Just heard this in a talk by a retired USN aviator here from around 5:40. He explains how the Navy had to fly planes from the carrier to Riyadh to receive the Air Tasking Order on paper and fly back to receive it. Is this really true? Is the Air Tasking Order that complicated to send or was the Navy really that outdated?
Yes, this did happen. The daily Air Tasking Order (ATO) was generated by the US Central Command's (CENTCOM) Combined Air Operations Center in Saudi Arabia. As the US Navy's command and control systems weren't compatible with those used by the US Army or US Air Force, these orders were flown to the carriers using S-3s so the next day's flight schedules could be written.
During the Cold War, USN planners had envisioned fighting Soviet forces in the open ocean, where they would fight largely independently of the other services, so being able to receive ATOs from the other branches was not seen as a priority. However, during Desert Storm they found themselves fighting a very different campaign - fighting in littoral waters, sharing an operating area with the US Air Force and Army.
Immediately after Desert Storm, the USN took steps to remedy some of the deficiencies highlighted by the conflict, including upgrades which allowed carriers to receive ATOs electronically.
Source: American Carrier Air Power at the Dawn of a New Century by Benjamin S. Lambeth