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**Matt Wiser** · 05-23-2015, 01:26 AM

Just wondering, guys; did anyone pick out who the Su-25 driver was that Sweaty splashed

**Adm.Lee** · 05-23-2015, 11:00 AM

Yes, without even checking wikipedia: Afghan war hero, later politician, amirite

**Matt Wiser** · 05-23-2015, 06:28 PM

You are correct. And the story goes on, while the 335th says goodbye to a dearly loved CO:

North of Dallas, Texas: 0845 Hours:

Corvette Flight was orbiting at 26,000 feet over North Texas, and the aircrews could see other aircraft orbiting, then being cleared to strike. However, none had anti-armor loads, while their flight and a Marine F-4 flight just above them did. And in all four Corvette Flight aircraft, tempers were running short.

Major Matt Wiser, the flight lead and the CO of the 335th TFS, glanced at his watch. oe0845. We need to strike somebody and get back, he said to his WSO.

oeDon't get paid for bringing ordnance home, First Lieutenant Lisa oeGoalie Eichhorn said. oeHow long have we been here

oeSince 7:30, Major Wiser, call sign Guru, said. oeCan't stay here all day. Ill call Hillsboro. Hillsboro was the call sign for an EC-130E Airborne Command Post that directed the FACs and ground-based Air Liaison Teams with ground forces. oeHillsboro, Corvette One-one.

oeCorvette One-one, Hillsboro, go. the controller replied.

oeAny tasking for us If not, we have prebriefed secondary targets and can go after those, Guru said.

oeStand by, Corvette.

oeYou said it ten minutes ago, fella, Guru muttered.

oeHey, Lead Capt. Kara oeStarbuck Thrace, called. oeAnything

oeNada, Two, Guru replied. oeYeah, I know, we got targets to service and then a place to be.

oeRoger that, Lead, Kara replied.

oeCorvette One-one, Hillboro, the ABCC controller replied. oeContact Nail Six-One for tasking.

oeRoger, Hillsboro, Guru replied. oeContact Nail Six-One.

oeHey, Hillsboro, this is Shamrock Zero-eight, the Marine flight elader called. oeCan we get in on Corvette's action

While the Marines were talking with Hillsboro, Guru called the FAC. oeNail Six-One, Corvette One-one. How copy

oeRead you, Corvette, Nail replied. oeSay aircraft and type of ordnance please.

oeCorvette Flight has four Foxtrot-Four Echoes, with twelve Rockeyes and full twenty-mike-mike each airplane.

oeCopy that, Corvette, Nail said. oeWe have an armored column moving north on F.M. 548 headed for Route 276. They're yours.

oeRoger that, Nail, Guru replied. oeCorvette, on me, Guru said, and he took his F-4 down. The others followed. As they went in, Guru saw an A-7K orbiting overhead. That would be the FAC.

oeCorvette, Nail, expect regimental level air defense, Nail said. That meant ZSU-23-4s and SA-9 or SA-13 SAMs, plus shoulder-fired missiles.

oeCopy, Guru replied. oeCorvettes, music on, switches on, and time to go to work,

oeTwo, Kara.

oeThree, Lieutenant Valerie oeSweaty Blanchard.

oeFour, Lieutenant Nathan oeHoser West.

oeRoger that, Guru said. oeNail, can you mark the target

oeThat's affirmative, Corvette, Nail replied. 'Can you give me two passes

oeNail, Corvette, that's a negative, replied Guru. oeOne pass only.

oeRoger Corvette, Nail said. 'Marking the target.

Corvette Flight watched as the A-7K rolled in, and fired two white phosphorous rockets to mark the lead elements of the armored column. As the A-7 pulled up, tracer fire and a SAM came up after the FAC, but missed. oeAll right, people! Guru said. oeOne pass, south to north. He turned to get lined up for his attack run.

oeSwitches set, Goalie said. oeAll set back here.

oeGood girl, Guru said, oeCorvette Lead in hot! He rolled in on his run, picking out the leading vehicles. God, a whole armored regiment on the move....This won't be your morning, Ivan. Guru picked out the regimental advanced guard and lined up some tanks in his pipper. oeHACK! Twelve Rockeye CBUs came off the racks, then he pulled away. oeLead's off target.

Below, A Soviet army captain was leading the advanced guard of the 292nd Guards Tank Regiment, 72nd Gaurds Motor-Rifle Division. The division had been shot up at Wichita in May, and had been in reserve with the rest of 1st Guards Army, but now, they were back at the front, and the division had been sent to shore up the 204th MRD, which was a mobilization-only unit, equipped with old T-54s and open-topped BTR-60s, and was getting shot to pieces. His men were mostly veterans, and were eager to get back into action, and show these Americans that the Soviet Army never gave up. The captain looked up from the commander's hatch on his T-64BK command tank and saw a dot approaching his unit at high speed, and three more behind it. He yelled into his throat microphone, oeAIRCRAFT ALARM! Then Guru's F-4 flew overhead and the CBUs came off the aircraft.

Guru pulled out and rolled left so that he could see how his bombs did. He and Goalie were looking as the CBUs exploded, and a number of vehicles exploded in fireballs. oeSHACK!

oeGood hits, Corvette Lead, Nail said.

oeThanks, Nail, Guru said as he headed north.

oeTwo's in hot! Kara said as she came in.

oeTriple-A coming up, First Lieutenant Judd oeBrainiac Brewster, Kara's GIB, said.

oeNo radar, Kara said. She lined up the advanced guard's 122-mm SP guns. oeHACK!

The Soviet captain watched as several tanks fell out of line, burning, and just as one crew bailed out of a burning tank, it exploded, killing them, and sending shrapnel flying. He ducked, and as his tank drove forward, he stood up in his hatch and looked to his rear. Just then, Kara's bird came over and released its bombs, and he saw the CBU bomblets explode on and around his artillery battery.

oeGood hits! Brainiac said as Kara rolled away. oeAnd secondaries!

oeAll right! Kara replied as she set course north. oeTwo off target, she called, then asked, oeAnything behind us

oeJust Sweaty rolling in.

oeThree's in! Sweaty called, and she rolled in on the target. She picked out the center of the column, where some tanks and APCs were mixed together. Sweaty ignored the tracer fire from several tank machine guns as she rolled in. Lining up a pair of tanks in the pipper, she muttered, oeNot today...and HACK! Twelve more Rockeyes landed on the Soviet column as her F-4 pulled away.

The Soviet captain ducked again as Sweaty's F-4 came over, and this time,a rain of bomblets landed behind his tank. He had been tucked in behind the lead tank company and a company of BMP-1Ms had been right behind his own tank, and just behind the motor-rifle troops was the second tank company.. It was that company was hit, and several APCs and tanks took hits in their thin roof armor and they went up in fireballs. Grimacing, the captain ordered his driver to keep moving. The sooner the advanced guard was out of this air strike, the better.

oeRighteous! First Lieutenant Bryan oePreacher Simmonds, Sweaty's WSO, called.

oeGood hits Sweaty asked as she banked away. oeThree's off target.

oeGreat hits, and we got a few secondaries, Preacher called.

oeFlak or SAMs Sweaty asked as she turned the F-4 north.

oeNegative,

oeFour in hot!' Hoser called. He spotted what looked like an SA-9 launch vehicle and several APCs deploying, and to him, that was an inviting target. He lined them up in his pipper....

Just then, the SA-9 fired, head on at him, and his GIB, First Lieutenant Kathy oeKT Thornton, called, oeSAM, Twelve O'clock!

oeNot enough, Hoser said. The missile flew by their plane, and he hit the pickle button. oeHACK! Again, Rockeye CBUs came off, and this time, the CBUs tore into the SAM track and the APCs, exploding the SA-9 vehicle and killing a ZSU-23 for good measure, while also killing several tanks that had gotten off the road to disperse.

oeGood hits! KT called, and she involuntarily ducked as some tracers flew over the F-4.

oeFour's off, Hoser called, taking the F-4 north.

oeCopy that, Four, Guru called. oeEgress and meet up over Lavon Lake, then we're gone.

Behind them, the advanced guard of the 292nd Guards Tank Regiment was halted, and many of its vehicles were either knocked out or were damaged. The captain grimaced, wondering how he'd inform the regimental commander, when his tank ran over an unexploded CBU bomblet. The blast tore off the left track, and the tank slid into a ditch. The Captain shook his head. It was turning out to be a miserable day, and it wasn't even midmorning. He called his regimental commander, who ordered him to halt in place and await reinforcements and assistance. Just then, from the south, came four more F-4s.....the flight from VMFA-333 was rolling in.....

Over Lavon Lake, Guru was orbiting, and waiting. First Kara, then Sweaty, then Hoser, all came up. Then Guru contacted Nail. oeNail Six-One, Corvette One-one. Got a BDA for us

oeCorvette, Nail. I give you a four-decimal zero. All bombs on target. Thanks a bunch.

oeCopy that Nail, and you're welcome. We are outbound for home plate. Guru then set course back to Sheppard.

oeWhat time is it Sweaty asked. oeWe're cutting it close.

Guru glanced at his watch. oe0925, he replied. oeTwenty minutes there, then who knows how long in the pattern.

oeYeah, Goalie said. oeWell, we'll be there. Even if everyone in this flight is in sweaty flight suits.

oeRemember what LeMay told a recon driver in the Cuban Missile Crisis He said that he'd never question anyone's appearance if he'd just returned from a combat mission.

oeThey told us that at the Academy, Goalie said.

It was still twenty minutes until Corvette Flight was in the Sheppard traffic pattern. There were two other 335th flights ahead of them, and all had four aircraft, Guru was pleased to see. After several Marine flights of both Phantoms and Hornets left, then it was their turn to land. After touching down, the flight taxied away, and as they did so, the crews popped their canopies. Then they taxied into their dispersal area and then their revetments.

Guru shut down the engines, then took off his helmet. oe0955, he said.

oeShit, you're right! Goalie said, glancing at her own watch. oeWe'd better get over there. She indicated a hangar where the service was being held.

Sergeant Crowley, the crew chief, came up with the crew ladder. oeSir, you'd better get over there,

oeYou are so right, Sergeant, Guru said. He, then Goalie, climbed down from the aircraft. They had a quick look around 512, then Guru said, oeShe's working like a champ, Sergeant, Too bad you guys have to get her turned around...

A Dodge Crew-Cab pickup pulled up to the revetment just as Kara, Sweaty, Hoser, and the GIBs arrived at 512's revetment. It was Master Sergeant Ross, the senior NCO. oeGet in, sir! I'll get you all over there.

oeLet's go, Guru said, and all four crews piled into the pickup, and Ross drove over to the hangar. There was already a crowd of AF and Marine personnel there, waiting, When Guru and the others got out of the truck, still with helmets and flight gear, he noticed General Tanner and Colonel Brady talking with Capt. Mark Ellis, the Executive Officer of the 335th. oeGeneral, he said, saluting.

oeMajor, Tanner returned the salute. oeWell, if our friend Colonel Rivers is watching, and I have no reason to doubt it, he's no doubt smiling with approval. Half of those at his own memorial service show up in sweaty flight suits and haven't even gotten out of their flight gear.

oeYes, sir, Guru said.

oeStill got a couple of minutes, Major, Tanner said. oeHow'd it go out there

oeMade the lead element of an armored regiment go away, sir, Guru said. oeSome flak, but not much.

oeI'll go along with that, sir, Kara said. oeHardly anything came up at us.

oeGeneral, Ellis said, oeLicon's been taking impromptu debriefs as people trickle in. But sir, that can wait. The Major's flight is the last in.

oeLet's go, Major, Tanner said.

oeYes, sir, Guru replied.

General Tanner led them into the hangar, where folding chairs had been set up for Colonel Rivers' memorial service. There was a lectern up front, with both American and Air Force flags flanking it. One of the chaplain's assistants directed them to their seats, with the General seated next to both Guru and Colonel Brady. Tanner looked around, and saw how everyone was dressed. oeI think he'd be pleased.

oeSir Guru asked.

oeEnlisted mechanics and ordnance people in their grimy work uniforms, other enlisted and ground officers in BDUs, and the aircrew in flight suits. Hell, Major, you and two other flights didn't even have time to get out of your flight gear.

oeYes, sir. But General, I think he'd like it that way. Since we're going back out not long after it's over.

oeThat you are, Major, Tanner said. He was in BDUs himself.

Guru nodded, then saw one officer in dress blues. oeSir, there's one who we all know and hate who 's dressed up.

oeWell, Major, expecting him to go with the flow might be a waste of time, but the effort has to be made, the General replied, referring to Major Frank Carson.

Guru nodded, oeYes, sir, then he noticed the Chaplain coming with the squadron honor guard. oeSir, it's starting.

The Star Spangled Banner began to play, and everyone stood to attention and saluted. The Chaplain came in, followed by Master Sergeant Ross, then the squadron honor guard. The Chaplain went to the lectern, while the honor guard flanked the lectern. Then he spoke. oeWelcome everyone. Commander James Champion, USN, CC, said. oeI see the 'come as you are' feeling isn't just limited to the Marines, noticing the dress of the audience. oePlease be seated.

The audience took their seats, then a recording of Amazing Grace began to play. When it was finished, the Chaplain continued oeLet us pray. Heavenly Father, we ask thee to admit the soul of Lieutenant Colonel Dean Rivers into your loving arms. Colonel Rivers gave his life in the service of his country, to free those suffering under the jackboot of an oppressive and uncaring occupier, and to protect those who are still free. Comfort his family, who need your blessing as they deal with the loss of a husband and father, Comfort also his fellow airmen, especially those in his squadron, as they deal with the loss of a beloved commanding officer and dear friend. And give your protection to those who are carrying on with the mission he began, as they go into harm's way. Amen.

oeAmen, the audience repeated.

oeThank you for coming, the Chaplain said. oeThough I didn't know Colonel Rivers as well as most of you, we did have conversations. He was a devoted father, husband, and commanding officer, who is missed not only by his family, but by you. He wasn't just a commanding officer, but a father figure to you all. He is missed by everyone who knew him, and and when he reported to Saint Peter, he didn't need to say much, just 'One more airman reporting, sir. I've served my time in hell.' The chaplain paused, then nodded. oeThough when he got to the Pearly Gates, he no doubt found them guarded by United States Marines, the Chaplain smiled at the Marine officers in attendance. oeBut with God's blessing, he will watch over you, as you carry on in his stead. He nodded to General Tanner. oeGeneral, if you'll say a few words

General Tanner nodded, then went to the lectern. oeChaplain, everyone. What can you say when you lose someone who was not only a devoted aide, but an outstanding squadron commander Not much. Dean Rivers was the best aide I've ever had the pleasure to have, and he was always ready, with a work ethic that would've pleased any corporate CEO or the Air Force Chief of Staff. Though when he came to the 335th, he realized that a lot of what he'd learned didn't apply in a war zone, so he became more like Robin Olds than Curtis LeMay, and there was quite a bit of laughter at that from the audience.

oeDean did things his way, and when they got results, that was all that mattered. And now he's gone. We can take comfort in knowing that though the job's not done, we're on the way to getting it done, Tanner said. He then looked up towards the hangar ceiling. oeAnd don't worry about Linda and the kids. I'll make sure they're taken care of, and you can count on it. The General nodded. oeChaplain, He then went and sat back in his seat.

oeThank you, General, the Chaplain said. oeMajor Wiser Could you come up and say a few words

Guru gulped. Though he'd been to all too many of these, he never knew what to say. But he nodded, then went to the lectern. oeThank you, Chaplain. General, Colonel Brady, everybody. Colonel Rivers wasn't just a commanding officer, he was a father figure to everyone in the unit. Whether you were a veteran, or a brand new pilot, WSO, or airman new to the squadron, if you needed to talk about something bothering you He made time to talk. All you had to do was knock on his office door, and if he wasn't busy He'd find a few minutes to listen to you and give some friendly advice. He took care of his people, didn't let being an Academy product go to his head, was one of the boys after hours, and when it was his turn to buy a round He did it like anyone else. And when the female pilots and GIBs came into the squadron He didn't care. As long as they did their jobs, what did that matter to him All he saw were pilots and WSOs who wanted to get on with the job of winning the war, and that's what mattered. He listened to the advice the NCOs gave, and found time to talk to the enlisted airmen who make sure those of us who fly and fight can do our jobs. He treated them the same way he would've have wanted if he was a subordinate. And he'll be missed.

oeWhen I came back from my E&E, he asked me if anything was bothering me before getting back in the saddle. We sat down, and I told him that I'd seen and done things that no one should ever have to. Not having been in those circumstances, he could only say this: 'Who am I to judge You did what you had to do in order to get out of it. Don't let it get to you, and get with the business at hand.' Well, I did just that, followed his advice, and well.....He knew when it was time to be a commanding officer, and when it was time to be one of the boys. He also enjoyed a good laugh, and when it was his time to pay for a round, he cheerfully paid for the beer. Though I imagine that he's having a hard time upstairs explaining to the likes of George Patton or Hap Arnold how he handled the wildest, craziest, and yet, one of the best fighter pilots he'd ever seen, Guru said, nodding at Kara, and there was some laughter at that. oeAnd I know you're with us as we finish the job you helped start. You were with Sandi Jenkins when she splashed that Hip, and thanks. He looked up. oeGBU, Colonel, and Godspeed. Guru then went back to his seat.

oeGood job, Major, Tanner whispered.

oeThank you, sir, Guru said. oeI never know what to say at these things.

oeYou're not the only one.

The Chaplain went back to the lectern. oeLet us pray, he said, reciting the Lord's Prayer. Then a recording of Amazing Grace was played, then he nodded to a Marine Gunnery Sergeant. The Gunny went to the open hangar door, where a squad of seven Marines were waiting.

oeSquad! Present Arms!'

The riflemen presented their M-16s.

oeReady, aim, fire! The Gunny said. The first volley rang out. oeFire! The second volley. oeFire! then the final one. Then a Marine bugler played Taps. And everyone came to attention and saluted.

oeThis concludes the service. Thank you for coming. the Chaplain said.

As the crowd broke up and headed back to their jobs, Guru talked to General Tanner. oeGeneral, the next person who says they get used to these things will be the first.

oeYou're right on that, Major. Anyone who says they do is either uncaring or a liar, Tanner said.

oeSir, one thing before we head back. The November list of officers

oeShould be out today, tomorrow latest, Tanner said. oeSome of your people are likely on it.

oeYes, sir, Major Wiser said. oeAt least I'm hoping.

oeOkay, Major. Get your flight debriefed, get something to eat, and get back out. Tanner ordered. oeI'll see you when you get back.

oeSir, are you...

oeI'll be on base rest of the day. I won't leave for Nellis until this evening, Tanner replied.

oeYes, sir, Guru said. He saluted, and Tanner returned it. He knew he'd been dismissed, and went over to his flight. oeWell

oeNot bad, Goalie said. oeI would've been, god, I don't know what I would've said.

oeSame here, Kara said, and the others nodded.

oeOkay, Guru said. oeLet's get back into game mode. He saw 1st Lt. Darren Licon, the SIO, and waved him over. oeDarren, how soon can we debrief

oeTen minutes, Major, Licon said.

oeOkay, meet us in the briefing room, Guru said.

oeOn my way, Licon said.

oeBreak's over, people! Guru said to his squadron. oeTime to get back into the game.

Ellis nodded, while Sergeant Ross' voice boomed out. oeYou heard the man. Let's go, people!

**Matt Wiser** · 05-23-2015, 06:30 PM

The next one:

335th TFS Operations, Sheppard AFB, TX: 1050 Hours:

Major Matt oeGuru Wiser and the rest of his flight were sitting in their briefing room-a former classroom used by a prewar T-37 squadron-and were waiting on the squadron's intelligence officer to come in and debrief their first mission. After the memorial service for their late and loved CO, Lt. Col. Dean Rivers, they had to debrief, then brief for their next one, then get ready to go back out. But they were still waiting for the intelligence officer to arrive. And so they were killing time with sandwiches and coffee or bottled water.

oeWhat's taking Darren so long' Capt. Kara Thrace, call sign Starbuck, asked. First Lieutenant Darren Licon was their squadron's intelligence officer.

oeSomebody's debrief ran over would be my guess, Major Wiser said. He was finishing off a tuna sandwich and a bottle of water. And he was trying not to be angry about it. He was the new CO, and still finding out this oeCO thing.

oeWhat other sandwiches are there Second Lieutenant Kathy oeKT Thornton, one of the WSOs, asked.

oeHam, tuna, turkey, Pastrami, Club, chicken, and something brown that's just sitting there. First Lieutenant Nathan oeHoser West, her pilot, replied.

oeAny BLTs First Lieutenant Valerie oeSweaty Blanchard, the second element lead, asked.

oeNo, Major Wiser said. oeWhy You want a sandwich that looks back at you

oeNow that I think about it No. Sweaty replied.

Her WSO, First Lieutenant Byran oePreacher Simmnods, nodded. oeAt least I wouldn't have to say a prayer over those.

There was some laughter, then a knock at the door. oeYeah Major Wiser said.

Lieutenant Darren Licon came in. oeMajor, he nodded. oeSorry I'm late, but Captain Van Loan's debrief ran a little over.

oeNo problem, Major Wiser said. oeHow you holding up

oeFine, Major. Like Colonel Rivers once said. 'Suck it up and go on.' Licon said.

oeThat he did, the CO said. oeLet's get this over with.

oeLet's do, Major, Licon said. He spread out a TPC map of the area. oeWhat'd you hit.

oeTank regiment in road march, well, the lead element, anyway, Major Wiser said. oeAt least that's what the FAC marked for us.

First Lieutenant Lisa oeGoalie Eichhorn nodded. oeI'll go along with that, she said. She was the Major's WSO.

oeWhere, exactly Licon asked.

oeF.M. 548, south of Route 276, the CO said. Lead element marked with WP, then we rolled in.

oeWhat'd you hit, sir

oeTanks, the CO said.

oeWe got some secondaries, Goalie added.

oeOkay, Captain Thrace Licon asked.

oeWent in behind Guru, and saw some SP guns. Not sure what kind, but got several, Kara said.

oeSecondaries

oeA few, Lieutenant Judd oeBrainiac Brewster, who was Kara's WSO, said.

oeOkay, Sweaty Licon asked. Since Sweaty was a First Lieutenant, he was more comfortable going by call sign with her.

oeMixed tanks and APCs, Sweaty said, indicating on a recon photo where she had made her run.

oeAnd we had a few secondaries, Preacher added.

oeOkay, and Hoser Last but not least, Licon asked.

oePicked out something like an SA-9 launcher, Hoser said. oeHe shot a SAM at us, but it didn't track.

oeAnd you killed him

oeGot a secondary or two, KT replied.

oeAll right, any resistance

oeSome tracer fire, Kara said. oeBut nothing heavy.

oeI'll go along with that, Sweaty added. oeSomething that looked like 23-mm, but no radar warning.

Licon nodded. oeIf there was a ZSU down there, he may have been using optical backup. Any MiGs

Heads shook no.

oeAll right, Major, I'll write it up and pass this to MAG-11 and Tenth AF. Did anyone come in after you

oeThere were some Marines who had the same loadout we did, Guru said. oeDon't know if they went in after us, though.

oeWeren't they trying to get in on our action Kara asked.

oeI think you're right, Guru nodded. oeBut we got kinda busy there for a few minutes.

oeI'll check with MAG-11 and find out for sure, Licon said. oeThanks, Major.

oeAnytime.

Major Wiser nodded as Licon packed his material and headed to the next debrief. oeOkay, finish whatever you're eating. I'll see Van Loan and get our next one. Capt. Don Van Loan was the 335th's Operations Officer.

oeWe'll be here, Kara said.

The CO nodded and headed into the squadron's offices. He went to the Operations section and found Don Van Loan getting ready for his own second mission. oeDon,

oeBoss, Van Loan said. oeGot this for you. He handed the CO a Manila folder. oeEverything's there.

Major Wiser looked thorough it. oeYou're kidding me. We were there yesterday!

oeSame area, different target, Van Loan said. oeAnd a different route.

oeAt least we get Weasels, the Major noted. oeThough they may not like going to that area. Their CO got killed there yesterday.

oeComes with the territory, Boss, Van Loan reminded the CO. oeYou know that.

oeYeah, Major Wiser said. oeHad to ask, though.

oeDon't blame you, the Ops Officer said. oeFeeling better

oeWith each passing minute, the CO replied. oeYou

Van Loan nodded. oeJust doing what an uncle said. You take the punch to the gut, bounce back, and move on.

oeSmart man, Major Wiser noted. oeWhere'd he learn that

oeHanoi. Spent five years and ten months there, Van Loan said. oeMay '67 to February of '73.

oeWhat's he doing now

oeCommands the 525th TFS. He was at Ramstein when the West Germans kicked us out. They're at Little Rock last I heard.

oeStay in touch' the CO asked.

oeYep, as best we can. Van Loan said. oeHe heard about us, and says that if Kara ever shows up there, she'll find her match.

oeMaybe, the CO said. oeThanks, Don. You have a good one, and remember what the desk sergeant on Hill Street Blues says.

oeWhat

oeLet's be careful out there, the CO reminded his Ops Officer. oeDon't want to write any letters for a while.

oeSure thing, Boss, Van Loan said. oeYou guys have a good one yourselves.

oeThanks, Don, Major Wiser said. He then headed back to the briefing room, and the rest of the flight was waiting. oeOkay, guys. We got a new one.

oeWhere we going Goalie asked.

The CO looked at everyone. oeSame place we went to yesterday. Terrell.

oeWhat Sweaty yelled. oeWe were just there!

oeAnd that's where you got number five, the CO reminded here. oeBut, we're not going back to the airport. Marines hit it again last night with A-6s. We're headed north of Terrell. He spread out the TPC chart and some reconnaissance photos from the folder. oeHere. One mile east of the F.M. 245/247 Junction. There's a helicopter dispersal area. Squadron to regimental size.

oeWhat kind of helos Kara asked.

oeHinds and Hips, Guru said. That meant Mi-24 Hinds and Mi-8 Hips. In Soviet attack helicopter units, the Hinds were the gunships, while the Hips flew support missions to back up the gunships.

oeDefenses Asked Sweaty.

oeGood question. The latest intel has the Terrell SA-2 site still down, but we're not taking chances. Weasels are coming, in the form of Coors One-five and One-six. Expect some 23-mm optical AAA, and possible MANPADS. This is the rear area of 1st Guards Army, so expect some Army-level air defense. That means SA-4s, 57-mm AAA, and keep in mind that a Weasel got killed yesterday by SA-11, so some of those might still be around.

oeMiGs Preacher asked.

oeTerrell Municipal is still out of commission, as I said, the CO replied. oeNearest MiG fields are Athens, Tyler, Corsicana, and the old Connelly AFB in Waco. Su-27s are now confirmed there, so hope the F-15s keep those suckers at bay.

'And pray if they can't.

The CO nodded. oeRemember your Flanker tactics: get down low in the ground clutter, do a Doppler Break, holler for help from AWACS, and pray a 'teenage' fighter is around.

Heads nodded. oeOrdnance, Boss KT asked.

oeTwelve Mark-82 Snakeyes each airplane. Wing bombs have the Daisy Cutter fuze extensions, Major Wiser said.

oeAir-to-air Kara wanted to know. oeThe usual

oeIt is, the CO said. oeTwo AIM-7Es and four AIM-9Ps each airplane, plus full load of 20-mm. Two wing tanks and the ECM pod in the right front Sparrow missile well.

Hoser nodded. oeBailout areas still the same

oeYou got it, Major Wiser said. oeOkay, here's our route. We go in past I-30 at Royce City, and head for Union Valley, here, the Major indicated on the map. Then we turn south, and head for the IP. oe He showed a reconnaissance photo showing an abandoned rock quarry and its pond. We pop up to 800 feet AGL from 450, and make a straight run in. Once you're clear, do a hard right turn, and head for Rockwall and I-30. We meet up over Lavon Lake.

Heads nodded. oeTanker track still the same Sweaty asked.

oeTrack SHELL still over Durant, Oklahoma, the CO said. oeAnd divert fields are the same as yesterday.'

oeFair enough, Kara said. oeLet's go kill some Hinds.

oeGood girl, Major Wiser nodded. He saw that everyone was still in their flight gear, which meant survival vests and G-Suits. oeLet's get to 512.

The flight members headed on out, and as they did, they ran into Maj. Dave Golen, their IDF oeobserver, and his wingmate, First Lieutenant Sandi Jenkins and their WSOs. 'Major, Golen nodded.

oeDave, the CO said. oeHeaded on out

oeYes, Golen said. oeMaybe this time, I will show you how a gun kill is done in our book!

oeAlways hoping for air-to-air Kara asked.

oeOf course! Golen said.

