Yes, WEBF, I'm glad you mentioned Sierra Leone, since it was a great argument against Carriers.
1) The Jag Squadron in the Azores was held back from deploying forward to Senegal (full basing permission already in the bag) from where it could have supported ground troops with PII, CRV7 and guns. (1,000 lb bombs and CBUs were ruled out due to colateral damage concerns). Oh yes, and it had a decent recce capability. And they could have been flying ops days before the carrier got there.
2) The only suitable weapon available to the GR.Mk 7s on the carrier then was..... "noise", due to aircraft and carrier hangar/magazine limitations.