Semi-OT: Red Dawn fan fic

[Matt Wiser]

And the day keeps on going, and some collaborationists get what they deserve....



Over Central New Mexico, 1340 Hours:


Corvette Flight was orbiting just west of the Rio Grande, southwest of Alberquerque. With nervous Army air-defense units down below with HAWK and Patriot SAM batteries, everyone made sure their IFF was on, and that when they entered or left enemy territory, the safe-passage lanes were being used.
Then there was the sight down below, as the Army's 11th Airborne Division kept up the effort by helicopter, grounding down the defenders, who were half Soviet and half Nicaraguan. The latter had folded up pretty quick, but the Soviets had dug themselves into the northeastern part of the city, and had to be blasted out. It also meant that both Kirtland AFB and Alberquerque IAP were still not open for fixed-wing operations, let alone helicopters, because there were still shells landing near the runways, and the AF needed the RED HORSE teams to get in, assess the condition of the runways and ramp, before it could be opened, and the Army had to drive the Russians out of artillery range at least before that could happen.

Guru was looking down from 17,000 feet. oeMan, that part of town's getting torn up.

oeSeen worse, Goalie reminded her pilot. oeDenver.

oeYeah, Guru said. oeBut a siege is different. Nobody going forward on either side. Today...

Goalie smiled under her oxygen mask. oeLot different. Those guys down there don't want to give up.

oeNowhere to go, and penned up against the Mountains, Guru noted.

oeCorvette Two-One, Aladdin, the voice over the radio said. Aladdin was the call sign for an EC-130E Airborne Command Post (ABCCC). oeWe have tasking for you.

oeAladdin, Corvette, oe Guru replied. oeGo.

oeCorvette, we have a ground FAC along Highway 41, requesting CAS. Contact Covey Two-Six.

oeCopy, Aladdin. Covey Two-Six, Guru replied. oeCovey Two-Six, Corvette Two-One.

oeCorvette, Covey Two-Six. Replied the FAC. oeSay aircraft and type of ordnance

oeCovey, we have four Foxtrot-Fours with a shake'n bake load. Guru told the FAC.

oeRoger, Corvette. Hostiles along the highway. Infantry and APCs. We are taking mortar fire. The sound of an explosion came over the radio, clearly describing the FAC's situation.

oeCopy that, Guru replied. oeSay surface-to-air threat.

oeCorvette, unknown Sierra Alpha threat, the FAC responded.

oeRoger that, Covey. Corvette Flight inbound. Guru said. oeFlight, lead. Follow me and let's go. Folks on the ground need some help.

oeRoger, Lead, Sweaty called. And the flight of four Phantoms went in again into enemy territory. Though if things kept going the way they were, it wouldn't for long.

oeCovey Two-Six, Corvette Lead. Say your posit. Guru called, asking for the FAC's position.

oeCorvette, Covey replied. oeTwo miles north of Stanley on 41. We are on the east side. Bad guys to the west and along the road.

oeCopy, Guru said. oeCan you mark the target

oeThat's affirm, Covey replied. oeWill mark with Willie Pete.

Down below, three puffs of White Phosphorous marked the target. And the F-4 crews could see them from their new altitude of 7,000 feet. oeHave visual on Willie Pete, Guru said. oeHow do you want it' Shake first, or bake

oeCorvette, Shake'em up first. Bad guys are Alpha Lima Alpha, Covey replied. That meant ALA.

oeRoger that, Guru said. He did the switches himself. Centerline first. oeGoalie, get set.

oeReady back here, Goalie replied. oeLet's teach those scumbags a lesson.

oeLet's do it, Guru agreed. oeFlight, Lead. Follow me in. South to North. Then he rolled in on the bomb run. oeLead in hot!

oeLead, Two, right behind you, Kara called.


Guru went down the chute, and lined up on the WP smoke. He pulled level at 700 feet AGL and released as he went over the WP smoke. oeLead's off target.

Below, the ALA's 122nd Security Battalion was engaging what their commander called oebandits and counterrevolutionaries. They had a KGB company with them, and not just to offer advice, but to oestiffen their resolve. They had no air-defense weapons other than machine guns and a few Strela-2 (SA-7) missiles. And Guru's run had taken them by surprise as his F-4 flew over, then five-hundred pound bombs came off the aircraft, and exploded among the ALA troopers.

oeCorvette, Covey, the FAC called. oeGood hits!

oeCopy, Covey, Guru replied.

oeTwo's in hot! Kara called, rolling in on her run. She had heard the target description, and these ALA scum fully deserved whatever came to them. Kara lined up on the northern WP smoke, releasing as she passed over. oeTwo off target.

The ALA troopers had been caught by surprise, and a few of them saw Kara's F-4 rolling in. They took cover in a roadside ditch, but many of their comrade did not, or would not. The Mark-82s killed or wounded a number of ALA troopers, and flipped an old BTR-40 APC over.

oeThree's in hot! Sweaty called. She put her bombs to the west of the highway, and unknown to her, her aimpoint was where the mortar positions were. Sweaty saw the trucks as she leveled out, then released her bombs. oeThree's off target.

oeCorvette, Covey called. oeGreat hits! You got the mortars, fella.

oeYou're welcome, buddy, Sweaty replied.

oeFour's in hot! Hoser said. He came down onto the southern WP smoke, and the FAC-and the SF team he was with- watched as Hoser's bombs ripped into several of the ALA's vehicles, and tossed troopers' bodies like rags. oeFour's off target.

oeCovey, Corvette Lead, Guru called the FAC. oeYou want some barbeque time That meant napalm.

oeRoger that, the FAC replied. oeSame target area.

oeCopy, Guru replied. He came around for his second run. oeFlight, Lead. Follow me and drop in trail. Then he called Goalie. oeSet us up.

oeRoger, Lead, Sweaty replied.

:You're set, Goalie told her pilot. oeWing pylons armed.

oeThen let's fry these bastards, Guru said with deadly seriousness. oeLead's in.

Corvette Flight then came in trail, with Guru, Kara, Sweaty, and Hoser all in line. Each F-4 came over and released four BLU-27 napalm bombs, and many of the ALA (and some KGB) who had survived the first pass were incinerated by the second. And the strike took the fight out of the survivors, who began trickling away in both directions.

oeCorvette, Covey, the FAC called. oeGood hits on target. Thanks, fellas.

oeGlad to be of help, Guru called. And we gave those scum a taste of hell that's waiting for 'em, he thought. oeFlight, form on me, and let's get out of here.

Corvette Flight reformed and headed west, over the Sandias. They gave Alberquerque a wide berth, because not only were there helicopters in abundance, but also artillery shells, and a 155 shell in flight didn't care whether or not you were a friendly. The flight headed to the tanker track, and as they were waiting to refuel, heard something ominous over the radio. oeDodge Three-Two is down.

oeOh, shit!' Guru said.

oeCory Hatcher and Bob Hall, Goalie said. She knew Hall, he'd been in her WSO class at the RTU. Hatcher, though, was a new guy, and per squadron policy, had been teamed up with an experienced WSO.

oeDodge Three-Three, Crystal Palace, the AWACS called. oeAny chutes

oeNegative, Three-One replied. oeSierra Alpha one-one. That meant the SA-11 Gadfly, and was usually bad news.

oeCopy, the AWACS controller said.

The tanker hookup was subdued, and there was hardly any banter as the flight returned to Williams. Two of their friends were gone, but there was nothing they could do about it. Fight now, mourn later, was the mantra, and there would be time later, if not that day, for them to mourn their lost friends.

After landing, their mood went from exuberant to quiet seriousness. Word had spread that a squadron plane was down, and that the crew hadn't gotten out. oeSir, Sergeant Crowley said. oeHow'd it go

oeGave some ALA a shake'n bake, Guru said as he got down from his aircraft. oeNothing wrong with the airplane, though.

oeThat's good, Sir, Crowley said. oeColonel's waiting by the Hummer.

Nodding, Guru led the members of his flight to the Hummer they had been using in between flights as a rest area. oeColonel, Guru said.

oeI heard, Colonel Rivers said. oeMike Engle and Joe Putnam called it in. They were near Las Vegas on I-25. First Cav found the crash site.

oeOnly good thing about it, Guru said. oeThey're not MIA.

oeYeah. Doesn't make the letter-writing any easier, XO, Rivers reminded him. oeIt's worse when both crew don't get out.

oeWas it like that for you when Tony Carpenter and I went down Guru asked.

oeIt was. Rivers said. oeJust hope this war gets over and done before you have to write any.

oeTo be hoped for, Guru said. oeAnyway, this one went fine. Ground FAC wanted some ALA to go to hell and gone, and we sent them there.

oeGround FAC Rivers asked, getting back into mission mode.

Guru and the other pilots nodded. oeThat deep, had to be SF, Kara said.

Sweaty chimed in. oeI'll go along with that.

oeCall sign Rivers asked. oeI'll pass it along to Intel.

oeCovey Two-Six, Guru said. oeHad to be an ETAC. That meant an Enlisted Tactical Air Controller.

oeDon't forget about those STS guys, Kara said. She was referring to the 24th Special Tactics Squadron, who were highly trained AF personnel who went in with SF teams to act as FACs if the mission called for it.

oeSnake-eaters, Hoser quipped.

oeBe careful, Guru reminded him. oeThose 'snake-eaters' have brought quite a few guys out, so keep that in mind.

oeXO's right, Rivers said. oeOkay, ordnance will be here in a half-hour, and you guys go out as soon as they're done.

oeWhere to this time Guru asked. oeUh...Sir Right now, he didn't care if he appeared to be insubordinate, because he was tired.

oeDon't blame you at all, XO, if you're getting tired, Rivers said. oeYou're headed to Estancia, south of Moriarty. Their Municipal Airport has some Soviet Hinds and Hips, and maybe even Su-25s, and we can't have that. The briefing packet has everything you need, Rivers handed a packet of material to Guru. oeGet something to eat, get some rest, because you're out again in an hour.

oeGot it, Guru said.

oeAnd good luck, Rivers said as he went off to get ready for his next mission.

oeYou heard him, Guru said.