The CO looked at him. oeRemember, no trolling for MiGs.

oeUnderstood, Golen replied. He knew that the strike mission came first.

oeAnd Sandi How are you doing

oeBetter, sir. Jenkins replied. oeFeeling a lot better. She had been Colonel Rivers' wingmate, and had been with him when he was shot down.

oeGood. No unnecessary risks, both of you, Major Wiser told them. oeIs that clear

oeYes, sir, Golen replied, while Jenkins nodded.

oeGood. Have a good one, both of you.

oeThank you, Guru, Golen said, then they headed to their aircraft.

oeSandi's looking better, Sweaty observed.

oeShe is, the CO agreed. oeShe'll be a lot better when she gets her next kill.

The flight went to 512's revetment, which was the Major's aircraft, and gathered for his final instructions. oeSame drill on the radio Kara asked.

oeYou got it, Major Wiser replied. oeMission code to AWACS and other parties. Call signs between us. Got it

Heads nodded, then Hoser asked a question. oeBoss, how many more

oeAt least two today, the CO said. oeAnything else Heads shook no. oeTime to get it done, people. Let's hit it.

The others headed for their aircraft, while the CO and Goalie went to 512. Staff Sergeant Crowley, the Crew Chief was there. oeMajor, he saluted. oeShe's ready to rock.

oeGood work, Sergeant, Guru said. oeToo bad you guys couldn't be at the service.

oeRoss told us, sir, Crowley said. Master Sergeant Michael Ross was the senior NCO in the 335th.

oeOkay, Guru nodded. He and Goalie did their walk-around, then climbed the crew ladder into the cockpit. They strapped themselves in, and did their cockpit checks. Guru then gave the oethumbs up to signal ready for engine start. Sergeant Crowley gave the signal. First one, then the second, J-79 engines were run up, and after a quick final check, Guru called the tower. oeTower, Corvette Flight with four, requesting taxi and takeoff instructions.

oeCorvette Lead, the Tower replied. oeClear to taxi to Runway Three-Three Left. Hold prior to the runway.

oeRoger, Tower, Guru replied. oeCorvette Lead rolling.

Sergeant Crowley gave the hand signals, and Guru taxied out of the revetment, and when Crowley saluted, both Guru and Goalie returned it. They taxied to the end of the taxiway, with the other three F-4s following. Then they held so that the armorers could remove the weapon safeties, and for an incoming flight of Marine F-4s to come in and land.

oeCorvette Lead clear to taxi for takeoff, the Tower called.

Guru acknowledged, then taxied 512 onto the runway, and after he did, Kara taxied in and formed up on his left. Then he called the Tower. oeCorvette Lead requesting clearance for takeoff.

As usual, the tower flashed a green light. Guru released the brakes, and 512 rolled down the runway and into the air. Kara was right behind him, and after thirty seconds, Sweaty and Hoser did the same.

**Matt Wiser** · 05-24-2015, 07:15 PM

The next, and the 335th has a visit from Frontal Aviation:

Over North-Central Texas: 1140 Hours:

Corvette Flight was over the northern part of Lake Ray Hubbard, already having gone down low, and had met up with their Weasels over the lake. While the WSOs handled the navigation, the pilots were watching for threats, keeping an eye on their instruments, and checking their own maps in their kneeboards.

In 512, Major Wiser was keeping his head on a swivel, with his eyes looking for threats. That had been drummed into his head at the RTU down at Homestead AFB, not that long ago. Three years or three lifetimes, it seemed. oeRoyce City dead ahead, he called.

oeRoger that, Goalie said. She watched as the town, then I-30 passed underneath. oeAnd turn.

Guru turned 512 onto its new heading for the town of Union Valley, ten miles away. As he turned, he could see A-4s, A-7s, A-10s, and Army attack helicopters at work. The Soviet 1st Guards Army was pressing its counterattack, and VII Corps was busy parrying it. oeFlight, Lead. Music on. That was the call to turn on their ECM pods.

oeTwo, copy, Kara.

oeThree, Sweaty.

oeFour copies, Hoser.

oeThirty seconds to turn, Goalie said. oeSteady, steady, and turn!

Guru turned south, towards the old rock quarry that was their IP. oeFlight, Lead. Switches on, and stand by to pull.

oeSteady... Goalie called. oeAnd pull!

Guru pulled up, and just as he did, his Radar Warning Receiver picked up an SA-4 radar, a gun radar, and a search radar. oeCoors, Corvette. Got some radars, fella.

oeWe got 'em, Corvette. Going in, Coors One-five called. The two F-4Gs climbed to 5,000 feet, and as they did, they shot off a couple of HARM missiles, and oeMagnum calls came over the radio.

oeGuru, Starbuck, Kara called. oeTarget at Eleven O'clock!

oeCopy that, Guru replied. oeLead's in! He rolled his F-4 in on the target. oeSwitches set

oeAll set, Goalie said.

oeOkay, here we go, Guru said. He lined up the helicopter dispersal area in his pipper, and spotted two Mi-24s sitting on the ground, among several. You are mine, he thought as he lined them up. oeHACK! Guru called a s he hit the pickle button and a dozen Mark-82 Snakeye 500-lb bombs came off his F-4. Then he made a hard 6-G turn to the right to get away. oeLead's off, he called.

In the dispersal area, the Soviet 55th Independent Helicopter Regiment was having a busy morning. They had deployed to America from their base in Bzhag, Poland, and had been in the thick of combat almost from the beginning. Now, the Regiment was fully engaged in supporting 1st Guards Army's attack against the Americans pushing down the east side of Lake Ray Hubbard, and trying to cut off Dallas from the east. The Regiment had sent two squadrons of Mi-24Vs into combat, leaving a third in reserve, while the Fourth Squadron's Mi-8MTs supported the dispersal operations.

In the Second Squadron's dispersal, a SAF Major was having a bad day. He was the commander of the squadron, and they'd already lost five of twelve Mi-24Vs to either American helicopters or Stinger missile teams, and it wasn't quite noon yet! He barked orders at the ground crewmen, who were busy refueling and rearming the squadron's helicopters for they had to get airborne and back into the fray as soon as possible. Then he saw two ground crew pointing to the north, and he saw an F-4 Phantom rolling in. He shouted, oeAir Raid! before taking cover in a slit .trench.

As Guru pulled the egress turn, both his and Goalie's G-suits inflated. But Goalie was able to keep watching as the bombs exploded. 'Good hits!

oeHow good Guru asked as he came out of the turn and headed north.

oeGood enough, she replied as a secondary explosion came into view. She also spotted Kara's F-4 in its attack run.

oeTwo's in hot! Kara called. She picked out two Mi-24s with a fuel truck between them, and decided they were going away. Kara lined them up in her pipper, and pressed the pickle button. oeHACK! she called, and her Mark-82s came off of 520. Then she put the plane into its own egress turn, and as she did, she called, oeTwo off target.

The SAF Major poked his head out of the trench, and saw that two of his helicopters were blazing wrecks. To his dismay, there were no antiaircraft guns firing. He started to get up, then remembered that enemy aircraft rarely attacked alone. He saw Kara's F-4 come in, then he ducked back down into the trench. As he got to the bottom of the trench, he felt the concussion of bombs exploding, and heard the bombs going off.

oeSHACK! Brainiac called. oeGot a secondary.

oeFair enough, Kara said. She knew that if the fuel truck had gone up, so would the two Hinds. Kara smiled underneath her oxygen mask, then headed north to link up with the Major.

oeThree's in! Sweaty called. She started her roll in, and picked out a cluster of tents and vehicles. That had to be a Squadron or Regimental command group, she knew. So much the better. Just then, she saw some 23-mm flak start to come up from the perimeter of the dispersal area. Too little, too late, Ivan. Sweaty lined the tents in her pipper and hit the release button. oeHACK! Her bombs came off her aircraft, then she went into the egress turn. oeThree's off target.

In his trench, the SAF Major heard the howl of Sweaty's plane as it came over, then the sound of more bombs exploding. After the last bomb went off, he took a quick peek. He saw some ZU-23s try and engage the F-4 that flew past, but their fire was ineffective, going behind the F-4 as it left the area. Then he looked at the Regimental command post, and saw that the tents and command vehicles had been torn apart. Tents had been blasted to ribbons, while the command vehicles had been either torn apart by bombs, or had been tossed aside by the concussion. He started to get up, then saw the ZU-23s turn back north and fire. Another aircraft, he knew, so he got back into the trench.

oeGood hits! Preacher told Sweaty from the back seat.

oeGood enough She asked as she came out of the turn and headed for Lavon Lake and the rendezvous.

oeI'd say so,' Preacher said.

oeFour's in! Hoser called. He rolled in, and picked out an Mi-8 Hip parked near several fuel bladders and a couple of fuel trucks. Ignoring the flak coming up, Hoser lined up the fuel trucks in his pipper, then hit the pickle button. oeHACK! Again, twelve Mark-82 bombs fell on the Soviet helicopter regiment as Hoser made the egress turn. oeFour's off safe.

Hoser's bombs landed among the fuel bladders, exploding them in a fireball, and also taking out the Hip and the fuel trucks.

Watching the bombs go off, KT Thornton, his GIB, called. oeWe got secondaries!

oeGood ones Hoser asked as he headed north.

oeBig ones, she replied.

oeCorvettes, Lead, Guru called. oeForm on me and let's egress.

oeCopy Lead, Kara replied. oeOn your right wing.

Guru looked to his right, and found Kara's F-4 tucked in nice and neat. She gave him a thumbs-up, and he returned it. oeSweaty

oeOn our way, Lead, Sweaty replied.

oeCoors, Corvette, Guru called the Weasels. oeWe're clear of the target.

oeRoger that, Coors One-five called. oeOn our way.

Guru had started to circle over Lavon Lake with Kara when Sweaty and Hoser joined up. oeCoors, Corvette Lead. We're headed home.

oeRoger, Corvette, Coors One-five replied. oeNice doing business with you guys. The F-4Gs then turned for the tanker track, while the F-4Es headed back to Sheppard.

Corvette Flight had barely gotten to altitude when a call came on the radio Home Plate (Sheppard) was under attack. oeWHAT Guru yelled over the radio.

oeStay clear, Corvette, the tower replied.

oeRoger, tower, Guru replied. The flight began to orbit at 10,000 feet, and above them, they could see other flights, either 335th or Marine, orbiting as well. Two of the flights, whose they didn't know, broke off and headed for another tanker track, this one over Fort Sill, Oklahoma. One Marine Skyhawk flight decided not to head for the tankers, and headed for Altus AFB in Oklahoma instead.

oeHow long can we orbit' Goalie asked.

oeWe're not Bingo yet, Guru replied. oeTwo, how's your fuel

oeStill green, Kara replied.

oeSweaty, Guru asked. oeHow's your state And Hoser's

oeNot bingo, if that's what you mean, Sweaty said.

oeOkay so far,' Hoser said. oeEstimate two-zero minutes to Bingo.

Guru nodded in his cockpit, and as he orbited, glanced north. Two, then three columns of smoke were now rising from the base, but he-and the rest of the flight, watched as a Marine I-HAWK SAM came up and exploded an aircraft, and the plane plummeted to earth in flames, exploding on impact. Two more SAMs went up, and one of them found a target, and that plane exploded in midair. Above them, they could see a dogfight in progress, and two aircraft, whose they couldn't tell, falling in flames. And a couple of parachutes.

As they orbited, the crews were scanning visually, while the WSOs had their radars on. And it was Sweaty who made the call. oeLead, Sweaty. Tallyho! Bandits at Eleven O'clock low!

Guru glanced in that direction and saw them. Two Su-17s coming from the direction of Sheppard. oeSweaty, Guru. Press to engage. Two and I will cover.

oeRoger that! Sweaty said, oeHoser, on me. Let's go! She then rolled in behind the Su-17s.

As Sweaty and Hoser did, Guru and Starbuck assumed a cover position. Both armed their AIM-7s, and their GIBs were trying to lock the Fitters up. oeAnything' Guru asked Goalie.

oeNegative, she replied. oeToo much ground clutter.

Dave Golen's voice then came over the radio. oeCorvette Leader, Mustang Leader. Break right!

Without thinking, Guru broke right and low, while Kara broke left and high. As he did, Guru saw two missile trails, then the familiar sight of MiG-23s. oeCopy Mustang. Get some. Where the hell did the MiGs come from

oeRoger, Golen said. He led Sandi Jenkins, his wingmate, into the fray.

Sweaty and Hoser, though, were closing in on the Su-17s. The two Fitters broke, and Sweaty went for the leader, while Hoser took the wingman. In her cockpit, Sweaty had armed her Sidewinders, and was trying to get good tone. The AIM-9's seeker growled in her headset, then it growled very loudly. Missile lock. oeFOX TWO! Sweaty called as she fired a Sidewinder.

In the lead Su-17, the commander of the Second Squadron, 274th Fighter-Bomber Regiment, was turning his head. He'd led eight of his aircraft in a strike on Sheppard AFB, and watched tched as American fighters, then SAMs, took a toll. Three of his aircraft didn't make it in, and though he and three other aircraft had gone in, hitting several buildings on the base and putting bombs on one of the runways, the other one dropped its bombs short of the runway and had turned away, only to eat a Stinger from the ground. Not sure of what damage he'd inflicted on the target, he turned for home, and had the other element split off. Then his wingman called. F-4s incoming. He turned left, then right, looking for an attacker, then his plane exploded around him. His last sensation was the heat....

:Sweaty and Preacher watched as their Sidewinder flew up the Su-17M's tailpipe and exploded. The big Sukhoi's tall caught fire, then the internal fuel tanks exploded, turning the Fitter into a fireball. There was no chute. oeSPLASH!

oeSweaty got a kill! Goalie said from 512's rear cockpit.

oeSave it for later. Still got a fight on, Guru reminded her.

Above them, Dave Golen was lining up the lead MiG-23. He selected his M-61 Vulcan cannon, then drew lead. oeSteady... he muttered, then took the shot. A two-second burst was all that he needed, for 180 rounds of 20-mm cannon shells tore into the MiG, and the MiG-23 rolled inverted, trailing smoke and fire, then plunged into the ground. There was no ejection. oeThat's a kill.

oeGood kill, Lead, Sandi Jenkins said, then lined up the MiG wingman. She armed her Sidewinders, and centered the pipper on the MiG's tail. The seeker head growled very loud in her headset, and she squeezed the trigger twice. oeFOX TWO!

The MiG wingman heard his leader die, and he was trying to look around, looking for a second F-4 that had to be out there. He lost sight of the two F-4s that he and his leader had been tracking, then he saw a Sidewinder missile fly past him. He turned right, which solved the problem for Sandi's second missile.

Sandi watched as her first missile missed, and the MiG turned right, and the second Sidewinder flew up his tailpipe and exploded. The MiG trailed fire, and rolled right and headed down. As she flew past, she watched the canopy come off and the seat fire. To her horror, she didn't see the pilot separate from the seat, and he fell to his death. Better you than me, she thought. oeSplash one!

oeGood kill, Sandi! Kara called.

oeWhere's the other Fitter' Guru asked. oeGoalie

oeCan't pick him out. Too much clutter.

Hoser, though, was chasing the second Fitter, with Sweaty covering him. Over Lake Arrowhead, fourteen miles south of Wichita Falls, he got lock and fired a Sidewinder. oeFOX TWO! He called, and the AIM-9 flew up the Fitter's tail and exploded, taking it off. The Su-17 spun down into the lake, and this time, there was a chute. Fortunately for the pilot, Lake Arrowhead State Park was being used by the U.S. Army for CH-47 Chinook ops, and the Soviet pilot was pulled from the lake and captured by the Army.

oeGood kill, Hoser! Sweaty called.

oeThanks, Sweaty, Hoser replied. It was his first.

oeCorvettes, Lead. Form up on me over the lake. Guru said. The other three crews acknowledged, and Dave Golen and Sandi joined them. oeSheppard Tower, Corvette One-one.

oeCorvette One-one, Sheppard. oeRunway Three-Three Lima and Three-Three Charlie are now open, the tower replied. oeClear for landing on Three-Three-Lima. Winds are two-six zero at ten.

oeRoger, Tower. Guru said. Corvette Flight, thanks to the others leaving for the tankers or for Altus, was first in the pattern. They came in and landed, and as the crews taxied to their dispersal, they saw a 727 burning on the ramp, along with a Marine KC-130, with fire crews hosing them down with foam, while General Tanner's C-130B was untouched. To Guru's relief, the dispersal area hadn't been hit, and hopefully, none of his people had been hurt or killed. He taxied into his revetment and shut down, popping the canopy as he did. oeThat was interesting.

oeNo kidding! Goalie said. oeWhen's the last time we got bombed A month or so

oeSomething like that, Guru said. oeScud attacks don't count. He took his helmet off and wiped his forehead with a handkerchief as Sergeant Crowley came with the crew ladder. oeSergeant.

oeShit hot, sir! Crowley said. oeYou guys missed all the fun.

oeHad our own, Goalie said as she stood up in her cockpit.

oeThat we did, Guru nodded. 'Sweaty and Hoser got kills on those chumps. He climbed down from the cockpit, and Goalie followed. The two did a quick postflight walk-around, then he turned to Crowley. oeNo damage, Sergeant. Pull the camera film and send it in. Then get her turned around ASAP.

Crowley smiled. oeYou got it, Major!

Guru and Goalie went to the entrance of the revetment, and found Kara and Preacher there. oeJealous Guru asked.

oeOf whom Sweaty, Dave, Hoser, or Sandi Kara asked.

oeEither one or all of 'em,' the CO said. He looked at his wingmate. oeHey, you and I can't get them all.

Kara reluctantly nodded. oeYeah, well.. I guess so.

Sweaty and Preacher came up, with Hoser and KT following. oeGeat job, Major Wiser said. oeThat's six for you, Sweaty.

oeThanks, Boss, Sweaty grinned. oeNice to have kills on back-to-back days.

oeIt is that, Guru said. oeNice job, Hoser, he nodded, shaking Hoser's hand. oeYour first, right

Hoser smiled. oeIt is, Boss.

Guru grinned. oeGood work, and that might not be your last. If the Club's still standing, we can celebrate.

oeThat we can, Kara said.

'Let's go, Guru said. oeNeed to debrief, and see if anyone got hurt. They headed over to the Squadron's building, and when he opened the door, Guru found people picking up the pieces and getting on with things. He noticed Capt. Mark Ellis, his Exec, and waved him over. oeMark, what the hell happened

oeMajor, I have no idea, Ellis replied. oeI had just taxied in when the siren sounded, and the next things I see are Fitters over the base, strafing and dropping bombs.

oeThey didn't hit the dispersal area, Guru said. oeSo what'd they hit

oeRunway 17/35 took a couple of bombs, and Red Horse is out now, filling in the craters, Ellis said. AF Red Horse Engineers could build a new base on their own, or get a damaged base back operational. oeSeabees are out as well.

Guru nodded. oeWhat else did they hit

oeThe old Officers' Club, the one that the Resistance hit, Ellis said. And north of here An old Atlas ICBM site.

oeWhat the hell was there Major Wiser wanted to know.

Ellis shook his head. oeNo idea, but nothing's there as far as I know.

oeOkay, Guru nodded. oeAny of our people hurt

oeNo. Ross has been out, and he's reporting no casualties, Ellis said.

oeThat's always good to hear, Major Wiser replied. Then Dave Golen and Sandi Jenkins came in. oeDave, Guru said. oeThanks for getting those MiGs off of us.

oeMy pleasure, Golen smiled. oeAnd this engagement was a gun kill. Like it should be in our book!

oeYou said you'd show us one, Kara said, coming up and shaking Golen's hand.

oeThat I did, Golen said, a grin coming across his face.

oeSandi Guru nodded to Sandi Jenkins. oeGood job. That's your first fast-jet kill.

oeThank you, sir, Sandi replied. oeAnd I know Colonel Rivers was there. I can't explain it, but he was there.

oeI'll take your word for it,' Guru said. oeOkay, you two. Get debriefed, and get ready to do it again.

Golen nodded, then he and Sandi went to see the Squadron's intelligence officer.

oeHow many today Goalie asked as she came up.

Guru looked at her, and his flight. oeExpect two more today. With that storm coming in tonight...

oeMaximum effort

oeYep, Guru said. oeLet's debrief, eat, then get ready to do it again.

**Matt Wiser** · 05-24-2015, 07:18 PM

Getting ready to return the favor:

335th TFS Operations, 1235 Hours:

Major Matt Wiser and the rest of Corvette Flight were in their old classroom, eating and waiting on the Squadron Intelligence Officer to come in and debrief them on their mission. oeThat was a wild one, the Major said, in between bites of a hot turkey sandwich.

'You said it, Kara said. oeBeen a while since we had a fight near our base. She was attacking a Ham sandwich herself. oeBut MiGs in the sky and you don't turn me loose

oePatience, Guru said. oeBesides, Sweaty, he nodded at his second element leader, oehad the advantage and was closer.

Sweaty grinned. oeThat I did, she noted.

Then there was a knock on the door. oeShow yourself and come on in! Major Wiser said.

Major Dave Golen, their IDF oeObserver and 1st Lt. Sandi Jenkins came in, followed by 1st Lt. Darren Licon, the Intelligence Officer. oeGuru, Golen said.

oeDave, Guru said, shaking his hand. oeThanks a bunch for those two MiG-23s.

oeAnytime, Golen said. oeDarren, he indicated the intel officer, 'wants to debrief the fight together.

oeGo ahead, Guru told Licon.

oeOkay, Major, Licon said, unfolding a TPC map and pulling out some reconnaissance photos. oeHow'd your strike go

Guru showed the ingress route on both the map and the photos. oeWhen we got to the IP, we pulled, the Weasels went to work, and Kara called 'target in sight.' Then I had it, and went in hot.

oeWhat'd you hit The intel asked. As usual, he was taking notes.

The CO pointed to where a couple of Hind helicopters could be seen on one of the photos. oeHad the pipper between the helos, and released. Then I made the egress turn and got out of there.

oeSee the results Licon asked.

oeGot a couple of secondaries, Guru's WSO, 1st Lt. Lisa oeGoalie Eichhorn, said.

The intel nodded. oeCaptain Thrace He asked Kara.

Kara showed her route, oeI put my bombs on a fuel truck parked between two Hinds, she pointed to a spot on the photo.

oeResults Licon asked.

oeGot a big fireball, 1st Lt. Judd oeBrainiac Brewster, Kara's WSO, said. oeAnd a couple smaller ones.

oeThen we headed out, Kara added.

oeThanks, Licon said. oeSweaty

oeFound a cluster of tents and command vehicles, Sweaty said. She indicated the area on the photo. oeHad to be a squadron command post at least.

oeSecondaries Licon asked.

Preacher Simmonds, Sweaty's GIB, said, oeCouldn't tell, but there were explosions all around those guys.

oeAll right, Licon said. oeHoser Last, but not least.

oePut my bombs here, Hoser West pointed to a spot on the photo. oeThere was a Hip, a couple of fuel trucks, and some fuel bladders.

oeHe must've just delivered those, Guru said. oeHis rotors turning

oeCouldn't tell, Hoser said. oeDropped my bombs and made the turn.

oeSecondaries Licon asked.

oeA couple big ones, KT Thornton, who was Hoser's WSO, said. oeI've seen fuel go up, and they looked just like those.

oeOkay... Licon said. oeWhat happened with the air-to-air fight

Major Wiser showed the egress on the TPC chart. oeCame up from the lake, indicating Lavon Lake on the map, and climbed to altitude. Just then, Tower comes up and says they're under attack and stay away.

oeHow long did you guys orbit, Major Licon asked.

oeMaybe ten minutes, Guru replied. oeSaw two flights, I don't know who they were, head for a tanker, while a Marine Skyhawk flight headed to Altus.

'A couple of SAMs came up, and two planes went down, Kara added.

Sweaty nodded. oeAnd while that's going on, There's a fight going on above us to the northwest, and saw a couple planes going down, and a couple of chutes

oeThen she saw the Su-17s, Hoser said.

oeWhat happened Licon asked.

oeI saw the Fitters, then called them to lead, and he cleared me to press in. Sweaty said.

oeI did, Guru added, oeAnd both me and Kara went into a cover position, and tried to pick up the Fitters on radar.

oeNo joy on that, said Goalie. oeToo much ground clutter.

Brainiac nodded. oeI'll go along with that. No way could we pick those things out.

oeThen it got interesting, Kara added. oeThen we hear Dave's voice on the radio, calling on us to break.

Dave Golen then picked things up. 'I saw Guru and Kara break. He went high and right, while Kara went low and to the left.

oeWe did, Guru said. oeAs I broke, I saw two missile trails, then two more, fly by, and then two MiG-23s coming down.

oeI'd like to know where the AWACS was, Kara said. oeThose guys were definitely not on the ball today.

oeThe fight you saw off in the distance Licon asked. oeIvan sent a whole regiment of MiG-23s after the AWACS. They didn't get him, but he had to shut down and head north while the F-15s and -16s took on the MiGs. He's back on station.

oeSo the Floggers who jumped us might have been part of that Goalie asked.

oeProbably, Licon said. oeMajor Golen

oeI went after the lead MiG, and drew lead on him. Three hundred meters, maybe three hundred and fifty yards, I shot him with the gun. He rolled inverted, then was on fire as he went down. No parachute.

oeWent after the wingman, Sandi Jenkins added. oeGot Sidewinder lock and fired two missiles. One missed to the left, and he turned to the right. Big mistake, because the second missile flew up his tailpipe and his tail blew up. Came in close, and saw the canopy come off, the seat fire, but...

oeBut what Licon asked.

oeHe didn't get seat separation, Sandi replied. oeHis chute never deployed, and he fell like a rock.

When the other aircrews heard that, they winced. That could easily have been one of them whose seat failed to work, and as was the case, oeThe fall didn't kill you, it was the sudden stop at the end that did.

oeOuch! Kara said.

oeBig ouch, Guru commented.

oeThat it is, Major, Licon said. oeSweaty

oeGot in behind my Fitter, she said. oeHad good tone and fired a Sidewinder. It flew up his tailpipe and blew up. His whole rear from the wings aft is on fire, then he just blew up in midair.

oeAny chute

oeNo. Sweaty replied. oeThen I went to give Hoser some cover.

oeThanks, Sweaty, Licon said. oeHoser

oeWent after the wingman, Hoser said. oeCaught up with him over Lake Arrowhead and fired a Sidewinder. Took his tail off, and he spun in.

oeHe bail out

Hoser nodded. 'That he did, and he had a chute. The guy landed in the lake. Saw some CH-47s there, and the Army might have picked him up.

oeI'll check with the ALO office at III Corps and find out, Licon said. oeOkay...since there are witnesses to all these Sweaty and Preacher You two have six now.

Hearing that, Sweaty and Preacher shook hands. oeSix....

oeYep, Licon said. oeHoser and KT That's your first. Congratulations.

oeI'll add to that, Guru said. oeYou may not be aces yet, but you have to start sometime.

oeThanks, guys, Hoser said, while KT was smiling.

oeMajor Golen Licon asked. oeThat's four for you.

Hearing that, Golen smiled. oeThank you,

oeDave, Guru said. oeNot bad for being an 'observer'.

oeThe Boss is right, Kara added. oeOne more and you're a Phantom ace.

Guru nodded. oeHe will be, the CO said. oeStill going to extend your tour

Golen nodded again. oeOf course!

oeOkay, Dave, but be careful of what you wish for, because you might just get it, Major Wiser reminded him.

oeAnd Sandi Licon said. oeThat's two for you. And your first fast-mover.

oeOff to a fast start, Sweaty said. oeA Hip yesterday,and a MiG today.

Kara grinned. oeA few days like this and she will be an ace. How's that, Major

The CO smiled. oeIf that happens, it'll be well deserved. He looked at Dave and Sandi and their respective WSOs. oeYou guys eat yet

oeNot yet, Guru, Golen replied.

oeOkay, get something to eat and then talk with Ops. Everyone's got two more today.

oeWill do, Golen said. Then he, Sandi, and their GIBs headed off to get their lunch.

oeWhy two more KT asked.

oeThis storm coming in tonight, Guru reminded them. oeWe won't be flying for at least a day.

Heads nodded at that. oeBad thing about that, Kara said. oeOur guys won't get the air support they need.

oeNothing we can do about that, Guru said. oeBut there's three good things.

oeWhat are those Hoser asked.

oeSimple, the CO nodded. oeFirst, and most important. Their guys won't be getting their air support. Two, maintenance can get caught up. And three We can get caught up on two things. In no particular order.

oeYeah, Goalie said. oeSleep and paperwork.

oeSpeaking of which, I need to check my desk, Guru said. oeThen I'll check with Ops and see what they have for us. He left the briefing room and went to his office. There was nothing there that required his attention, he was pleased to see, then the CO went to the Ops desk. There, he found Capt. Don Van Loan, the Ops Officer, going over some mission packets. oeDon, what have you got

oeGot one that just came down, Boss, Van Loan said. oeStephenville Municipal Airport, he nodded as he gave the CO a folder. oeThey think it's where the Fitters who raided us came from.

