Bud mentions the attack on the USS Stark, which was a real incident. The USS Stark (FFG-31), a Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided missile frigate, was assigned to patrol off the coast of Saudi Arabia during the Iran-Iraq war. On May 17, 1987 at 22:09 hours the Stark's radar officer picked up what appeared to be a Dassault Falcon 50, a midsize private jet, on an intercept course, unalarmed at the time the CO ordered the radioman to send a message requesting the plane identify itself. The pilot failed to respond, the CO ordered a second message to be sent asking the plane to identify itself and change course. At 22:10 the CIC reported that the Falcon was targeting them with fire control radar, the Falcon then fired two Exocet anti-ship missiles at the Stark from a distance of 22 miles. Likely because of pure luck the plane was directly in the Stark's radar blind spot, as such none of the ship's point defense weapons were able to get a target lock. The first missile struck the ship on the port side near the bridge, it failed to detonate but started a fire that caused damage to the CIC and missile fire control, preventing the Stark from returning fire. The second missile struck the port side amidships and detonated, leaving a 10 by 15 foot hole in the hull. This damaged the fire control radar, at this point the only point defense weapon left functional was the CWIS, however the Falcon changed course and retreated before it was within CWIS range. Later investigation showed the Falcon had been modified to carry an old Soviet fire control radar and hardpoints for two Exocet missiles, these planes were used for covert surveillance, it is unknown why it fired on the Stark or if it was acting under orders. The attack left 21 sailors wounded and 37 dead.
The USS Cayuga (LST-1186) was a Newport-class tank landing ship commissioned in August of 1970, she participated in the landing of US Marines to help defend Hue City in May of 1972 during the Vietnam War and was part of Amphibious Squadron 5 in 1991 and landed troops and tanks for the opening invasion of Operation Desert Storm. The Cayuga was decommissioned from the US Navy in August of 1994 and transferred to the Brazilian Navy on loan, she was renamed NDCC Mattoso Maia (G-28). Brazil purchased the ship from the US in 2001 and the Mattoso Maia is still in service as of 2022.
First appearance of Susan Haskell as Lt. Cmdr. Jordan 'Jordi' Parker.