And with that, the crews helped themselves to sandwiches and cold drinks. There was the usual griping about the oesuggestion of meat in some of them, but everyone had a good laugh about that. oeAt least it's not like one episode of M*A*S*H, KT quipped.

oeWhat do you mean Kara asked.

oePotter tells a friend, 'I had a hamburger last night that whinnied.', or something like that.

oeRemember the one where Hawkeye ordered ribs from Chicago Guru said. oeThe only thing Colonel Blake was upset with was that Hawk forgot to order the Cole Slaw.

Goalie nodded. oeYeah, and there was another one where Hawkeye told a nurse how bad the food was: 'I wonder how the cook got off at Nuremberg.' Or the time when the whole camp came down with food poisoning

oeYeah, that was a good one, oe Guru said. oeWinchester's doing laundry-which he thinks is beneath his stature, Hawkeye and BJ are lost, and a North Korean's trying to surrender to them, and follows them back to camp, and the only other staff members not sick are either Hot Lips or Father Mulchahy.

Brainac laughed. oeOne of my favorites When Frank Burns took a tank for a ride.

oeThat's a hoot! Kara said. oePotter puts his jeep out of its misery after Frank runs over it. He also took out the Swamp and the Nurses' Shower.

Prewar memories, several of them knew. oeWonder if someone will do a show like that for this war
Hoser asked.

oeSomebody in Hollyweird's probably got story ideas, Guru said. oeWhen this is over, it won't take long.

Goalie nodded, then she pointed. oeSpeaking of Frank Burns...here comes Carson.

The despised Major came over, and he didn't like what he was seeing. Ground crew clearly out of uniform, and aircrews going around with their flight suits half off. Some of the male crews had taken off their T-Shirts, while the women had done the same, leaving their sports bras on. oeAren't you going to do anything Carson asked Guru.

oeAbout what, Frank Guru replied.

oeThe airmen out of uniform!

oeSo what Guru shot back. oeIf you're expecting me to side with you on this, forget it. Anything to keep cool and comfortable on a day like this. In case you're in a dream world, it's 115 here on the ramp. And to punctuate that, he poured a bottle of water over Goalie's head. She grinned, and smiled her thanks.

oeI'm taking this to a higher authority, Carson grumbled.

oeCan't be Tanner, or the Chief of Staff, Kara grinned.

oeHe'll probably call his Mom or Dad again, said Sweaty, and everybody laughed, including some nearby ground crew, who overheard the conversation.

oeOh, phoney baloney, Carson grumbled as he sulked off.

oeDon't know if I've said this before, Kara said. oeBut he's as bad as Tigh.

oeColonel Tigh up at Kingsley Field Guru asked. oeI saw him once, the day I requalified after coming back from the E&E. Grumpy, coarse, and an all-around asshole.

oeThat's him, Kara smiled. oeAnd Carson would fit right in with him.

oeTigh didn't have anything to do with WSOs, Goalie nodded. oeIf you didn't have pilot's wings, he didn't want much to do with you.

oeI'll go along with that, KT said. oeNavs, he hardly had much to say. Other than when you passed, 'Congratulations.'

Nodding, Guru opened the briefing packet, as he saw the ordnance people arrive with their munitions. Six 750-pound M-117 bombs and six Mark-82s again. oeOkay, he said as he laid out the materials on the hood of the Hummer. oeHere we go.

oeSame drill as that other field this morning Sweaty asked.

oeYep, Guru said. oeWe go east along the Chupadera Mesa, pick up State Route 42. Once we do that, turn north to U.S. 60. One minute after passing U.S. 60, turn west, and that will take us to Estancia.

oeOne pass, as usual Kara asked.

oeCorrect, Guru nodded. oeOnce we're clear, head for the mountains due west. Clear those, then head right for the Rio Grande. Make sure your IFF is on once you clear the mountains.

oeYou know those Army SAM guys: 'shoot 'em down and let God sort them out.' Hoser said.

oeNo shock there, Guru said. oeNow, the threat is a mix of guns, either ZU-23s or 37-mm, plus MANPADS. Though watch out; with their lines breaking, anything's possible. Including SA-6, -8, or -11.

oeNo flak or SAM suppressors Kara wanted to know.

oeRight on that. They're all busy, so we have to use speed, surprise, and our ECM pods, Guru told everyone.

oeSo, Sweaty commented. oeOne pass, get out due west, clear the mountains, and head for the river

oeThat's it, Guru said.

Then Sergeant Crowley came over. oeSir, your birds are locked and cocked.

oeThanks, Sergeant, Guru said. oeHit the latrines, and get ready to fly.

After htting the latrines, and getting ready, Guru called them around. oeAny last-minute questions

oeYeah, Kara asked. oeHow many more today

oeWho knows Two, maybe three, Guru said. oeAny others There were none. oeOkay, let's hit it.

The crews did their preflight walkarounds, then after mounting their aircraft, ran through their cockpit preflights. Then came engine start, and clearance to taxi. They held short of the runway to allow the armorers to pull the weapon safeties, then the F-4s taxied to the runway itself. The tower flashed a green light, giving the Crews clearance to take off. Then Corvette Flight rumbled down the runway in pairs, and lifted into the air.

Over Central New Mexico: 1520 Hours:


Corvette Flight's four F-4s were headed east over the Chupadra Mesa, and to everyone's surprise, the only radars so far coming up were friendly. oeWhere is Ivan Guru asked his GIB. (Guy-or in this case, Girl, In Back) oeNo MiGs since this morning.

oeDamned if I know, Goalie said. oeI'm not complaining, though.

oeMe neither, Guru said. oeHow long to turn

oeOne minute,

oeRoger that, Guru replied. He was swiveling his head left to right, keeping an eye out for any threats. That had been drummed into his head at the RTU before the war, and no one got complacent in a fighter cockpit if one expected to come back from a mission. oeCrystal Palace, Corvette Two-One. Any bogey dope

oeCorvette, Crystal Palace, the controller replied. oeNegative bogeys.

oeCopy, Guru replied.

oeStand by, Goalie said. oeAnd turn.

Guru turned the F-4 to the northeast, headed for U.S. 60, and the others in the flight kept formation with him. oeTime to the next turn point

oeOne minute thirty, Goalie replied.

oeRoger that, Guru said. The four F-4s headed on, and as they approached U.S. 60, the crews noticed enemy traffic headed east, with some armor and APCs headed west. They blew over the road, and down below, the Cubans and Nicaraguans fleeing east were relieved that the four aircraft didn't attack them.

oeAnd turn. Goalie called as they reached the highway.

oeTurning, Guru said. They were now navigating by time and distance, classic dead reckoning, for there was no real landmark in this part of New Mexico, apart from a dry lakebed east of the target area.

oeOne minute, mark.

oeMark, one minute, Guru said. oeFlight, lead. One minute to IP.

oeTwo, Kara.

oeThree, Sweaty.

oeFour, Hoser.

oeSwitches on, and set 'em up! Guru called.

oeYou're set, Goalie said. oeThirty seconds.

oeCopy, Guru said. oeGet ready.

oeNow! Goalie called. oeIP and turn.

oeFlight, Lead, Guru said. oePull, and turn. One minute to target.

Corvette flight turned on its attack run, pulling up to 2000 feet AGL.

oeSo far, so good, Goalie said. oeThirty seconds.

oeCopy, Guru said. Then he saw it. oeFlight, Lead. Target in sight. Lead is in hot. He then rolled in on his attack run.


At Estancia Municipal, the commander of the 45th Independent Helicopter Regiment was having a fit. His unit had been established a year prior to the war, and two years of combat had taken its toll. His unit nominally had three squadrons, two of Mi-24V (NATO designation Hind-E) gunships, and one of Mi-8MT transport helicopters. But now, due to enemy action and accidents, he was down to one squadron of Mi-24s and a half-dozen Mi-8s, and two of those were down for battle-damage repair. Furthermore, four Su-25s had landed at the field, due to their own base having had its runways bombed, and one of those planes had run off the runway. A maintenance section and a recovery vehicle were now trying to get the aircraft out, so that it could be repaired. As for defenses.....all he had at the base was a battery of ZU-23s that were Cuban-manned, along with the Strela missiles that his ground staff had been trained to use. Then he noticed someone pointing to the northeast. Smoke in the air, coming closer. He knew right away what it was. oeAir Raid warning! He shouted, then he jumped into a slit trench.

Guru lined up on where two Su-25s were parked, along with a pair of Hinds. oeSteady, steady, he said, almost to himself. oeHACK! And six each of retarded Mark-82s and M-117s came off his Phantom. Then he turned west, and called, oeLead off target, doing a low-level flyover of the town of Estancia as he did so.

Guru's bombs landed amongst the two Su-25s and the two Mi-8s, and all four were blown apart. A couple of the Mark-82s landed among some supply trucks, adding to the general destruction, and one bomb wrecked the communications tent.

oeTwo in hot! Starbuck called. Kara saw where Lead's bombs had landed, and decided to walk hers to the left. She picked out where four Mi-24s were parked, and lined them up in the pipper. oeHACK! Was the call as her bombs came off her aircraft, and she turned west, following Lead over the town. oeTwo off target.

Kara's bombs ripped apart two of the Hinds, and wrecked the other two. Her bombs also took out several fuel trucks, exploding them in fireballs, and two of her bombs also holed the runway, which meant that the Mi-24s could not use rolling takeoffs, as well as grounding any remaining Su-25s.

oeThree's in hot! Called Sweaty. She laid down her bombs to the right of where Guru's had landed, and she saw another pair of Su-25s, surrounded by vehicles, as well as a Hip helicopter. Lining them up, she called oeHACK!, and released her bombs. As she pulled away, she noticed tracer fire coming up; 23-mm by the looks of it, but it was falling behind her aircraft. oeThree off safe.