Major Wiser looked at his Ops Officer. oeThey think He remembered the intel community's motto: oeWe're betting your life.

oeThat's all we've got. Ivan's extended the runway at the airport, and it's certainly capable of supporting fast-mover operations, Van Loan replied. oeHere's the defenses. He handed the CO an intel sheet.

Guru scanned it, then gave his Ops Officer a nasty look. oeArmy HQ in the town Thanks a heap.
From experience, the CO knew that there would be a considerable air defense threat.

oeI know, but the recommended ingress route takes you along the boundary between the East Germans and the Nicaraguans Come back out the same way, or over the Nicaraguans, because they're not as well equipped for air defense as the Soviets, Cubans, or East Germans are. And you're getting Weasels.

oeStill one lucky guy can get lucky, Guru reminded his Ops Officer. He scanned the material one more time. oeOkay, thanks, Don. Guru headed back to the briefing room.

oeSo, Boss, what have we got Kara asked as the CO came in.

oeThe chumps who bombed us Guru asked. oeWe're returning the favor. Stephenville Municipal is where we're headed.

oeWhere's that Hoser asked. oeUh, Boss

oeSixty-five miles southwest of Fort Worth, Guru said. oeOr 132 miles south of us, take your pick. And hold onto your hats. It's right near the boundary of the East Germans and the Nicaraguans.

Goalie looked at her pilot and CO. oeThat's just great. The Nicaraguans are likely asleep at the switch, while the East Germans are hyper-alert.

The CO nodded. oeYou're likely right on that. Okay, we're going in along their boundary, which is roughly U.S. 281. We bypass the town of Stephenville, then turn around and make our run south to north. One pass as usual, people!

oeWhat's the ordnance load Sweaty asked.

oeLead element, that's me with Kara, Guru said, seeing Starbuck raise her head. oeTwelve Rockeyes. We go for the ramp area west of the runway. Sweaty, you and Hoser Twelve Mark-82s. You, Sweaty, get the runway. Hoser Take the fuel dump on the east side of the runway.

oeGot you, Sweaty said, while Hoser nodded.

oeThreats Kara asked.

oeGood question. oeWe're getting Weasels, Michelob Two-one and Two-two. Expect East German SA-4s, plus 57-mm and 23-mm AAA near the airport. There's also an SA-2 site, said the CO.

oeIntel's full of good news today, Goalie said.

oeHold onto your hats. The reason for the SA-4s Stephenville's the Army-level HQ for the East Germans. Throw in MANPADS, and probably plenty of small-arms fire, Guru reminded them.

oeLovely, KT said. oeAnd getting out

oeOver the Nicaraguans, Guru said. oeThey're not as well equipped for air defense like the East Germans are, let alone the Russians. And we're coming out from the south, and seeing us might be the last thing they expect.

Kara nodded. oeSounds good, Boss. MiG fields

oeNearest MiG fields are the old Connelly AFB near Waco, Cleburne Municipal, Brownwood Municipal, and Gray AAF at Fort Hood, Major Wiser said. oeSu-27s reported still at Connelly, but unconfirmed still. MiG-29s are at Gray AAF. Air to air ordnance for us is still the same: Four AIM-9Ps, two AIM-7Es, two wing tanks, full load of 20-mm, and an ECM pod.

oeBy the time they react, we should be gone, Sweaty pointed out.

oeShould, Guru reminded her. oeUnless there's a CAP. Okay...bailout areas He saw he had his flight's rapt attention then. oeAnyplace away from the roads. This is rural Texas, people, and the bad guys are reluctant to go most places away from a road. Just hole up and the Jolly Greens will come for you at night.

Heads nodded at that. So far, no one in the flight had been shot down, but the knowledge that the Jolly Green rescue choppers with their Pararescuemen would come to get them was a big shot in the arm.

oeTankers Kara asked. Though this wasn't a long-range strike, unlike their missions from Arizona into New Mexico and Texas, one did burn a lot of fuel going in low and fast, and having a tanker handy was a good thing for any pilot.

oeSame as before, Guru said. oeTanker Track EXXON is over Mineral Wells.

oeNice to know, Hoser said.

oeIt is, Guru replied. oeWeather's fair to good, and that will change tonight. Which is why we're on this maximum effort last couple of days. Any other questions

Goalie asked, oeOne more after this one

oeOne more, the CO nodded. oeAnything else Heads shook no. oeOkay, Guru clapped his hands. oeGear up and let's go.

The crews went to the locker rooms and geared up. Which meant survival vests, sidearms, G-Suits and helmets. On the way out, they ran across a despised figure. oeHi, Frank, Kara said. oeSo you got out of your Dress Blues.

oeSomeone had to uphold some Air Force Standards, Carson fumed.

oeWell, Frank, Guru said. oeWhen a Two-star general shows up at that service in BDUs, and half of the aircrew there are fresh out of the cockpit, and in their flight gear, that should tell you enough. Though I doubt it penetrated that thick Blue Blood skull of yours. Come on, guys, the CO said. oeWe got an airfield to tear up.

They left the building, leaving Carson in their wake, and headed for the dispersal area. When they got to 512's revetment, Kara asked Guru, oeHe ever gonna change

oeI doubt it, Guru said. oeBut I have to give him time. Now, to business. When talking between ourselves Call signs. Mission code to everybody else.

Heads nodded. oeLet's get it done, Sweaty said.

oeLet's do, Guru said. oeAnything else Heads shook no. oeOkay, time to hit it.

The crews broke up and headed to their aircraft. Guru and Goalie went to 512, oetheir F-4, and found the Crew Chief, Staff Sergeant Crowley, waiting. oeMajor, Crowley said, saluting.

oeSergeant, Guru said, and both he and Goalie returned the salute. oeGot 512 ready

oeShe's ready to go, sir, Crowley said.

Guru nodded as he and Goalie went about their preflight walk-around. They then mounted the aircraft and strapped in. After going through a quick cockpit check, Guru saw Sergeant Crowley give the oeStart engines signal. First one, then two J-79 engines started up, and they were soon up and running. Guru called the tower. oeSheppard Tower, Corvette One-one with four, requesting taxi and takeoff instructions.

oeCorvette One-one, Tower, the tower replied. oeClear to taxi to Runway Three-three Lima. Hold prior to the runway.

oeRoger, Tower. Guru replied. He gave Crowley the thumbs-up, and Crowley returned it. The other ground crew pulled the wheel chocks away, and Crowley signaled Guru to taxi. When the F-4 cleared the revetment, Crowley snapped a salute, and both Guru and Goalie returned it. Guru taxied 512 to the runway, and the other three aircraft were behind him. When they got to the runway, they held so that the armorers could remove the weapon safeties. After that, they received clearance to taxi onto the runway. After a quick final check in the cockpit, Guru called again. oeTower, Corvette One-one requesting clear for takeoff.

The tower flashed a green light in response. Clear for takeoff.

Guru didn't reply. His canopy came down, as did Goalie's. Then he applied full power, released the brakes, and 512 rolled down the runway and into the air, with Kara's bird, 520, right behind him. Then, it was Sweaty and Hoser's turn, and once they were in the air, the flight set course south.

**Matt Wiser** · 05-25-2015, 08:15 PM

Payback time for the raid on Sheppard:

Over Central Texas: 1310 Hours:

Corvette Flight was over Central Texas, having not only topped up their tanks from the KC-135s over Mineral Wells, but had also met up with the Wild Weasel element tasked with the SEAD portion of the mission. They had gone in past I-20, and just a few miles south of the interstate was the front lines. And as had been planned, they were threading the boundary between the Nicaraguan II Corps and the East German oeKampfgruppe Rosa Luxemburg. And so far, there was no reaction from the defenses on either side.

oeTwo minutes to Route 377, Goalie said from 512's back seat.

oeCopy, Guru replied. oeNo threats so far. He was keeping an eye out for any possible threat, whether SAMs, AAA, MiGs, or such things as power lines or Radio/TV transmitter towers. Though man-made obstacles were marked on their maps, there was no telling what Ivan had built since the invasion and occupation. Then he called the AWACS. oeCrystal Palace, Corvette One-one. Say threat

oeCorvette One-one, Crystal Palace. Threat bearing zero-nine-seven for eighty-five, high, going away. Second threat bearing one-niner five, high, steady.

oeRoger, Crystal Palace.

oeLead, Two, Kara called. oeSearch radar at Two O'clock.

oeGot it, Goalie said.

oeFlight, Lead. Music on. Guru ordered. That meant to turn on their ECM pods.

oeCopy, Lead, Kara replied.

oeThree copies, Sweaty.

oeFour, copy, Hoser.

The terrain flew past, as the rolling hills of this part of Texas gave way to some more open terrain. Coming out of the terrain would make the defenses' job easier. One reason they were coming in at only 450 feet AGL.

oeAll it takes is one guy with a field phone and they wake up, Guru said.

oeDon't want to think about it, Goalie replied. oeThirty seconds to nav point.

oeGot it, Guru replied. oeHighway 377 dead ahead.

As Corvette Flight overflew the highway, they passed over a Nicaraguan supply convoy. The truckers and their escorts heaved a sigh of relief that the Yanqui aircraft had passed them by, apparently having business elsewhere. And the convoy escort commander, unknown to Guru, stayed off the radio. If the Yanquis have business with those East German snobs, good. They deserve it.

oeOne minute to Highway 67, Goalie said.

oeOne minute, Guru replied. oeFlight, Lead. Switches on. That meant for everyone to arm their weapons.

oeCopy, Kara replied, and the others followed suit.

oeHighway 67....mark! Goalie called, and the two-lane highway flashed by below them.

oeTurning, Guru called. He made a right turn for U.S. 281, and when they reached that road, it was the IP.

oeTwenty seconds, Goalie said.

oeSwitches set

oeAll ready back here, she replied.

oeAnd IP....now! Guru said .Flight, Lead. PULL!

Four F-4Es and two F-4Gs began to pull up. As they did, their threat receivers lit up. oeCorvette, Michelob. Time for us to go to work, fella, the Weasel leader called. Then oeMagnum calls began coming over the radio as Standard-ARM missiles went after the SA-2 site and at least one SA-4 battery.

oeCopy that, Michelob. Get some, Guru replied. He was pulling up, and as he did, Stephenville appeared at his Twelve O'clock, and so did the target. oeFlight, Lead. Target in sight. Lead's in hot!

At Stephenville Municipal Airport, the 274th IBAP (Fighter-Bomber Regiment) was getting ready for another mission. The Second Squadron's strike against Sheppard AFB had been a disaster, and yet, Air Army command wanted another mission against the base. This time, the Third squadron was tasked with the mission, and their Su-17M3s were in the process of being armed and fueled, while the First Squadron had just gone out on a series of Close-support missions. Then the air raid alarm began to sound, and both the 57-mm and 23-mm batteries guarding the airport began to fire.

oeFlak coming up, Goalie said.

oeYou noticed, Guru replied. He lined up part of the ramp where a dozen Su-17s were parked. oeSteady....and HACK! He hit the pickle button, and a dozen Rockeye CBUs came off the aircraft. He firewalled the throttle and got back low. oeLead's off target.

On the ramp, a SAF Major, the commander of Third Squadron, heard the air raid alarm and glanced skyward. He saw the dot approaching, and the smoke behind it. From experience, he knew what was coming. F-4 Phantom, and he knew they didn't come alone. oeTake cover! He shouted, and jumped into a slit trench. Then all hell broke loose around him as Rockeye CBU bomblets exploded.

Guru was jinking as he headed north, and even had an SA-7 missile pass above 512 as he headed north. As he made one of his jinks, Goalie was looking to their rear. oeSHACK!She called. oeGood hits!

oeSecondaries Guru asked. He turned back north as he did so.

oeSeveral,

oeGood enough!' Guru said. He beat a path right for I-20.

oeTwo's in hot! Kara called. She lined up the southern part of the ramp area, and saw the smoke and flame from where Guru had laid his Rockeyes. Ignoring the flak coming up, she watches as an antiradar missile flew toward a flak site and exploded in the middle of it, and all of a sudden the GUN warning on her RWR went off. oeSteady,,,,,and HACK! Twelve Rockeye CBUs came off her aircraft,

The SAF Major looked up from his trench, and saw a second F-4 coming in. There was a lot of smoke and flame as aircraft, fuel and munitions trucks, and other vehicles exploded under the hail of CBU bomblets, Then he saw bombs coming off the F-4, and he knew what was coming. He ducked back down, pulling another pilot down with him.

Kara called, oeTwo off target, and she, too, firewalled the engines and headed north. Some tracers flew above her mount, 520, and there was a missile trail that flew behind her, but Kara was able to get clear of the target, jinking as she did so.

oeGOOD HITS! Brainiac called from the rear seat.

oeWe got secondaries Kara asked.

oeGot some.

oeThree's in hot! Sweaty called. She had twelve Mark-82 Snakeye bombs, and she intended to lay them down the runway. Ignoring the 23-mm and 57-mm flak coming up, and even an SA-4 that was launched just before its fire-control radar vehicle took a HARM, she centered the runway in her pipper. oeHACK! She called, and a dozen five-hundred pound bombs came off her aircraft.

The SAF Major shook from concussion in his trench as he heard not only Sweaty's F-4 make its run, but the exploding bombs. He peeked up from the trench to see the last two bombs land just off the runway, and then he ducked back down. One more aircraft was coming in.

oeSHACK! Preacher called as Sweaty pulled away.

oeThree's off, she called, then Sweaty asked her backseater, oeGood hits

oeRight on the runway.

She grinned underneath her oxygen mask and did some more jinking. An SA-4, probably launched in optical mode, came up, but it flew harmlessly over her, as she was below the missile's engagement envelope. Then she headed north for I-20.

oeFour's in! Hoser said. He easily picked out the fuel dump east of the runway, and he, too, ignored the flak coming up at him. Unlike the others, his EW warning showed no threats as he came in. Fuel bladders, storage tanks, and fuel trucks came into view as he lined up several fuel trucks in his pipper. oeHACK! Once more, Mark-82s came off, and he got back down low and headed north. oeFour's off target.

The SAF Major lifted his head again as he saw Hoser's F-4 come in. Not going for the runway, but he saw the bombs come off the plane, and his heart sank. The fuel dump. The F-4 walked its bombs across the fuel dump, and several large explosions followed. The Major dropped his head back into the trench as sympathetic detonations followed. And the antiaircraft guns kept firing.

oeGood hits! KT Thornton, Hoser's backseater, called.

oeSecondaries Hoser called back. He jinked as an SA-7 flew past his aircraft. oeThat was close.

oeBig ones!

Hoser smiled beneath his oxygen mask. Then he, too, headed for I-20.

In Stephenville proper, the East German commander was talking with the Mayor. He, along with the Army's chief Political Officer, was trying to explain to the Mayor that the presence of the East Germans actually meant that things would be calm in the area. 'You may rest assured, Mayor, that we in the National People's Army are not the animals in the Soviet MVD, or in their own Army's Rear-Area Protection Divisions.

oeAnd the airport The Mayor asked. He wasn't collaborating for opportunity's sake. No, he, unknown to the Soviets and now the East Germans, was reporting via several clandestine channels to the American military-who, exactly, he didn't know, but he was conspicuously alive while several prominent collaborators had turned up dead. Then the air raid alarm sounded.

oeYou may be also assured, Mayor, the Political Officer said. oeThe Air Forces of the Socialist Bloc have complete air supremacy in this area. You do not need to worry about being bombed.

The Mayor looked out the window and saw the F-4s going in on their bomb runs, and at least one missile trail from somewhere come in and explode some target on the ground. And the antiaircraft fire
came up and failed to hit anything. oeYou were saying

Curious, the East Germans went to the window and watched the last two F-4s make their bomb runs, followed by several large fireballs as fuel tanks at the airport exploded. The East German general shot a nasty glance at his Political Officer, then smiled at the Mayor. oeMy colleague here may have spoken prematurely.

When he heard Hoser call off target, Guru pumped his fist. Then he called his flight. oeCorvettes, form on me. Michelob, we're clear of the target.

oeRoger that, Corvette Lead, the Weasel leader called. oeWe're on our way out.

As they headed north, Goalie asked, oeAre the Nicaraguans still asleep

oeI'm not complaining, Guru replied. oeAre you

oeHell, no! Goalie said. oeLet them sleep.

Thirty seconds later, Kara's F-4 came in next to Guru's in Combat Spread. Then Sweaty and Hoser formed up as well, and the four-ship headed north for I-20. Then the Weasels came in and the six-ship went over the Nicaraguans, and not a shot was fired at them as the Phantoms crossed the front line.

oeMichelob, Corvette. Thanks, fella. Guru said to the Weasel leader.

oeAnytime, Michelob Two-one replied. oeMaybe we can do this again. Then the two F-4Gs broke formation and headed for the tankers.

Guru and the rest of Corvette Flight headed for Sheppard. After waiting for two Marine flights to depart, and another 335th flight as well, the tower cleared them in to land. The F-4s came into the pattern and landed, and as Guru taxied 512 in, he and Goalie finally took off their oxygen masks. oeNow I'm drained, Guru said.

oeYou're not the only one, Goalie said. oeToughest one we've had in a while.

oeNo kidding, Guru replied as he taxied 512 into its revetment, and both crew had popped their canopies and raised them. After taxiing in, Sergeant Crowley gave the oestop signal, and Guru did, then he shut down the engines. oeThat one's done.

oeAnd one more today, Goalie said as she took off her helmet.

oeYep, Guru acknowledged as took off his helmet and stood up in the cockpit as Sergeant Crowley brought the crew ladder.

oeHow'd it go, Major Crowley asked.

oeGood one, Sergeant, Guru said as he climbed down. oeWon't have to worry about those guys bombing us for a few days.

oeIf you say so, sir, Crowley said as Goalie climbed down. 'How's my bird

oe512's working like a champ, Sergeant, Guru said. oeGet her ready for the next one. And this'll be the last one today.

oeWord is we're standing down due to weather Crowley asked.

oeWe are, Guru replied. oeAnd you guys can get caught up maintenance wise, and then just plain sleep.

oeThanks, Major!

oeDon't thank me. Mother Nature's the one you should be thanking. Now get 512 ready, the Major said.

oeYou got it, sir! Crowley said. oeYou heard the man, he told his ground crew. oeLet's get her ready for one more.

Nodding, Guru and Goalie headed to the entrance to the revetment, and found Kara and Brainiac waiting. oeWhat'd you think Guru asked his wingmate.

oeOf all the ones we've flown the last two or three days Kara asked. oeThat one had the most opposition.

oeI'll go along with that, Sweaty said as she and Preacher came up. oeThey had flak, but it was wild.

Guru nodded. oeMakes you wonder who was on those guns, Goalie said.

oeWhoever they were, Hoser said as he arrived. oeThey were lousy shots.

oeMaybe Russians and not East Germans, for all we know, Kara pointed out.

oeSave it for the debrief, Guru said. oeCome on, let's get that done, get something to eat, then we have one more.

oeThen we have that weather stand-down, right Sweaty asked.

oeYou got it.

The members of Corvette Flight headed for Squadron Ops, and when they got there, they found Major Dave Golen and Lt. Sandi Jenkins and their GIBs talking. oeGuru, Golen said.

oeHow'd it go Guru asked.

oeWent to someplace you went yesterday, Golen said. oeThe Terrell Airport.

oeThey've got it back operational

oeIt was, Sandi said. oeWe put some bombs on the runway, and it's out of commission for another day.

oeDebrief yet Guru asked.

oeYes, but just enjoying what's left of this nice day before going out again, Golen said.

oeEnjoy it, because tomorrow Wind and rain, Guru said. oeGood luck on the next one.

oeThanks, Guru, Dave Golen replied.

oeAnytime, Guru said. Then they went into the Ops building and found it busy as usual. Guru noticed the Exec, Capt. Mark Ellis, and waved him over. oeMark,

oeBoss, Ellis nodded. oeHow'd it go

oeThose Fitters won't be bothering anyone for a while. Guru said. He glanced towards his office. oeAnything

oeNothing you need to sign, Ellis said. oeRoss came through on the radar parts. They'll be here tomorrow afternoon, weather permitting.

oeGood, the CO said. oeAnything on the elevator for Sandi Jenkins' regular mount

oeNot yet, but Ross has it at the top of his priority list.

Guru nodded, then had an idea. oeTell him to talk to either the 450th or the 301st, he told Ellis. Those two wings were the other two F-4E units in Tenth Air Force. oeIf they've got a bird that's no longer flyable and they're using it for parts....

oeGotcha, Boss, the XO said. He made a note, for future reference.

oeOtherwise, that's a factory-level part, and that comes from Japan. Guru reminded his Exec.

Ellis nodded. oeHe'll find one, one way or another.

oeGood, Guru said. Then he went back to his flight members. oeLet's get out of our gear, and meet in the briefing room. Licon can debrief, then we get something to eat and drink, and get ready for the next one.

oeAnd what are you going to do on the stand-down Kara asked.

oeGet caught up on one thing that's more important than paperwork, Guru said.

oeLet me guess: sleep

oeYou got it.

**Matt Wiser** · 05-25-2015, 08:16 PM

And the next:

335th TFS Operations Building, 1500 Hours:

Major Matt Wiser and the rest of Corvette Flight were milling around their briefing room, waiting on the squadron's intelligence officer. While they waited, everyone was getting something to eat or drink, and just kidding around.

oeWell, Kara, the Major said. oeYou want a rematch with the General

oeBoss, normally I'm a good loser. But....it was like losing to a ringer! Kara shot back. oeI want another go at him, and I want my money back.

First Lieutenant Lisa oeGoalie Eichhorn, the Major's GIB (and girlfriend) nodded. oeKara, he's been doing this since you were in diapers. Probably before.

oeI don't care, Kara growled. oeI want another shot at him, and I want my money back.

First Lieutenant Valerie oeSweaty Blanchard asked, oeWhat if you lose to him again

oeThen I'll be a gracious loser. Once was a fluke. Twice, then...different story.

Then the intelligence officer, First Lieutenant Darren Licon, came into the room. oeMajor, Licon said. oeSorry to be late, but I've been hopping all day.

oeWhat do you think we've been doing Major Wiser said.

oeWell,sir...you know what I mean.

The CO nodded. He knew that nerves were getting ragged, and that they had had a busy couple of days, with losing their previous CO on top of it. Even if the stand-down was only for a day, two at the most, any time off would be welcome. oeI know, Darren. Look, we're all a bit edgy. It's been a long day, so calm down, get the debrief over with, find out what's next, and get it over. We can let rip tonight, and rest up tomorrow.

oeYou're right about that, Guru, Goalie said. Guru was the Major's call sign. oeJust been a rough couple of days.

oeYeah, Kara replied, and the others nodded.

oeThank you, Captain, Licon said. He unfolded a TPC chart and took out some reconnaissance photos of the target. oeMajor, could you show the ingress route, please

Guru nodded, then traced the route on the map with a finger. Then he indicated where the IP was.Then we got to the IP, did the pull, and that's when all hell broke loose.

oeWhat came up Licon asked.

oeEverything they had there, Kara said. oeSA-2, SA-4, at least one gun radar.

oeThat they did, Sweaty added. oeThen there was all the unguided flak.

oeWeasels go to work Licon wanted to know.

oeRight off the bat, Guru said.

oeOkay, Major, please show your attack run. Licon indicated a photo of the target.

oeRight here... the CO traced it with his forefinger. oeNorthern ramp area.

oeThere were aircraft there

oeA dozen Fitters.

oeNo way can you hide those swing wings, Goalie added.

oeSecondary explosions Licon asked.

oeOh, yeah, Goalie said. oeSeveral.

oeI'll go along with that, Kara said. oeI was rolling in, and there were secondaries all over that ramp area.

oeResistance Asked the intel.

oeFlak, lots of it, Guru said. oeAnd an SA-7 flew right over us.

oeAnybody manage to take off

oeNot that we saw, said Goalie.

oeOkay, Captain Thrace

Kara nodded, then indicated her attack run. oeSouthern ramp area, she pointed. oeAnd there were a few aircraft there.

oeFitters Licon asked.

oeThree or four, Kara replied. oeAnd we got secondaries. She looked at her GIB.

oeThat we did, First Lieutenant Judd oeBrainiac Brewster said. oeTwo or three.

oeAnd the resistance The intel asked.

oeFlak, and some SA-4s, but they were trying for the Weasels. Had a gun radar on me, but an antiradar missile flew into the gun site and killed the radar. And they weren't shooting as much after that, Kara said.

Licon nodded. As usual, he was taking copious notes. oeSweaty

Sweaty came and traced her run. oeRight down the runway.

oeHow bad was the flak

oeNot as bad as Guru or Kara had, but we had a friggin' SA-4 fly over us on the way out.

First Lieutenant Bryan oePreacher Simmonds, Sweaty's GIB, nodded. oeSaid a Hail Mary or two as that thing came over.

oeDidn't guide Licon asked.

oeNo. Either the ECM pod worked, or somebody shot a HARM at the radar and they shut down, Sweaty replied.

oeSecondaries

oeNo, but we did put most of our bombs on or near the runway, Preacher said.

oeAll right, Hoser Licon asked First Lieutenant Nathan oeHoser West, Sweaty's wingman.

oeWent for the fuel dump east of the runway, Hoser said, tracing his route.

oeGet any secondaries Licon asked.

oeDid we First Lieutenant Kathy oeKT Thornton, Hoser's GIB, asked. oeWe damned well did! Big ones, too.

oeThe kind that come when fuel tanks go boom, Hoser added.

oeOkay. Licon said. oeThe egress

oeRight over the Nicaraguans, Guru said. oeThey must've been still asleep from their siestas, because nobody shot at us. And heads nodded at that.

oeAll right, Licon nodded. oeI'll write it up for MAG-11 and Tenth Air Force, but it looks like this field's out of business for a few days at least. Thanks, Major.

oeYou're welcome, Guru replied. oeDarren

oeYes, Major Licon said as he gathered up his materials.

oeThe November list of promotions ought to be in tomorrow, Guru said. oeThe General told me last night. Some people in this unit are likely to be on it.

oeThanks, Major.

oeBe warned, though, said the CO. oeIf not this list, the next one.

oeOkay, Major, the intel said. oeThanks.

oeAnytime, Darren. See you later, Guru said.

The intel gave a cheerful nod, then left the briefing room.

oeSo who's on the list Sweaty asked. She had good reason to want to know.

oeNo way to know for sure, the CO admitted. oeThough Rivers had recommended quite a few for promotion, both officers and enlisted.

Goalie nodded. oeSo...wait until tomorrow. She, too was hoping to pin on Captain's bars.

oeMight be too early, though, Preacher said. He was hoping for that kind of promotion as well, but he had only been a First Lieutenant for six months. Though this was wartime, after all....

oeIn time, people, Guru said. oeOkay, I'm headed to Ops and see what they have for us. We'll brief, then get ready to go. Last flight of the day.

oeAmen, said Preacher.

oeBack in a few, the CO said, then he went to the Ops Office. He found Capt. Don Van Loan, the Ops Officer, and the CO saw that Van Loan was getting ready to go out for his last mission of the day himself. 'Don.

oeMajor, Van Loan said. oeGot a good one for you.

oeThat depends on your point of view, the CO said. oeLet's have it.

The Ops Officer handed the CO the packet. oeBack to the Forney-Lake Ray Hubbard area.

oeDamaged vehicle maintenance point the Major asked. oeWhere they put tanks and APCs back in condition to fight

oeThat's it, Van Loan said. oeArmy wants that place to go away, or at least, out of commission for a while.

'And Army-level air defense-again, Major Wiser noted. oeAll right, thanks, Don.

Van Loan nodded. oeGood Luck,

oeYou too, the CO replied. He went over things in his head, then went back to the briefing room. He opened the door, and found General Tanner in the room, along with his aide. oeGeneral,

oeMajor, Tanner said. oeJust wanted to sit in on this last one, the General nodded. oeGo ahead with the brief, Major.

oeYes,sir, Major Wiser said. oeAll right, people, we're going back to the Forney-Lake Ray Hubbard area.

oeNow what Kara asked.

oeTarget is a damaged vehicle maintenance and repair point, Guru said, indicated a recon photo in the packet. It's right on the west side of the F.M. 740/F.M. 225 intersection. There's some power lines to the east, and they look like they're still up, so be careful there. There's quite a few vehicles there, mostly tanks and APCs,

oeWhat else Sweaty wanted to know.

oeThere's a ranch house, here, and a collection of tents on the north side of F.M. 740 at the intersection. The house is probably used as a CP, while the tents are for the personnel, it says here, the CO pointed at the intel sheet.

oeDefenses Goalie asked.

oeExpect Army-level, Guru said. oeSA-4s, and both light and medium flak. There is a ZU-23 battery near the target, and a 57 battery near the I-20 bridges over the East Fork of the Trinity River.

oeOther SAMs Hoser asked.

oeThe Terrell SA-2 is down, and looks like for good, Guru said. oeThis is also a divisional rear area, and they do have SA-6. We'll have Coors One-five and One-six. Ingress is via the west, as usual. The town of Forney is the IP. We pop up, hit the target, and get out over the lake. Don't forget to wave to the Rangers on those I-30 bridges. There was some laughter at the last remark. oeWe form up over Lavon Lake and come on home.

oeTanker tracks same as before Hoser asked.

