wickware has been in the navy 11 years.in hawaii, he started flying gliders when he was just 14. john hilts played basketball for notre dame before joining the navy, where he would be chosen for the elite blue angels demonstration team. it takes a crew of 5,000 to get hilts and wickware in the air on a ship 20 stories high with miles of passageways. life below the deck is bustling. the ship's barber shop doles out 20,000 haircuts and trims per year. and the kitchen dishes up 18,000 meals to the hungry crew each day. they worship on board as well. >> everything from voodoo to roman catholic services, anglican services, anything you can imagine we have. >> wait a minute. voodoo? >> that's true. >> reporter: these creature comforts are true on a ship that launches or lands an aircraft every 60 to 90 seconds when flight operations are under way. it is the rainbow warriors who make it happen, the maintainers in green, white launch and recovery, and the red bombs. >> a lot of ordnance has been dropped. >> a lot more than my last

lightning strikes illuminate wickware's nightvision. but finally, the target is in sight. >> three, two, one. tickle. >> reporter: the two pilots hit flare. but the mission is not over yet. >> we still have to come back and land on a moving aircraft carrier deck at night. really nobody else around the world operates at night the way america's navy does. >> expect the approach. >> it is an intense rush. at nighttime your eyes can play all sorts of tricks on you in the dark. >> final bearings. >> while you're doing it you don't realize how amped up you are. your body's flooded with adrenaline. >> reporter: we met up with the pilots seconds after landing safely on deck again. >> it was not exactly routine. we had to climb above a thunderstorm and then to employ we had to drop down below it. but we got the results we wanted. >> reporter: but as the military moves closer to trying to help take back major cities under isis control, the danger will only increase. >> every time we take the sky there's risks that are inherently placed on us thro

lieutenant wickware givesffic controllers, and he's off. catapulted from 0 to 160 miles an hour in seconds. >> that's one elementu're almost completely out of control. those few seconds as it accelerates you down that catapult stroke. no stars no, horizon, you're into darkness. >> reporter: that target an oil pipeline in a remote area of eastern syria. an effort to cripple isis's financial but before they hit their target the jets must refuel, mid-air. connecting with a tanker to gas up. joining. >> reporter: the pilots guiding their probe into the tanker's basket. >> you're over hostile territory so you need to get that gas. and if you don't, then we can't complete our mission. >> whatever you can do to avoid some of the weather would be reporter: an intense storm develops. lightning strikes illuminate wickware's nightvision. but finally, the target is in three, two, one. tickle. >> reporter: the two pilots hit the target with a quick, intense the mission is not over yet. >> we still have to come back carrier deck at se around the world op

wickware has been in the navy 11 years.in hawaii and started flying gliders when he was just 14. he wanted to be a pilot for as long as he can remember. so did john hiltz. a kentucky native, he played basketball for notre dame before joining the navy, where he would be chosen for the elite blue angels demonstration team before heading into his combat role. >> we're going to take ammo. >> reporter: tonight, lieutenant commander hiltz leads the detailed mission brief. we are allowed to hear it. >> we're going after that oil infrastructure in syria. there will be thunderstorms that may impact the execution. we have a 30-minute window to execute. we'll make sure we do so. >> reporter: the pilots gear up. the g-force suits. the oxygen masks and helmets. do you have rituals before you go up? >> go to the bathroom. say a prayer. >> been a hawaii howlie boy, i give the chaka after i give the salute. >> reporter: they head for the jets just as the sun goes down for the final check. you have been in afghanistan and iraq before. is it

lieutenant wickware gives the sign. and he's off. catapulted from 0 to 160 miles >> that's the one element where you're almost out of control. the few seconds that it accelerates you. the length of a football field. sometimes you have no stars and horizon. you're launched into darkness. >> reporter: that target, the oil pipeline in a remote area of eastern syria. an effort to cripple isis' financial resources. before they hit their target, the jets must refuel. midair. connecting with a tanker to gas up. >> your left side joining. >> reporter: the pilots guiding their probe into the tanker's basket. tens of thousands of feet in the air. >> you're over hostile territory, running out of gas. you need to get the gas. if you don't, we can't complete the mission. worse, we rip off one of our fueling probes. we can't refuel. >> whatever you can do to avoid some of the weather would be great. >> looks like there's a gap. >> reporter: an intense storm makes the refueling process harder. lightning strikes illuminate wickware's night vision. >

lightning strikes illuminate wickware's night vision. >> you in range. >> reporter: but finally, the target is in sight. >> three, two, one. >> reporter: the two pilots hit the target with a quick intense flare. but the mission is not over yet. >> we still have to come back and land on a moving aircraft carrier deck at night. really nobody else around the america's navy does. >> expect an approach. >> it is an intense rush and at nighttime, your eyes can play all sorts of tricks on you in the dark. >> reporter: but as the military moves closer to trying to help take back major cities under isis control, the danger will only increase. >> every time we take to the sky, there's risks inherently placed on us throughout the world. >> reporter: i'm martha raddatz on the "uss truman." >> incredible. >> absolutely fascinating. great reporting by martha. >> absolutely. it takes about -- to get those pilots up in the air about 5,000 people from that crew to get them up from a ship that's about 20 stories high. >> yeah. >> isn't that remarkable? >> that is. i was looking at martha's facebook pa