Sweaty's load blew the Su-25s and the servicing vehicles apart, and one of the bombs landed right on top of the Hip, obliterating it. Several of her Mark-82s landed in the tent area where the base personnel lived, blasting the tents apart, while two bombs landed in the motor pool, turning it into a junkyard.

oeFour in hot! Hoser called. He saw the fireballs erupting from Sweaty's run, and decided to put his bombs on the runway. So he made his pass from due east to west, and laid down a perfect pattern, putting multiple holes in the runway, and drawing some fire from the 23-mm guns on the way out. Unknown to him, one of his Mark-82s landed at the west end of the runway, where the last Su-25 sat, with the retrieval crew trying to pull the aircraft from its tail-high position. Hoser's bomb solved their problem, blasting both the recovery vehicle and the aircraft. oeFour off safe, he called as he buzzed the town.

oeCopy, Hoser, Guru replied. oeFlight, on me, and let's get the hell out of here.

All four Phantoms joined up and headed west. They got over the mountains between Bosque Peak to the north and Capilla Peak to the south. When they got into the Rio Grande Valley, Guru called. oeCrystal Palace, Corvette Two-One, Corvette Flight across the fence.

oeRoger, Corvette Two-One, the controller replied. oeDo you need a vector to tankers

oeNegative, Guru replied. oeWe can make home plate.

oeCopy, said the controller.

Once they cleared the valley, the F-4s climbed back to 12,000 feet, and headed for Williams. On the return flight, Goalie asked, oeWhere's the Soviet Air Force Or the Cuban AF

oeThat, Guru said. oeIs a very good question.


Alamogordo Regional Airport, New Mexico; 1550 Hours:


The SAF Colonel was practically in tears. Earlier that morning, his Regiment, the 190th Fighter Aviation Regiment (IAP), had three squadrons of MiG-23MF fighters. Now, he had at most, eight aircraft left in the whole regiment, and three of those were undergoing repair. He surveyed the wreckage around him, and thought, was it like this on the first day of the war against the Fascisti in 1941 He had good reason to think that.

That morning, at 0430, his men had been awakened by the sound of the alert siren going off, then explosions, as low-flying aircraft had bombed the runway. F-111s, he thought, but wasn't sure. His deputy commander had gotten the repair crews out, and they had started work on filling the bomb craters, when A-6s came over at 0600, laying down cluster munitions all around the ramp and the dispersal area, turning MiG-23s into burning wrecks as their fuel and ordnance exploded with the aircraft.

Finally, around midmorning, he had led a dozen surviving MiGs into the air, only to run into F-16s. Four of the MiG-23s were shot down, and two more damaged. After he landed, two more MiGs took off, but only one returned, as the flight had been jumped by F-5s, and though the wingman had returned with several 20-mm holes in his aircraft, he had not seen what happened to his flight leader, who had gone north, along the east side of the Sandias.

Then, that afternoon, several more A-6s had come in, again dropping cluster bombs, and adding to the misery of the repair crews. Now the runway was closed while explosives experts went around, marking the bomblets that hadn't gone off, and then a sharpshooter would go out with a rifle and shoot them until they detonated. Then his intelligence officer arrived.

oeComrade Colonel

oeYou told me this wouldn't happen! That most of their aircraft in this theater were sent to Kansas and Missouri! Now look at what they have done!

oeComrade Colonel, the intelligence man replied. oeI was only passing what I received from higher.

oeI know, Comrade Major, the colonel said. oeStill, I have to blame someone. Any other news

oeNothing definite, but both Holloman and the Alamo Midway Airport have also been attacked and neutralized. Rumors are going around that American Rangers have seized the White Sands Space Harbor.

oeIt won't be long until we get orders to leave, the colonel replied. oeSoon,the front will be in Texas.

oeI'm afraid so, Comrade Colonel, replied the intelligence officer.

Several bomblets exploded off in the distance. Then a harried air force engineering officer came to the Colonel. oeComrade Colonel, the political officer-

oeWhat about our dear Party Comrade The Colonel asked.

oeHe's dead. The Zampolit was berating me and my men for not being energetic enough in clearing the area of munitions and debris, when a delayed-action bomblet exploded next to him.

oeNo great loss, the Colonel said. oePeople like him are what got us into this mess anyway. Get the runway operational as soon as possible.

oeComrade Colonel.

[Matt Wiser]

And day one of Operation PRAIRIE FIRE winds down...



Near Williams AFB, AZ; 1600 Hours:

Corvette Flight was approaching the base, and Guru called for landing instructions. This time, the pattern was clear, and the flight was cleared for landing. After they landed, the flight taxied over to their dispersal area, and shut down. As he climbed down from the cockpit, Guru told Goalie, oeGood one.

oeI'll take it, she replied. oeWhat happened to those SAMs the brief told us about

oeMaybe the Weasels got there ahead of us Kara said as she came over. oeOr they got jammed off the air

Guru nodded. oeWhatever happened, I'm happy with it. Then they walked over to the Hummer, where Colonel Rivers and Lieutenant Licon were waiting. oeBoss.

oeHow'd it go Colonel Rivers asked.

oeHardly any flak, and no SAM activity, Guru said.

oeHow about the bombing

Just as Rivers asked that, Sweaty and Preacher came over, with Hoser and KT not far behind, though Hoser was limping, favoring his right ankle. oeSir.

oeWhat happened to you Rivers asked.

oeTwisted my ankle getting down from the crew ladder, Hoser said. oeI'm fine.

oeNot until Doc Waters has a look. Consider yourself grounded for the rest of the day, siad Rivers. oeNow, how was the strike

oeTore that place up pretty good, Guru said. oeIntel was right about Su-25s; they had several there.

oeChoppers Licon asked. oeIntel said Hips and Hinds.

oeThey were there, Sweaty said. oeWe took out most of them.

oeI'll check the strike footage and see what we get. BDA from other sources should be available tomorrow, Licon said. oeAny surface-to-air activity

oeExcept for light flak Kara asked, seeing the intel officer nod. oeI didn't see any.

oeMe neither, Guru said, and Goalie nodded. oeThen again, we were first in and out.

oeNo MANPADS that I could see, Hoser said.

KT nodded. oeI'll confirm that.

oeOkay, Licon said. oeI'll pass that all up the line. Thanks, everybody. Then the intel headed on to debrief another flight.

oeGood run, Rivers said to everyone. oeNow, he said, pointing to Hoser. oeAs for you.... He pulled from a flight suit pocket a walkie-talkie. oeDoc, come over to 512's dispersal.

oeOn the way, a voice responded.

oeColonel... Hoser said. oeI can manage.

oeNot if you have to eject, Rivers said firmly. oeNo flying until Doc has a look and clears you. Understood

oeYes, Sir, Hoser replied, though none too happily.

A Dodge Crew-Cab pickup came over to the Hummer, and both Doc Waters and one of his medics came over. oeYou asked for me, Colonel Doc asked.

oeHoser twisted his ankle getting out of his plane, Rivers said. oeTake him and check him out.

oeCome on, Lieutenant, Doc said. oeNo more flying today, and maybe tomorrow as well.

oeOkay, Doc. Hoser said. He walked to the truck, but he was clearly favoring his right ankle.

Watching that, KT said, oeThat leaves me without a pilot.

Rivers nodded. oeAny suggestions, XO He asked Guru.

oeHaven't seen him in the air, Guru said. oeBut this might be a good time to find out. How about Dave Golen

oeDone. I'll send him over here, Rivers said. oeAnything you want to know about him

oeOnly one thing, Guru said. oeAny problems flying with KT, or flying as Sweaty's wingman The IDF doesn't allow female aircrew..

oeI don't think he'll have any, Rivers said. oeI'll get him over here. You're going out again in forty-five minutes. This will be your last one of the day.

oeWhat's the mission

oeCAS. On-call again, said Rivers. oeYou know the drill. I'll get Dave over here, and you guys can hash it out.

oeRoger that, Boss, Guru said.

oeGood luck, Rivers nodded, then he headed off to the squadron offices.

After Rivers left, the crews grabbed some more food from the cooler, and found that more drinks had been added to the ice chest. Bottled water and iced tea were preferred, as no one wanted to have gas from a Coke or Pepsi while in the air. While they ate and drank, Dave Golen came over in a USAF flight suit, and with helmet and G-Suit. oeGuru, he said.

oeDave, Guru said, remembering the Israeli habit of calling officers by their first names. oeYou know everybody

oeI do, and nice to be flying with you, Golen said. He shook hands with KT, and said, oeA pleasure to be flying with you.

oeThanks, Major, KT replied. oeHope you don't mind a girl in back, instead of a guy.

oeNot at all, Golen replied.

Guru nodded. oeGood, Dave, because you're flying as Sweaty's wingman.

oeExperience leads, Golen nodded. oeJust as we do it.

oeActually, Goalie said. oeJust as Robin Olds did it in Southeast Asia.

oeI see...the legendary Robin Olds has a continuing legacy.

Both Guru and Kara nodded. oeHe does, Kara replied with an evil-looking grin.

Golen nodded himself. oeSo, then. What's the mission

oeCAS, on call, Guru said. oeWe check in with AWACS and they pass us on to a C-130 ABCCC, then they hand us off to a FAC.

oeUnderstood. Anything else I should know

oeOnly this: unless the FAC asks for it, one pass only. Guru said. oeWe learned that the hard way.

Golen nodded. It was the same thing in the Israeli AF. oeOrdnance

oeTo be determined, Goalie said. oeThey bring us whatever's available.

The crews were talking and trying to stay cool when the ordnance crew arrived. This time, the crews noticed the load before the arming process began. All CBUs, and they were Rockeyes. oeLooks like we may be going after armor, Sweaty observed.

oeWe'll know, only when we get there, Guru said.

It took twenty minutes to arm the flight. Then Sergeant Crowley came over to the Hummer. oeCaptain, he said to Guru. oeBirds are locked and cocked.

oeAll right, Guru said. oeHit the latrine, and then get ready to fly.