Guru nodded. oeTrack EXXON over Mineral Wells, while SHELL is over Durant, Oklahoma. We meet the Weasels and do a prestrike refueling, then go in low, just as we did the last time we came this way.

oeOrdnance loads Asked Sweaty.

oeYou and I have Rockeyes, Guru said. oeKara and Hoser have Mark-82 Snakeyes.

Heads nodded. oeBailout areas Hoser asked.

oeSame as last time: anyplace rural and away from roads. Your best bet is anyplace north of I-30. The CO replied.

oeGood to hear, Kara said.

oeAll right, anything else Major Wiser asked. oeOkay, a reminder: this may be our last mission of the day, but don't get sloppy or complacent. We've lost people because they did just that. He looked at his flight. oeGeneral

oeJust a reminder that the Major is correct. We have lost people due to complacency or sloppiness, so treat this mission as if it's your first. Tanner told the crews.

oeThank you, sir. Anything else Guru asked. Heads shook no. oeLet's do it. Gear up and I'll see you at 512.

As the crews went to their locker rooms to gear up, General Tanner came to see the CO. oeGood advice, Major. If you hadn't said that, I would've.

oeThank you, sir, Guru replied.

The General nodded. oeGood luck, Major, and I'll see you when you get back.

oeYes, sir. Guru then went to gear up, and he led his people out of the Ops Building. As they left, they ran into Dave Golen, Sandi Jenkins, and their respective GIBs. oeDave, Sandi. You guys just get back

oeYes, and it was unbelievable, As soon as we pop up to attack, they start shooting, Golen replied.

oeOkay, Dave, where was this East of Lake Ray Hubbard Guru didn't go into any more details than that.

oeEast, between Forney and Terrell, Sandi said. oeAt least they shot down one of their own Hips...

oeThat would've been good to see, Guru said. oeOkay, see you guys when we get back.

oeWe might have a hairy one, Preacher said.

oeThen say an extra prayer, KT quipped.

oeI'll do that.

The crews went to 512, where Guru gave his final instructions. oeOkay, same drill. Mission code to AWACS, Weasels, and so on. Call signs between us. Got it

oeGot it, Several people replied at once.

Guru nodded, then put his hand out. oeLast one.

The others put their hands out, forming a circle, then they pumped. oeLast one!

oeRemember what the General said, Guru added. oeAll right, let's hit it!

The crews went to their aircraft, and Guru and Goalie went to their mount, 512. oeMajor, Sergeant Crowley, the crew chief, said. He snapped a salute. oeShe's ready to go.'

oeThanks, Sergeant. Guru said. He and Goalie did their walk-around, then they mounted the aircraft and got strapped in. oeReady Guru asked Goalie.

oeReady, Goalie said. oeLet's get it done.'

Both Guru and Goalie went thorough their cockpit checks, then got the oeStart engines signal. Both J-79 engines were quickly up and running, then Guru called the tower for permission to taxi. It came, and he gave Crowley the oethumbs up.

Crowley returned it, and the ground crew pulled the wheel chocks away, while Guru released the brakes. 512 taxied out, and as it cleared the revetment, Crowley saluted, and Guru and Goalie returned it. Guru taxied out, and the other three aircraft were following them. They held prior to the runway so that armorers could remove the weapon safeties. Then the tower gave them permission to taxi for takeoff. Both 512 and 520, Kara's mount, taxied onto Runway 33C, and held while they ran their engines up to full power. Then Guru contacted the tower.

oeTower, Corvette Flight requesting clearance for takeoff.

The tower responded by flashing a green light. Guru and Goalie in 512, and Kara and Brainiac in 520, closed their canopies, then Guru released his brakes, then he rolled down the runway and into the air, with 520 right behind him. Then it was Sweaty and Hoser's turn, and they too, went down the runway and into the air.

**Matt Wiser** · 05-26-2015, 08:10 PM

And the day goes on....

Over North-Central Texas, 1610 Hours:

Corvette Flight was just east of the Brazos River, headed east. They had met up with the tankers for a pre-strike refueling, and the Weasel element had joined up on them as well. Now, four F-4Es and two F-4Gs were at 450 feet AGL doing some 500 knots, and were well into enemy territory.

oeOne minute to I-35W, Goalie called from the rear seat of 512.

oeCopy, Guru said. oeOne minute.

The flight headed toward the interstate, which they-along with other strikes-used as a navigational checkpoint. And so far, the Soviets and their lackeys-Cubans in this part of Texas-hadn't yet caught on.

oeAnd...mark! I-35W. Goalie said as twin ribbons of interstate highway flew by below them.

oeCopy. I-35E in two minutes. Guru said. He was keeping his head on a swivel, watching out for any threats, while also keeping an eye on his instruments. Something that his RTU instructors had drummed into his head from the start.

oeAnything out there Goalie asked.

oeNegative, Guru said. oeBut AWACS can tell us more. oeCrystal Palace, Corvette One-one.

oeCorvette One-one, Crystal Palace, go, a controller replied.

oeCrystal Palace, say threat.

oeStand by.....threat bearing one-nine-two for sixty-five. Medium, going away. Second threat bearing zero-nine-seven, for eighty-five. High, going away. Third threat bearing zero-eight-six for ninety. Medium, going away.

oeThat's a relief, Goalie said. oeThirty seconds to 35E.

oeThat it is, Guru replied. oeAnd...35E dead ahead.

oeMark, I-35E. And turn.

oeRoger that, Guru said as he turned 512 towards the town of Ennis and I-45.

oeOne minute, Goalie called.

oeOne minute, Guru acknowledged. So far, so good.

oeComing up....and turn.

Guru put 512 into a left turn and was now headed due north. He looked around, and saw Kara's bird, 520, right with him in Combat Spread, and he knew that Sweaty and Hoser would be right behind them. Then he saw the two Weasel Phantoms just ahead and above them. Two minutes to U.S. 175 and the town of Kaufman.

oeReady to go to work Goalie asked. oeOne minute to Kaufman.

oeReady, Guru said firmly. oeOne minute.

The town of Kaufman appeared, and so did U.S. 175. oeAnd turn, Goalie said. oeOne minute thirty seconds to IP.

oeCopy, one minute thirty, Guru said. oeFlight, Lead. Switches on, music on, and stand by to pull. That was the call to arm weapons and turn on their ECM pods.

oeRoger that, Lead. Kara called.

oeThree, copies, Sweaty replied.

oeFour, Roger. Hoser said.

The Texas countryside flew past, as they approached the town of Forney. Guru had relatives there, and he didn't want to think about that. Not now. Save it for later. Then the town came up, along with I-20. Time to go to work. oeFlight, Lead, PULL! Guru called, and Corvette Flight began pulling up. As they did, their threat receivers lit up.

oeCorvette Lead, Coors One-five. Got some trade for us, the Weasel leader called.

oeCopy that, replied Guru. oeGet some.

The two F-4Gs climbed higher, and as they did, oeMagnum calls came over the radio as HARM or Standard-ARM missiles came off their rails. An SA-4 radar, at least one gun radar, and a search radar had all come up, and antiradar missiles were going after them.

While the Weasels did their thing, Guru led Corvette Flight in. oeFlight, Lead. Target in sight. Lead's in! He rolled 512 to the left and began his attack run.

oeGot some flak coming, Goalie said.

oeI see it, Guru said as he lined up the collection of tanks and APCs that were in the maintenance collection point that was their target. Not today, Ivan... he thought as 23-mm and 57-mm fire came up at 512, and even a couple of SA-7 missiles that failed to track. Guru lined up the target in the pipper, and called, oeSteady....Steady...and...HACK! He hit the pickle button, and twelve Rockeye CBUs came off of 512's racks. Then he pulled out of the dive, went wings level, and headed out over Lake Ray Hubbard. oeLead's off target.

At the maintenance point, the mechanics and other personnel from the 350th Independent Equipment Maintenance and Recovery Battalion, 25th Guards Motor-Rifle Division, were hard at work, repairing battle-damaged tanks and APCs. Though there was a ZU-23 battery deployed to protect the collection point, most of the mechanics were too busy to notice the aircraft alarm. They did notice the ZU-23s firing, and only then did they see an F-4 coming down on them. The mechanics and other personnel scattered as the F-4 came in and dropped its cluster bombs. The CBU bomblets scattered all over the collection point, and a number of vehicles exploded.

oeGood hits! Goalie called. She had her head turned to the rear, and watched the CBU bomblets go off, and several secondary explosions.

oeHow good Guru called as he watched an SA-6 missile launch and fly over 512.

Goalie yelled, oeGood enough! Then she involuntarily ducked in the cockpit as the missile flew over.

oeRoger that! Guru said, taking 512 north over the I-30 bridges over the lake.

oeTwo's in hot! Kara called as she went in. She had a dozen Mark-82 Snakeyes and she watched the CO's run, followed by several secondary explosions as the CBUs found vehicles or equipment and exploded them. She ignored the 23-mm flak from the perimeter and the nearby 57-mm near the I-20 bridge over the East Fork of the Trinity River. Not this time....Kara lined up the site in the pipper and hit the pickle button oeHACK!' She called as the Mark-82s came off of 520. She then followed the CO's path out, watching as an SA-6 fired, only to eat an antiradar missile from one of the Weasels. oeTwo's off safe.

In the collection point, the Soviet technicians were trying to sort themselves out. Some were trying to help injured comrades, while others were grabbing fire extinguishers to try and put out some of the fires that had started when the CBU bomblets went off. Then Kara's F-4 came over, and her bombs exploded among the vehicles and the men, tossing some tanks and APCs around like toys, while bodies flew into the air like garbage in the wind.....

oeSHACK! Brainiac called from 520's rear seat.

oeGood hits Kara asked as she headed out over Lake Ray Hubbard.

oeGood ones, he replied.

oeThree's in hot! Sweaty radioed. She, too, ignored the flak, and watched with satisfaction as an antiradar missile flew into the 57-mm battery east of the I-20 bridges, and the radar went off at once. She watched Kara's bombs go off, and she lined up an unhit group of vehicles, tanks, they looked like. Fine with me, she thought. oeSteady...and HACK! Sweaty hit the pickle button, and a dozen Rockeye CBUs came off her aircraft. She then leveled off and headed out over the lake. oeThree off target.

The Soviet technicians who hadn't been caught by Kara's bombs had jumped into slit trenches or foxholes when an officer pointed out a third F-4 coming in. Though the nearby ZU-23 battery kept firing, it had no effect as the F-4s were just too fast. Then a dozen CBUs came off of Sweaty's aircraft, and exploded among the vehicles, taking out several, and killing a number of personnel who hadn't gotten to shelter in time.

oeGood hits! Preacher Simmonds called.

oeHow good Sweaty replied as she took the F-4 over the lake.

oePretty good! was the reply, and Preacher watched as some 57-mm tracers flew above their aircraft. To him, they looked like oversized basketballs that glowed orange as they flew past. And he didn't want to think about what would happen if some of those tracers hit their aircraft. This low and fast, there wouldn't be time to eject. But Sweaty got them clear of the target area, and headed for Lavon Lake and the rendezvous.

oeFour's in! Hoser called. He saw that the other three aircraft had punished the maintenance area enough, and he went after the tent area and the ranch house. There was some 23-mm flak coming up, but he ignored it as he went in. oeSteady, and...HACK! He hit the pickle button and his twelve Mark-82s came off his aircraft. He rolled level and headed on out, and he, too, watched as 57-mm fire passed above his aircraft. oeFour's off target.

In the tent area, the tents were blasted to tiny pieces by the Mark-82s landing, and Hoser had also walked two or three bombs into the ranch house, which blew apart, killing several techs and officers who had taken shelter in the house. And for good measure, two of his bombs landed on F.M. 740, blasting craters in the road. After Hoser's F-4 was gone, the survivors picked themselves up, and the surviving officers wondered how they had been hit with no warning from their air defense people.

oeSHACK! KT Thornton called.

oeGood hits Hoser asked. He, too, had some tracers and an SA-7 fly over the aircraft.

oeGood ones.

When he heard Hoser call off target, Guru smiled underneath his oxygen mask. oeCoors One-five, Corvette. All off target.

oeCopy that, Coors One-five called. oeWe're on our way out. oe The two F-4Gs fired their last antiradar missiles, then headed for I-30 and friendly lines.

oeFlight, Lead, Guru called. oeForm on me, and verify IFF is on.

oeRoger, Lead, Kara called.

Guru turned to look, and there she was, already in Combat Spread. And he knew that Sweaty and Hoser weren't far behind. Then he flew over Lavon Lake, and climbed to altitude. Kara matched him, and a minute later, Sweaty and Hoser joined up, as did the two F-4Gs. oeCoors, Corvette. Thanks, buddy.

oeAnytime, Corvette, Coors One-five called. oeWe're headed home. The two F-4Gs then broke away and headed for the tankers. Since they went out with four antiradar missiles loaded and a centerline fuel tank, they needed more fuel than the strike birds.

After the Weasels left, the strike crews relaxed. oeGlad that's over Guru asked his GIB.

oeYou're not the only one, Goalie said. oeTomorrow, all I want to do is sleep.

oeStill got the paper warriors to take care of, Guru said. The last thing he wanted to deal with was the AF bureaucracy. Though things had been streamlined as a result of the war, dealing with some nameless REMF still rankled him. As Exec, he'd had his share of such unpleasantness, and knew that as CO, he'd have more.

oeThought those slime slithered off into some hole, Goalie wondered.

oeNot all of 'em, Guru said.

It wasn't long until they were near Sheppard, but before they could contact the tower, the crews noticed some additional air activity, as what appeared to be a scramble took place. Then a SAM launched from the ground-probably a Marine I-HAWK, and as they watched, the crews saw that missile track an aircraft and blow it to pieces. Then another aircraft took an AAM and exploded. Only then did Guru contact the tower. After asking that their IFF remain on, the Tower cleared them into the pattern. The crews noticed a couple of Marine F-4 flights, a couple of flights of A-4s, and two 335th flights in the pattern, and Corvette Flight had to wait its turn. Finally, they were cleared to land, and after landing and taxiing away, the crews popped their canopies. Then they taxied to the dispersal area, then to their revetments.

Guru taxied 512 into its revetment, and after he did, Sergeant Crowley, the crew chief, gave the oeShut down signal. He shut down the two J-79 engines, and the ground crew put the wheel chocks in place. Then Crowley got the crew ladder.

oeHow'd it go, sir Crowley asked.

oeMade a few people burn, bleed, and blow up, Guru said as he stood up in the cockpit. He took off his helmet and then climbed down, and Goalie followed.

oeGood for them, sir, Crowley said. oeHow's my 512

oeShe's still truckin', Sergeant,Guru said. He and Goalie then did their postflight walk-around, and as he did, he added, 'Get what you can done, Sergeant, then come back tomorrow. After you sleep in, that is.

oeIs that an order, sir, Crowley asked. He, too, was looking forward to sleeping in.

oeWhy not Guru said. Then he and Goalie headed out of the revetment.

oeYes, sir!

When Guru and Goalie got to the revetment entrance, they found Kara and Brainiac already there, waiting. oeYou guys as tired as we are Guru asked.

oeAll I want to do tomorrow is sleep, eat, then sleep some more, said Kara.

oeSame here, Brainiac added.

Then Sweaty, Hoser, and their GIBs came over. oeDone and done, Sweaty said.

oeThey said there'd be days like this in the RTU, Hoser added, and KT nodded.

oeThat they did, Preacher said. oeJust glad to be done.

oeRemember, people, we had more during PRAIRIE FIRE. Seven each those first three days, if you'll remember.

oeTrying not to, Kara said. oeThe last one of the third day, they had to lift me out of the cockpit because I was so tired.

oeYou, me, and almost everyone else in the flight, the CO reminded Kara. oeOkay, let's go and debrief. Get that done, then we can hit the Club. Then eat, drink, and be merry.

oeFor tomorrow we sleep, Sweaty said.

oeAmen, Preacher said.

oeFirst, though, I want my money back, Kara reminded them. She had lost to General Tanner at the pool table, and she wanted another crack at him. Though now a two-star general, Tanner was still a fighter pilot at heart, and the pool table reminded him of past times in Southeast Asia. Much to Kara's regret.

oeMaybe, Hoser said. oeWhat if he beats you again

oeThen I'll cheerfully pay up, smile, nod, and then get smashed. Kara said.

oeSo Boss, KT asked. oeWhat are you doing tomorrow

oeStay in bed as long as I can, Guru said.

oeGood idea, Goalie said.

Guru turned to his GIB. oeAnd sleep.

Her expression grew coy. oeWanna bet

oeCome on, let's get the debrief done, then we'll be off the clock,' Guru said as they went into the 335th's Operations Building.

**Matt Wiser** · 05-26-2015, 08:17 PM

And after the day's flying:

335th TFS Operations, 1705 Hours:

The members of Corvette Flight were in their briefing room, talking with the Squadron's intelligence officer. All were tired, having flown four missions that day, and having had some close calls, either from SAMs or AAA, they were edgy as well. Everyone was looking forward to the weather stand-down, and getting some overdue rest. Even if it was only for a day, two at the most.

oeOkay, let's get this over with, Major Wiser said.

oeYes, sir, First Lieutenant Darren Licon, the SIO, nodded. He not only had a TPC map, but several reconnaissance photos. oeMajor, could you show your attack route, please

oeSure, the Major said. He showed his path from the pop-up at Forney to the target. oeDid the pop-up, picked out the center of the target area, put the Rockeyes in, and then headed out over the lake.

oeGet any secondary explosions Licon wanted to know.

oeWe got several, First Lieutenant Lisa oeGoalie Eichhorn, the Major's WSO, said. oeWanna bet some of those were what happens when a CBU bomblet goes off on tanks for acetylene torches

oeAnd fuel, Licon noted. oeHow about resistance

oeHad some 23-mm at the target, and a 57-mm near the I-20 bridges, Major Wiser said. oeAnd a couple of SA-7s.

oeDon't forget the SA-6 that flew right over us, Goalie added with a shudder. There had been no warning on the threat receiver.

oeDidn't even see it, the Major said. oeToo busy concentrating on not going into the lake.

oeThanks, Major, Licon said. oeCaptain Thrace

Captain Kara oeStarbuck Thrace showed her route. oePut our Mark-82s near where Guru put his CBUs. Guru was the Major's call sign.

oeGood hits

oeGood enough, First Lieutenant Judd oeBrainiac Brewster, Kara's GIB, said. oeAnd we had plenty of flak.

oeSAMs Licon asked.

oeNot a one, Kara said, and Brainiac nodded agreement.

Licon, as usual, was taking plenty of notes. oeThanks, Captain, he said. oeSweaty

First Lieutenant Valerie oeSweaty Blanchard, the second element leader, showed her run on the photo. oePut my bombs on some unhit tanks.

oeSecondaries

oeGot a few, First Lieutenant Bryan oePreacher Simmonds, Sweaty's GIB, said.

oeAnd the triple-A Licon asked.

Both 23- and 57-mm, Sweaty said. oeAnd an antiradar missile went into the 57 battery.

oeThanks, Sweaty, Licon nodded. oeHoser'

oePut my bombs onto the tent area and the ranch house, First Lieutenant Nathan oeHoser West said.

oeHow'd they do

oeDidn't see much, Second Lieutenant Kathy oeKT Thornton, replied. She was Hoser's WSO. oeAnd we had some 23-mm and 57-mm come at us. And an SA-7 flew by.

oeAll right, Licon noted. oeThanks, Major. And everybody. I'll write it up and send it up the line.

oeOkay, Darren, Major Wiser said. See you later.

Licon nodded, gathered his materials, and left for the intelligence office.

The Major looked at the wall clock. 1715. oeAll right, people. Check your desks, and clear any squadron paperwork. Then it's chowtime at the Club, and I'll see you guys then.

The crews got up to leave, and only Goalie remained. oeWell Not only was she his GIB, but also his girlfriend and a confidante.

oeI think we made Colonel Rivers proud. He's looking down on us and smiling. the CO said.

Goalie looked at her pilot and CO. oeI think you're right.

oeYeah. Right now, need to check my desk-and so do you. Major Wiser said. Goalie, though only a First Lieutenant, was in the senior WSO slot.

Goalie nodded. oeAnd when do we have our...private celebration of your promotion

oeWhen the General leaves, Guru replied. oeNo shenanigans while he's on base.

oeAnd the same goes for Kara, too. This is the first time when somebody loses to her and can't pay, that she takes a check.

oeWonders will never cease, the CO nodded.

oeThere's a first time for everything, Goalie said. oeSee you in a few.

The CO nodded, then he, too went to his own office. He found his Exec, Capt. Mark Ellis, waiting for him. oeMark.

The XO handed him a clipboard. oeGot a few things for you.

Major Wiser nodded. oeSuch as

oeAircraft status update. Still two birds down.

The CO signed the sheet. oeThe radar parts

oeSupply still on its ass, Ellis said, and the scroungers are going to work.

oeOkay, the CO nodded. 'And the elevator for Sandi's bird

oeRoss has two leads. One with the ex-IIAF guys in the 405th, and another with the 301st, Ellis said. Both were two of the wings in Tenth Air Force that flew F-4s, though the 405th also flew F-5Es as well.

oeTell him to keep at it, the CO said. oeWhat else

oeMAG-11's PAO was here. Seems a reporter wants to be with us for a few days. Ellis handed the CO a paper.

oeThis is for my information only, right Major Wiser asked, and Ellis nodded. oeOkay, where's he from

oeShe, Ellis said. oeABC from Australia.

oeWhy us Major Wiser wanted to know. oeMust be too many newsies with the ANZACs up in Canada.

oeYou'll have to ask her, when she gets here. Be here day after tomorrow.

oeWe have a PAO

oeTom Lyon had that job, Ellis said. oeUntil-

oeUntil he got himself killed the first week of PRAIRE FIRE, the CO finished. oeAnd we haven't filled the slot. Okay, find any officer in the squadron who's got a journalism degree, and there's probably somebody with that background, and they're the new PAO.

oeGot you.

oeAnything else the CO wanted to know.

oeThat's it for now, Ellis said.

Major Wiser nodded, oeThanks, Mark.

oeYou got it.

Major Wiser then went to the Officer's Club tent, and found the Marine Mess people already set up. The menu was either country-fried pork chops with mashed potatoes and gravy, along with corn, or ham with scalloped potatoes. He took the pork chops, and sat down with Goalie, Kara, and several others from his flight. oeHad so much chicken last couple of days that if I ate any more, I'd be growing feathers.

oeCan't have that, Goalie quipped.

oeI know beef's not that hard to come by, Sweaty said. oeBut where's it coming from With the Soviets and their lackeys still holding on to most of Texas, and though other states that hadn't seen enemy forces were turning out beef, it was still a precious commodity, with the military getting priority one.

oeAustralia, Kara replied. oeSaw that in Stars and Stripes.

oeThank god for the Aussies, then, Goalie said. oeEssential wartime aid: Beef and Foster's.

oeNot just that, Kara said. oeSame piece had something about a guy in Wyoming. Raising Bison instead of Cattle, and he's not the only one.

oeBison burger Lovely, the CO said.

They chatted for a few more minutes, then after they ate, Kara went to the pool table. oeOkay, Goalie said. oeHow long until General Tanner arrives, and does she really challenge him

oeNot that long, said Sweaty. oeHere he comes.

General Tanner came into the Club, and since everyone was off duty, hardly anyone noticed. Only when he went over to the pool table did people take notice. oeOh, shit, Guru said.

oeWhat Goalie asked.

oeKara did it. She just challenged the General to a rematch.

Goalie looked in that direction. Both combatants showed their money, then began to play. oeOkay, so it begins.

Major Wiser put his face in his hands. oeI don't want to even look. But he did eventually, and watched as both antagonists were fairly even, but eventually, the General's skills got the best of Kara's. She was gracious in defeat, happily paid the $50.00, and only then did she leave the table in a fit of the sulks.
She went to the bar, got a beer, then came over to the CO's table, and those sitting there could see the fury in her eyes. oeWell

oeWho taught him to play pool Minnesota Fats Kara raged.

oeJust been doing it a lot longer than you have, Goalie said. oeAt least you lost to one of the best.

Kara looked at her, and the CO, then shook her head. oeHow

oeSome things are like riding a bike, Captain, the General said as he came over. oeYou never forget.

oeIf you say so, sir, Kara smiled politely, but trying to hid her....displeasure.

The General smiled back. He knew that she wanted revenge, but would have to wait. oeMajor, I'll be leaving in a couple of hours. Going on to Roswell and then Holloman on this trip.

oeWeather, sir Guru asked.

oePartially, but wanted to see how things are going there, and have a look at how the ROKAF and the ROCAF are settling in to Roswell and Holloman, respectively. Both the ROKs and the Taiwanese had sent tac air squadrons as part of their expeditionary forces to North America, and their long experience of working alongside the USAF was paying off, though the General wanted to see for himself.

oeThe ROKs are pretty good, General, Major Wiser said. oeWe've flown alongside them a few times.

oeI know, Major, but want to have a look-see for myself, Tanner said. oeYou guys are doing really well, and keep it up.

oeThank you, sir, the CO replied.

oeRemember to take care of your people, and if you ever need anything, you do have the contact info

oeYes, sir. Colonel Rivers left all that for me.

oeGood, Major. Let's hope you don't need to use it.

oeSir, if I don't, I'll be happy. Chances are, though....especially if a certain officer fouls up.

Tanner nodded. He knew full well what the Major meant, and who he was talking about. oeUndertood, Major. You people keep it up, and have a good rest of the evening. Enjoy your stand-down, and when you get back flying

oeYes, sir Major Wiser asked.

oeKeep up the good work. We're winning, and the sooner we're on the Rio Grande, the better.

oeYes,sir!'

oeAnd before I leave, I believe you've got some squadron business Tanner asked.

The CO nodded. oeYes, sir. He got up. oeOkay, people, listen up! AF, Navy, and Marines stopped to listen to the Major. oeGot a couple of things to take care of. Sweaty, Hoser You and your GIBs stand up and be recognized. Sweaty and Preacher got their sixth kill today, while Hoser and KT got their first. So congratulations are in order,

Don Van Loan stood up oeHear, hear, Boss.

oeAnd Dave Golen and Sandi Jenkins

The two flight mates stood up. oeUh, Major Sandi asked.

oeMajor Golen got his fourth kill today flying with us, Major Wiser said. oeThat makes it what Fourteen for you, Dave Four in the Yom Kippur War, three in the Bekaa Valley Turkey Shoot, or is it the other way around And four now with the 335th. Not bad for an 'observer.' And Sandi Congratulations on your first fast-mover kill. Good job on that MiG-23.

oeThanks, Guru, Golen said.

oeThanks, Major, Sandi added.

oeAll right, Guru said, hoisting a beer glass. oeHere's to today's MiG killers.

oeHear, hear, Kara said. And everyone raised their glasses or bottles.

oeDrink up, people! And enjoy your stand-down. Guru said.

After that, the General took his leave. oeMajor, I'll see you next time. Just keeping up with my 'kids', you know.

oeYes, sir. Safe trip back, Major Wiser said. oeAnd good night.

oeYou too, Major. And Captain Thrace Tanner asked Kara

oeSir Kara replied.

oeI expected a more sore loser, considering the stuff I've heard about you, Tanner said. oeAt least you're more....gracious in defeat than I expected.

oeThanks, General, Kara said. oeI'll just take it out on the next poor slob who challenges me, sir.

oeAnd you'll enjoy it, I imagine. All right, you people have a good night, and I'll see you around.

oeThank you, General, Major Wiser said.

Tanner then left, and Kara went for another beer. oeWell Am I off the leash or what

oeTonight No, Guru said firmly. oeTomorrow night, if you want to get crazy Then you can.

Kara had a grumpy look on her face, but nodded.

oeWhy not cut her loose Goalie asked.

oeHe's still on base, and until I hear that his C-130 has left, things need to be....calm, Major Wiser said.

oeTomorrow night, then

oeYep, She's off the leash, and so are we, Guru said. And Goalie knew full well what that meant.

Goalie had an evil-looking grin. oeI'll be waiting. It had been a while since she'd been...insatiable, and some private time was what the two of them needed.

Everyone in the club ate, drank, and was merry until 2300, when the bell for Last Call rang. The leading edge of the storm was coming in, and everyone made for their respective tents. And despite the rain, people got a good night's sleep, and then some.

**Matt Wiser** · 05-27-2015, 07:39 PM

The last chapter of Settling in: Comments welcome as always!

