FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Among the more than 225,000 U.S. troops in the Persian Gulf region are members on board five aircraft carrier battle groups. Our Frank Buckley is aboard the USS Constellation and tells us about the preparations for war.</s>FRANK BUCKLEY, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Well we're continuing to see a vigorous flight schedule off the deck here of the USS Constellation. Jet aircraft coming and going during the day and night, going in to Iraq as part of Operation Southern Watch, enforcing the disputed no- fly zone there. As we watch that activity continue, we're also beginning to get a glimpse of how the war might unfold, if there is a war, in Iraq. Rear Admiral Barry Costello, the Constellation battle group commander, telling us that if there is a war, the first strike would probably come from Tomahawk missiles launched from U.S. Navy ships in the region. He says some 30 plus ships are equipped with such weapons. They would be followed by wave after wave of jet aircraft going in to Iraq using precision weapons. The admiral predicting that if there is war, it will end quickly.</s>REAR ADM. BARRY COSTELLO, USS CONSTELLATION: There is, I think, a well founded confidence that if we are ordered to go forward, it will be lightning quick, it will be devastating, it will be lethal, it'll be persistent, it'll be precise.</s>BUCKLEY: Rear Admiral Costello attributing the potentially quick end to a war in Iraq, if there is one, to the precision bombs. He said that a significantly higher percentage of smart bombs will be employed in Iraq this time as compared to 1991 during Desert Storm, if there is in fact a war in Iraq. Asked about his prediction of a quick end, Rear Admiral Costello was asked in a follow-up question, do you mean the air war? The admiral said no, I mean the whole war. That's the latest from the Constellation. I'm Frank Buckley, CNN, aboard the USS Constellation in the Persian Gulf.
With the Troops Prepping for War