In Operation Iraqi Freedom, the Marine Corrjs' ground campaign up the Tigris and Euphrates was characterized by a speed and aggressiveness unparalleled in military history. Little has been written, however, of the air support that guaran- teed the drive's success. Paving the way for the rush to Baghdad was "the hammer from above"—in the form of attack helicopters, jet fighters, transport, and other support aircraft. Now a former Marine fighter pilot shares the gripping never-before-told stories of the Marines who helped bring to an end the regime of Saddam Hussein. As Jay Stout reveals, the air war had actually been in the planning stages ever since the i victory of Operation Desert Storm, twelve years earlier. But when Operation Iraqi Freedom offi- cially commenced on March 20, 2003, the Marine Corps entered the fight with an aviation arm at its smallest since before World War II. Still, with the motto "Speed Equals Success," the separate air and ground teams acted as a single unit to get the job done. Drawing on exclusive interviews with the men and women who flew the harrowing missions, Hammer from Above reveals how pilots and their machines were tested to the limits of endurance, venturing well beyond what they were trained and designed to do. Stout takes us into the cock- pits, revealing what it was like to fly these HAMMER FROM ABOVE HAMMER FROM ABOVE Marine Air Combat Over Iraq JAY STOUT A, Li PRESIDIO PRESS BALLANTINEBOOKS•NEWYORK © Copyright 2005 byJayStout All rights reserved. Published inthe United StatesbyPresidio Press,an imprintofThe Random House PublishingGroup,adivision ofRandom House, Inc., NewYork. Presidio PressandcolophonaretrademarksofRandom House,Inc. LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-Publication Data Stout,JayA. Hammerfrom above: marineaircombatoverIraq /JayA. Stout.—1sted. p. cm. Includesbibliographical references. ISBN 0-89141-865-2 1. IraqWar, 2003—Aerial operations,American. 2. IraqWar, 2003—Personal narratives,American. I. Title. DS79.76.S72 2006 956.7044/348-dc22 2005049175 Printed in the United StatesofAmericaonacid-free paper www.presidiopress.com 24689753 1 FirstEdition Designed byJoseph Rutt For all the wives and all the mothers. All ofthem. The warrior's burden is nothing compared to the terrors they bear. And for my dear childhood friend and fellow dreamer, Dale Douglass.