335th TFS Operations, 30 October, 1987, 0800 Hours Central War Time:

Major Matt Wiser went into the squadron operations building, coming in from out of the rain. He was both thankful for the rain, which gave them a well-deserved, if unplanned, day off, but he also hated the mud and dampness, especially since everyone on base was living in tents. Why couldn't they move into prewar base housing Because they had all been wrecked during the fight to take the base, had been the reply. Oh, well. Overcome and adapt, as one of his OTS instructors had said once.

oeMorning, Major, Capt. Don Van Loan, the Operations Officer for the 335th, said as the CO got out of his rain gear. oeAnd how does our commander like the rain

oeThe Commanding Officer is of two minds. I'm glad for the stand-down, because we can use one, but...in Texas, when it rains, it comes down by the gallon, the CO spat. He looked at his office. oeThe Exec in

oeHe is, Van Loan nodded.

oeOkay, thanks. Oh, and Don

oeBoss

The CO looked at his Ops Officer. oeRight here, it's wet, rainy, and generally miserable. Up at Angels twenty, though....bright skies and CAVU. Have two birds loaded full air-to-air, that's four AIM-9s, four AIM-7s, full load of twenty-mike-mike, and two wing tanks. Just in case.

oeGot you, Van Loan said. oeWho sits alert'

Major Wiser thought for a moment. oeIf I know Kara's not in violation of Twelve-hour, we'd be sitting the first shift. Since I don't Instead....put Mark and his wingie in first for 1000. I'll relieve him at 1200 with either Kara or Sweaty. If Sweaty doesn't need to take Kara's place Have her and Hoser relieve me and Kara at 1400.

oeGotcha, Boss, Van Loan replied. oeAnd who relieves Sweaty

oeYou and your wingie, the Major said. oe1400 to 1600. Dave Golen and Sandi Jenkins take the last shift. And talk to Ross. Have him get a Crew-Cab pickup and park it facing the dispersal area. If the siren sounds and we have to flush the alert birds....

oeWill do.

oeThanks, Don, Major Wiser nodded, then went into his office. He found Capt. Mark Ellis, his Exec, waiting. oeMark,

oeBoss, Ellis said, handing the CO a cup of coffee.

oeSo this is our morning ritual The Exec with some paperwork and a cup of coffee for the CO. Major Wiser saw the XO nod, then went on. oeOkay, what have you got for me

oeMorning report for MAG-11, Ellis said.

Major Wiser nodded. He scanned the report, then signed it. oeWhat else

oeAirman Holly Lockhart's application for Airman to Pilot, Ellis said, handing the CO the form. oeI signed it on behalf of Frank.

oeGood, the CO replied. He took the form and added his signature where the CO's endorsement was needed. oeSend it off, and hopefully, she can start the first class in January, considering how long it takes these to go through.

oeThere is that, Boss, Ellis nodded. 'Aircraft status sheet. Still got two birds down for maintenance.

oeAnything on the radar parts for the first one Major Wiser asked.

oeRoss' scroungers came through, Ellis said. oeThough we won't get the parts until sometime tomorrow.

oeBetter than Supply, the CO commented. oeI was hoping they'd be here earlier. And the elevator for Sandi Jenkins' bird oe

oeRoss has leads, and he's running them down, Ellis replied. oeHe'll have something tomorrow.

oeWhat else

oeThis from Colonel Brady, Ellis said, handing the CO a paper. Colonel Allen Brady was MAG-11's Commanding Officer. oeTwo birds in each F-4 or F/A-18 squadron on five-minute alert, for air defense.

oeHad a hunch something like that would come down. Major Wiser said. He told the Exec what he'd told Van Loan. oeYou get the first shift.

oeThanks a bunch, Major.

oeAll you'll be doing is sitting in a briefing room, killing time until you're relieved. Unless the siren sounds, that is. If I knew Kara was available now, we'd be taking the first shift instead of you.

Ellis knew that the CO would be taking that first one himself, if his wingmate was not in violation of Twelve-hour. oeGotcha.

oeAnything else Major Wiser asked.

oeWeather forecast, Ellis said. He handed his CO a paper.

Major Wiser scanned it. oeCloudy, chance of rain 100%, decreasing to 50% by afternoon. Clearing overnight. Winds variable. Cloud base 5,000, ceiling 17,000. Temperatures low-to-mid '50s. All in all, a miserable day. Unless you need the rest. That it

oeIt is for now, Ellis replied.

Then there was a knock on the door, and the CO had a good idea as to who it was. oeYeah Come on in and show yourself.

A female lieutenant with wavy blonde hair as long as regulations permitted came in, holding two cups of coffee. First Lieutenant Lisa oeGoalie Eichhorn, who was the Major's WSO, nodded. oeAnd good morning, Guru, Guru was the Major's call sign.

oeGood morning, Guru replied. oeJust giving you fair warning. Gear up before 1200.

oeWhat for Goalie asked, surprised. oeI thought this was a day to rest up.

oeGot to have two birds on alert in case somebody sneaks in behind the weather, Guru said. oeSo we sit in the briefing room, shooting the breeze, from 12 Noon until 1400.

oeOh, well, Goalie replied. oeComes with being the CO's GIB.

oeYou could say that, Guru said. oeEaten yet

Goalie shook her head. oeNot yet.

oeLet's go eat, then take care of whatever paperwork comes our way, and get ready for two hours of boredom, the CO said.

When the CO, Exec, and Goalie go to the Officer's Mess Tent, they found his wingmate, Capt. Kara 'Starbuck Thrace and her WSO, First Lieutenant Judd oeBrainiac Brewster, already in line. oeMorning, Boss, Kara said. oeWe off the leash today

oeThat we are, Major Wiser said as they went through the chow line. Breakfast today was either Hotcakes and eggs with sausage, or French Toast with the eggs and sausage. The CO opted for the French Toast. When they got to a table, the CO asked Kara, oeWhat time did you have your last beer

oeJust at last call, 2300, Kara replied. oeWhy do you ask

The Major looked at his wingmate. oeBecause we're sitting air defense alert from 1200 to 1400, in case somebody tries coming in over the weather.

oeIn the cockpit Brainiac asked.

oeNo, in the briefing room, replied the CO. oeIt's only for two hours. We relieve the Exec's flight, and at 1400, Sweaty and Hoser relieve us.

Kara nodded. oeAnd chances are, nothing happens, but you never know.

oeRight,' the Major said. oeAnd one other thing: this weather will be gone sometime tonight. So we'll be back to the grind tomorrow morning.

oeSo, enjoy what time we have off while we can,' Goalie said.

oeThat's about it.

A couple hours later, Mark's element began the alert stint, while the CO and others were busy with getting rid of any paperwork that showed up. A couple of airmen came to formally apply for the Airman to Pilot program, while Goalie was busy talking with some of the other WSOs, including a couple who were senior to her in terms of rank (she being a First Lieutenant and they being Captains), though she was the senior WSO as far as the CO was concerned.. Unlike a certain Major, the ranking WSOs had no problems working with Goalie. As far as they were concerned, the CO wanted someone who he could trust in that slot, and if that happened to be his own WSO, so what

The CO had finished some paperwork, and he was looking out his office window at the rain, when there was a knock on the door. oeCome on in and show yourself, the Major said.

The door opened and in came Kara. oeBoss, she nodded. She also had a set of papers in her hand.

oeWhat have you got

oeAirman First Class Josh McClendon wants to go to Airman to Pilot, Kara said, handing the CO the application.

oeVan Loan sign it the CO asked. Though Kara worked for Van Loan as assistant Ops Officer, usually the department head had to endorse such applications.

oeHe did, but he's busy right now. MAG-11 was on the phone. Tomorrow's ATO, among other things, Kara said.

The CO nodded. oeOkay...he's got five semesters...UC Irvine, not bad. Physics Major

oeYep, and the Review Board is going to stream him into flight because of that, Kara reminded the Major.

oeJust because someone's a Physics or Engineering Major isn't an indicator of how good a stick they are, the CO pointed out. oeI took one Physics class, got a C, and the AF said that was good enough to get Flight Training. I had guys in my flight school class who had Physics or aeronautical engineering in their background, aced ground school, but couldn't handle basic flight.

oeSame here, Kara replied. oeFailed a couple like that when I was an IP. And so a History Major with a C in Physics is now a fighter pilot

oeYou were Poli-Sci, right

oeYep, and took one course in basic aeronautical engineering to satisfy the AFROTC people, Kara nodded.

oeOkay, the CO said. He signed the form. oePut that on the XO's desk. He'll send them out.

oeWill do. Kara said. She turned to leave, then saw the CO looking out his office window. oeWhat's up

oeJust thinking about my opposite numbers somewhere, Major Wiser said. oeI imagine there's a few Soviet or Cuban squadron commanders out there, wondering what they're doing here.

Kara looked at her CO. oeAs long as they're keeping it to themselves. Otherwise.... she pointed to the back of her neck. oeThey get it right here.

oeThat they do, the CO replied. oeJust thinking about one other thing: Got any friends who are either POW or MIA And I'm talking old classmates, that sort of thing. Not fellow members of this unit, and we all know people who are in either category.

Kara nodded. oeYeah. One guy I went to AFROTC with at Auburn. Went to F-16s prewar. Got shot down in Oklahoma a month into the war. They saw the chute, but nothing since. And an ex-instructor from Reese. She flew to Salt Lake with me and my student. Sent her to RF-4Cs and on to the 186th TRG, that's the Mississippi Guard who fly into Cuba..

oeWhat happened the CO asked.

oeHer RF-4C swallowed an SA-3 just as they went feet wet, Kara said. oeShe and the Nav punched out, but a Cuban patrol boat picked them up. Nothing since. You

oeGot a friend I had in the RTU down at Homestead, Major Wiser replied. oeHe stayed there and flew F-4Ds. He was shot down over Cuba two months after I got back from the E&E.

oeWhere

oeSan Antonio de Los Banos, south of Havana, the CO said. oeThat deep into Cuba If you bail out, no one's coming for you. Unless it's in a rural area, and that place is in Havana's air defense zone. They had no chance to evade or anything. Their wingmate said that there was a crowd waiting for them as they came in on their chutes. And that was it.

Kara nodded, then she got a cup of coffee for her and the Major. oeWell, Boss, here's to our friends POW or MIA. May they all come back safe.

Major Wiser nodded. oeHere's to that. They drank the coffee, then the Major said, oeLet's round up Goalie and Brainiac, get some lunch, and bring it back. We can eat while sitting on alert.

oeJust as long as lunch isn't one of the Jarheads' roadkill sandwiches, Kara quipped.

After rounding up their respective GIBs, the two pilots went to the Officer's Mess and brought back a cheeseburger, fries and cole slaw lunch for all four, then they went to relieve Mark Ellis and his element from the air defense alert.

oeGlad to see you guys, Ellis said as he and his people got up to leave. oeWhat's for lunch

oeYour choice, Major Wiser said. oeEither cheeseburgers with fries and cole slaw., or....

oeOr what

oePork tri-tip sandwiches. Or more precisely, 'suggestion of pork tri-tip,' Kara spat.

oeEat at your own risk, Elilis said. It wasn't a question.

oeEnjoy, Major Wiser said.

oeThanks, Ellis said as he and his people headed on out.

oeSo now what Goalie asked.

oeEat, take a nap, twiddle your thumbs, read, whatever, Major Wiser said. oeGot two hours to kill.

Kara grinned and took out a pack of cards. oeSolitaire.

oeWhatever, Brainiac said. He was one of those who'd lost money to his pilot, and one of a few who had promised never to play cards with her ever again.

After they ate, the time passed slowly. Every few minutes, it seemed, someone would look at the wall clock or their watch, Sure enough, Kara was playing solitaire, while Brainiac took a nap. Goalie was writing a letter home, while the CO was reading a book his mother had sent him from home in California. oeHow can something be important and boring at the same time Goalie asked.

oeI imagine the Navy guys who hunt subs say the same thing, Kara quipped.

oeProbably, Goalie said. oeWhatcha reading, Guru Guru was Major Wiser's call sign.

oeBattleship Bismarck, the Major said. oeIf the Air Force had said no to my OTS application I was going Navy.

oeSaw the movie, Kara said. oeOn late-night TV.

oeOr hear the Johnny Horton song Guru said. oeSome rock-and-roll oldies stations still play it.

oeOnce in a while, Kara admitted.

oeWell, the Navy's loss is the Air Force's gain, said Goalie.

oeMy mom said the exact same thing, Guru nodded.

Brainiac woke up. 'What time is it

oe1320, Guru said. oeYou still got forty minutes.

oeLeave me a wake-up call, Brainiac said. He closed his eyes and went back to sleep.

oeHe can sleep anywhere, Guru observed.

oeSo....General's gone and we can get back to normal tonight Kara asked.

'That's right,

Both Guru and Goalie saw Kara let out an evil-looking grin. oeWon't get my money back from the General, but some poor slobs in a poker game....

oeBack to being the Wild Thing, Guru said. oeOh, well...

oeMind if I ask you something, Kara, Goalie asked.

oeWhat Kara replied. oeAsk away.

oeHave you thought about what you'll do if a girl loses to you and can't pay

Kara thought for a moment. oeHasn't come up yet, she said. oeGuess I'll have to think of something. And her expression grew coy.

Goalie looked at Kara, then the CO, who simply muttered, oeThat's what I was afraid of.

It wasn't long after that there was a knock on the door, and Sweaty, Hoser, and their GIBs came in. oeTime to relieve you guys, Sweaty said. Sweaty, Preacher, Hoser, and KT were all in their flight gear.

oeAnd I stand relieved, Guru said. He turned to Kara and indicated Brainiac, who was still leaning back in a chair, his feet propped up on a desk. oeAnd wake him up.

Kara nodded, and poked her GIB awake. oeWake up, sleepyhead.

Brainiac woke up with a jolt. oeHuh

oeGet up. Our alert stint's over and done.

oeOkay, people, Guru said. oeGet out of your gear, check your desks, and make sure there's no squadron paperwork. We still got three hours to kill.

Goalie, Kara, and Brainiac nodded, then headed on out, while Guru stayed to talk with Sweaty.

oeBoss Sweaty asked.

oeAnything new

oeNot much, Sweaty replied. oeOther than the weather forecast. She handed the CO the sheet.

oeShowers ending tonight. Partly cloudy tomorrow, temperatures in the mid to upper 50s. Lows in the upper 30s to low 40s, Guru read aloud.

oeThat's it, Sweaty said. oeAnything happen

oeNada, the CO said. oeAnd hope the same goes with you.

oeThanks, Boss, Sweaty said.

Guru nodded, then went to the locker room to get out of his flight gear. Then he went to his office, and found Mark Ellis there. oeMark

oeGot this, hot off the fax, Ellis said, handing some papers to the Major.

oeWhat is it the CO asked.

oeNovember list of Captains is out, the Exec said. oeAnd you're not going to like it.

oeWhat do you mean Guru said as he scanned the list. He got to the oeBs. oeWhat Brainiac made it, but not Sweaty The Major was incredulous.

oeHe's got more time in grade than she does, Ellis said. oeAnd you're not going to like what you see in the 'Es.'

The Major scanned the list. oeWHAT No Goalie

oeAfraid not, Boss. Ellis said. oeBut in the 'Ls', you'll find a familiar name.

oeSo, Darren made it, the CO observed. First Lieutenant, now Captain, Darren Licon was the squadron intelligence officer.

oeAnd Kevin O'Donnell, said Ellis.

oeWhat happened Guru asked.

oeChances are, the paperwork for the guys who made it got sent two, three months ago. The others Last month or the beginning of this one, most likely.

oeAll right, Major Wiser nodded. oePut that on the bulletin board, so folks can see it.

oeWill do, Ellis nodded. He then left the office.

The Major scowled. oeDamn it, he muttered to himself. Then he left the office and found Goalie. oeGot some bad news.

oeWhat is it She asked.

oeThe list of Captains is out. You didn't make it, the CO said. oeI'm sorry.

oeNot your fault, Goalie said. oeThere's next month,

oeThere is that, the Major said. oeIf it's any consolation, most of those on Rivers' wish list didn't make it either.

Goalie nodded. oeWell, we can drown our sorrows tonight.

'Yeah, and well...celebrate something.

oeToo bad it won't be a double celebration.

Guru nodded and went to find the others. He found Brainiac, who was jumping for joy, and so was Darren Licon when he got the news. Then he went to talk to Sweaty. He knocked on the door to the briefing room, then went in. oeSweaty

Sweaty looked up from the magazine she was reading. oeWhat's up, Major

oeGot some bad news. The new list of Captains is out. You didn't make it.

oeDamn it, Sweaty growled. oeWho else

oeGoalie and a few others, Major Wiser said. oeIf it's any consolation.

oeOh, well... she nodded. oeBetter luck next month.

oeYeah. You can take your sorrows for a little swim tonight. Just don't go as deep as Kara does.

Sweaty nodded. oeI'll do that, Major. And the Major could tell the disappointment in her voice.

oeMajor KT asked. oeHow about the Lieutenants' list She meant the list of those going from Second Lieutenant to First Lieutenant.

oeWe should be getting it... A knock on the door interrupted the CO. oeYeah

Kara opened the door. oeMark Ellis sent me to find you. The Lieutenants' list is out. She handed several papers to her CO. oeJust off the Fax machine.

oeThank you, the Major said. He scanned it quickly. oeKT

oeMajor KT asked. A lump formed in her throat. Was this good or bad news

Then the CO grinned. oeCongratulations. You made it to First Lieutenant.

KT smiled as Hoser and Preacher slapped her back. oeThanks, Major.

Major Wiser smiled back. oeYou're welcome, and thank Colonel Rivers, everyone. He forwarded the paperwork. And for those who didn't make it, my sympathies. There's always next month.

Heads nodded. oeWhen did he send them in Hoser asked. He was hoping to make Captain, just like Sweaty.

oeUp until early this month, the CO said. oeThat's all I know. Should've asked the General about it, but we were pretty busy last few days.

oeThat we were, Kara said. oeAny idea on the enlisted and NCO promotions

oeShould be tomorrow, Major Wiser said. oeGet that posted.

Kara nodded. oeYou got it, Boss. Then she headed back to the office.

Nodding, the Major saw her leave, then turned to Sweaty. oeDave Golen and Sandi Jenkins will relieve you guys at 1600.

oeOkay, Boss, Sweaty said.

The CO nodded, then went back to his office. He found Mark Ellis waiting. oeBoss, good news.

oeWhat

oeRoss found an elevator for Sandi's bird. It's at Amarillo. One of the ex-IIAF guys came through for us. They've got two shot-up aircraft that they're scavenging for parts, and Ross talked them into giving us a pair of elevators from one of 'em.

oeOkay, see if there's a C-130 or anyone headed to Amarillo tonight and get them up there. And they don't RON. Just get the part and get back.

oeWhat about other, uh, 'scrounging' activities Ellis asked.

oeTell them to wait until next time, Major Wiser said. oeWe need those elevators most of all. I know, the scroungers would love to see what the 450th has to offer, but next time.

oeGotcha, the Exec said.

oeAnything else

oeStill have eighteen aircraft for the morning, Ellis replied. oeTomorrow, we should have twenty.

oeBarring any losses, or damaged birds, the CO reminded him. oeThat it

oeUntil morning, I think so, Ellis said.

oeOkay, it's now 1500. My desk is clear, so I'm headed over to the fitness tent. Get some time on a treadmill and get a workout in. Something we've been slipping on the last few days. Remind folks to keep up with that.

oeWill do.

oeAll right: I'll see you at the Club. Major Wiser said. Most of the officers, regardless of service, ate there.

After Ellis left, the Major went to his tent and got his workout clothes: a CSU Fresno T-Shirt and shorts, changed, and headed over to the fitness tent that all the aircrew, whether AF, Marine, Navy, or Army used. He got onto a treadmill, and did his usual four-mile run in twenty-six minutes. While he was running, both Kara and Goalie came in to get some running in, and he couldn't notice the looks both got from Marine and Navy crew when they were on the treadmill. Their sports bras didn't hide much when they got sweaty. Well, he'd seen Goalie in her birthday suit on numerous occasions, and he'd seen Kara when she had been found in Carson's front cockpit, naked as the day she was born, and having puked all over the instrument panel.

When the Major finished the rest of his workout, the CO went to take a shower, then went over to the Chow tent. The rain had stopped, he was pleased to see, and that meant they would be flying in the morning. When he went in, he found Colonel Allen Brady, USMC, the MAG-11 CO, at a table. oeColonel, mind if I have a seat

oeNot at all, Major, Brady said. oeWhat's on your mind

oeSir, with the weather easing up, any chance one of your KC-130s can make a cargo run up to Amarillo AFB The old Amarillo AFB had closed in 1969, and after the invasion and then PRAIRIE FIRE, the Air Force had decided to formally reopen the base.

oeWhat for

oeSir, the 450th TFW, those are some of the ex-IIAF guys, sir, have a pair of elevators for an F-4E that are on a bird that's too shot up to fly again. My guys can get those so that we can get a damaged bird flying, Major Wiser said.

oeThen you guys can get up to twenty aircraft, with that other bird coming back, Brady commented. oeAnd my guys can do some, well, 'moonlight requisitioning.' themselves. Colonel Brady saw the Major's expression. oeRelax, Major, I know the drill. Saw quite a bit of that at Chu Lai in 1967 and early '68.

oeSir, I knew you flew in Southeast Asia, Guru said.

oeYeah, but you didn't know this: got shot down January 23, 1968. Five miles north of the DMZ. My backseater and I never had a chance to call for Jollys or evade or anything. Hanging in the chutes, every Vietnamese for a mile or two saw us. Took us two weeks to get to the Hanoi Hilton. Seventeen months in solitary, out of five years and two months. And you know the drill on that.

oeYes, sir, Guru replied. oeFrom SERE, and I've read a few books on the subject: Jerry Denton's, Robbie Risner's, and a few others.

Brady nodded. oeWell, let's hope there aren't any two-time POWs in this war. Had a guy in Hanoi who'd been a B-17 pilot in World War II. Shot down on his first mission and spent ten months in a Stalag. On his first combat mission in Vietnam He's the first guy shot down by an SA-2. Spent seven and a half years in Hanoi.

oeBad luck, Major Wiser commented.

oeReal bad. There were guys captured in World War II who were captured again in Korea. Let's hope there aren't any two-timers this go-around. As for your Sergeant Ross Brady asked.

oeSir

oeHave him and his team at the cargo ramp at 2000, Brady said. oeI'll arrange the flight.

oeYes, sir,

A few minutes later, Goalie, Kara, Sweaty, and several other 335th aircrew came in, and Guru went to be with them. oeYou guys have a good workout The CO asked.

oeThat we did, Kara said.

oeShe'll deck the next Marine who ogles her when she's running, though, Goalie said.

oeWhat Major Wiser asked. oeRemember, we're on pretty good terms with the Jarheads.

oeWe know, Goalie replied. oeBut a couple of Marines were busy watching us instead of their own workout.

oeKara, Sweaty said. oeIt's not like there aren't guys on this base who haven't seen you naked.

oeSweaty's right, the CO said. And when he found her in Carson's cockpit, he had seen her in her birthday suit.

oeI know, and someone seeing me naked on my terms That's one thing. Ogling me in the gym while I'm working up a sweat Something else entirely, Kara told the CO.

oeFair enough, Major Wiser said.

Goalie pulled the Major aside. oeSpeaking of seeing naked, she said. oeWhen are we having our, well, private celebration of your promotion

oeTonight, the Major promised, and Goalie smiled.

Mark Ellis and Don Van Loan came in next, and the CO waved them over. oeBoss Ellis asked.

oeFind Ross. Tell him to get whoever he needs to bring those elevators back and have them at the Marine C-130 area by 2000. There's a KC-130 going to Amarillo and they had better be on it.

Ellis knew what the CO meant. oeGot you. Im off. Ellis then headed out to let Ross know.

oeThe elevator for Sandi's bird Van Loan asked.

oeYou got it.

As more regulars arrived, the Marine Mess people came in with the dinner menu. Either fish and chips with cole slaw or chili with cornbread. As people ate, the conversation turned to the fact that they were flying again in the morning, and the lucky stiffs who were on the promotion lists.

After eating, Kara went to the pool table, and sure enough, took out her frustrations from the last couple of days on several Marines or Navy who thought that since General Tanner had beaten her twice, she had lost her touch.

oeI see Kara's getting over losing. Sweaty said.

oeThat wouldn't last long, Brainiac nodded. oeShe's on a mission.

oeYeah, proving that the General beating her wasn't a fluke, Major Wiser said.

Kara won three games and lost none, then she went over and got in on a poker game. As she did, Colonel Brady came over to the table Major Wiser was at. oeMajor,

oeColonel

oeThat KC-130's all arranged. Your guys

oeSir, they'll be there. the Major said.

oeGood, Major, Brady said. oeIt's almost 1900 and Twelve-hour. If you've got any toasts...'

The Major gulped. oeOh, shit, sir. Almost forgot. He went to the bar, got his second beer of the night, and rang the bell. oeOkay, people, listen up! The crowd went quiet as he spoke. oeSeveral people in the 335th got good news today. Either they're pinning on Captain's bars come 1 November, or they're going from butter bars to silver ones, If you got that kind of good news today, stand and be recognized. Several people, including Brainiac, KT, Darren Licon, among others, stood up to applause. oeAnd for others, well....there's next month's list to look forward to. He looked at Goalie, Sweaty, Hoser, and several others who were taking their sorrows for a swim. oeCongratulations to the lucky ones, and condolences to the unlucky. And when everyone, and I mean everyone, who Colonel Rivers recommended for promotion gets what they have coming, we'll have that squadron promotion party. How's that

There was a roar of applause. oeMajor, that's something to look forward to, Sweaty said.

oeThat it is, the CO said. oeDrink up, people! Ten minutes to Twelve-hour kicking in.

Major Wiser went back to his table, and nodded to Sweaty and Goalie. oeNext time, that's all I can say.

oeI wonder why Goalie asked.

oeMaybe a mass promotion might raise red flags, Sweaty wondered aloud. oeEspecially with that skunk Carson still around.

oeYou're probably right, Guru said.

Just then, the bell at the bar rang, and it was Doc Waters, the Flight Surgeon for the 335th, who rang it. oeTwelve-hour rule now in effect!

People nodded, and those flying in the morning turned in their bottles or cans. Those not flying were envied, though. The Major went and got a plate of Nachos for his table, and they were talking about sports, letters from home, or anything, because the next morning meant back to flying, and the ever-present threat of MiGs, SAMs, and AAA. Then the bell rang again to signal aircrew curfew, and people began heading to their tents, for it wouldn't be long until 0430 and aircrew wake-up.

Both Guru and Goalie headed back to Officer Country, and found his tent. One thing about being CO was that the CO got his own tent. They went in, and Guru went and opened an ice chest. Doc Waters was able to get the ice for him and several others, and in the ice chest was a bottle of Seven-up. oeSince we can't have champagne, this'll have to do. He found a couple of plastic cups, filled them,and gave one to Goalie. oeHere.

oeThanks, Goalie replied. oeCongratulations, she said. oeI know,this isn't the way you wanted it.

oeHell of a way to get a combat squadron, Guru said. oeI'm not the first, and I sure as hell won't be the last to get one, filling a dead man's shoes.

Goalie nodded. oeSomething they don't teach you at the Academy, ROTC, or OTS. Comes with the job.

oeWell, the CO mused. oeI got mine, and next time, you'll get yours.

Goalie smiled. oeHere's to that, she said, and they drained their cups. Then she stood up, and got out of her flight suit. And to Guru's surprise, she had nothing on underneath. oeI came prepared.

oeGuess so, he said. He got out of his clothes, they found the camp bed, and went after each other.

The next morning, Guru's alarm clock buzzed. He woke up, and saw the time. 0415. He sat up in bed, and saw Goalie next to him, still asleep. He gently nudged her awake. oeHey, sleepyhead.

She woke up, and sat up in bed, and the covers fell off her chest. oeTime

oeYeah,

Goalie nodded, got up and quickly dressed. oeSee you in the chow line,

oeYep. And we need to do this when you get your promotion.

She grinned. oeThat we will.

oeSee you in the chow line, Guru said as he got up. God, he needed a shower, then food in his belly. He had a philosophy that if he was ever shot down again, he wanted to have a full stomach in case of another E&E.

oeWill do, Goalie smiled, then she went out of the tent and back to the one she shared with Kara, Sweaty, Ryan Blanchard, and a couple of others.

After she left, Guru looked at the clock. It wouldn't be long until 0700 and wheels up. oeBack to work, he said to himself as he got his things and headed to the shower. It promised to be a busy day. And as it had been the last several days, it was.

**Matt Wiser** · 05-31-2015, 07:37 PM

Another one: Guru gets his first gun kill.....

No Kill Like a Gun Kill

2 June, 1987, Cannon AFB, New Mexico: 1100 Hours Mountain War Time

Captain Matt oeGuru Wiser of the 335th Tactical Fighter Squadron came out of the Operations Building. And he was not a happy camper. The 335th, along with the other Marine and even Navy squadrons that formed Marine Air Group 11, had moved to Cannon from their previous base at Williams AFB in Arizona two weeks earlier, and had helped with close-air support missions during the Battle of Clovis that marked the end of Operation PRAIRIE FIRE I. Now, PRAIRIE FIRE II was going, and the Army was hoping to crack Ivan's defenses in not only West Texas, but all along the Red River line, and push as far into North Central Texas as possible. But what got the Captain so upset was the lack of intelligence on possible threats. The Soviets and their various lackeys, whether Cuban, East German, or whatever, were still confused from PRAIRIE FIRE ripping their front apart, that the intel people were still trying to figure out which enemy units had been destroyed and which were still active. Their order-of-battle estimates prior to PRAIRIE FIRE had been good, but now.....

