As the tankers and F-111's taxied from their ramp parking and TAB-V's at RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath the press and plane-spotters that had been camped out along the base runways for the last several weeks were now strangely absent.

From a security standpoint, the immediate concern was if the raid was going to be revealed on the evening newscast in England. However, nothing was reported. At least a few plane-spotters did watch the launch process.

No one called the news, or if they did, the news channels showed discretion in their reporting. Total surprise is impossible when accompanied by unusual movements of large numbers of aircraft being observed by knowledgeable observers.