Return to Transcripts main page

Live From...

USS Abraham Lincoln in Final Portion of Return to San Diego

Aired April 29, 2003 - 14:32   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Heading home. The U.S. aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln after ten long months at sea, the war on terrorism, the war in Iraq, crossing the Pacific now from a stop in Pearl Harbor to San Diego, and then ultimately home port of Everett, Washington.
CNN's Kyra Phillips was in one of the Lincoln bedrooms during the Iraq war and she's back for -- I guess you could call this the victory lap or whatever you want to call it. But the crew and everybody who did good work on there, including yourself, Kyra, deserve to enjoy this moment as you steam in toward port. And that whole blowout thing, her handle, we'll talk about later of course.

But anyway, Kyra's on board with some of her -- I guess you could call them friends by now, right?

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: I guess you could say that. And you're so right, Miles. I came out here before the war started. Then I was here during the war. And now I'm hear for the homecoming. It's like my job has come full circle. It's been an amazing experience to be embedded on this ship and I got to meet people like the F/A-18 Squadron, VF-113. How are you guys going?

(CHEERS)

PHILLIPS: Have you excited to go home?

CREW: Yes!

Are you going to miss each other?

CREW: No!

PHILLIPS: You just can imagine, Miles. But truly they have really bonded. They went through a very intense time together. A very important part of going home, of course, is the flyoff. You can probably see here in the hangar all the aircraft. The maintenance is being done. Everything's being checked. So the planes are ready to go. They all take off in formation. It's a pretty amazing experience as they transit in closer to San Diego.

Skipper Bill Dores (ph), he's the C.O. of the F/A-18 -- it's so hard to spit that out sometimes -- the Stingers, the squadron here. Tell us about that flyoff and why it means so much to you and this entire squadron. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First of all, it's fairly awe inspiring. Imagine, if you will, looking up and seeing one F/A-18 fly over. It's a pretty nice experience. Now imagine 36 of those and they're all loaded out with ordnance. It's big, it's noisy. But we also have a lot to make up for. We've been gone a very long time. Most people here have missed all the loved one's birthday, anniversaries. We've missed Christmas, Easter. We have a lot to make up for. We sort of embody all of that in one big celebration when we come home.

PHILLIPS: Yes, I can just imagine. We're going to be there. I can't wait to see it.

Roxy (ph), I want to talk to you. You're a plane captain. You're 19-years-old and it's your job to make sure those jets are ready to go. Do you have realize your responsibility that you take on? I mean is there a time when you're sort of on top of the F/A-18 thinking, wow, I can't believe this baby's in my hands?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, it's a very important job. I talk to my all friends back home every couple of days. I talk to my family. And I just graduated high school about two years ago and they're like, wow, never thought you would be doing something like this. They see them take off on the CNN stations and all the news stations back home and they're like, wow, that's an awesome job. How do you do that? And I'm like, I don't know, I just -- it's a job. It's a cool job.

PHILLIPS: And what's the goal? What are you thinking as you're checking every single part of that aircraft? What are you focusing on?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get this plane up in the air safely, my pilot, myself, people around me. Just ensure everything is good to go so we can make a safe, efficient flight and bring them home safely.

PHILLIPS: Roxy, thank you. We're going to take a shot now outside and so we can actually see how fast we're going, about 30 knots, steaming, just ready to go. I mean everyone is so anxious to get home. And you can kind of get a feel for it. Yes, exactly, everyone is going to start running here.

And as we look at that shot, I'm going to kind of move over here through the crowd and move over to Jennifer (ph). As you know, the president of the United States is going to be coming on to the US Abraham Lincoln to sot of see all of you off, I guess, and thank all of you for what you have done over the past ten months. You are actually going to eat with President Bush.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Are you nervous?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very nervous, but excited, too. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sow hat are you going to tell him, Jennifer? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I haven't thought of that yet. I'm going to tell him I think he's done a great job, though. And he's given us all a great sense of accomplishment out here.