Shaking his head, Captain Wiser, who was the Executive Officer of the squadron, went over to a tent near the flight line, where aircrews rested between missions. The Soviets had left the base in a hurry, but still had left quite a few booby traps, and not all the buildings were safe, despite AF and Navy EOD personnel working around the clock. In the tent, he found the members of his flight. oeOkay, people, gather around. We got a new one.

oeWhere we going Captain Kara oeStarbuck Thrace asked. oeLubbock She had good reason to want to, having been run out of Reese AFB in '85 with her wallet, her student, and her T-38, and very little else, and in no particular order.

oeNope, the Exec replied. oeArmed reconnaissance this time, and no, I don't like this one.

oeWhy First Lieutenant Lisa oeGoalie Eichhorn asked. She was Guru's WSO, or Weapons Systems Officer. More commonly called the GIB. The Guy, or in her case, Girl, In Back.

oeSimple, Guru said. oeThat old order-of-battle they had prior to this push It got tossed. They don't have an idea as to where all the threats are, and that means trouble.

First Lieutenant Valerie oeSweaty Blanchard, his other element leader, looked at him with a scowl. oeWhat

oeThe threats are so mixed, Licon told me, Guru nodded. First Lieutenant Darren Licon was the 335th's Intelligence Officer. oeWe can run into anything. They're trying to build a new order-of-battle picture.

Starbuck nodded. oeBut that takes time.

oeThat it does, the Exec nodded again. oeSo....we're going to do something we haven't done before. Scud-hunting.

oeWhat Several voices asked at once.

oeScud-hunts Sweaty asked. oeIsn't that an A-10 job

oeYeah, it is, but the Hogs in this part of Texas are busy. So we got the job, along with the A-6s at night, replied the XO. oeSwell, ain't it

oeWhose idea was this Goalie asked. oeI mean-

oeI know what you mean, and it came down from Tenth Air Force, Guru said. oeThere's been several Scuds shot at Amarillo, several into Oklahoma, and a few have come our way, in case you haven't noticed.

Heads nodded at that. There had been several missile alerts in the past few days, and everyone had to run for shelters and get their MOPP gear on. So far, none of the missiles that had landed had CW warheads, but no one was willing to take the chance. oeSo, XO, First Lieutenant Nathan oeHoser West asked. oeWe're going to look for these guys It's like a needle in the haystack.

oeWorse, the XO said. oeWe have to find the right haystack. He pulled out a TPC chart of the area. oeHere, There's a box with Plainview, Childress, and then down to Paducah, then back to I-27.

oeLot of area to search, XO, First Lieutenant Kathy oeKT Thornton said. oeWe might come up empty-handed. What then

oeWe don't come back with full racks, let's put it that way, Guru said. oeMain tasking is Scuds, but if we can't find any, but find anything of military value, like a supply dump, chopper field, or a truck convoy They're fair game.

oeAir threat' Sweaty asked.

oeMixed. There are still MiGs at Reese AFB, as well as Lubbock International. Su-27s are reported at Dyess.

oeFlankers' Goalie asked. oeYou know the brief on those.

oeYeah, Guru said. oeJettison your ordnance, get your asses down low, and scream for help from AWACS. Remember, they're still having trouble picking us up in the look-down/shoot-down mode, so get down low, and if you have to do a doppler break, do it. Ivan's own anti-F-15 trick can bite them, remember.

Heads nodded.

oeOkay, there's also several municipal airports that Ivan has used to support MiG-23 and Su-25 operations, as well as helos, and we might pay one of those a visit if we can't find anything else.

oeWeather Kara asked.

oeHot, dry, and clear, Guru nodded. oeAnd bailout areas Anyplace away from the roads. Anything else

oeWhat's on tap after this one Newly-promoted First Lieutenant Byran oePreacher Simmonds asked. He had been studying for the priesthood when the war began, and had joined the Air Force. When his classmates in the F-4 RTU found out his prewar background, they gave him the call sign.

oeNo idea, the XO replied. oeWe'll take whatever we get. And we''ll eat after we get back from this one. Anything else

Heads shook no.

oeAll right, Guru said as he grabbed his flight helmet. oeLet's hit it.

1250 Hours Central War Time: Over Occupied Texas:

Corvette Flight was now over their assigned oeScud Box, and the crews were busy. Since their F-4s didn't have either Pave Spike or Pave Tack pods loaded, their scanning all had to be done visually, with the Mark I eyeball. While the pilots maintained a lookout for air-to-air threats, the WSOs were scanning the ground below with binoculars, and keeping an eye out for any surface-to-air threats. So far, nothing, other than a couple of air-search radars on their EW displays. oeAnything Guru asked his GIB.

oeNothing, Goalie replied. oeNada.

oeMaybe they hid Guru wondered aloud. oeThey like to hide in daylight and shoot at night, he said as he banked his F-4 around in a 180 to head back west. They were near Childress, and that was the northeastern end of the Scud Box. oeStarbuck, anything

oeNegative, Lead, Kara replied. oeThis might be a wild-goose chase. She followed her flight lead into the 180, while her GIB, Captain Judd oeBraniac Brewster, scanned the ground below.

Guru nodded, and beneath his oxygen mask, he scowled.

oeThey do shoot in daylight, Goalie reminded her front-seater. oeTwo days ago, remember

Guru nodded again. They had just taken off on a strike when there had been two explosions just south of the runway. Only when they cleared the field did the Scud alert come over the radio. oeTell me about it. Sweaty, anything

oeNo joy, Lead, his number three said. oeFound a couple of truck convoys headed north on U.S. 83, though. If we don't find what we're looking for...

oeIf we don't, Guru replied, oewe'll make them burn, bleed, and blow up. Form up on us, and head west.

oeCopy, Sweaty called. She brought her F-4 around, and Hoser West followed suit.

oeCrystal Palace, Corvette One-one, Guru called the AWACS. oeSay bogey dope

oeCorvette One-one, Crystal Palace, the AWACS controller called. oeNegative bogeys.

oeCopy that, replied Guru. He was maintaining his visual scanning. Experience taught him that AWACS didn't catch everyone.

As the F-4 flight turned west, they saw two more Phantoms flying around. Guru's radio crackled. oeRhinos down below, need some Weasels

oeCorvette One-one, authenticate. Alpha Six November, Guru replied. This could be some ALA scum playing radio games.

oeThis is Coors One-three. Delta Five Echo. the call came back.

oeThat's authentic, Goalie said from the rear cockpit.

oeCoors One-three, Corvette One-one, you guys trolling for SAMs Guru called.

oeRoger that, Corvette, the Weasel element lead said. oeYou guys out trolling for whatever

oeWhatever, want to tag along We launched with no Weasels.

:Fine with us, Corvette, came the reply. oeWe'll be on station above ya.

Now a six-ship, the Phantom flight continued west, then when they found State Route 207, Guru led the flight south. About fifteen miles south of Silverton, Kara called it out. oeLead, Two, Got something down here.

oeCareful, Two, Guru replied as he saw Starbuck bank her F-4 and roll down on something.

oeCorvette, Coors. Got a radar coming up, the Weasel element lead called out. oeMAGNUM! And a AGM-78 Standard-ARM missile left his rails.

Hearing that, Kara pulled up, but not before she saw them. oeLead, Two. Got what we came for. Four launchers, plus support tracks.

oeCopy that, Two, Guru replied. oeGoalie, set them up. Everything in one pass. His F-4, and Sweaty's,carried ten CBU-59 cluster munitions, with incendiary bomblets, while Kara and Hoser each packed a dozen Mark-82 bombs with the oeDaisy Cutter fuze extenders.

oeGot you, Goalie replied.

oeSA-4 up! Came the call, followed by oeMAGNUM! as another AGM-78 went flying.

oeSearch radar's down, Sweaty reported.

oeRoger that, Guru said. oeSweaty, you and Hoser follow us in. Starbuck, on me, and let's do it. Time to go to work, people!

oeGot the launchers, Goalie said from the back seat. oeEleven O'clock.

oeCopy. Switches set

oeAll set.

oeOkay, hang on and here we go! Guru said as he rolled in on the Scud launchers.

Down below, the commander of the Third Battalion, 26th Missile Brigade, was not happy with his orders. Normally, they fired their R-17 missiles at night, but his Brigade commander had ordered a launch in daylight, so as to make the Americans in their rear areas sweat a little in daytime. His missiles were targeted with high-explosive and fragmentation warheads on an air base in Eastern New Mexico, near some town called Clovis. He had arrived at a suitable launch site, which had not been pre-surveyed, and his men had to do all the prelaunch surveys, then get the missiles ready to fire, before awaiting the launch command. At least there was a nearby Krug (SA-4) missile battery to provide some air defense, besides a handful of BTR-152s with ZU-23 23-mm guns mounted on top of them. Then his deputy commander came up to his command vehicle, shouting, oeAIRCRAFT ALARM!

Guru picked out one of the launchers. The big MAZ-543 vehicle was familiar to him from several strikes into Southern Colorado, where the Soviets and their lackeys had fired Scuds into Denver. He came in, and smiled beneath his oxygen mask. Not today, Ivan....He hit the pickle button, and his ten CBUs came off the aircraft.

The Soviet commander watched as an F-4 came in out of nowhere, and released its bombs. His deputy pulled him out of the command vehicle, but before they could get to a trench, the CBU bomblets went off. And he was caught in the explosion as not only the launcher and missile exploded, but the command vehicle as well. His last sensation was the heat.....

oeSHACK! Goalie called as Guru pulled 512 up from the bomb run. oeGood hits, and we got a secondary.

Guru pulled the F-4 around as Starbuck went in. oeCorvette One-two in hot! She called. Her bombs hit another launch vehicle, and there was another large secondary explosion in her wake. oeTwo's off target.

oeOne-three's in! Sweaty called. She rolled in on another launcher, and her CBUs ripped into the launch vehicle, exploding it, a nearby command vehicle and a truck which had a balloon rising from nearby. oeThree's off.

oeOne-four rolling in, Hoser said. He saw the last launcher, and pickled his bombs. The Mark-82s landed all around the launcher, and the big launch vehicle exploded, and the missile went with it. A bonus was a couple of his bombs taking out nearby reload missiles that were part of the missile battalion, and they went up as well.

Orbiting, Guru watched with satisfaction. This Scud unit wasn't launching anything for a while, and with luck, was out of business permanently. oeCorvette, form on me and let's get the hell out of here.

oeCopy, Lead, the calls came back, while Coors One-three shot another missile, this time a HARM, at a radar that had just come up.

oeCorvette, Coors. Nice doing business with you. Maybe we can do this again, fella.

oeLikewise, Coors, Guru radioed back. oeCorvette, on me and let's go.

The four F-4Es formed up and headed northwest, towards the ingress/egress lane they had used on their way in. Near Plainview, they saw four A-10s headed in, but it was what was behind them that caught Goalie's attention.

oeGuru, Eleven O'clock low. she called.

oeYeah, Hogs, I see 'em. Guru replied.

oeLook behind them, Goalie said.

Guru took a look, and sure enough, two MiG-23s were behind the A-10s, who apparently didn't know the MiGs were there. oeOh, yeah. Tallyho! Floggers, Eleven O'clock low!

oeGot 'em lead! Kara replied.

oeSweaty, Guru called. oeYou and Hoser stay back and cover us. Starbuck, on me. Crystal Palace, Corvette One-one.

oeCorvette One-one, go, the controller replied.

oeTwo Floggers, down low and behind four Hogs, Going in, Guru said. Then he rolled the F-4 into a one-thirty-five degree turn and headed down.

oeCopy, Corvette, Crystal Palace replied. Then the AWACS called the A-10s, who started jinking wildly. Sure enough, they didn't even know the MiGs were there.

As Guru and Starbuck rolled in, Guru noticed something. He was in perfect range for a Sidewinder shot, but this close to the A-10s, the Sidewinder's heat seeker might home in on a friendly aircraft. Right then and there, he switched to his internal M-61 Vulcan cannon. oeGoing guns.

oeWhat Goalie said. They'd been on strafing runs before, but guns air-to-air This was a first for her.

Guru nodded, then pulled the trigger for a one-second burst. They were still out of range, but the tracers would get the MiGs' attention, and they did, for the leader broke left, and the wingman broke right. oeI'm on the lead. The wingie's yours, Starbuck.

oeRoger that! She replied as she banked to follow the MiG-23.

Guru was now in gun range...he lined up the pipper ahead of the MiG to draw lead, and gave the MiG a three-second burst, some 180 rounds of 20-mm High-explosive Incendiary and Armor-Piercing Incendiary ammo. First smoke, then fire came out of the wing root of the MiG, as the whole after half of the Flogger caught fire.

oeHey, we got him! Goalie shouted. oeWe did it!

oeGood kill, Lead! Sweaty called.

Guru nodded as he brought the F-4 in alongside the MiG. He and Goalie looked at their opposite number, who was sitting in the cockpit as flames advanced forward. He was sitting there, arms folded. Guru gave him the signal to eject, but the pilot shook his head no. Just before the MiG went in, Guru and Goalie noticed the insignia on the aircraft. Cuban. Then the MiG-23MF went down and slammed into a small hill, and the pilot didn't get out. oeThat's a kill, Guru said as he pulled away from his opponent's funeral pyre.

At the same time, the MiG wingman tried to pull away, with Kara on his six. In her cockpit, Kara put the pipper on the MiG's tail, and the AIM-9P missile seeker was growling loud. Missile lock. oeFOX TWO! she shouted as a Sidewinder left the rails and tracked towards the MiG-23.

The Cuban pilot was looking all around, trying to pick up his pursuer when a loud bang came from the rear of the airplane. He looked around, then there was a second, louder explosion, and he was suddenly surrounded by fire. The last thing he heard before the aircraft exploded was his scream.

Kara and Braniac watched as the Sidewinder flew up the MiG's tailpipe and exploded. There was a small trail of fire, then a larger explosion, then the MiG blew apart. oeSplash! Kara radioed.

oeRoger that, Two. Let's get out of here, Guru radioed.

Corvette flight formed up and headed out of the battle zone. oeCorvette, Crystal Palace, those Hog drivers say 'Thank you.'

oeTell them 'You're welcome and they owe us. Splash two Floggers. Guru replied. oeWe are RTB.

oeCopy, Corvette, the AWACS replied.

The Phantoms flew on to Cannon, where Guru and Starbuck each did a victory roll before turning into the pattern and landing. As they taxied in, the pilots held up a finger to signal a MiG kill. The flight taxied into their revetments and shut down.

As Guru and Goalie shut down, both were exuberant. oeNo kill like a gun kill, they say, Guru said.

oeFirst for you Goalie said as she got out.

oeYep, Guru replied. oeNever got one with Tony Carpenter, confirmed, anyway.

oeOne of your probables She asked as they did a quick post-flight check of the plane.

oeSu-24, Guru replied. oeHit him with a few shots, and he trailed smoke from an engine, but never did see him crash. SA-6 came up and we were a little busy for a minute or two.

oeDid he... Goalie asked as Staff Sergeant Mike Crowley, their Crew Chief came up.

oeNo idea, Guru said. oeHe might have crashed, or he put down somewhere.

Sergeant Crowley was ecstatic. oeGreat job, Sir! He looked at 512. oeSir, how'd you get the kill Both Sparrows and all four Sidewinders are there.

oeGun, Guru said. oeWhen you turn her around, give her a full load of 20-mike-mike.

Crowley grinned, oeYes, sir! Then a Dodge Crew-Cab pickup came up. And out came Lt. Col. Dean Rivers, the CO of the 335th, the SIO, Lieutenant Licon, and Maj. Dave Golen, their IDF oeobserver. oeCO coming, sir.

Colonel Rivers came up, just as the other crews arrived at 512. oeXO, he said.

oeBoss, Guru replied, sketching a salute. oeMade some Scuds go away.

oeHow many Licon asked.

oeFour, Guru replied. oeAnd they were in launch mode. Looked like they were erected and were getting ready to fire.

oeI'll go along with that, Colonel, Sweaty said. oeMine was all up and ready. Looked like they were about to launch.

oeHow do you know Licon asked.

oeMine had a weather balloon going up, Hoser said. oeDon't they need one prior to launch

Licon nodded. oeThey do. How about you, Captain' He asked Kara.

oeNo balloon, but mine was in launch position, she replied.

oeThat it Rivers asked.

oeNo, Boss. Got two MiG-23s off of four A-10s. Some Hog drivers owe us, Guru said.

Rivers nodded, and looked over 512. All of the Sparrows and Sidewinders were in place. oeHow

Guru smiled, then pointed to the muzzle of 512's 20-mm gun. oeGot it the old-fashioned way.

Hearing that, Dave Golen walked over and slapped both Guru and Goalie on the back. oeMy friends! Back home you would be the heroes of this engagement! Now you have a kill like it's done in our book!

oeThanks, Dave, Guru said, shaking Golen's hand.

oeAny witnesses' Licon asked.

oeWe saw it, Sweaty said, and Preacher nodded. So did Hoser and KT.

oeI got a Sidewinder shot, Kara said. oeNo ejection.

oeWitnesses' Licon asked, and he saw Sweaty's flight nod. oeOkay sir, he said, turning to Rivers. oeThat's seven for the Exec, and four for Captain Thrace.

oeOne more and you're an ace, Kara, Guru said. oeAnd then you'll probably be too drunk to remember the celebration.

Kara grinned. oeWhen it happens, bring it on.

oeWhat's next, Boss Guru asked the CO.

oeGet the formal debrief done, then head over to the chow tent, and get yourselves something to eat. It's now 1400. Mission brief in one hour, Rivers said.

They were interrupted by the whop-whop of a CH-47 Chinook coming in. As the big chopper touched down, ambulances raced to the helo, and medics began unloading stretcher cases.

oeSupposed to be quiet, Sweaty noted.

oeIt wasn't somewhere, Rivers observed.

After the stretchers were unloaded, and the ambulances left, the big helo shut down. After the crew left, the 335th people noticed Military Police leading a dozen or so EPWs over to the chopper. All carried mops, pails, and brushes. oeWhat's that' Kara asked.

oeThey're Czechs, Rivers said. oeAll EPWs from the nearby camp, and they want to do this. Their way of sticking it to the Russians, I heard. Whenever a medevac comes in and shuts down, these guys come in and clean the chopper out. When they're finished It's spotless on the inside.

oeIsn't that kinda bending Geneva Goalie asked.

oeIt is, Rivers admitted. oeBut they want to do it, and get back at the Russians somehow. They blame the Russians for sending them over here to a war they didn't want any part of. So...

oeSo it'll last until somebody complains, Guru observed. oeAnd I know who might.

oeWe all do, XO, Rivers said. oeCarson always finds something to complain about.

The CO was referring to Major Frank Carson, who was the most hated and loathed officer in the squadron. Not only was he resentful about being passed over for Exec, but he was despised for trying to blindly enforce AF rules and regulations, even if they made no sense in wartime. Everyone was wishing that either he'd be transferred out, or that something dreadful would happen to him-and no one else.

oeWell, sir, Preacher said. oeWhen the good Lord passed out paranoia, Major Carson got in line twice.

oeThat he did, Rivers said. oeAnd someone might take notice. General Tanner at Tenth Air Force won't, but the Inspector General He might.

oeYes, sir, Guru said. That was the last thing anyone wanted.

oeOkay, back to business, Rivers said. oeLike I said, get debriefed, get something from the chow tent, and Mark Ellis will have a mission for you at 1500. Captain Mark Ellis was the Operations Officer for the 335th.

oeWill do, Boss,

'And when we close down for the day Celebrate in the O-Club tent. A gun kill's a reason to hoist a couple.

oeYes, sir!

Before he left with Rivers and Licon, Dave Golen came over again. oeNow I must go out with the Colonel when he does. And I will show you how it's done!

Guru's flight all looked at each other. They knew the IDF prized gun kills above all others. oeIf you say so, Dave, Kara said.

oeI do, Golen said. oeAnd I will buy you and Goalie a drink tonight, he told Guru. oeSee you later.

oeThey all like that Kara asked.

oeThe IDF guy we had before Dave Guru asked. Seeing Kara nod, he went on. oeYeah. He had fifty-seven missions and a pair of MiGs under his belt before his tour ended. But both were Sidewinder shots. He was pretty upset about that.

oeMaybe he'll get his gun kill, KT wondered.

oeMaybe, Guru said. oeBack to business: let's get over to the intel tent and debrief, get something to eat, because like the Boss said: back in the saddle at 1500.

Heads nodded, and the eight crewers headed on over to the intel tent, while the ground crews went over their aircraft.

Officer's Club Tent, Cannon AFB, NM, 1750 Hours:

Captain Matt Wiser and the rest of Corvette Flight came into the Officer's Club tent, having come back from their final mission of the day. After a quick debriefing, they had headed on over to have a couple of drinks, because the twelve-hour rule kicked in at 1900. To no one's surprise, after she got her beer, Kara went over to a poker game. And the players suddenly realized to their sorrow that she was good.

oeWhat does she do with her winnings' Preacher Simmonds asked.

oeGoing to lecture her on the evils of gambling Goalie asked. oeYou know by now: 'Eat, drink, and be merry for tomorrow-

oe'They may not separate us from the rest of the aircraft,' I know, Preacher said. oeStill-

oeHer mom's in Michigan, or so she said, KT noted. oeShe does send a check to her mom every so often.

oeAt least her mom's safer there, Guru noted as he bellied up to the bar. oeWhat have you got He asked the barkeep.

oeNot much, Captain, the man replied. oeFoster's, Sapporo, some Bud.

oeFoster's, then, Guru said. oeAnd one more for my GIB.

The barkeep nodded and produced two bottles. oeHere you go, Captain.

oeThanks, Guru said. He paid the man, then handed a bottle to Goalie. oeWell

oeHow about a toast to no more Scud Hunts She replied.

oeI'll drink to that, Sweaty said.

After the toast, Guru and friends went over to the dart board, while Kara devoted her full attention to the poker game. And several of the AF officers there noticed the Army flight suits on some of the players. oeWho are those guys Hoser asked.

oeDustoff, Guru said. oeMedevac guys who go in unarmed to pick up wounded.

oeThey don't get paid enough, Braniac said. oeAt least the CSAR guys have miniguns and can shoot back.

oeNotice the Dustoffs only have a small Red Cross insignia Guru asked. oeIvan shoots at 'em just like any other helo. Anything larger makes for more of a bulls-eye.

oeYeah, Hoser said. oeLearned that the hard way back in '85.

Guru nodded, and finished his beer. Just as he was going over to the bar, Colonel Rivers and Dave Golen came in. oeBoss, Dave.

oeGuru, Rivers said. oeI'm buying for you, Goalie, Dave, and Oz. Captain Brandon oeOz Slater normally flew as Dave Golen's GIB when Golen flew.

oeWhy 'Oz' KT asked Goalie.

oeBorn in Australia. American father, Aussie mom, Goalie said. oeRTU classmates.

oeBoss, Guru said. oeDid you guys score And I don't mean air-to-ground.

oeWe did, XO, Rivers said. oeTwo MiG-21s.

oeIt's nine for him, Lieutenant Licon said from the bar. oeAnd two so far here for Major Golen.

oeGun kill Guru asked as the CO got the beers, and handed him and Goalie one.

oeYes! Dave replied. oeMiG-21, as the CO said, only....

oeOnly what Goalie asked.

oeNicaraguan, and he acted like a Syrian, said Golen. oeHe acted as if he knew he was going to be shot down and yet was in the air anyway.

oeThey say the same thing about Libyans, Hoser said.

oeLast time we ran into Libyans, they got blown away by Ivan's own MiG-25s, Guru observed. oeTough shit, Comrades.

After a toast to the day's MiG killers, things quieted down, as several 335th people watched Kara clean up at the poker game. The Army helicopter pilots were shaking their heads as she took several of them to the cleaners. Then Doc Waters, the flight surgeon for the 335th, came in. And he wasn't happy as he ordered a stiff shot of Jack Daniel's. oeWhat's wrong, Doc Rivers asked.

oeI'd like to know who ratted on us using those Czechs and Poles to clean out Dustoff choppers. Red Cross said an hour ago we can't use them anymore, Waters said, taking a slug of his drink.

oeWhat Preacher said. oeThis on the level

oeIt is, Doc replied. oeEven though they want to, Red Cross said no. And people are pointing fingers at you-know-who.

oeCarson is a real-life Frank Burns, Kara said. She had dealt herself out to get another beer. oeI pity his kids.

oeDon't, Guru said. oeHe's divorced. Remember six months ago, when he went on R&R

oeCarson went on an R&R Kara asked, surprised. oeSo

oeSo, I had a look at his personnel file, when we moved forward, Guru said. oeI'm Exec, and can do that. Anyway, it says 'Divorced. Finalized November, '85.

oeRight after he joined the squadron, Rivers said. oeI asked him about his wife and family, and he said, 'Don't bother. They're okay, but I'd rather not talk about it. Then he showed me the divorce papers.

oeAnd ever since, Guru said, oeHe's been like Frank Burns on steroids.

oeYep, Goalie said. oeRemember when he tried to have the two of us on a fraternization rap

oeDo I ever, Rivers said. oeWhen generals tell you to ignore things like that and get on with fighting the war, you listen. He sure doesn't.

oeI'm Academy, and I've got a few classmates who'd be just like him, Goalie nodded. oeBut even those guys aren't as zealous as Carson is.

oeMore like him Sweaty asked. oePerish the thought.

Then Captain Don Van Loan, the assistant Operations Officer, came in. oeGuys, guess what was on AFN just now

Heads turned towards him. oeWhat Kara asked.

oeElton John. 'Saturday Night's All Right for Fighting.' And they played that just before this push got going.

Heads nodded. oeAnd we got a lot busy after that, noted Rivers. oeAll right, finish up, people. The twelve-hour rule kicks in after that.

oeBe careful of what you wish for, Dave, Goalie said as she finished her beer.

oeWhat do you mean Golen asked.

oeIf you want to be an ace before your tour is up, Guru said. oeYou might just get it. Three more to go.

oeAt least you get to head home in a few months, Kara added. oeWe're in for the duration.

oeBut you're winning, Golen reminded them. oeRemember that.

Then the barkeep rang the bell. 1900 on the dot. oeTwelve-hour's in effect, people! Doc Waters called. And from what everyone knew from experience, he enforced that rule with a vengeance.

oeAnd people Rivers asked. oeCurfew at 2100. Be in the chow tent, bright and early. Tomorrow's going to be a big one, in all likelihood.

And as the crews went to whatever nonalcoholic drinks they chose, they knew one thing. When that particular song was played on AFN, something big was in the works. And it was.....

**Matt Wiser** · 06-04-2015, 07:43 PM

The next one...the first successful U.S. counteroffensive gets underway, and the 335th has its part to play:

Light the (Prairie) Fire

Williams AFB, AZ, 14 May, 1987; 1725 Hours Mountain War Time:

Captain Matt oeGuru Wiser of the 335th Tactical Fighter Squadron taxied his F-4E Phantom into its dispersal area. He and his flight had flown four missions that day, including one up to the Denver Siege Perimeter. Though there would be light enough for another forty-five minutes or so, this was the last flight of the day. After shutting down, he and his WSO, Captain Lisa Eichhorn, climbed down from the aircraft, bone tired and ready to get something to eat, and maybe have a beer in the Officer's Club, before going to their billet at the Mesa Sheraton, getting some sleep, and then going out the next morning and doing it all over again. His crew chief, Staff Sergeant Mike Crowley, was waiting for him. oeSergeant.

oeSir, Crowley said. oeWord from Colonel Rivers, all aircrew meeting in the main briefing room. Now, Sir.

The members of his flight looked at each other. His wingmate, Captain Kara oeStarbuck Thrace and her back-seater, Captain Judd Brewster, just rolled their eyes. Then the second element came over; First Lieutenant Valerie oeSweaty Blanchard and her back-seater Second Lieutenant Bryan Simmonds, along with First Lieutenant Nathan West and his back-seater Second Lieutenant Kathryn Thompson. oeWhat's going on Sweaty asked.

oeYour guess is as good as mine, Guru said. oeLet's go.