After the crews did their business there, they gathered at the Hummer again. oeWhere to this time Kara asked.

oeAWACS or ABCCC tells us, Guru said. He turned to Golen. oeAny special questions

Golen shook his head. oeNone.

oeGood, Dave. Just follow Sweaty's lead, and you'll be fine. Guru said. He turned to the rest of the flight. oeAny other questions

oeThis our last one, right Sweaty asked.

oeIt should be, Guru nodded. oeAnything else There wasn't. He grabbed his helmet. oeLet's hit it.

The crews went to their aircraft, and did a quick walk-around, then got into their planes. The cockpit preflights were rushed once again, and then it came time for engine start. After run-up, it was time to taxi. As usual, once they got to the runway, the armorers pulled off the arming pins, then the flight was cleared to taxi onto the runway. The tower again flashed a green light, and the flight took off by elements, rumbling down the runway and into the air.


Over Central New Mexico: 1705 Hours:


Corvette Flight had come in just north of Alberquerque, and after checking in with AWACS, had been told to wait. They were high enough that, as they orbited, could see the Northeastern part of Alberquerque rapidly turning into a mini-Stalingrad, as the Soviet defenders made their last stand. Penned up against the Sandia Mountains, with no way out now that I-40 was under American control, and so they were fighting it out, with the 11th Airborne and parts of the 23rd ID having a real fight on their hands, while two brigades from the 23rd were pushing east along I-40. With all the artillery in the air, fixed-wing aircraft were staying clear, and even the Army helicopters from both divisions were keeping south of I-40 and west of I-25.

oeOne thing, Guru said to Goalie on the intercom. oeWhen the Russians run out of ammo...

oeThey surrender, she replied. oeThey're not the Japanese from World War II, or the North Koreans up in Canada.

oeYeah, Guru said. Then the C-130 ABCCC came on the line.

oeCorvette Flight, Hillsboro, the controller called. oeProceed heading Zero-nine-zero, then contact Nail 41.

oeRoger, Hillsboro, Guru called. He led the flight due east, giving the battle area a wide berth. He then contacted Nail 41. oeNail Four-One, Corvette Two-One.

oeCorvette, Nail, the FAC replied. oeSay type of aircraft and ordnance.

oeNail, four Foxtrot-Fours with one dozen Rockeye CBUs and full load twenty mike-mike, replied Guru.

oeRoger, Corvette. I see you, the FAC responded.

As they came in, the flight could see yet another A-7K orbiting. oeNail, Corvette, what have you got for us

oeCorvette, we have troops in contact, Highway 285 south of the Highway 41 intersection. Enemy armor and APCs headed their way. Can you make those go away

oeNail, Corvette, Guru replied. oeRoger that. Say Sierra-Alpha threat

oeCorvette, Nail. Expect regimental air defense threat, the FAC said. That meant SA-9s or -13s, and ZSU-23s, plus whatever MANPADS that the infantrymen were carrying.

oeCopy, Guru replied. oeCan you mark the target

oeStand by, Corvette, the FAC responded. oeSteer One-Five-Zero.

oeRoger that, Guru replied. oeFlight, Lead. Stick with me.

All four F-4s made the turn, and they were headed southeast, parallel to U.S. 285, and they could see the road below. The WSOs were scanning with binoculars, and they could see the elements of the First Cavalry Division spreading out on both sides of the highway. And about two miles south of them, White Phosphorous exploded along the breadth of the road. oeThere's your target area,

Guru nodded in his cockpit. oeFlight, Lead. One pass, south to north. Come around, and follow me in.

oeRoger, Lead, Sweaty called.

oeNail, Corvette, Guru said. oeOne pass is all we can give you. Can you ask the ground pounders to take out any air defense assets

oeWait one, Corvette. the FAC said. Then he came back. oeCorvette, Nail. That's affirm.

Down below, several vehicles exploded in fireballs. That should make things a little easier, Guru thought. oeNail, Corvette, we're headed in. Flight, Lead. Time to go to work.

oeRight with you, Lead, Sweaty replied.

Guru brought his F-4 around, and started his run in. oeGoalie,set things up. Everything in one pass.

oeGotcha, she said. oeYou're set.

Guru took a last look at his EW repeater. Still clear. He switched on his ECM pod. oeMusic's on. Lead in hot. He rolled in on his bomb run. As he lost altitude, he could see T-72 tanks down below, and BTR type APCs. Your bad day, Ivan,.....HACK! Guru called as he pushed the pickle button.

Down below, the 363rd Independent Motor-Rifle Regiment was moving north on Route 285. The Regimental Commander had received orders from what was left of the 13th Army HQ to stabilize the Army's right flank. With no other information, the Colonel moved his regiment north, past the wreckage of American air attacks, and to his surprise, his regiment had not been hit by American aircraft. Then, all of a sudden, white phosphorous burst around his regiment, and he ordered his battalions to deploy and move north along the road. He was caught totally by surprise as several of his vehicles took American fire and exploded, and clearly, the Americans were closer than Army thought. The howl of an aircraft came over him, and he saw an F-4 moving north at low level. Then CBU bomblets began to explode, and then his BTR-60 command vehicle exploded around him....

oeLead's off target, Guru called.

oeTwo's in, Kara said. She went in to the left of the road, picking out what looked like a battalion's worth of APCs. She hit the pickle button. oeHACK!, she called, and a dozen Rockeye CBUs came off her aircraft, exploding a number of BTR-70s, and she egressed north. oeTwo's off target.

oeThree's in hot! Sweaty called. She decided to hit the right of the road, and she, too, picked up some BTRs. As she rolled in, Sweaty noticed some tracers going up after Kara's F-4, but the tracers fell away No SAMs, Sweaty was pleased to see. She lined up the BTRs in the pipper....HACK! And a dozen more CBUs came off her Phantom, and a number of BTRs exploded. oeThree's off target.

oeFour on target, Dave Golen called. He'd done this quite a few times in Sinai in '73, and to him, it was like old home week. As he came in, he could see the Soviet artillery battalion deploying, and to him, that was a worthy target. He picked out a battery, and lined them up. oeNow! He called to KT, and again, Rockeye CBUs exploded on target, knocking out several of the 2S1 artillery pieces, and also exploding several ammo trucks. Golen buzzed the regiment on the way out, and as he came out, there was tracer fire coming up not only after his element leader, but around his aircraft. But the plane wasn't hit, and as he pulled up, KT in the back seat dumped some flares to confuse any MANPADS. Then he banked hard and headed west. oeFour off target.

oeCopy, Four, Guru said. oeNail, Corvette Two-One. How'd we do

oeCorvette, Nail. Good bombs on target. Watch for Warthogs coming in from the west, the FAC said. oeThe Army says thanks.

oeTell 'em 'You're welcome,' Guru replied. oeFlight, Lead. Form on me and let's head home.

The other three Phantoms formed on Guru's bird, and all four headed west. They managed to get to the tanker track without any help from the AWACS, and after refueling, headed back to Williams. As it turned out, they were the last flight to return, period, for the last Marine F-4 or Hornet flight had returned a good ten minutes earlier. The sun was beginning to go low on the horizon when Corvette Flight came in and landed. After they taxied to their dispersal and shut down, Guru said to Goalie. oeThat's a record. Seven missions in one day. For us, anyway.

oeWant to bet those Hog drivers had more She replied. oeLet's get this debriefed, then get something to eat.

oeAlways listen to your WSO's advice, my RTU instructor once said. Guru replied. oeSeems like a lifetime ago.

oeYeah, she said as the ground crew brought the crew ladders and the crew popped their canopies. Then they got out of the aircraft, dead tired.

oeHow'd it go, Sir Sergeant Crowley asked.

oeNo holes, Guru said. oeMade a bunch of tanks and APCs go up.

oeAll right! Uh, Sir, Crowley said. oeCO and Lieutenant Licon by the Hummer.

Guru nodded, and led his crews back to the Hummer. oeBoss, he said, sketching a salute.

oeWelcome back, said Colonel Rivers. oeHow'd Dave do

oeDid all right, Guru said. oeIsn't that right, KT

oeHe did, KT replied. oeI'd have him in the cockpit again anytime.

oeIf you want him, you got him, Rivers said. oeHoser's grounded for at least another day.

oeThen we'll take him, Guru said. oeHow's that sound

oeSounds good to me, Golen replied.

oeWhat was the target Licon wanted to know.

oeRegimental-sized force on 285, Guru replied. oeTanks and APCs.

oeAny SAMs

oeNone that we could see, Sweaty said. oeThere was some tracer fire coming up, though.

oeNo heavy stuff, not even MANPADS, Kara nodded. oeThe Army did take some of that out, though.

oeMajor Licon asked Dave Golen. oeDid you see any

oeNone at all, Golen replied. oeJust some tracer fire, and that was all.

oeWhat did the FAC say Rivers asked.

oeHe said we had good bombs on target, Guru replied. oeSome A-10s were coming in as we left, and that was all.

oeI'll check your strike camera footage, Licon nodded.

oeLots of secondaries on a couple runs, Sweaty noted. oeGuru and Starbuck had some.

oeAnd so did you, Golen said.

oeAll right, Licon said. oeThanks, everybody. He then went off to the intel office.

oeOkay, Rivers said. oeDave, you fly with these guys tomorrow. He saw Golen nod. oeGet something to eat, and get over to the Sheraton. Wake up is at 0400, with first wheels up at 0600.

oeBoss, Guru said. oeAlmost like today

oeNot as much, Rivers told the flight. oeIf the ComBloc hadn't collapsed as much as they did, yeah, but..

oeBut this whole part of the front's coming apart, Goalie noted.

oeThat's right, Rivers admitted. oeGet out of your gear, get some food, then over to billeting. Curfew is at 2100.

oeAnd the twelve-hour rule's already in effect, Kara noted sourly.

oeIt is, Rivers said. oeSorry, Captain.

oeAll right, people, Guru said. oeYou heard the CO. Get something to eat, and get to the Sheraton.

