DEAN SENSUI / DSENSUI@STARBULLETIN.COM Cmdr. Tyrone Payton, commanding officer of Patrol Squadron 4, got a warm greeting yesterday from son Justin, 7, and wife Robin as naval air crews returned to Kaneohe from duty with U.S. forces in Afghanistan. The squadron's 10 aircraft were the first to deploy from the base after the Sept. 11 attacks.

Navy air crews
return from war zone

Loved ones welcome the P-3
aviators back to Kaneohe Bay

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By Gregg K. Kakesako
gkakesako@starbulletin.com

Ten Navy P-3 Orions belonging to Kaneohe Bay's Patrol Squadron 4 flew more than 9,000 hours gathering vital intelligence information to aid troops fighting the ground war in Afghanistan.

Petty Officer Joshua Leach, a flight engineer, believes the hours spent in the air were worth it.

"There were a lot of people working hard," said Leach just minutes after the last P-3 Orion sub hunter touched down at Marine Corps Base Hawaii yesterday, signaling the end of the squadron's latest deployment.

"I think we made a big difference for the troops on the ground."

He said some surveillance missions lasted 11 hours.

Normally, the Navy's P-3 Orions, stationed at Kaneohe Bay and at Whidbey Island in Washington, fly anti-submarine warfare missions. However, since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, the lumbering, gray, four-engine turboprop planes are being used to gather intelligence and provide surveillance and reconnaissance for commanders in the Arabian Sea and on the ground in Afghanistan.

Cmdr. Dave Smith, the squadron's operations officer, said the 10 Orion air crews flew 1,400 missions after leaving Hawaii in early December -- the first squadron to deploy from Kaneohe after Sept. 11.

Cmdr. Tyrone Payton, who assumed command of the VP-4 "Skinny Dragons" April 8, said his 400-member squadron stands ready to return if needed. "Our nation made the call," Payton said. "We answered the call. It's not over yet, and if our nation calls again, we are ready to go back."

Smith said although the air crews of VP-4 did not fire any SLAM missiles, P-3 Orions assigned to VP-9, another Kaneohe unit, did. The Navy has never identified the targets.

The P-3 Orions have equipment that can help troops on the ground get a better picture -- or, in military terms, "situational awareness" -- of the area where they are fighting, especially in the deep valleys and mountain regions of Afghanistan. Verbal or e-mail messages as well as digital images can be sent from the P-3 to ground units or commanders elsewhere by satellite.

But for the next few weeks, the men and women of VP-4 will spend time getting reacquainted with their families and friends.

For Payton, that means catching up on all the sporting events of his two sons, Evan, 9, and Justin, 7.

"He missed both the basketball and baseball seasons for both of them," said Robin Payton, his wife.

"But Evan is really excited since he made the all-star team as a catcher," she added, "and their first game is on Friday, and Dad will be there."

For Leach it will mean discovering what Hawaii is like.

"I spent only 10 days here in January," he said. "I was only able to set up my home, and then I had to join my squadron. ... Now I will be able to sit back and enjoy everything."

Nicole Sameit said her husband, Lt. Paul Sameit, made it back to the islands "just in time for our fifth-year wedding anniversary."