The four crews headed on over to the squadron building, which had housed a T-37 training squadron prewar, and they went right to the main briefing room, not even bothering to get out of their G-Suits and harnesses. When they got there, they discovered the room was packed, and the CO, Lt. Col. Dean Rivers had a scowl on his face. Guru nodded to Maj. David Golen, who was an Israeli AF observer visiting the squadron. oeEver seen anything like this

oeOnce. The Yom Kippur War, on the first day, and then the day we crossed the Canal, Golen said. He'd been a brand-new Second Lieutenant in 1973, and had nailed three MiGs during that war, and had a couple more in F-16s during the Bekaa Valley Turkey Shoot in 1982.

oeWell, now that everyone's here, Colonel Rivers said. oeEspecially the Exec, nodding in Guru's direction. oeGot some bad news for all of you: the twelve-hour rule is in effect, as of now. Curfew for you guys is at 2000. Wake-up is at 0300, and first wheels up tomorrow morning is at 0430.

oeWhat Starbuck said, and Guru echoed her. In fact, almost everyone was. The buzz in the room was palpable.

oeDon't bother eating breakfast at billeting, because you'll eat here in the morning. The maintenance and ordnance folks will be up all night, getting your birds tweaked, and then armed, Rivers continued. oeI can't tell you guys any more than that, and this comes from Tenth Air Force. Any questions

oeColonel, Guru's hand shot up. oeWhat's this all about Wasn't like this in the early days.

oeCan't tell you, XO, Rivers said. Captain Wiser was the Executive Officer of the 335th. oeAny other questions Rivers asked. He surveyed the room, then nodded. oeAll right. Get on over to the Sheraton, have a good dinner, get a good night's sleep, and see you in the morning. 0330.

oeGuru, what's going on Captain Eichhorn, call sign Goalie, asked. oeSomething's up.

oeYeah, Guru said. oeGo on ahead and get the debrief going. I'm going to see what this is all about.
He then went down to see Colonel Rivers. oeSir. Can we talk

oeMy office, Rivers said. And the two officers went to the CO's office. oeClose the door, XO.

After Guru did so, he asked oePermission to speak freely, Sir

oeAlways, Guru, Rivers said. oeSay whatever's on your mind.

oeSir, I'm your Exec. If something's going on, I need to know about it. Especially if something happens to you, Guru told his CO.

oeI know, Guru, I know, replied the CO. oeI don't like it any more than you do, but this came from the top. Tenth Air Force. And General Tanner didn't like this either.

And when General Tanner didn't like something, Guru knew, it had to be important. oeSir, does this have anything to do with Wichita Or that conference you went to last week

oeMaybe. That's all I can tell you. If anything happens to me, I'm putting together a packet with everything you need. Ross will give it to you, the CO said. Master Sergeant Michael Ross was the squadron's senior NCO. And no one was more highly respected in the squadron than he was. The man was old enough to be the father of nearly everybody in the unit, and the enlisted airmen looked up to him as a father figure.

Guru nodded. oeYes, Sir.

oeAnything else Rivers asked.

oeNo, Sir.

oeAll right; get debriefed, get something to eat, and have a good night's sleep. It'll be a busy day tomorrow.

oeYes, Sir, Guru said.

oeDismissed, Rivers nodded, and Guru saluted and headed out of the office. He then headed over to the locker room, got out of his harness and G-Suit, then went to the old classroom that his flight used for briefings and debriefings.

oeWell Goalie asked as he entered.

oeNo joy, Guru told his flight. oeWhatever's going on, we won't know until after the first sortie.

oeWhat Kara and Sweaty asked at once.

oeThey're holding this close to the chest. This might have something to do with Wichita, but Rivers wouldn't tell me any more than that.

Sweaty looked at her flight lead. oeGuru, you're the XO. Shouldn't you know what's going on

oeThat's what I told him, Guru replied. oeHe told me this comes from the top, and that's higher than General Tanner. Whatever this is, security's super-tight.

Heads nodded at that. Something was up. And whatever it was, it was important. oeSo when do we know Kara asked.

oeWhen we come back from the first sortie. Guru said. oeLet's get the debrief done, something to eat, then get back to the Sheraton. Won't be long until 0300.

Sheraton Mesa Resort: 0300 Mountain War Time, 15 May 1987:

The phone rang in between the two beds. Each bed's occupant reached for the phone, but only one grabbed the handle. oeYeah

oeThis is your 3:00 AM wake-up call, the voice on the other end said.

oeThank you, Guru said as he hung up. He quickly got out of bed, and quickly got dressed. Captain Don Van Loan, his roommate, got up as well. oeWon't be long until we know what this is all about.

'Yeah, Van Loan, the assistant Ops Officer, said.

Both quickly shaved and brushed their teeth, then headed on out, and the hall was filled with 335th and Marine aircrews who were all headed to the base. When they left the lobby of the hotel, the buses were there, waiting. The crews got onto the buses, then were bused to the base. When they got off, they noticed there was a large amount of activity, as promised, to get the first birds off by 0430. And everyone noticed the various squadron commanders there, waiting for their people. Guru noticed Colonel Rivers. oeBoss.

oeGuru, the CO said. oeYou guys all have fifteen minutes to eat. Then get dressed to fly, hit your briefs, then man your aircraft. First wheels up at 0430.

oeYou heard him, Guru told the 335th crews. Then they all filed into a Marine operated mess tent. He turned to Goalie. oeWhen's the last time you ate in a chow line

oeBeen a while. The Academy, I think, Goalie said.

Nodding, Guru picked up a tray and silverware. He looked at the young Marine cooks. oeAll right, what have you guys got here

oeHere you go, Sir, a Marine PFC replied, taking lids off of food trays.

oeLovely, Guru said. oeSteak and scrambled eggs. He took a steak, some scrambled eggs, fried potatoes, toast, and coffee.

oeThe condemned got fed a hearty meal, Goalie quipped as she got her meal, then sat down with her pilot.

oeClear the way! Dead people walking coming through, Kara said, and the 335th people had a good laugh at that. But they couldn't linger, for they had to be in their briefing rooms shortly. The aircrew ate quickly, then all of them, Air Force and Marine, headed to their respective squadrons to be briefed.

When the 335th's officers arrived, they were told to get ready to fly, and report to their flight briefing rooms. And when Guru and the members of his flight arrived, they found two Marine officers, both aviators, waiting. oeYou guys flying with us Guru asked.

oeThat's right, the senior one, Capt. Jerry Singleton, said, introducing his wingmate, First Lt. Cory Abbott. oeWe're your SAM and flak suppressors.

After introductions, Guru opened the briefing packet. oeGreat.

oeWhat Kara asked.

oeMoriarty, along I-40. Target is just south of the town. A mix of command vehicles and dugouts.

oeWhat about 'em Sweaty asked.

Guru looked at everyone. oeHQ, Soviet 13th Army.

The room was silent for a minute. oeWhat the hell Kara asked. oeSomeone's gone nuts.

oeTell me about it, Guru said. oeSA-2 and SA-3 nearby, plus at least one 57-mm battery, and watch for ZU-23s as well. They have a guard battalion around the HQ, so MANPADS will be there as well.

oeSo how do we do this Goalie asked. oeWe don't have any Pave Tack pods, so what are we carrying

oeLead element has a dozen Mark-82s, each airplane, Guru replied. oeSecond element has Mark-20 Rockeyes to rip them up afterwards. We go in, low and fast, make a turn and do our run from West to East. Pop-up at thirty seconds to target, drop our ordnance, and get gone. One pass and haul ass.

oeSounds good to me, Sweaty said. oeUsual air-to-air load

oeYep, Guru replied. oeFour AIM-9s-and we get Ps now, by the way, and two AIM-7Es. Usual ALQ-101 in a forwards Sparrow well and a full load of 20-mm. He looked around. oeOkay, SAM-supporession, he said, turning to the two Marines. oeI want the SA-3 site hit with HARM, and the 57 site hit as well. Then CBU what's left.

oeGot it, Captain Singleton replied.

oeBailout areas are anyplace where there isn't a road. Stay with a cripple as long as you can. If you can hit the river, best of all Guru said, and everyone nodded. Then there was a knock on the door. oeCome on in and show yourself!

In came First Lieutenant Darren Licon, the Squadron Intelligence Officer. oeGuru, got something from the Boss.

oeWhat is it

oeStay away from the Alberquerque area is what he's telling everyone. Licon said. oeAnd before you ask, he told me to tell you that you'll see why when sunrise comes.

The aircrews looked at each other. oeLovely, Nathan West said.

oeThanks, Darren, Guru said. He turned to the aircrews. oeAnything else Heads shook no. oeLet's hit it.

**Matt Wiser** · 06-06-2015, 01:32 AM

The day begins....and the Russians and their lackeys find out that the war has taken a turn.

Over occupied New Mexico, 0525 Hours Mountain War Time, 15 May 1987:

The six-ship flight was headed due east, and as they did so, the crews could see the first rays of dawn beginning to break. They were going in a little higher than usual, since the F-4s normally didn't fly night strikes, and when they had left Williams it was still pitch dark. In the lead F-4, Guru was concentrating on flying the aircraft while Goalie handled the navigation. oeApproaching Highway 285, Guru. Turn point in one minute.

oeCopy, Guru said. oeCrystal Palace, Corvette Two-One, he said. oeAny threats

oeCorvette Two-One, Crystal Palace, the AWACS controller called back. oeNegative.

oeRoger, Guru said.

oeTurn point.... Now! Goalie called.

Guru turned the F-4 due north. Their next turn point would be I-40. Ivan was using the Interstate as a Main Supply Route, and they'd flown strikes against supply dumps and truck parks along the freeway more than once. But they had been directed not to hit any bridges on the freeway. None at all. oeHow long to turn

oeOne minute, Goalie replied.

oeCopy.

oeAnd turn.

Guru put the aircraft into a left turn, and in the predawn twilight, picked up the twin ribbons of interstate highway. So far, it looked like I-40 was quiet. Not for long, he thought. You guys are getting a big wake-up call this morning....Pop up

oeOne minute.

oeCorvette Flight, Lead. Switches on, radars on. Time to go to work.

oeWe're hot, Goalie called. oeStand by... and now! Pop up!

Guru pulled up to 1500 feet AGL and he saw the town. And just to the south, there it was. All the revetments built to shelter vehicles made the target stick out like a sore thumb. He then called the two Marines. oeRattlers, go to work.

oeRoger that! Captain Singleton called.

Both Hornets climbed further, and picked out the SA-3 site. Singleton put his HARM missile on it, and the SA-3, which had just gone from search to fire-control mode, suddenly went off the air as the HARM exploded the radar. Then the Marine element lead rolled in, and put his two Rockeye CBUs onto the SAM site, putting it out of action.

Just as the Hornet lead went in, Lieutenant Abbott rolled in on the 57-mm site. Their radar was not up, so he simply dropped his CBUs on the flak battery, ripping it apart. Then it was time for the F-4s to go in.

oeLead's in hot! Guru called. He picked up the center of the HQ area, where a number of command vehicles were all clustered together, and all of them had antennae very prominently displayed. He lined one of them in his pipper, then hit the pickle button. oeHACK! And a dozen Mark-82 five-hundred pound bombs came off his aircraft. oeLead off safe.

His bombs landed in the middle of the target area, and several command vehicles exploded, or were tipped over by near-misses. A number of Soviet soldiers whose vehicles had not been hit tried to start their engines, but it was too late...

oeTwo in hot! Kara called. She laid down her bombs just to the south of where Guru had put his, One of her bombs happened to hit the HQ's portable generator, while another bomb landed on top of a bunker where several of the Army's staff officers were sleeping. The bunkers were built to protect against insurgent rocket or mortar attacks. Not a five-hundred pound bomb landing right on top of it....Two's off safe.

oeThree in hot! Sweaty yelled. She and West had a dozen CBUs, and she decided to put hers right where Guru had laid his bombs. A dozen Rockeyes came off her bird, and each CBU had 247 bomblets, ideal for ripping up armored vehicles or anything else they touched. A number of vehicles that had survived Guru's bombs were hit by the bomblets, and they fireballed. oeThree's off safe.

oeFour in hot! West said. He laid down his CBUs on where Kara had laid her bombs, and as he dropped, he noticed some flak, probably 23-mm, coming up. It was too little, too late. And like his element lead, several vehicles were hit by his CBUs, and they fireballed as well, and also caught a number of personnel out in the open, killing and wounding many. He easily outran the flak, and called, oeFour off safe.

oeCopy that. Form on me, music on, and let's get the hell out of here, Guru called. That call told everyone to turn on their jamming pods, and the four F-4s did so. The two Hornets formed up on the Phantoms, and everyone headed to the southwest. The strike birds picked up their safe-passage lane, so that the Army pukes who handled the HAWK and Patriot SAM batteries wouldn't shoot them out of the sky.

As they headed out, they all noticed something as they approached the Rio Grande. Flashes all along and behind the river. Artillery fire. And to the north, at Alberquerque's southern outskirts, it looked like something from Apocalypse Now, as the sky was full of Huey and Chinook helicopters. oeWhat the Kara called over the radio.

oeWouldn't want to be there right now, Sweaty replied. oeThat sky's full of choppers. And above the choppers, it's full of shells.

oeRoger that! Guru said. oeCrossing the fence. That meant the Rio Grande. And as they did, the crews saw Army vehicles crossing the river. oeGo Army...

oeThis is big, Guru! Goalie said over the intercom. oeThink this is it

He nodded. oeMaybe. Then it was time to call the AWACS. oeCrystal Palace, Corvette Flight across the fence.

oeCopy, the controller replied. oeDo you need a vector to the tankers

oeRoger that, Guru replied.

The AWACS controller vectored them to the tanker track over the Continental Divide, and to the fighter crews, it was crowded airspace. Lots of tankers orbiting, whether KC-135s, KC-10s, or Marine KC-130s. And it seemed that there were fighters or attack birds all over, either pulling away from the tankers and headed in, or, like they were, coming out. And as usual, battle-damaged aircraft went to the head of the line, but this morning, there were only a couple. The Hornets drank from a KC-130, while the F-4s went to a KC-10 to refuel. Then they headed back to Williams. They came into the pattern and then landed, and as they taxied to their respective dispersal areas, the crews noticed a second wave was getting ready to go. It was 0615.

Guru taxied to his revetment and shut down. After he popped his canopy, he asked Goalie. oeNow we'll find out what's going on.

oeYeah, Goalie said as the ground crew put the crew ladders in place.

Guru and Goalie climbed down from 512, then did a quick postflight inspection. Then he turned to Sergeant Crowley. oePull the strike camera film and send it off. As he said that, he noticed the ordnance crews bringing CBUs to 512, and the other three birds in the flight. oeWhat the

oeGuru, Goalie tapped him on the shoulder. oeColonel Rivers and Licon coming.

The CO and the SIO came over. oeHow'd it go Rivers asked. oeThis debrief will be out here. Because as soon as you're all turned around, you're going back out.

oeWhat Kara asked. oeSir, if you don't mind my saying this, but what's going on

oeNow that the first wave is back, I can finally tell you guys. This is it. Operation PRAIRIE FIRE. Ivan impaled himself at Wichita, thanks to Schwartzkopf, and now, we're going to push them back. You guys probably saw the Army crossing the Rio Grande. When he saw them nod, Rivers continued. oeAnd they're not stopping until the Texas line at least.

oeAbout time, Guru said. oeSo, the mission

oeHow'd it go Licon asked.

oeNo SAMs. Guru said.

oeFlak

oeOnly as I was coming in, Nathan said. oeThe Marines did their job. No heavy flak, and no SAMs.

oeBDA Licon wanted to know.

oeWe hit the target area, and there were a few secondaries, Kara said. oeI saw some from Guru's bombs.

oeAnd some from yours, Sweaty added. oeYou'll probably need the strike footage.

oeI'll have it developed ASAP, Rivers said. oeThat strike was a high-priority one.

oeYes, Sir, Guru agreed. oeNow what

oeGet yourselves something to drink, hit the latrine, because in twenty minutes, you're going back out.

oeSir Guru asked. Nothing like this had happened much since the early days.

oeYou're on-call CAS. Check in with III Corps' ALO, and they'll direct you to a FAC. We'll be doing this all morning, and likely all day as well, Rivers said. oeGood luck. He then headed off with Licon to debrief another arriving flight.

oeLike the early days Kara asked. oeI've heard horror stories about those.

oeYeah, Guru said. oeFive missions a day for the first four days. Total confusion, just find armor headed north and strike. He shook his head at the memory. And he'd seen photos of I-19 north of Nogales, where the 335th, along with the A-10s from Davis-Monthan, had turned the interstate into a junkyard of Mexican and Cuban armor, shattered soft-skinned vehicles, and dead and maimed men.

oeBetter do what the Boss said, Sweaty nodded.

Heads nodded in agreement, and they all went to do their business and get something to drink. When they came back, the crews noticed the ordnance guys hard at work. And there were numerous AF and Marine aircraft coming in and taking off. Then, fifteen minutes later, Sergeant Crowley came over to Guru. oeSir, you're ready to rock.

oeHere we go, Kara said, getting off a parked Hummer.

Guru nodded. One thing he had noticed: no one had gotten out of their G-Suits. oeOkay, this'll be short. Go by call sign, not mission code on the radio, unless you're with a FAC or an AWACS. He saw his flight nod. oeAnything else

oeHow about applying for frequent-flier miles Sweaty joked. And the others laughed.

oeI'll take it up with the CO, Guru laughed. oeAnything else Heads shook no. He grabbed his flight helmet. oeTime to go. Let's hit it.

Five minutes later, the flight was taxiing to the runway, and then they launched. And this was the second mission of the day, and it was only 0705.......

Over Western New Mexico, 0815 Hours:

The flight of four F-4s was orbiting about twenty miles west of Los Lunas, on the Rio Grande. They had checked in with the Air Force Air Liaison Officer with III Corps, and had been told to wait. Guru had told the man, oeWe ain't got the gas to stay up here all day, fella. But they had been told to wait. Then a call came for them.

oeCorvette Two-One, Bulldog Zero-One. Contact Nail 36 for tasking, the ALO called.

oeCopy that, Guru replied. oeNail Three-Six, Corvette Two-One, how copy

oeCorvette Two-One, Nail Three-Six. Come on in. Tasking near Edgewood on I-40.

oeRoger that, Guru called. oeFlight, Lead. Let's go to work. And the four Phantoms headed northeast. To everyone's surprise, their RWRs were not showing any enemy SAM or fighter radars. Something was going right, though down below, the crews could see the ground forces-in this area it was the 5th Marine Division, pushing east. As the flight cleared the Sandias, Guru noticed an A-7 orbiting. Only this one was a two-seat A-7K, now being used as a FAC platform. oeNail Three-Six, Corvette Two-One. Coming in from southwest.

oeRoger, Corvette and I see you, the FAC called. With those smoky J-79 engines, one could see an F-4 approaching before one actually had eyeballs on the airplane.

oeRoger, Guru replied. oeWhat's the target

oeArmor headed south on Route 344, north of the Interstate. Tanks and Bravo-Tango-Romeos. Time to make these go away, son. the FAC replied.

oeBy the sound of his voice, Goalie said from the rear cockpit. oeHe's a Vietnam vet.

oeNot to mention calling me 'son', Guru quipped. oeCopy, Nail. Want to make the run northeast to southwest.

oeYour call, Corvette.

Guru nodded. oeFlight, Lead. Follow me in. Northeast to Southwest. One pass only. If you have hung ordnance, don't go around for another try.

oeCopy, Lead, Starbuck called.

oeRoger. Sweaty.

oeCopy that, oeHoser West.

Guru led the F-4s on their maneuver, and he watched as Nail made a run and fired a couple of rockets. The WP that resulted from the rocket impact clearly showed the target.

oeAnything north of the Willie Pete is yours, Corvette. Nail replied.

oeCopy. Say threat.

oeCorvette, negative radar SAMs, but Sierra Alpha-Nines, and Shilkas. And to prove his point, the A-7 dodged a hail of 23-mm fire coming from below.

oeCopy, Guru replied. oeSet it up. Everything in one pass.

oeGot it, Goalie said. oeYou're hot.

oeFlight, follow me in. Lead's in hot. And with that, Guru rolled in on the armor, still in road march.

Down below, the Soviet battalion commander was shouting at his company commanders on the radio in his command BTR. First, there had been this no-notice order to form up and join the rest of the regiment, which was somewhere south of what the locals called 'I-40'. Second, as the battalion moved south, there had been some sniping, and some RPGs shot at their vehicles, knocking out a couple of BTR-70s and blowing the tread off a T-72. And now, this solo aircraft, which had been lurking, out of SAM range, and even daring his antiaircraft vehicles to shoot at it. Then his political officer tapped him on the shoulder. oeWhat is it, Comrade...

oeAIRCRAFT! The Zampolit shouted, pointing to the northeast.

oeMother of... the Soviet Major muttered, as the lead F-4 came in and cluster bombs came off the racks.

oeGotcha! Guru yelled as he laid his Rockeyes just north of the WP smoke. oeLead off target.

oeTwo's in hot! Kara called, seeing Guru's CBUs find targets and explode several. She picked out the trailing vehicles and selected them. Again, Rockeyes came off an F-4, and she pulled out. oeTwo off target.

oeThree's in hot! Sweaty called as Kara pulled off. She decided on the middle of the column, and saw several vehicles explode as Kara's CBUs went off, and there were burning vehicles where Guru had dropped his. Steady, steady, she told herself. oeHACK! A dozen Mark-20 Rockeyes came off her aircraft.

oeDisperse! Get off the road! The battalion commander was shouting. The road ahead was blocked with burning vehicles after the first two aircraft had made their runs, Then he heard another aircraft coming in, and he was cursing his driver. oeMove it, you gutless... Then his BTR took hits, exploding around him.

oeThree's off target, Sweaty called.

oeFour's in hot, Hoser said. He simply made his run in between where Guru and Sweaty had dropped theirs, Again, CBUs came off an F-4, and he pulled up after release. oeFour's off target.

oeNail, Corvette, Guru called. oeHow'd we do

oeCorvette, Nail Three-Six. I give you one-hundred percent bombs on target. Grade Point Average Four decimal Zero. Have a nice day.

oeRoger that and thank you, Guru replied. oeFlight, let's get out of here.

oeCopy, Lead, Kara calmly replied. Then she shouted. oeLEAD! BREAK RIGHT!

Guru broke hard right, then he saw a MiG-23 overshoot him. Then he heard Kara shouting.

oeFOX TWO! And an AIM-9P came off her Phantom, streaking like a spear into the MiG's tailpipe. The missile exploded, then the MiG became a fireball. There was no chute. oeSplash!

oeGood kill, Two!' Sweaty shouted.

Guru frowned underneath his oxygen mask. Where had that MiG come from If Kara hadn't been on the ball...Nice shootin', Starbuck, He called. Then he called the AWACS. oeCrystal Palace, Corvette Two-One.

oeCorvette Two-One, Crystal Palace, go. the controller responded.

oeCrystal Palace, we just had a Flogger jump us. Where the hell did he come from

oeCorvette, We had him about ten seconds before someone called 'Splash.'

oeThanks a lot, buddy. He almost splashed one of us. Guru replied, not bothering to tell the AWACS knothead he'd been the one who'd almost become someone's scalp.

oeRoger, Corvette. Do you need a vector to the tanker track

oeCopy.

The controller vectored the flight to the tankers, and just like the previous mission, the tanker circuit was busy. After refueling, they headed back to Williams. When they landed, the flight taxied back to their dispersal area, and just like the morning, someone was waiting for them. Only this time, it was just Licon. After Guru popped his canopy, he and Goalie shook hands, glad to be alive. If Kara hadn't been on the ball...

oeHow'd it go, Sir Licon asked as Guru and Goalie got out of the aircraft.

oeAir to ground was fine, Guru said. oeTurned a battalion into a company on Highway 344.

oeFAC directed Licon asked as the other crews arrived.

oeYeah. Nail Three-Six was his call sign. Guru said. oeHe gave us a four-point-zero.

Nodding, Licon said, oeGood, Sir. Anything else

oeYeah, Kara got a MiG-23 that nearly got me. Where did he come from

oeHe was hugging the mountains, saw you, and rolled in behind you, Kara said. oeHe was too close, though, to try an Aphid shot,. Looked like he was trying to line you up for guns.

oeGood shooting, though, Goalie said. oeOtherwise, it was skydiving time.

oeThat's two for Kara, now Guru asked.

oeIt is, Sir, Licon said. oeHow many eyeballs on the kill

oeThree pairs, not couting Kara and Brainaic, Guru said.

Licon looked at Sweaty and Hoser, and all four crew members nodded. oeAnd you, Sir

oeI broke right, rolled out, and saw the missile fly up the MiG's tailpipe.

oeThank you, Sir, Licon said. oeI'll write that up as a confirmed kill, and note the location. Maybe we can find a wreck later on.

oeThanks, Darren, Guru said. oeWhere's the CO

oeHe went out about a half-hour ago with a four-ship. Carson's with him.

oeGood. That asshole's not around, and where the boss can keep an eye on him, Kara said.

oeSeconded, Sweaty chimed in.

Then the crews saw the ordnance people bringing five-hundred and seven hundred and fifty-pound bombs to their aircraft, along with Capt. Mark Ellis, the Ops Officer. oeThis one comes for the Marines. Mountainair Municipal Airport, just north of U.S. 60. The Cubans have helos based there, either Hips or Hinds.

oeLet me guess; they want them gone, Goalie said.

oeRight on that, Ellis replied. oeSo we got the mission, because Marine air is busy with CAS for the jarheads.

oeSince we don't have a choice, we'll take it, Guru said. oeHow long

oeAs soon as you're turned around, Ellis said. oeSandwiches and drinks in the Hummer, hit the latrine, and get ready to go ASAP, Ellis said. oeHave a good run. He then headed off to see the next returning flight.

Nodding, the crews went to the Hummer while the ground crew and the ordnance guys went to work. oeWhat's the sandwiches Sweaty asked.

Hoser checked the box. oeChicken, Ham, Turkey, Club, and something brown that just sits there.

Goalie checked the ice chest. oeSodas, bottled water, tea, and Gatorade.

oeCoffee in a gallon thermos, Guru said. He helped himself to a cup. He was still full from breakfast, and didn't want to chance himself on what some called oeRoadkill sandwiches from the Marines' mess tent.

oeI'd like to know, Kara said, in between bites of a chicken sandwich, oeWho wasn't on the ball with that MiG

oeThat's the sixty-four thousand-dollar question, Goalie nodded. oeHe must've come up from down south.

Sweaty nodded as well. oeWant to bet his GCI got taken out, and he was just looking for a target

oeSince he didn't bail out, Brainac said, oewe'll never know.

Sergeant Crowley then came over. oeCaptain, he said to Guru. oeYour birds are ready to go.

oeThanks, Sergeant, Guru said. He went over to a portable latrine-of which a number had been placed on the ramp area, and did his business there. Then he gathered his flight around the Hummer, and checked the materials Ellis had left for them. oeAll right....we'll come in south of Manzano Peak, pick up Route 55, and come in on the target. One run only, people! North to South. Go past the town, pick up the Chupaedra Mesa again, then turn west for the Rio Grande and I-25.

oeThreat Kara asked.

oeSays here the only defenses are guns. ZU-23s and the quad ZPUs, Guru said. oeBut everybody there likely has access to SA-7s, so watch it. No flak or SAM suppressors on this one: we're it. Guru told his flight. oeAny other questions

oeNo questions, a voice said. oeJust wishing you good luck.

Guru turned and there was Dave Golen, their IDF observer. oeDave, this all bringing back memories

oeYes, Golen said. oeFirst day of the Yom Kippur War. But with one difference.

oeWhat's that Sweaty asked as she grabbed her helmet.

oeYou're winning. Golen said. He put out his hand, and everyone shook it. oeI wish I could join you.

oeTalk to Rivers when he gets back, Guru said. oeWe had an IDF exchange officer go home a couple months ago: he had fifty-seven missions and a couple of MiGs on his belt when he left.

oeI will, Golen said. oeGood luck.

oeThanks, Dave, Guru said. oeAny other questions He asked his flight. Heads shook no. oeAll right, time to hit it.

The crews went to their birds, and after a quick walkaround, they strapped themselves into their mounts. Their flight instructors would have been apoplectic at how rushed the preflight routine was, but on a day like today, no choice. They started engines, let them warm up, then they taxied to the runway, and after the tower showed them the green light, the four F-4s rolled down the runway and into the air.

**Matt Wiser** · 06-07-2015, 01:30 AM

And the day goes on...

Over New Mexico: 0950 Hours:

Corvette Flight headed into enemy territory, and as they crossed the Sandias south of Manzano Peak, their RWR receivers were clear. Either the EW effort was working, or so many radars had been knocked out, and gaps torn in the ComBloc air defense net. oeHow long to Route 55 Guru called.

oeOne minute, Goalie replied. oeStand by to turn.

oeRoger that. Guru then called the AWACS. oeCrystal Palace, Corvette Two-One. Say threat

oeCorvette Two-One, Negative threat.

oeCopy.

oeStand by....and turn! Goalie called.

Guru put the F-4 into a turn, and the rest of the flight followed. oeOne minute thirty to pop-up

oeRoger that, Goalie said.

oeFlight, Lead. Pick up your visual scanning. Don't want to be caught like last time,

oeCopy, Lead, Sweaty called.

oeStand by... Goalie said. oeNow!