As the flight broke up, Goalie noted that her pilot was hanging back with Colonel Rivers. oeYou're coming, right

Guru nodded. oeIn a minute. He turned to Colonel Rivers. oeGlad I didn't have to use that packet.

oeSo am I, Rivers said. oeBut keep in mind, it's still going to be a long war. You might need something like that later on.

oeLet's talk about that later, Boss, Guru said. oeI need some food, and then some shut-eye.

oeYou're not the only one, XO, Rivers nodded. oeCome on and eat. He pointed to the Marines' mess tent.

After eating, the aircrews headed back to the Sheraton, and they found their beds. Because it wouldn't be long until 0400, and they would do it again on the second day of PRAIRIE FIRE......

[Matt Wiser]

The next story: as the war on the Rio Grande peters out, there's still a shooting war in Canada......


Armistice Day and Beyond

Laredo AFB, TX: 12 October, 1989, 1000 Central War Time


Even though it was nearly Mid-October, it was still hot in Laredo, as it was in much of Texas. The state had been devastated by the war, and in many areas, the U.S. Military was taking over many functions of local government, since local government institutions had been decimated by the occupation, so the military was assuming responsibilities for restoring essential services, medical, and law and order. Laredo was no exception, and the city-along with the entire Rio Grande River from El Paso down to Brownsville, was a declared Military Zone, where military law applied.

That wasn't a concern to those at the air base, whether they were Air Force, Marines, Navy, or (increasingly) Army Aviation. Though there was a cease-fire with the Mexicans, along with the Soviets and Cubans who'd fled into Mexico, things on the border were still tense. Still, events were calm enough that some units that had fought in Texas and the Southwest were headed north to the Canadian Theater, where there was still a shooting war going on.

For Major Matt Wiser of the Air Force's 335th Tactical Fighter Squadron, today was to be redeployment day. His ground echelon had left Laredo a week earlier, and he was sitting in the Operations Center for Marine Air Group 11, the Marine unit that his squadron had been attached to since the beginning of the war, back in 1985. His Executive Officer, Capt. Don Van Loan, had gone with the ground echelon, leaving the Ops Officer, Capt. Kara Thrace, as acting Exec. Van Loan had also taken twelve crews along with him, leaving the CO with twenty-four F-4Es and crews. Some of the ground staff had stayed, to get the F-4s into shape and ready to head to their new base, Fairchild AFB, Washington, but they had left the previous day via C-130.

Now, both the CO and his acting Exec sat by a phone in MAG Ops, waiting, and both were glancing at either the office clock or their watches.

oeHow long, Boss Captain Thrace asked. She was one of those who detested waiting, and wanted to get things done, now.

oeDon said he'd call, replied the CO. oeNo idea when, though. And the CO fully shared her thoughts: get this over and done with, now.

Colonel Allen Brady, the MAG-11 CO, came in. oeStill here, eh

oeAfraid so, Colonel, Major Wiser replied. oeThe Air Force hasn't cut us loose just yet.

oeWell, if they don't call, I'll get your crews some lunch, Brady said. oeMeantime, I was on the phone with First Marine Air Wing. MAG-11's up for a Presidential Unit Citation, and you guys are eligible to wear the ribbon, once we get the award.

The CO and Ops Officer looked at each other. Had an AF unit been recognized by the Marines before After a minute, Major Wiser said, oeThanks, Colonel. When

oeThese things take about three to six months. We'll notify you through channels. Brady said.

Both AF officers nodded. oeIf we can't come to the ceremony, Colonel, it's because we're busy, Captain Thrace pointed out.

Brady nodded. oeI know: either up North, down to Cuba, or wherever. Then the phone rang. Brady himself picked it up, bypassing the Duty Officer. oeMAG-11. He looked at Major Wiser. oeIt's for you, Major. Van Loan.

Major Wiser took the phone. oeGo, Don.

oeMajor, everyone's here. There's a tent city set up for all the TacAir types, and they expanded it for us.

oeLet me guess: us TAC guys are going to outnumber the SAC folks-on a SAC base Major Wiser asked.

oeYou got it, Van Loan said. oeThe ex-VNAF guys in the 514th are here already-they still fly F-5s, and the ex-IIAF fellows got here today: they're in Phantoms, just like us. They're the 31st TFS.

oeJust one squadron

oeYeah, but the 450th sent the best. All ex-IIAF, and some even came from Iran after the Iran-Iraq War ended, back in '86. Anyway, all the ground guys are here, and waiting on you guys. Van Loan said.

oeAll right, Don. What's the weather like right now The CO asked.

oeFine so far. Upper 60s, and no rain.

oeAll right. Tell whoever's waiting for us we're on our way. Major Wiser said. oeSee you in a few hours.

oeWe'll be here, Van Loan said.

Major Wiser then hung up. He nodded to Captain Thrace. oeShowtime.

oeGet the crews together She asked.

oeYeah. One final brief here, then it's wheels up, Major Wiser said. He turned to Colonel Brady and put out his hand. oeColonel, it's been a pleasure to serve under you.

oeLikewise, Major. Brady said. oeI'll get some ground people from VMFA-333 to get your birds started.

oeThanks, Colonel, replied the Major. He and the Ops Officer got up and headed to their briefing room, where the crews were gathered. Waiting outside were several of the experienced hands in the squadron, and Captain Lisa Eichhorn, call sign Goalie, was one of them.

oeWe going, Guru She asked. Guru was the CO's call sign.

oeThe sky awaits, Major Wiser said. oeTime to head to Fairchild.

oeAnd leave all this Capt. Valerie oeSweaty Blanchard quipped, waving her hand at the desert near the base, and the wreckage of Laredo to the south.

oeWhen Sundown Cunningham says 'move', we move, Captain Thrace, call sign Starbuck, said. oeJust have your rain gear handy. She was referring to the new Air Force Chief of Staff and his fearsome reputation for telling officers to get off base by sundown if they displeased him. That was no joke. The Pacific Northwest got a lot of rain, and Fairchild AFB received its share.

The CO nodded. oeLet's get this over with, and headed into the briefing room. As he did so, there was a shout, oeCO on the deck!

The Major noticed the difference between the old hands and the new guys. The squadron veterans stayed seated, while the new people shot to attention. oeAs you were, people! This squadrons still at war, so we can drop the jumping up and down business. Everyone sat down, awaiting the CO's remarks. He looked them over. Four new crews had reported to the squadron since the end in Brownsville, over a week earlier, and they were fire-eaters. The CO shook his head.

oeWhat's up, Major Capt. Nathan West asked.

oeGood news, people. We're going north. Today, Major Wiser replied. There was the usual buzz in the room, as it sank in. They were finally leaving for the Canadian Theater. oeThe ground echelon's arrived, and we're headed that way. This is a ferry flight, but keep in mind that Fairchild is one hour's flight time away from a Soviet-held airfield, so we'll be going loaded for air-to-air.

The crews started talking amongst themselves again. Some of the new guys perked up at the possibility of some combat, even on a ferry flight.

oeUsual air-to-air load of four Sidewinders, four Sparrows, full load of 20 mike-mike, three tanks to make the trip in one hop, and our travel pods. The Major reminded the crews. The travel pods had their own personal bags, though some had gone with the ground guys. oeAs for weather, he went on, seeing he had everyone's attention, oeCAVU as far as Salt Lake, though there's occasional clouds from there all the way to Fairchild. No rain, and not much wind there. Be glad for the good weather, because we'll be there for the winter, and good flying days will be a godsend. The CO looked around. oeQuestions

oeAre we going as a squadron or in flights One of the new guys asked.

oeFlights, the CO replied. oeOnce you form up after takeoff, head on north. Any others

oeMajor, what about divert fields Sweaty Blanchard asked.

oeGood question. Divert fields are: Kirtland, Hill, Mountain Home, and if Fairchild's closed for whatever reason when we get there Try either Spokane International or Larson AFB. I-90 will do in extremis. Major Wiser said. He looked around. oeAny other questions There weren't any. oeAll right, let's hit it.

As the crews headed out, Major Wiser and his WSO were talking. oeGoalie, you ready to go back to Fairchild

oeNo, she replied. oeI've got some SERE experiences that I'd rather not repeat for real. I was there in winter, back in my C-130 days.

oeNoted. I'm not fond of the place myself. But if Sundown says we go, go we must, the Major said.

Two more crewers came up. 1st Lts. Kevin oeCowboy McAllen and Toni oeNooner Grey were their wingmates. oeAnything special, Guru Cowboy asked.

oeNo. Just treat it as we've always done. Even if it's a redeployment.

oeFine by me, Major, Nooner replied.

It didn't take long for the crews to get ready, and as they left the building for the last time, the Marines who they had served with were clapping. Some slapped their AF colleagues on the back, while others shook hands. Despite interservice rivalry, some friendships had been made, and it would be a while at least before there was a reunion. And when Guru and Goalie got to their aircraft, 512, Colonel Brady and VMFA-333's CO, Major Joe Putnam, were waiting. oeColonel Major Wiser asked.

oeJust wanted to see you guys off, one last time, Brady said, shaking Guru's hand.

oeThanks very much, Colonel, Guru replied. oeJoe, he said, shaking Putnam's hand.

oeFor a bunch of Air Force pukes, you guys drove Double-Ugly like you stole it, Putnam replied. He turned to Goalie in his Cajun accent. oeYou keep this guy alive, you hear He needs to be at the reunion.

oeI'll do that, Goalie said, turning to her pilot and grinning.

Both pilot and WSO did their preflight, and climbed into their cockpits. Putnam's ground crews proved to be just as efficient as their 335th counterparts, and soon, twenty-four F-4s were fired up and ready to taxi. After contacting the tower, Guru and Cowboy taxied to the end of the runway, ready to take off.

oeFinal checklist complete, Goalie said. oeCanopy down

oeCanopy coming down, Guru said, pulling the front canopy down and locking it, and seeing Goalie do the same. Then a green light came from the tower. Clear for takeoff. Guru then released the brakes and tore down the runway, with Cowboy behind him, and both Phantoms were quickly airborne. After Cowboy formed on him, Guru used hand signals to tell him to follow. And both F-4s set course for Fairchild AFB. With the rest of the squadron following behind. It would be a four-hour flight.