PHILLIPS: Did you feel you had -- did you get enough from the president, do you think? Did it keep you inspired to keep you going for ten months?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I think he did really good keeping us inspired.

PHILLIPS: All right. Well I know someone else that has been a big inspiration for all of you. Who's the guy that always keeps you so happy around here?

(CHEERS)

PHILLIPS: All right. I've got to introduce you to Wynn (ph). What is it about you, Wynn? How do you keep these guys motivated? Just, you know, still trooping along?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a combination of my sparkling personality and my amazing good looks.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: You know, you need a sense of humor when you're on a ship for ten months, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well you know, you do, because when we got turned around, I think everybody just went so numb to the fact that we were out here. And it's not really something I go out of my way to do but it's -- I don't know, I've always tried to make people happy.

PHILLIPS: Well, I think you've done that. Do you guys agree?

(CHEERS)

PHILLIPS: All right. Now, and then I got a chance to talk to Adam (ph) over here. He flew during Operation Iraqi Freedom. But he's sort of thinking about someone special back home, aren't you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I sure am. My fiance back home, Holly Hill (ph). I've been away from her for about nine, ten months now.

PHILLIPS: So what do you think? Are you ready to plan the wedding?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well I sure I am. I think I'm just going to go home and let her be in charge for a while, probably like most of the husbands and loved ones out here. And you know when she tells me it's time to take over again, I'll probably take over again.

PHILLIPS: But she'll get to be the boss for a while, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it's probably true. PHILLIPS: All right. You guys, all you men going to let the wife be the boss when you get home?

(GROANS)

PHILLIPS: OK, Now we had a shout outback there, right? Rifle (ph) -- who do you want to say hi to?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All my friends and family.

PHILLIPS: All right. And I know all you guys are so excited to get back to friends and family.

Skipper, final thoughts as you guys gear up to go? What an amazing group of people! Did it just blow you away how you all just came together as a family?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These folks are amazing. Talk about doing something with your life when you're 19-years-old. What they're doing, they're standing in the rain, thunderstorms that I vividly remember on the 25th of last month. The rains coming down. The Air Force, unfortunately, can't fly. The Navy is able to fly in terrible conditions. And people like Roxanne (ph) are launching the airplanes and she has 50 pounds of chains on her back, she's drenched in rain and she's ready to launch. And she'll keep doing it over and over, everyday, 18 hours a day. Awesome people. I'm so proud.

PHILLIPS: Well, it was great to be a part of all this and see how you work. Thank you all so much for just letting us be here. We appreciate it. Thanks for joining live also. I know you all are tired, you're working hard. But, Miles, they are definitely ready to get home. And we're going to be there for the homecoming too, when the F-18s fly off into Lemoore. We'll be there and see all these folks right here reuniting with their family and their friends.

O'BRIEN: Kyra, I notice the skipper got in a little dig there against the Air Force. That's understandable. But let's talk a little bit about -- I'm consistently amazed about these 19-year-olds and the responsibility that they embrace. You know, next time we all get kind of down about the youth of America, I think it's worth remembering this group. Don't you?

PHILLIPS: Miles, you bring up such a good point. Matter of fact, Brian Pierson (ph), my photographer and I, we're working on a story right now. We found all -- you see all the colored shirts? You know, the red, the green, the white, the brown? Every single color. These are the young men and women that make sure these jets are ready to go and can take off and can you know take part in combat.

And yes, I mean, they're like teenagers, which is absolutely amazing. Matter of fact, who's another teenager here besides Roxy? Guys? Any 18, 19? Right over here. Hold on. Let me move over here real quickly. I'll be real quick, Miles. Hold on here. Young lady, where are you -- here we go. How old are you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Twenty-years-old. PHILLIPS: Twenty-years-old. Do you ever realize the responsibility that you're taking on? Miles was just talking about how young you guys are. And, you know, a lot of times you think about the kids back home and they're not so focused and serious. What made you take on such a responsibility?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just, I don't know. I'm doing what I have to do for my country and being out here and doing the job we're out here for.

