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Fighter Wing (Provisional) took off from King Fahad Air Base, Saudi
Arabia at approximately 0020 hours local time on 17 January (2120
hours, 16 January Zulu time) The first aircraft launched was an
EF-lllA Raven piloted by Lieutenant Colonel Dennis Hardziej, the
commander of the 390th Electronic Combat Squadron. A small force
of EF-lllA aircraft slightly preceded the main force of F-lllF
fighters, jamming enemy radar defenses to protect the strike force.

	Shortly after the first few Ravens launched, the mass
launch of F-lllF aircraft began. The first F-lllF fighter to take
off on a combat mission was piloted by Colonel Thomas J. Lennon,
the commander of the 48th Tactical Fighter Wing (Provisional), with
Captain Steve Williams as the weapons systems-officer. In all, the
first wave of F-lllF aircraft to attack Iraq and occupied Kuwait
had fifty-five aircraft scheduled, while EF-lllA forces had nine
missions scheduled in the first wave, for a total of sixty-four
aircraft. Of this number, the wing managed to launch sixty-one
aircraft, with one F-111F and two EF-lllA missions aborted prior to
takeoff.  The precise takeoff times required for the first wave, in
order for the strike packages to retain the element of surprise,
precluded launching other aircraft to take the place of those
encountering ground aborts. Later, six F-lllF aircraft experienced
air aborts, resulting in a total of forty eight F-lllF fighters
actually reaching the target area.  All of the seven EF-111A
aircraft launched completed their missions.

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