Near Fairchild AFB, WA, 1215 Hours Pacific War Time, 12 October, 1989:

The flight from Laredo to Fairchild had been long, and for both Guru and Goalie, boring. After climbing out from Laredo to their assigned altitude of 24,000 feet, and occasionally checking in with AWACS or, as they crossed from Colorado into Utah, civilian ATC at Salt Lake City, there really wasn't much to the flight. Though Guru had looked down on New Mexico and Colorado from their altitude, and Goalie could tell, even from the back seat, that her pilot still had some memories of his E&E that he wanted to keep to himself. She knew it was only natural-and only someone who'd been through a similar experience could understand what he'd seen and done. But once they'd flown past the Rockies, Guru had become much more chatty on the intercom, she was pleased to see.

Now, as they approached Fairchild, it was back to AWACS. And their radio crackled. oeFirebird One-One, Buckeye. How copy

oeBuckeye, Firebird One-One, Guru called back. oeRead you five by.

oeCopy that, Firebird. Welcome to the Northern Theater. This ain't Texas, fella.

oeRoger that, Buckeye, Guru replied. oeSteering to destination

oeCopy. Your vector is two-nine-zero, Firebird.

oeRoger, two-nine-zero, Buckeye, and thank you, Guru called. After contacting the tower for landing instructions, he brought his two-ship in. As he taxied to their dispersal area, right behind the oeFollow Me truck, Guru noticed the lack of B-52s. Apart from those sitting nuclear alert, there were only four Buffs on the ramp. EASTERN EXPRESS, he knew. Those guys went right into the Bear's Den, and had done some crazy things, or so he'd heard. After being directed to their dispersal area, Guru was waved into a basic shelter-similar to those used in Southeast Asia, and saw Don Van Loan waiting. He shut down, popped his canopy, and waved Van Loan over. oeDon! So you guys made it.

oeThat we did, Boss. Welcome to not-so-sunny Fairchild, Van Loan replied.

Guru and Goalie got out of 512, and his crew chief came over. oeAnything 512 needs, Major

oeNo, Sergeant, Guru replied. oeGet her refueled, because we may have something tomorrow-like theater indoctrination, and if it's like what we did out of Williams, we may run into somebody.

oeYou got it, Major.

Guru nodded, and went over to the port travel pod. He unloaded his bag, and the AKM that he'd brought out of the mountains. That was his personal weapon when on base, come hell or high water. Goalie did the same on her end, pulling out a CAR-15. oeSo, Don, Guru asked Van Loan, oewho do we belong to

oeThe old Yokata base wing-the 475th. It's now a TFW, and we're now TDY to them. Along with the 514th TFS: the ex-VNAF guys with their F-5s, and the 31st TFS, who are all ex-IIAF and their F-4s, Van Loan told his CO.

Guru nodded as he left the TAB-V shelter, with Goalie and Van Loan. oeWho's the Wing CO

oeHear the name Colonel Bill Austin Van Loan asked.

oeHeard about him, Goalie said. oeA-10 driver, right

oeEx-A-10 driver, Van Loan said. oeHe won a MOH at Wichita: killed 23 tanks all by his lonesome, and brought back his Hog so badly shot up it never flew again. They sent him on some War Bond tour, and now he's back flying real fighters.

oeGuess we better pay him a call, Guru said. oeWhere's Wing HQ

oeI'll take you guys there. Just a bunch of office trailers. The SAC guys got all the permanent facilities-it's their base, after all, and we little TAC boys and girls get the short end of the stick, Van Loan told his CO.

oeFigures, Guru said. oeAnd we're in tents, right He saw his Exec nod, and shook his head.

Van Loan took them to the Wing HQ, and it was an office trailer, just as he said. oeNot much, Boss; this wing got thrown together starting last week, and there's not much in the way of staff; just him, his Exec, a few NCOs, and enlisted. We're supposed to get everyone else over the coming week.

Goalie was surprised. oeWhat

oeThat was what Colonel Austin said, when he got here, Van Loan said. oeAt least, that's what he told me.

Guru nodded, then put his bags down next to the trailer. oeWait here, guys, and Goalie and Van Loan nodded, as did two who'd followed them: Cowboy and Nooner. Then he went and knocked on the door.

oeCome in, a voice inside said. Guru opened the door and went in. There, he found a red-haired Colonel, several NCOs and enlisted airmen moving about, and things just plain in a mess. Then the Colonel caught his eye. oeYou must be Major Wiser.

oeSir. Major Wiser said, saluting. oe335th TFS reporting for duty.

oeBill Austin, Major, call sign Taz, the Colonel said, shaking his hand.

oeTaz, Sir

oeYeah, When I flew A-10s, I ate tanks like the Tasmanian Devil, Austin quipped. oeIt stuck, so...you're Guru, right

oeYes, Sir. That's what happens when a History Major becomes a fighter driver, Major Wiser replied.

oeWell, come on into the office. Not much, I'm afraid. Austin said. He escorted Guru into his office, and an AF-issue desk, a couple of folding chairs, and a file cabinet was the extent of the furniture. If this was what Wing had, Guru knew he'd be lucky to have a tent for his squadrons offices. They had done it before: at Cannon and Bergstrom.

oeHave a seat, Major. Austin said. oeTenth Force sent me a copy of your squadrons record. He looked over a file on his desk. oePretty impressive.

Guru nodded. oeThank you, Sir. Not just my credit: two other squadron commanders laid the foundation. I just picked up where they left off. Not my choice, though.

oeSo it says here. I know about the Carson affair, and that's water under the bridge. Austin said. oeNow, things up here are pretty loose, just like in Tenth Air Force-or Ninth, where I was, but it's kinda like the early days: too many folks deploying, and not enough to go around. Austin said.

oeWe'll manage, Sir, Major Wiser said.

oeGood. Now, you're flying with the 31st TFS, the ex-IIAF guys, and the 514th, former VNAF. The 31st has F-4s, but 514 has F-5s. We're expecting a Weasel detachment and a recon detachment next week, and maybe we'll get things organized enough by then to be declared operational.

oeYes, Sir, the Major nodded. He knew that oemaybe was the operative word.

oeAll right: just three more things, then you guys can get yourselves situated. First: any, well, 'moonlight requisitioning' expeditions Tell your scroungers the following: No felony arrests, no one gets hurt, and best of all, just plain don't get caught. Austin told the Major.

oeI understand, Sir, Major Wiser said. oeNothing new there.

oeVery good. Now, I'm well aware of the antics of a certain Captain Thrace. Any truth to those Austin wanted to know.

oeSir, a lot of the stories about her combat prowess are quite true, Major Wiser stated. oeHowever, those about her off-duty escapades are, well....highly exaggerated.

Austin laughed. oeBut some are quite truthful, I assume And he saw the Major nod, reluctantly. oeJust so I know who I'm dealing with. Lastly, you guys can start flying tomorrow. Not combat, mind, but your theater indoctrination rides.

oeThank you, Sir.

oeJust clear your flight plans with me, and avoid combat if possible.

Guru nodded. oeSir, is that all

oeFor now, Austin nodded. oeI'll see you tomorrow, when you bring your flight plans. Get situated, get some food in you and your people, and rest up.

oeSir.


Goalie, Van Loan, Cowboy, and Nooner were outside the trailer, waiting. Then Guru came out. oeWell Van Loan asked.

oeTell Ross: get the scroungers out tonight. No felony arrests, no one gets hurt, and best of all: nobody gets caught. We'll need the stuff they get, no doubt about it. Guru said.

oeWill do.

Guru picked up his things, and said, oeLet's get billeted. We can start some theater indoctrination flights tomorrow, but no combat. Not for at least a week.

oeWho do we clear them with Goalie asked. One of her jobs as senior WSO was to help with getting new crew members integrated into the squadron. And that included theater indoctrination.

oeColonel Austin. Right now, there's no Wing Ops staff, Guru said, and he saw both Goalie's and Van Loan's jaws drop.

oeShoestring wing again Van Loan asked.

oeYou got it: too many units deploying up here, not enough assets to go around, and so on. Just like the early days. Guru told his Exec.

oeWonderful.

oeJust get everyone squared away. Find the chow tent, get people fed, and then bedded down. We'll be busy in the morning, Major Wiser said.

[Matt Wiser]

Part II:



335th TFS Operations Tent, Fairchild AFB, WA; 14 October, 1989: 0800 Pacific War Time.


Major Wiser looked over at his assembled aircrews. They had been supposed to start their theater indoctrination flights the day before, but new arrivals, along with the ongoing EASTERN EXPRESS effort, had prevented that. Not only had the TAC unit that had been at Fairchild since the early days, the 51st TFW, which had redeployed from Korea, been busy, but someone had decided to move another unit to the base from Larson AFB in Central Washington, the 343rd TFW. They had been run out of Alaska with exactly four F-16s and four A-10s left, and after being rebuilt, had returned to the fight. So, with the move, the new arrivals had been left on the ground. And they had used the time to get settled in, and turn loose their oescroungers to get what their respective units needed. But today, Colonel Austin had summoned his squadron commanders to his office trailer, and given them the word: theater indoctrination begins today.

For Major Wiser, along with his two counterparts, Major Nguyen Van Tran, who commanded the 514th TFS, and Major Ali Mostafari, who had the 31st, it meant their squadrons could finally see where they'd be flying. And all three CO s had gone to inform their crews.

oeOkay, people! Major Wiser said to his squadron. oeWe have our theater indoctrination rides today. Wheels up beginning at 0900. Either two-ships or four-ships, at flight leaders' discretion. Stay away from the west side of the Canadian Rockies-that's the front lines in B.C., and you'll be fine.

oeWhat's the bad guys like Captain Thrace wanted to know.

oeGood question. Right now, they're at the end of a very long supply line-about as bad as the guys in Texas had, and one thing they are in short supply of is jet fuel. But the MiGs have been active, so they've been in a conservation mode. But if this push folks are saying is coming does happen, there'll be enough for everybody. He looked over his crews. Four crews had never seen combat, and he could tell their eyes were lighting up at the prospect of a MiG encounter-even on a milk run. oeNo -29s, but -23s and -21s. If we go deep-like Edmonton, say, expect MiG-25s and maybe even -31s from Voyska PVO.