PHILLIPS: Thank you. Thank you very much. Miles, that's -- you ask them all. And no matter how old they are -- I'm going to get right in front with you guys here -- that's the response. This is their responsibility. They wanted to do something for their country. A lot of them want to be able to go to college. This is their way to do that and see the world. You bring up such a great point. It is pretty fascinating to see how young a lot of these sailors are and what they do.

O'BRIEN: Well they are certainly heads and tails above Miles O'Brien at the age of 19 or 20. I can say that beyond a shadow of the doubt. And I'm not going to speak for you.

PHILLIPS: I'll ditto that thought.

O'BRIEN: All right, Kyra Phillips, great job. Enjoy. Boy, that ship moves so fast. It's just amazing to think about 100,000 tons steaming along at 30 knots.

Anyway, great job. We'll check with you a little bit later. Enjoy the steam back in. One more cheer from the crowd. Give us one more cheer.

PHILLIPS: There you go. Will you guys say goodbye to Miles O'Brien?

CREW: Bye, Miles.

PHILLIPS: Hey, and he's a pilot, too. What's your call sign, Miles?

O'BRIEN: My call sign is News Hound. News Hound.

PHILLIPS: News Hound?

O'BRIEN: Not, Blow Out.

PHILLIPS: Oh, News Hound.

O'BRIEN: News hound.

PHILLIPS: Awe! Say goodbye to News Hound, guys.

CREW: Bye, News Hound.

PHILLIPS: There you go, Miles. You're going to become famous on this show.

O'BRIEN: You just made my day. Thank you, Kyra Phillips and the cast of thousands. I appreciate it.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




Diego>


Aired April 29, 2003 - 14:32   ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
MILES O'BRIEN, CNN ANCHOR: Heading home. The U.S. aircraft carrier Abraham Lincoln after ten long months at sea, the war on terrorism, the war in Iraq, crossing the Pacific now from a stop in Pearl Harbor to San Diego, and then ultimately home port of Everett, Washington.
CNN's Kyra Phillips was in one of the Lincoln bedrooms during the Iraq war and she's back for -- I guess you could call this the victory lap or whatever you want to call it. But the crew and everybody who did good work on there, including yourself, Kyra, deserve to enjoy this moment as you steam in toward port. And that whole blowout thing, her handle, we'll talk about later of course.

But anyway, Kyra's on board with some of her -- I guess you could call them friends by now, right?

KYRA PHILLIPS, CNN ANCHOR: I guess you could say that. And you're so right, Miles. I came out here before the war started. Then I was here during the war. And now I'm hear for the homecoming. It's like my job has come full circle. It's been an amazing experience to be embedded on this ship and I got to meet people like the F/A-18 Squadron, VF-113. How are you guys going?

(CHEERS)

PHILLIPS: Have you excited to go home?

CREW: Yes!

Are you going to miss each other?

CREW: No!

PHILLIPS: You just can imagine, Miles. But truly they have really bonded. They went through a very intense time together. A very important part of going home, of course, is the flyoff. You can probably see here in the hangar all the aircraft. The maintenance is being done. Everything's being checked. So the planes are ready to go. They all take off in formation. It's a pretty amazing experience as they transit in closer to San Diego.

Skipper Bill Dores (ph), he's the C.O. of the F/A-18 -- it's so hard to spit that out sometimes -- the Stingers, the squadron here. Tell us about that flyoff and why it means so much to you and this entire squadron. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: First of all, it's fairly awe inspiring. Imagine, if you will, looking up and seeing one F/A-18 fly over. It's a pretty nice experience. Now imagine 36 of those and they're all loaded out with ordnance. It's big, it's noisy. But we also have a lot to make up for. We've been gone a very long time. Most people here have missed all the loved one's birthday, anniversaries. We've missed Christmas, Easter. We have a lot to make up for. We sort of embody all of that in one big celebration when we come home.

