP overhaul.
1 April
Theodore Roosevelt
transited the Strait of Bab
el-Mandeb and began three weeks of Red Sea opera-
tions.
3 April
America
transited the Suez Canal and re-
turned to the Mediterranean.
6 April
Iraq accepted United Nations terms for a for-
mal cease-fire in the Persian Gulf War.
8 April
America
transited the Strait of Gibraltar and
returned to the Atlantic.
8 April
Having left from both NAS Sigonella, Sicily,
and Hurghada, Egypt, for Diyarbakir, Turkey, on April
6, HC-4 detachments flew Secretary of State James A.
Baker III and his party of 60 along the border be-
tween Turkey and civil war-torn Iraq to a remote
Kurdish refugee camp. A popular uprising in
Kurdistan had taken place in March against Saddam
Hussein, but the Iraqi forces quickly recaptured the
main towns and cities of Kurdistan. The Iranians had
allowed the Kurds to flee into their country, but the
Turks had not, and the Kurds were stranded in the
mountains in the cold.
A flight
of
VA-72 A-7E C01:mir II after
departing John F. Kennedy en route
home following their service in Desert
Storm. VA-72 and VA-46 were the
last two A-7 squadrons operational
deployed.
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