This copied from military.com
ABOARD THE USS THEODOE ROOSEVELT
When the U.S. Navy's F-14B Tomcats streak over Afghanistan dropping laser- and satellite-guided bombs, the legendary fighter planes represent the military's massive and modern firepower.
But when the VF-102 Diamondback squadron
returns from Operation Enduring Freedom, the 12 Tomcats based on the USS Theodore Roosevelt will be turned in, and the pilots sent to train on a new generation of aircraft.
One of the Navy's most recognizable fighters, with the swept-back wings, is 30 years-old, older than some of the pilots that fly them.
``Tomcats are a piece of history, I feel lucky to have had the opportunity to fly a Tomcat,'' Lt. Matt, call sign ``Rub,'' a 27-year-old from Blythe, Calif., said. ``But it's going to be nice to fly a brand-new airplane.''
However, Matt is likely to be flying Tomcats against terrorist and military targets in Afghanistan for many weeks. On board another warship in the Arabian Sea on Tuesday, U.S. Secretary of the Navy Gordon England warned service personnel not to expect results quickly.
The Diamondback's commander, Cmdr. Roy Kelley, said he will miss the plane he has flown for the last 15 years and still the world's fastest and most maneuverable fighter plane.
``About a year and a half ago, when I was told this squadron was going to transition (to the F/A-18F), I wasn't really excited about it,'' Kelley, from Newark, Ohio, said. ``That's going to be the hard part, walking away from an airplane you are comfortable in.''
But Kelley said he warmed to the Super Hornet after visiting the Boeing factory where they are being built and flying one earlier this year.
``Getting a brand-new airplane is like getting a brand-new car, everybody gets excited,'' he said. Kelley also admitted that the Tomcat is breaking down more and more often.
Lt. j.g. Dave Woods, in charge of the Theodore Roosevelt's general aviation maintenance department, said the 20-30 year-old planes have begun to show their age and are now considered ``high maintenance.''
``They are very similar to an automobile, the older it gets, the more often things are going to wear out and break,'' said Woods, of Chesapeake, Va. ``A lot of the air frames have been put through a lot of stresses ... as a result I'm going to get a lot more work.''
All Navy F-14s, which can carry 13,000 pounds of explosives, are scheduled to be retired by 2010.
Kelley praised the Super Hornet's new technology, saying it is a far better fighter-attack plane than the Tomcat, which was designed solely for air-to-air combat. But he said it can never match the Tomcat's long range, mach 1.8 speed and predator mystique. Kelley said when his wingman is in an F/A-18C, he must be careful not to leave the slower plane behind.
``The capability the Tomcat has for speed is amazing, there is not another plane in the Navy's inventory that can come anywhere close to it,'' Kelley, 40, said. ``You look at the plane on the ground and it looks intimidating, it looks like something that is made for war.''