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U.S. Bomber Crews Say 'Proud' of Strikes Last Updated: October 07, 2001 11:07 PM ET

By Tabassum Zakaria

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - It was a dark, quiet, clear night when U.S. bombers flew over Afghanistan on Sunday to conduct the first air strikes of the war on terrorism, and some met anti-aircraft fire but nothing considered a major threat, crew members who flew on the mission said.

They said they were proud of being part of a mission that was a battle for freedom, and said they were well-trained and equipped for the fight.

"Afghanistan was dark and very quiet," said "Woodstock," lead pilot on one of the B-52 bombers that participated in the raid. "It was a clear night, weather wasn't a factor."

While some of the U.S. planes met anti-aircraft fire, crew members said they did not feel greatly at risk.

"My crews didn't encounter any threats that we weren't prepared to deal with, and nothing that put us unduly at risk," Woodstock said.

Despite the brief notification of the mission -- "we're certainly talking days and hours and not weeks and months" -- the crew had extensive training and was ready for it, he said.

"We had ample time based on the fact that we're trained to do this and so it doesn't take a whole lot of time to prepare us for particular missions," Woodstock said.

Asked if there was any difficulty finding the targets, "Doc" who was the lead radar operator on a B-52 bomber, said they were "well briefed by the people that put the packages together for us."

Crew members spoke to Pentagon reporters on a conference call from an undisclosed location and could only be identified by first names or call signs.

"I felt very proud, it's like being a football player on Superbowl day," said Vinny, the lead B-1 bomber's weapons officer who operated the radar and dropped bombs on targets.

Military personnel came out to the runway waving flags as the warplanes took off for the mission, he said.

"My grandfather was in World War II, my dad was in Vietnam, and I'm just honored to participate in something like this," Vinny said. "It was emotional as well as you had a job to do."

Since the Sept. 11 attacks on New York and Washington, U.S. leaders have said "something was going to be done to defend freedom, so we knew it was just a matter of when not if," Vinny said.

Woodstock said the B-52 plane he flew had its nose cone recently repainted "NYPD We Remember."

Asked whether there was a message for anyone back home, the response was: "Hi Mom."

-- Anonymous, October 08, 2001