Pilots and WSOs looked at each other. MiG-31s Those things could track you in the weeds, so the SAC guys said. The doppler break used to counter F-15s worked just as well against the Foxhound, or at least that was what Intel said. Captain Eichhorn nodded. oeWhat about SAMs

oeJust getting to that, Major Wiser said. oeNear the front lines, it's the usual suspects: SA-6, -8, -11. A few, and I mean few, SA-15s have been reported. No, this doesn't come from Wing, as we don't have a Wing Intel shop set up yet, but the guys from the 51st have been sharing what they know. All of what we have comes from them. The CO paused, then went on. oeDeeper, it's SA-2, -3, and, hold your breakfast, because we've never encountered them, even down south, SA-5.

oeThat's a Voyska PVO system, Boss, 1st Lt. Darren Licon, the Squadron Intelligence Officer, said.

oeYeah, and guess who's handling their rear-area air defense The very same Voyska PVO guys, Major Wiser replied. oeSame guys who fly the MiG-31s. Now, your ECM pods should handle the SA-5 radar, but remember: against a maneuvering target, they're pretty much useless. Use your chaff, do a SAM break, and you should be fine. Anything else

oeWeather, boss Sweaty Blanchard asked.

oePartly cloudy or partly sunny, depending on who you talk to, the Major quipped, and there was a good laugh. oeThis ain't Texas, people, so perfect flying weather is not going to happen. Things will be 'fair to good' on average, they told us, but if it's raining, forget it. The CO paused again, then looked at his people. oeOne more thing: there is talk of a possible cease-fire. Nothing more than that, but if you hear AWACS give this code over the radio: 'Break: Ohio, Ohio, Ohio, Break', that means it's over. Done, finis, the end, call it what you will.

There were a lot of grins as the Major said that. Maybe, just maybe, they'll call it a day before we do things for real. Though the four crews who had not seen combat were hoping they'd get a chance to get their licks in.

oeThat it, Boss Van Loan asked.

oeJust a reminder: NO trolling for MiGs, people! We've had people jumped before doing these kind of rides, when Mr. MiG comes looking for us, the CO said, looking at Starbuck. oeSo if a MiG driver wants to get one more before they call it quits Let him come looking for trouble: we'll make sure he finds it, Major Wiser reminded everyone. oeAnd you new people Stick to your wingmates. Is that understood

oeYES, SIR! Everyone shouted.

oeGood. Let's hit it.


1045 Hours Pacific War Time: over Kinbasket Lake, British Columbia:


Guru and Goalie were leading Cowboy and Nooner over a large lake in British Columbia, and to Guru, the surrounding terrain reminded him of Colorado. He said as much to Goalie, who remarked that they hadn't yet been briefed on the Canadian Resistance, something that might come in handy down the line. oeShoestring wing again, Guru had replied. oeWant to bet this all got laid on so fast, they haven't had time to get much of anything

oeNot arguing that, Goalie replied. oePretty country, though.

oeThis might be a good place to visit-once the war's over and done, Guru said. He saw another flight of F-4s off in the distance, and had a good idea who they were. oeMustang Three-One, Firebird One-One.

oeFirebird, Mustang. Go, It was Starbuck.

oeMustang, ever think you'd be grateful for a milk run Guru said.

oeBoss, you're spot on, Kara replied. oeThe newbies, though, they're chomping at the bit. No radars, no MiG calls, nothing.

oeMustang, Firebird, Guru replied. oeWhen you get back on the ground, remind those fire-eaters that they haven't missed a thing.

oeCopy that, Starbuck said. oeEven if I have to beat it into them.

Then Goalie interrupted the conversation. oeGuru, come left. Front lines dead ahead.

oeRoger that, Guru replied. He then called his wingman. oeCowboy, Guru. Stay with me.

oeOn your six, Boss, Cowboy called back.

Firebird flight then turned southwest, just as Mustang flight turned south. Then the call came from the AWACS.

oeTeaball on Guard to all airborne aircraft. Break, Ohio, Ohio, Ohio, Break.

Hearing that call, heads perked up in cockpits. oeGuru, did you hear that Goalie said.

oeI heard, Guru replied.

oeFirebird One-One, Mustang Three-One, did you copy that last Kara asked.

oeRoger that, Mustang, Guru replied. oeStand by one. Will authenticate.

oeStanding by, Firebird.

oeTeaball, Firebird One-One, please repeat your last, Guru called the AWACS.

oeFirebird, Teaball. Roger that. Ohio, Ohio, Ohio, the AWACS controller responded.

oeTeaball, Firebird. Alpha, Seven, Mike, Guru called, giving the authenticator code that would verify the AWACS transmission.

oeFirebird, Teaball, Roger, Copy, responded the controller. oeVictor, Eight, November.

In her cockpit, Goalie was checking her copy of the authenticator code. oeGuru, that's valid.

oeVerified, Guru said. He'd checked it himself. oeCopy that, Teaball, and thank you.

In her F-4, Kara was grinning under her oxygen mask. She'd heard the CO give the request, and copied the response. Both had checked out. oeFirebird, Mustang...

oeMustang, Firebird, It's valid. And you know what that means Guru asked.

oeCopy that, It's over! Kara was practically hollering over the radio.

Guru took a deep breath under his own mask. It was over, and he had survived. So many of his prewar squadron mates hadn't. And the attrition had included three previous squadron commanders. He was interrupted by Goalie shouting on the intercom, oeGuru, we made it!

oeThat we did, he replied. oeStand by one. Teaball, Firebird One-One, request vector direct Fairchild.

oeRoger that. Your vector is one-six-five. The Controller replied.

oeOne-six-five, Guru said. oeCopy that, and thank you. He then called Cowboy and Nooner. oeTwo, Lead. On me. Let's go home.

oeFirebird, Mustang, right behind you. Kara called. And the impromptu six-ship headed back to the border, and then Fairchild.

When they got there, and made a pass over the field, it was clear that a major celebration was breaking out. Guru wondered to Goalie if they'd be able to talk to a tower operator, but so far, at least those folks were sticking to their posts. oeFairchild Tower, Firebird One-One with two, request landing instructions.

oeFirebird One-One, clear for landing, Winds are two-five-zero at five.

oeCopy that, Fairchild Tower. Guru called back. And he led his two-ship in for their last landing (they hoped) in a combat zone. Just after taxiing off the runway, Kara brought her flight in. As they taxied to their dispersal area, the ground crews were cheering. When they taxied into their revetments and shut down, the ground crew practically charged the aircraft and nearly threw the crew ladders onto the planes. Guru and Goalie got down, into the waiting ground crew, and their crew chief, Staff Sgt. Mike Crowley, was waiting.

oeSergeant, Guru said. oeWe made it!

oeThat we did, Major! Crowley said, handing both Major Wiser and Captain Eichhorn a bottle of champagne. oeRoss found some, in case you're asking.

oeLet me guess, Goalie said, oeHe told the scroungers to get what we need for a cease-fire celebration.

oeYou'd have to ask him, Ma'am, Sergeant Crowley replied.

oeAnd he did good, Major Wiser said. oeHere goes. He popped the cork and sprayed his WSO, who returned the favor! And the ground crew got some splashed on them as well. Then Kara came over with her flight, and everyone was spraying everyone else, in between taking a swallow from the bottle. While they were doing so, a staff car pulled up, and someone tapped Major Wiser on the shoulder. oeWhat

oeBase commander, Sir, the airman said.

oeOh, shit.... Major Wiser said. He walked towards the car, and saw Brig. Gen. Allen Shipley, the base commander, and a B-52 driver of the old school, step out. He came towards the Major, who came to attention and saluted. oeSir,

oeMajor, General Shipley replied, returning the salute. oeI see your squadrons celebration is in full swing.

oeYes, Sir. Wars only end once, the Major replied.

oeI know, Shipley replied. oeAnyway, keep the, well, excesses to a minimum, if possible. No felony arrests, and stay away from any happy fire. I want the base left standing when all's said and done.

oeYes, Sir, Major Wiser grinned. oeThough, Sir, I imagine that the celebration will do more damage than Ivan ever did.

General Shipley sighed. oeThat's what I'm afraid of. But, you're probably right. Still, try and keep things...reasonable, Major.

oeWe'll try, Sir, Major Wiser replied. oeBut, General, if you don't mind my saying, this is going to make V-J Day look like a church social.

General Shipley sighed again. oeMajor, you're not the first to tell me that. He looked at the Major, and the fighter crews in the background. Even the B-52 crews still on base and not on alert were out getting crazy. oeCarry on, Major.

The Major nodded, saluted, and went back to the dispersal area, leaving the General shaking his head and getting back into his car. When Guru got back, he found Van Loan, Sweaty Blanchard, and several others, waiting. oeWell, what'd the base CO have to say Van Loan asked.

oeKeep the excesses to a minimum, if possible, Guru said. oeNo felony arrests, stay away from any 'happy fire', and try and leave the base standing when all's said and done.

oeEasier said than done, Boss, Van Loan reminded his CO, glancing at Kara and several others.

oeYeah, and he knows it, too. Guru replied. He looked at those assembled. oeIf you got splashed with champagne, before heading over to the Club, take a shower! This stuff is sticky as hell. There was a laugh at that. Then he surveyed his squadron again and raised his bottle. oeBefore we go, I'd like to propose a toast: To those who've gone before us. They didn't live to see this day, but they helped make it happen.

oeHear, hear, Sweaty said, raising her own bottle.

After the toast, Guru had one more. oeOne more toast, then get yourselves cleaned up. Ten years from now, if some snot-nosed reporter or stuffy academic asks you 'What were you feeling when the war ended' Well, you can tell them this: Fuck You, Ivan! WE WON!