PHILLIPS: Yes, I can just imagine. We're going to be there. I can't wait to see it.

Roxy (ph), I want to talk to you. You're a plane captain. You're 19-years-old and it's your job to make sure those jets are ready to go. Do you have realize your responsibility that you take on? I mean is there a time when you're sort of on top of the F/A-18 thinking, wow, I can't believe this baby's in my hands?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, it's a very important job. I talk to my all friends back home every couple of days. I talk to my family. And I just graduated high school about two years ago and they're like, wow, never thought you would be doing something like this. They see them take off on the CNN stations and all the news stations back home and they're like, wow, that's an awesome job. How do you do that? And I'm like, I don't know, I just -- it's a job. It's a cool job.

PHILLIPS: And what's the goal? What are you thinking as you're checking every single part of that aircraft? What are you focusing on?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Get this plane up in the air safely, my pilot, myself, people around me. Just ensure everything is good to go so we can make a safe, efficient flight and bring them home safely.

PHILLIPS: Roxy, thank you. We're going to take a shot now outside and so we can actually see how fast we're going, about 30 knots, steaming, just ready to go. I mean everyone is so anxious to get home. And you can kind of get a feel for it. Yes, exactly, everyone is going to start running here.

And as we look at that shot, I'm going to kind of move over here through the crowd and move over to Jennifer (ph). As you know, the president of the United States is going to be coming on to the US Abraham Lincoln to sot of see all of you off, I guess, and thank all of you for what you have done over the past ten months. You are actually going to eat with President Bush.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

PHILLIPS: Are you nervous?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Very nervous, but excited, too. It's a once in a lifetime opportunity.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Sow hat are you going to tell him, Jennifer? UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I haven't thought of that yet. I'm going to tell him I think he's done a great job, though. And he's given us all a great sense of accomplishment out here.

PHILLIPS: Did you feel you had -- did you get enough from the president, do you think? Did it keep you inspired to keep you going for ten months?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes, I think he did really good keeping us inspired.

PHILLIPS: All right. Well I know someone else that has been a big inspiration for all of you. Who's the guy that always keeps you so happy around here?

(CHEERS)

PHILLIPS: All right. I've got to introduce you to Wynn (ph). What is it about you, Wynn? How do you keep these guys motivated? Just, you know, still trooping along?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: It's a combination of my sparkling personality and my amazing good looks.

(LAUGHTER)

PHILLIPS: You know, you need a sense of humor when you're on a ship for ten months, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well you know, you do, because when we got turned around, I think everybody just went so numb to the fact that we were out here. And it's not really something I go out of my way to do but it's -- I don't know, I've always tried to make people happy.

PHILLIPS: Well, I think you've done that. Do you guys agree?

(CHEERS)

PHILLIPS: All right. Now, and then I got a chance to talk to Adam (ph) over here. He flew during Operation Iraqi Freedom. But he's sort of thinking about someone special back home, aren't you?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, I sure am. My fiance back home, Holly Hill (ph). I've been away from her for about nine, ten months now.

PHILLIPS: So what do you think? Are you ready to plan the wedding?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Well I sure I am. I think I'm just going to go home and let her be in charge for a while, probably like most of the husbands and loved ones out here. And you know when she tells me it's time to take over again, I'll probably take over again.

PHILLIPS: But she'll get to be the boss for a while, right?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Yes, it's probably true. PHILLIPS: All right. You guys, all you men going to let the wife be the boss when you get home?

(GROANS)

PHILLIPS: OK, Now we had a shout outback there, right? Rifle (ph) -- who do you want to say hi to?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: All my friends and family.

PHILLIPS: All right. And I know all you guys are so excited to get back to friends and family.