Guru put the F-4 into a climb, and as he did, he could see the Mountainair Municipal Airport off to his right. oeTarget in sight. Lead is in hot. He banked right, and began to roll in on the target.

oeSwitches set, Goalie said. oeWe're hot.

Down below, the Cuban Air Force's 261st Helicopter Squadron was trying to get their Mi-25 Hinds and Mi-8 Hips airborne. Several of each had already been shot down, and despite the skies being full of American aircraft, the ground forces needed their support. So far, the field hadn't been bombed yet, but the base commander knew his time would come. Apart from the armorers and maintenance personnel, the base commander had every available man digging slit trenches and foxholes, or improving already existing facilities, because sooner or later, the Americans would strike his field. He was distracted by a rumble off to the west. This time of day, he knew it wasn't desert thunder-he'd been exposed to enough of that the last year and a half. No, it was artillery fire. And it was coming closer.

oeSteady, steady... Guru called. He could see several helos and a couple An-2 transports on what passed for a parking area on this dirt field. Nice try, Fidel....and....HACK! He hit the pickle button, and six five-hundred pound and six seven-hundred and fifty pound bombs came off the aircraft. oeLead off target.

There had been no warning. The first indication the Cubans had that their field was under attack was Guru's Phantom flying past, and then that Phantom laid a dozen bombs across the runway and the improvised parking area. Two Hips, a Hind, and one of the An-2s fireballed as bombs exploded on and around them.

oeMadre Dios..., the base commander said as one of his officers pulled him into a trench.

oeTwo's in hot! Kara called. She rolled in on the western side of the field, and saw an An-2 trying to take off. She didn't have time to arm her 20-mm gun, but instead focused on the bomb run. oeHACK! She called, and walked her bombs across the runway, blasting holes in it, and also landing a bomb on a ZPU gun emplacement, whose gunners died not even knowing they were under attack. oeTwo off target.

oeThree's in hot, Sweaty called. She selected the center of the runway, and saw two Hips siting next to it, still intact. She came in and smoothly walked her bombs across the center of the dirt runway, and exploded both Hips, as a five-hundred pound bomb landed between the two helos. oeThree's off safe, she called as Two-Three pulled away from the target, and right over the town of Mountainair.

oeFour in hot, Hoser called. He saw that the field had been smacked by the first three, but saw one area that hadn't been affected: a parking area south of the field for fuel trucks. Since there was no fuel storage here, even before the war, all fuel for the helicopters-and the occasional visiting An-2 or An-26, had to be delivered by fuel trucks. So Hoser made a turn before rolling in, coming in from due east, and walking his bombs along the south side of the runway. Several fuel trucks exploded, and a couple bombs landed in a tent area south of the runway. As he pulled out, he saw an An-2, to his surprise, take off and pull away to the east. You are one lucky SOB, he thought as he called. oeFour off target.

oeRoger that, Guru said. oeForm on me, music on, and let's get the hell out of here.

All four F-4s joined up and they headed right for the Rio Grande. As they headed west, all of the crews noticed Marine F-4s and A-4s overhead in abundance, providing CAS to the Marines on the ground. They even heard a Marine FAC simply stack aircraft up from 5,000 up to 25,000 feet, and telling newly arriving aircraft, oeGet in line at 25,000 and wait your turn.

oeGuru, Sweaty. Glad that ain't us Sweaty called her flight leader.

oeRoger that! Guru replied. oeCrossing the fence.

oeCorvette Two-One, Crystal Palace. We show you across the fence. Do you need a vector to the tankers

oeNegative, Crystal Palace, Guru replied. oeNot this time.

oeRoger, Corvette. Maintain Two-Seven-Zero until state line.

oeCopy, Guru replied.

Once they reached the Arizona-New Mexico state line, they were then able to head to Williams. After coming into the pattern, they had to wait as several flights of both AF and Marine aircraft took off, then the flight was able to land. After taxiing to their dispersal area, the crews got out, relieved that this one had gone off almost like a training mission. oeGood one, Guru, Goalie said.

oeIf they were all like that... Guru said. oeTake 'em while we can.

oeHey, did anyone see an An-2 on the runway Kara asked as they walked back to the Hummer.

oeYeah, Hoser said. oeHe took off just as I was pulling away. He's lucky.

Sweaty nodded. oeThose things can land anywhere. He probably found a strip someplace to the east.

Guru nodded as Sergeant Crowely came up. oeSergeant.

oeSir. Anything we need to know He was asking about maintenance issues.

oeNo, not yet. Pull the strike camera footage, and.. Guru stopped. He saw the ordnance crews coming with a mixed CBU and dumb bomb load. oeWell....I know what we're carrying.

oeYes, sir. Be ready in thirty minutes, Crowley said.

oeOkay, Sergeant, Guru said. Then he noticed Colonel Rivers and the SIO waiting. oeSir.

oeHow'd things go, XO Rivers asked.

oeThis one was as close to a milk run as we'll probably get. No Triple-A, no SAMs, no nothing.

oeBDAThe SIO, Licon, asked.

oeI'm claiming a couple of helos on the ground, Guru said. oePut a few holes in the runway and the parking area. Calling that an airport is an overstatement, though.

oeSame here, Sweaty added. oeYou'll have to check our strike camera footage, though.

oeRoger that, said Kara. oePut mine on the runway, and maybe a bomb or two on a flak site.

oeHoser Licon asked.

oeFuel dump, West replied. oeMade that go away.

oeThanks, all of you, Licon said. oeBDA should be available later today. Recon's been active all morning, and don't be surprised if you see a high flier.

oeU-2s Goalie asked.

oeMaybe, Licon said. oeThanks again, and then the SIO went off to receive another incoming flight.

oeLet me guess, said Sweaty. oeSR-71s

oeMaybe, Rivers said. oeDon't be surprised if they did show.

Guru nodded. He noticed the maintenance folks and the ordnance people working. Many of the men were either wearing sleeveless T-Shirts or were going bare-chested, while the women in those crews were in the same sleeveless T-Shirts or were in sports bras. oeIf Carson saw those, he'd go ballistic.

oeNo kidding, Rivers said. oeSo far, nothing yet.

oeGive him time, Kara nodded.

Guru nodded, then he saw the object of their discussion coming towards the group. oeUh-oh... Speak of the devil.

Major Frank Carson came over. He was easily the most despised officer in the squadron, and that opinion was shared by everyone else in the unit, both officers and enlisted. An Academy grad, he was notorious for blindly enforcing every rule and regulation, even when those made no sense. Throw in his distaste for officers who were not Academy grads, or Academy grads who were oeone of the boys after hours, female aircrew, and just about how the 335th was run, and it added up to trouble. oeColonel, he said, giving a perfect Academy salute. oeAre you going to do anything about the airmen who are out of uniform on the ramp

oeNo, Rivers said. oeOther than telling the NCOs to have plenty of sunscreen handy. It's a hot day, in case you haven't noticed.

oeSir! Carson wailed.

oeIn case you haven't noticed, Major, Rivers said. oeWe're at war. And right now, I don't give a damn how the ramp crews are dressed. If it keeps them comfortable while they're doing their jobs I could care less.

oeSir....You don't understand!

oeNo, Major, you don't. Unlike you, I know what parts of the book to keep and what to throw away. Now get ready to go out again in fifteen. You're my number three again.

oeYes, Sir...., grumbled the Major.

oeAnd Major If you write anyone up for a uniform violation who's working on the ramp, I'll put it right where it belongs, Rivers nodded.

oeVery good, Sir!

oeIn the office shredder, Rivers said, seeing Carson's face deflate. oeNow get ready to go out.

oeYes, Sir., Carson saluted and headed to his own aircraft in a fit of the sulks.

oeNow that's out of the way, Rivers said. oeHere's where you guys are headed. He pulled out a TPC chart of Central New Mexico. oeRight here... Rivers pointed to a town called White Lakes, north of I-40 on U.S. 285.

oeWhat's the target, Sir Guru asked.

oeSupply dump and truck park. Right now their whole front in this part of New Mexico is coming apart, and III Corps is going forward a lot faster than they thought, Rivers said. oeKeep up the pressure, and don't give 'em time to regroup.

oeAnd if we don't find the dump It could be empty by the time we get there.

oeLook for any military traffic on either 285 or State Highway 41. Stay away from I-40. The Army wants it intact, Rivers said.

oeUnderstood, Guru said. oeSir, what's the threat

oeThreat is mainly MANPADS and light flak-mainly ZU-23s. The SA-3 site at Clines Corners is down-the Weasels got there this morning, The CO said.

oeGood to hear, Boss, Guru said. oeOh, Dave Golen's probably looking for you. I think he wants some stick time.

oeGeneral Tanner sent something in case he wanted some, Rivers said. oeID, dog tags, insignia, all of it. If he gets shot down, as far as everyone's concerned, he's one of us.

'Yes, Sir. Guru said.

oeOkay, get something to eat, hit the latrine, because you're headed out as soon as you're turned around, Rivers said.And one other thing: good luck.

oeThanks, Boss, Guru said.

Colonel Rivers nodded as he headed off to get ready for his next flight.

Kara nodded as she got a Gatorade from the cooler. oeWhy hasn't he kicked Carson out

oeLike it or not, he's qualified, Guru said. oeWe still need warm bodies, even if he did barely qualify.

oeIn the air, he could get somebody killed-or himself, Sweaty pointed out. oeWho qualified him

oeNot sure, Guru admitted. oeI'll check his file. As squadron Exec, he could do that. He went to the cooler and got a bottle of water. oeWhat's the temperature

oeAir or ramp Goalie asked. She had gotten out of the top half of her flight suit, as had Kara, Sweaty, and oeKT Thornton, and everyone else, for that matter. All had their T-Shirts and sports bras on, of course, but the sweat made sure that didn't help hide things. Much.

oeEither one, he said as he downed some water.

oeHow does 92 degrees sound Or here on the ramp, it's probably 105.

oeUgh, Kara said as she picked at another sandwich. oeStay away from the brown stuff.

oeWhy Sweaty's WSO, Preacher Simmonds, asked.

oeOne of those just moved.

oeDon't be surprised if somebody got a BLT from those jarheads and the tomato looked back at you. Goalie said as she chomped down on a turkey sandwich, and the crews laughed.

Guru had just finished his water and a turkey sandwich when Sergeant Crowley came over. oeSir, all four birds are ready to go.

oeThanks, Sergeant, Guru said. He turned to his flight. oeTake care of any business at the latrine, then we'll brief and launch.

After everyone had come back from the latrine, and back into their flight suits and G-Suits, Guru gave his brief. oeI'll keep this short. We're looking for a supply dump and truck park, north of I-40 on 285. The local SA-3 site is down, so we're good on that score. If the dump and park are empty, we look for military traffic on either 285 or Highway 41. Stay away from I-40, like the Boss said.

oeThey want a Cannonball Run to the Texas State Line, and the freeway's the best way to do it, Kara nodded.

oeRight on that, Guru said. oeAny other questions There were none. oeAll right; let's go. He picked up his helmet and went to his mount, 512, with Goalie right behind him. After a quick walkaround, they mounted their aircraft and ran through the preflight, and ran up their J-79 engines. After receiving permission to taxi, they taxied to the end of the runway, where the armorers pulled off the weapon safety pins. Once that was done, the F-4s taxied onto the runway, where the tower flashed a green light, and all four rumbled down the runway and into the air.

Over East-Central New Mexico; 1130 Hours:

Corvette Flight was once again over familiar territory, having flown numerous strikes into this part of New Mexico. Only this time, they were at 10,000 feet, and not having to worry about SAM activity, for both the EW and SEAD effort had paid off, and the ComBloc's air defense network in this area had been taken apart. Now the aircrews were looking for the truck park and supply dump that they had been tasked to hit. oeAnything Guru asked Goalie, who was scanning the ground below with binoculars.

oeNothing yet. This might be a wild-goose chase, she replied.

oeWouldn't surprise me if these guys just pulled up and left, Guru said.

oeGuru, Sweaty, was the call over his radio. oeWe've got something.

oeWhere Guru asked.

oeEleven Oclock low, came the reply. oeLook for the truck tracks.

oeGot it! Goalie said.

oeI see it, replied Guru. oeOne pass: CBUs only. See if we can find the supply dump.

oeCopy, Sweaty replied.

oeTwo, on me, Guru called, and he saw Starbuck coming into formation in a right echelon. oeOne pass, east to west.

oeRoger that, Kara replied.

oeCopy, two, said Guru. oeSet us up: wing stations have the CBUs.

oeGot it, Goalie replied, stowing the binoculars. She worked the armament switches. oeYou're set.

oeTime to go, Guru said. oeLead's in hot! He turned and rolled down the chute, lining up on the truck tracks below.

Below, the truck drivers and their MVD escorts were deciding what to do. Some of the truck drivers' destinations were now rumored to be in enemy hands, and the last thing the drivers-most of whom had been in the military twenty or twenty-five years earlier-wanted to do was keep going and run into the Americans. Others, including their MVD escorts, wanted to keep going, and at least find someone in authority to get further instructions from. They were still arguing with each other when an MVD lieutenant pointed skyward.

oeSteady, steady, Guru called, oeHACK! He hit the pickle button and six Rockeye CBUs came off the wing stations. He pulled up and leveled off, glad to have no return fire. oeLead off target.

Six Rockeye CBUs have 1,482 bomblets. Guru's run effectively covered most of the truck park with the bomblets, and some of the trucks had fuel or ammunition as cargo....

oeTwo in hot! Kara called. She saw the secondary explosions on the ground, as well as Guru's plane as it pulled up and away, rolling off to the right. oeHACK! She called, placing her CBUs to the right of her lead's, and careful to keep any of the bomblets away from the road. Even though they hadn't been told to avoid hitting 285, the chances were pretty good that friendlies might be coming down this road soon, and so....Two's off target.

oeThree's in! Sweaty called. She rolled in and laid her CBUs between Guru's and Kara's, and she noted that Kara's had also caused some secondary explosions. oeThree's off target, she said as she pulled up and away.

oeFour in hot! Hoser said. He wanted to lay his Rockeyes just to the south of where Guru had put his, and as he went in, he noticed some tracers coming up. Someone down there was shooting back. Mentally, he changed his mission from oeattack to oepost-strike flak suppression. Hoser centered his pipper on the tracers and released, calling, oeFour off target.

Down below, some of the MVD troops were firing back at the attacking aircraft. Though most of them had AKMs, they also had a BTR-152 and a DshK machine gun, and two of the MVD were manning the gun. Then Hoser's F-4 flew over them, and they saw the CBUs open, then hell came down on them as the bomblets detonated, killing and wounding many, and exploding the BTR as well (it being an open-topped vehicle, several bomblets landed inside the track....).

oeGood work, Four, Guru called. oeYou got secondaries.

oeThanks, Lead, Hoser replied.

oeGuru, Starbuck. You want to go back and use the '82s Kara called her flight leader.

oeNegative, Guru replied. oeLet's check out Highway 41. Maybe we can find something there. He didn't want to go back to 285, because all they had found was the truck park, and no sign of the supply dump.

Back at the remains of the truck park, the survivors picked themselves up, and were deciding what to do. The highway known as oeInterstate 40 was only a few kilometers away, and there was a traffic-control point there, one that many had passed through. Maybe they could get some help, or maybe a ride back to their units. Some were hesitant, but exploding trucks and delayed-action bomblets going off as well convinced them that staying around wasn't a good idea.

Up above, the four Phantoms regrouped and headed west. The crews knew the next major north-south road was State Route 41, and with this push on, that road was likely to be jammed with enemy traffic, either reinforcements headed to the front, or those trying to get away. Guru decided to call the AWACS and see if there was not only any threat in the area, but if a FAC or two were working nearby. oeCrystal Palace, Corvette Two-One.

oeCorvette Two-One, Crystal Palace. Go ahead, the controller replied.

oeCrystal Palace, say bogey dope.

oeCorvette Two-One, Crystal Palace, negative bogeys.

oeCopy that. Any Nails working the area Guru asked. Nail was the usual FAC call sign.

oeStand by, the controller said. After a few seconds, the controller returned. oeCorvette, contact either Nail Three-One or Nail Three-Seven.

oeRoger that, Guru replied. oeSay closest

oeCorvette, Crystal Palace, Nail Three-Seven is closest your posit.

oeCopy, Guru replied. oeNail Three-Seven, Corvette Two-One with four Foxtrot Fours, inbound from the east.

oeRoger, Corvette, say type of ordnance The FAC called.

oeNail, Corvette. Six Mark-eight-twos and full guns each airplane.

oeCopy that. Route Four-One is full. Anything moving there is a target. Free strike, the FAC replied.

Guru looked ahead and saw an A-7 orbiting. oeRoger, Nail. Say ground threat

oeCorvette, triple-A is the only threat, apart from MANPADS. No heavy stuff.

Hearing that, Goalie called her pilot on the intercom. oeSomebody must've took out the SA-2 south of here.

oeNot complaining about that, Guru said. oeRoger, Nail.

Corvette Flight came in, and they could see the road was full of traffic. What looked like rear-echelon types headed south, and some armor headed north, towards U.S. 285. oeLead, Sweaty. How do you want it

oeOne pass, northeast to southwest, Guru said. oeFollow me in.

oeCopy, Sweaty replied.

oeStarbuck, Lead. On me.

oeRight with you, Lead, Kara replied.

oeFlight, Lead, Let's go to work. Guru called over the radio. Then he told Goalie, oeSwitches set.

oeCopy, she said. oeCenterline set. You're hot.

oeRoger, Guru said. oeFlight, Lead's in hot! He then rolled in on the attack run.

Below, on Highway 41, it was a traffic jam. The Soviet traffic regulators were trying to sort out the rear-services vehicles, who had been ordered to head for Interstate 40 and proceed east from the reinforcements headed in both directions. Tanks and APCs from one division were headed north to block the Americans coming from that direction, while an independent Motor-Rifle Regiment was headed south, to try and shore up the Cubans, who were being torn apart by the U.S. Marines. No one seemed to be paying attention to the sky, and that would prove to be a big mistake.

oeSteady, steady, Guru said to himself as he lined the pipper up on a crossroads. It looked like a small county road was intersecting with the state highway. Oh, well...your bad day, Ivan. oeHACK! He pushed the pickle button, and six Mark-82s came off the centerline rack. oeLead off target.

Guru's bombs landed right on a traffic control point, and the bombs tore apart several trucks and flipped a BTR-70 over, as well as killing and wounding a number of the truck drivers and traffic regulators. No one even heard the F-4 come in. Then a trucker pointed east. A second plane was coming in...

oeTwo's in! Was the call from Starbuck. She put her bombs just to the south of Guru's, and as she pulled away and rolled, she and Brainac saw secondary explosions. Somebody had something that went boom....Two off target.

Kara's bombs had landed on several supply trucks belonging to the motor-rifle regiment, and in particular, the artillery battalion. Her Mark-82s set off 122-mm artillery ammo, and there were several large secondaries as a result.

Now it was Sweaty's turn. oeThree rolling in hot! She called as she rolled in. Sweaty saw the explosions down below, and she put her bombs to the north of that. Her bombs landed on some armor headed north, and flipped a T-62 and tore apart several BMPs. But this time, as she pulled out, she saw an SA-7 or -14 coming up. oeThree off, with a SAM at Seven O'clock.

Just north of where Sweaty had dropped her bombs, several BMPs had pulled off the highway, and their infantry had deployed. One of them had an Strela-3 (SA-14) launcher, and he locked up the F-4 and fired.

oePreacher, dump some flares, Sweaty said as she pulled into a tight turn.

oeGotcha, he replied, pumping out a number of flares, and trying to see the missile.

oeSweaty, Starbuck, Kara called. oeSAM just hit a flare.

oeCopy, Sweaty said.

oeFour's in hot! Hoser called. He had seen where the SAM had been launched from, and decided that nobody shoots at his element leader and gets away with it. He rolled in, and saw the dissipating smoke trail, and lined it up in his pipper. oeHACK! He called as he dropped his bombs.

Hoser's bombs landed in the middle of the BMPs, tossing several like toys, and killing or wounding most of the infantrymen around the vehicles. Unlike his element leader, he drew no fire as he pulled out.

oeFour's off target, Hoser called.

oeRoger that, Guru called. oeForm on me. One pass is all we get.

oeStill got guns, Kara reminded her flight leader.

oeNot with those Grails around, Guru said. Grails meant MANPADS to any aircrew.

oeCopy, Kara replied.

oeNail, Corvette, we are Winchester and headed out, Guru called the FAC.

oeCopy, Corvette, the FAC replied. oeGood bombs on target.

Corvette Flight reformed and headed west. As they cleared the Sandia Mountains north of Alberquerque, they saw the sky over the city full of helicopters, and to their north, I-25 was full of American armor. Both sights were deeply satisfying to the aircrews. As they crossed the Rio Grande, Guru called the AWACS. oeCrystal Palace, Corvette Two-One crossing the fence.

oeCopy, Corvette, the controller replied. oeDo you need a vector to the tankers

oeRoger, Crystal Palace.

The controller gave the flight a vector to the tanker track over the Continental Divide. This time, they hooked up with a KC-135, and the tankers were just as busy as they had been in the early morning. After refueling, they headed back to Williams, and after waiting a few minutes for outbound traffic to leave, they came in and landed. As they taxied in, the crews saw several Marine A-6s preparing to go out, and they were loaded with laser-guided bombs. There was a term going around those who used LGBs, and that was oetank plinking. oeLooks like the Jarheads are going to plink some tanks, Goalie commented.

oeWish we could do that more often, Guru said. Their squadron only had two Pave Spike Pods, and two Pave Tack pods, though several crews were qualified to use both types of pods. Both Guru and Goalie could count on one hand the number of times they'd flown a laser bomb mission.

The flight taxied in to their dispersal area, and shut down. Guru popped his canopy, and let out a big sigh. He checked his watch. oeFour missions and it's already 1230.

oeHow many more Goalie asked as she popped her canopy.

oeHowever many they tell us, Guru said as the ground crew brought the crew ladders. oeThanks, guys.

oeHow'd it go, Sir Sergeant Crowley asked as both Guru and Goalie climbed down.

oeRipped up a truck park, and ripped up some armor, Guru replied. oeWhat's up next

Crowley nodded at his pilot. oeOrdnance guys will be here in fifteen minutes, Sir. They need a break.

oeThey, you guys, and everybody else, Goalie said.

oeYes, Ma'am, Crowley said.

oeNothing wrong with the bird, Sergeant, Guru said as they did a postflight walk around. oeNo holes that we can see.

oeThanks, Sir, Crowley said. oeThey brought some more stuff for the cooler and more coffee.

oeAll right, Sergeant, Guru said. He headed to the Hummer, and found Mark Ellis and Darren Licion waiting. oeGuys.

Ellis put out his hand. oeHow'd it go, Guru

oeNot bad, Guru replied as the rest of the flight came over. oeTore up the truck park, but there was no sign of the supply depot.

oeWhat Licon asked, clearly surprised. oeIt was on the photos, clear as day.

oeProbably a dummy, Sweaty chimed in. oeNot the first time somebody got fooled that way.

oeI'll go along with that, Kara added. oeBut the truck park....lots of secondaries there.

oeI'll check the strike footage, Licon said. oeWhat else

oeWe hit traffic on Route 41, Guru added. oeLots of armor and trucks. Tanks, APCs, supply vehicles, that sort of thing.

oeFAC directed Licon wanted to know.

oeYou got it. Nail Three-Seven was his call sign.

oeOkay, I'll find out from him, and look at the strike footage, Licon said. oeAny threats

oeSweaty had a SA-7 shot at her, Hoser said. oeI put my stuff down on those guys.

oeClose call Mark Ellis asked.

oeNo, it went after a flare, Kara said. oeI don't think Sweaty even saw it.

oeWe didn't, Sweaty confirmed. oeBut the flares did their job.

oeOkay, I'll check with the FAC, and go over your strike footage, Licon said. oeThanks, guys. He then went off to debrief another returning flight.

oeWhat's next, Mark Guru asked.

oeOn-call CAS again, but not until 1400. You guys deserve a break, Ellis said. oeRivers said so.

oeHe here Guru asked, reaching for the cooler and a bottle of water.

oeNo, he went out ten minutes ago, Ellis said. oeAnd Dave Golen was flying with him.

oeCarson with the Boss

oeYep, Ellis said. oeWith Golen as element lead. Carson's number two to Dave.

oeLet's hope Frank learns something from him, Guru said. oeThough I doubt it.

oeRight on that, Ellis said. oeOh, don't go into the squadron's building. The power's out, and thus the A/C.

oeWhat happened Sweaty asked. oeSabotage

Ellis shook his head. oeStill checking. Power company says a transformer blew, but the FBI and OSI are out, making sure.

oeWith this push on, Kara said, oesome sleeper agent must've decided to go active.

oeProbably, Ellis admitted. oeThey still don't know yet.

oeOkay, Mark, Guru said. oeIf anyone needs to see me, send 'em over this way.

oeGotcha, said Ellis.

While they were waiting for their birds to be turned around, the crews helped themselves to some more cool drinks, and the Marine mess people came around with some hot meals for lunch. oeCaptain, want something hot A Marine Mess Sergeant asked. oeHot steak and cheese sandwiches, burgers and fries, or fried chicken

The crews had lunch while sitting under a tarp that someone had strung up from the Hummer to a tie-down position. And to Guru's relief, no one asked about squadron business, only what they'd seen and done. So a lot of swapping stories, and comparing notes went on, and while that was going on, the turnaround process began. So far, the 335th had not lost any aircraft or crews, but since they had half a day to go, that could easily change. About halfway through the break, Colonel Rivers' flight landed. After he debriefed, Rivers and Dave Golen came over. oeGuru, Rivers said.

oeBoss, Guru replied. oeHow's it going

oeWell, First Cav is in Santa Fe, and they're headed for Highways 285, and 84 if they can. They want to get to I-40 and pocket what's left of Alberquerque's defenders.

oeThen who's in Alberquerque Kara asked.

oeThat's 23rd ID and the 11th Airborne. Fifth Marine Division to the south, and the rest of Sixth Army. The Rio Grande line just collapsed, and the ComBloc is headed east. And we're right behind 'em, Rivers said.

oeGood to hear, Sir, Goalie said. oeWhat's going on to the north

oeDenver's relieved, and the whole ComBloc line in Colorado's starting to come apart. Not as fast as here, but... Rivers said.

oeYeah, Guru said. oeBoss, we still got half a day to go.

oeRight on that, Rivers nodded. He noticed the ordnance crews bringing ordnance to Guru's flight. oeAnd you guys are going first.

Guru and his flight noticed the ordnance. Napalm tanks and Mark-82s with fuze extenders. The old Vietnam oeShake and bake load. oeBarbeque time, he observed.

oeYep, Rivers said. He turned to Dave Golen. oeLook familiar

oeLike the Yom Kippur War, as I said to the Captain, but with a difference, Golen remarked.

oeWhat's that

oeYou're winning.

oeCan't argue with that, Kara quipped.

Master Sergeant Michael Ross, the squadron's senior NCO, came over. oeColonel, he said to Rivers. oeThe power's back on. Along with the A/C.

oeThanks, Sergeant, Rivers said. oeNow to see if Carson left anything on my desk.

oeIf he did, Boss, may I suggest making good on that promise Guru asked. He was barely concealing his loathing for the overzealous Major.

oeYou may, Guru, Rivers said. oeAnd I'll make good on it. He shook Guru's hand. oeGood luck on the next one.

oeThanks, Boss.

Rivers then shook hands with the rest of the flight, and headed back to the squadron offices with Ross. Golen stayed, since he had his one mission for the day, and watched as the ordnance crews finished. oeYour people are starting to slow down, he observed.

oeThey were working when we got here, Goalie said. oeNo wonder.

Sergeant Crowley came over. oeCaptain Wiser, the birds are locked and cocked. Ready to go.

Guru nodded. oeThanks. He finished a bottle of water, then turned to the flight. oeHit the latrines, then come back here.

Everyone headed off, did their business at the portable latrines, then came back to the Hummer. oeWhat's next Sweaty asked.

oeOn-call CAS, Guru replied. oeCall AWACS, and they tell us which FAC to go to.

oeGreat, Hoser said. oeNo way to know where

oeNope, Guru replied. oeNorth or south, wherever the controller sends us.

oeLovely, Kara spat.

oeI'd rather go and bust up an airfield-like Cannon or Holloman, but not our call, Guru reminded everyone. oeAnything else Heads shook no. He picked up his helmet. oeLet's hit it.

The crews headed to their aircraft, and though the walkaround was normal, the preflight in the cockpit was one that their flight instructors would have had fits over. After engine start, the tower cleared them to taxi, then the flight taxied to the runway. There, the armorers removed the safety pins on the weapons. After taxiing onto the runway, the tower flashed a green light, and the F-4s rumbled down the runway and into the air.

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Semi-OT: Red Dawn fan fic

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