On the night of Oct. 10, 1985, Lt. Cmdr. Barry Steel, call sign Vert, was relaxing aboard the aircraft carrier USS Saratoga. The ship was cruising in Alert 60, a readiness condition with weapons stowed and planes tied down, so it would take 60 minutes to launch a bird.

“Stand by. Stand by. Now launch four alert F-14s, two alert E2s, two KA-6D tankers,” the announcement sounded throughout the ship.