Skipper, final thoughts as you guys gear up to go? What an amazing group of people! Did it just blow you away how you all just came together as a family?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: These folks are amazing. Talk about doing something with your life when you're 19-years-old. What they're doing, they're standing in the rain, thunderstorms that I vividly remember on the 25th of last month. The rains coming down. The Air Force, unfortunately, can't fly. The Navy is able to fly in terrible conditions. And people like Roxanne (ph) are launching the airplanes and she has 50 pounds of chains on her back, she's drenched in rain and she's ready to launch. And she'll keep doing it over and over, everyday, 18 hours a day. Awesome people. I'm so proud.

PHILLIPS: Well, it was great to be a part of all this and see how you work. Thank you all so much for just letting us be here. We appreciate it. Thanks for joining live also. I know you all are tired, you're working hard. But, Miles, they are definitely ready to get home. And we're going to be there for the homecoming too, when the F-18s fly off into Lemoore. We'll be there and see all these folks right here reuniting with their family and their friends.

O'BRIEN: Kyra, I notice the skipper got in a little dig there against the Air Force. That's understandable. But let's talk a little bit about -- I'm consistently amazed about these 19-year-olds and the responsibility that they embrace. You know, next time we all get kind of down about the youth of America, I think it's worth remembering this group. Don't you?

PHILLIPS: Miles, you bring up such a good point. Matter of fact, Brian Pierson (ph), my photographer and I, we're working on a story right now. We found all -- you see all the colored shirts? You know, the red, the green, the white, the brown? Every single color. These are the young men and women that make sure these jets are ready to go and can take off and can you know take part in combat.

And yes, I mean, they're like teenagers, which is absolutely amazing. Matter of fact, who's another teenager here besides Roxy? Guys? Any 18, 19? Right over here. Hold on. Let me move over here real quickly. I'll be real quick, Miles. Hold on here. Young lady, where are you -- here we go. How old are you?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Twenty-years-old. PHILLIPS: Twenty-years-old. Do you ever realize the responsibility that you're taking on? Miles was just talking about how young you guys are. And, you know, a lot of times you think about the kids back home and they're not so focused and serious. What made you take on such a responsibility?

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Just, I don't know. I'm doing what I have to do for my country and being out here and doing the job we're out here for.

PHILLIPS: Thank you. Thank you very much. Miles, that's -- you ask them all. And no matter how old they are -- I'm going to get right in front with you guys here -- that's the response. This is their responsibility. They wanted to do something for their country. A lot of them want to be able to go to college. This is their way to do that and see the world. You bring up such a great point. It is pretty fascinating to see how young a lot of these sailors are and what they do.

O'BRIEN: Well they are certainly heads and tails above Miles O'Brien at the age of 19 or 20. I can say that beyond a shadow of the doubt. And I'm not going to speak for you.

PHILLIPS: I'll ditto that thought.

O'BRIEN: All right, Kyra Phillips, great job. Enjoy. Boy, that ship moves so fast. It's just amazing to think about 100,000 tons steaming along at 30 knots.

Anyway, great job. We'll check with you a little bit later. Enjoy the steam back in. One more cheer from the crowd. Give us one more cheer.

PHILLIPS: There you go. Will you guys say goodbye to Miles O'Brien?

CREW: Bye, Miles.

PHILLIPS: Hey, and he's a pilot, too. What's your call sign, Miles?

O'BRIEN: My call sign is News Hound. News Hound.

PHILLIPS: News Hound?

O'BRIEN: Not, Blow Out.

PHILLIPS: Oh, News Hound.

O'BRIEN: News hound.

PHILLIPS: Awe! Say goodbye to News Hound, guys.

CREW: Bye, News Hound.

PHILLIPS: There you go, Miles. You're going to become famous on this show.

O'BRIEN: You just made my day. Thank you, Kyra Phillips and the cast of thousands. I appreciate it.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com




Diego>