Officer's Club, Fairchild AFB, WA: 1600 Pacific War Time, 14 October, 1989:


After cleaning up, and checking in with Colonel Austin, who happily told Guru that there would be no flying for at least three days, Guru had headed on over to the Officer's Club, as had just about every aircrew member and ground officer. He'd left a couple of the more hot-headed newbies as squadron duty officers, to remind them that contrary to what they'd thought, they hadn't missed a thing. When Guru got there, he found Goalie and Sweaty at the bar, and he came up. oeLadies,

oeGuru, Goalie replied with a wink and smile. She saw Sweaty nod.

He looked around and saw that practically everyone had a drink in hand. oeLet me guess: the plan is to drink this place dry, then

oeRight about that, Boss, Sweaty replied. oeThis place is going to look like what happens when those Army chopper girls get finished. She was referring to an all-female Army attack helicopter unit called the Cobra Chicks, who flew AH-1S Cobras, and not only had made a fearsome reputation on the battlefield, but also for their off-duty antics, which got quite...antic.

oeNo doubt about that, Guru replied. He waved the bartender over. oeSam Adams.

The bartender nodded, and handed Guru a bottle. oeHere you go, Major.

Guru paid him, then nodded at the entrance to the bar. oeColonel Austin coming. Barkeep, one for the Colonel.

Hearing that, Austin came up. oeNever turn down a free beer, he said. oeThanks, Major.

oeSo, Colonel, when can we head back to Seymour-Johnson Guru asked.

oeNothing new on that. Eleventh Air Force won't have that until next week, earliest, Austin said. oeThat's your home station, right

The three 335th fliers nodded.

oeHey, I understand, I'm waiting on going back to Myrtle Beach. I was in the 354th originally, Austin said. He looked over at the pool table and saw a blonde female Captain already working the table. oeIs that Captain Thrace

oeIt is, Colonel, Guru replied. oeA word of warning: Do not play pool with her unless it's a friendly.

oeShe's that dangerous Austin asked.

oeShe is, Sir, Goalie said. oeSo much that nobody from the 335th will play with her. Marines, though, they took the challenge. And lost a lot more than they won.

oeI bet, Austin said. Just then, the other two squadron CO s came in, Majors Tran and Mostafairi. They came over.

oeColonel, Major, Tran said.

oeTran, Mostafari, Major Wiser said, then he introduced the two female officers to the pair. That was something both had taken some time in getting used to, but Mostafari had a couple of female aircrew in his unit now, who had fled to America as teenagers, and had joined the Air Force when the war began. Tran's unit had several female aircrew as well.

oeSo, Major, waiting on going home Tran asked.

oeYeah. Back to Seymour-Johnson, North Carolina. You Guru replied.

oeSouthern California: I live in Thousand Oaks. I was with Northrop working on the F-5 program when it all started. Tran said. He turned to Mostafairi. oeAnd you

oePasadena, California for me, the ex-IIAF pilot said. oeI, too, worked for Northrop. I was dual-qualified in the F-4 and F-5 back in Iran, and when I came over in '79, Northrop offered me a job based on my F-5 experience.

oeWhy not McAir Goalie asked.

oeWell, with the F-4 program winding down, but the F-5 still in demand, it was an easy choice, Mostafari said. oeNow, I imagine I'll have to qualify on the F-20.

oeI, too, Tran said. oeIf they hadn't sent us up here, we were going to transition to the F-20.

oeNasty little birds, Sweaty quipped. oeSmall, nimble, and deadly.

oeThey are that, Tran agreed.

Major Wiser nodded, then shook hands with both Tran and Mostafari. oeSee you guys later. Right now, food beckons.

oeAh, yes, Mostafari nodded. oeIt's not just 'Drink and be merry, it's Eat, Drink, and Be Merry,'

oeYep, Guru said. oeFor tomorrow they may not tell us from the rest of the aircraft. Happy celebrating,

oeYou too, Major, Mostafari said, and Tran nodded.


Later, most of the 335th officers had gathered around several tables. To everyone's pleasure, real hamburgers, hot dogs, and steak had appeared. Despite rationing, the military generally had what it needed, but beef was still a precious commodity, with chicken, turkey, and even soy, being used in burgers. Not tonight. oeOnly the real stuff, the waitresses had said. Even though two burgers was the limit per person, people were digging in.

oeNow, Goalie said, oewhat's the strangest thing you've seen tonight

oeHow about several B-52 guys swinging from light fixtures Don Van Loan quipped.

Guru nodded at that. oeHow about this I stepped outside a while ago for some fresh air, and saw a bunch of guys on top of a hangar.

oeWhat were they doing Sweaty asked.

oeDamned if I know, Guru said, in between bites of his first cheeseburger of the night. oeBut it was a banner big enough that a satellite could read from orbit.

Hearing that, Kara wondered, oeWhat would they be saying

oeHow about this Nathan West, call sign Hoser, said. oeScrew you, Ivan, or something even more vulgar, direct, and to the point.

oeNo doubt there, Sweaty quipped. She turned to the CO. oeMaybe somebody heard you, Boss, and decided to show Ivan.

Guru laughed. oeIf they did, Sweaty, I won't complain. Hell, I'd give 'em a hand, if they asked for it.

oeSame here, Kara said.

The CO looked at Kara. oeNow, Captain, how many of these SAC clods have you cleaned out so far

Kara looked at her CO with a oewho, me expression. oeMajor, you know me.

oeYes, Kara, I do, Guru shot back. oeHow many Buff drivers have you cleaned out

oeHardly any of 'em have been here, She replied.

oeThat's good.

oeOnly half of the guys in the 343rd, Kara said matter of factly.

oeOh, no. Guru put his palm to his face. oeThose guys don't know what they're in for.

oeTheir fault for not asking, Goalie quipped. oeLet them learn-the hard way.

Major Wiser nodded. oeAll right, Kara. Just be warned: if someone beats you, it's not an excuse to tear the place down, understood

oeSure thing, boss. Kara replied.

oeAnd one more thing: if a Buff driver does challenge you

oeYes

Guru looked at her with all seriousness. oeClean him or her out. Let these SAC clowns know how we do things in TAC.

Kara let out an evil grin. oeYes, Sir.

[Matt Wiser]

Part III, the celebrations get heated.....and the day after finds everyone drunk, laid, and parlayed.....



Fairchild AFB Officer's Club: 2130 Hours Pacific War Time


Major Wiser looked at the bottle of beer on the table. It was his sixth, and right there, he decided, his last for the night. The Major then turned his attention to the big-screen TV in the corner, and it was showing CNN's coverage of the nationwide cease-fire celebrations. From Boston to Seattle, Philadelphia to San Francisco, Chicago to Atlanta, and Miami to El Paso, the whole country was out getting crazy, or so it seemed. Even in communities on the outskirts of the nuclear blast zones were in the mood, and the President had even made an address to the nation, reminding them that though victory in North America had been secured, there was still unfinished business with the North Koreans and Cubans, but that shouldn't put a damper on the day's events. The whole country had earned the victory, and a right to celebrate. Then the camera cut away to the Boston waterfront, where a hastily arranged fireworks show had kicked off, and on a split screen, residents of Oklahoma City were taking the ALA flags that had flown over the city during the occupation, and were throwing them into bonfires, while Gus Hall, the President of the Collaborationist Government, was being hung in effigy.

oeWhat happened to that SOB oe Goalie asked, coming up to Guru.

oeNobody knows, he replied. oeThey say he never arrived in Cuba-if he did, he'd be on Cuban TV.

oeSo where is he

oeEither at the bottom of the Gulf of Mexico, feeding the fish, or he did a Bermuda Triangle. Guru deadpanned.

Sweaty had overheard that remark. oeIf he did that, then I pity the poor aliens who have to listen to his garbage.

Both Guru and Goalie laughed at that. oeImagine if they did get him....I bet they'd want to throw him back. You know, like if a fisherman catches one too small, Guru said.

oeET, you can keep him, Goalie laughed.

oeAnd if somebody did splash his plane Guru said, oeHe or she just got a one-grade promotion.



Later, Guru had an idea. He turned to Goalie. oeI've had enough beers. Let's adjourn to someplace more private, and have a more...heated, celebration.

oeLike when Brownsville folded Goalie smiled.

oeLike that.

oeThen, my dear Major, lead the way, she replied.

Nodding, Guru got up and went to the bar. He paid the bartender for his and Goalie's drinks, then he and Goalie staggered out the front door. It was a clear night, and every few minutes, colored flares shot into the sky from atop the base water tower. Not to be outdone, the spotlights on the control tower were shining up, while on the base perimeter, occasional bursts of tracer fire could be seen, directed up into the sky. And the sounds of revelry could be heard all over.

oeWhat'd you say to the base CO Goalie asked.

oeSimple: wars only end once. Guru replied. He saw the lights of a B-52 on final approach. oeWant to bet those guys don't know it's over

oeEASTERN EXPRESS guys I bet they don't.

They staggered down the street, and found the tent city where all the TAC people were billeted. The duo slowly walked to where their squadron had its tents, and found the CO's tent. The duo went in, and wondered if they could set a record for getting out of their clothes. Before doing that, Guru found something he'd kept from their last R&R in Las Vegas: A oeDo Not Disturb sign from the MGM Grand.
He hung it outside the door to the tent, and came back in.

As he did, Guru saw that Goalie had already shed her flight suit, along with everything else she was wearing. oeWell she asked.

oeLet's go, he replied as she came closer and unzipped his flight suit. And things went from there.


Fairchild AFB, WA: 0930 Hours Pacific War Time, 15 October, 1989:

There was an incessant knocking. Guru slowly came awake, careful not to wake Goalie, who was still asleep in the camp bed. How many times did they do it, before they fell asleep, he wondered. He got up and instead of putting on his flight suit, he found a raincoat. oeJust a minute, he said. One thing, this knocking isn't doing good for this headache, he thought. Then he got to the door and opened it. It was Master Sergeant Ross, and he was in his dress blues. oeSergeant

oeGood morning, Major! Ross said.

oeQuiet, Sergeant, Guru said, looking back at Goalie. She had turned around in bed, and her chest and abdomen were....prominently displayed.

oeI see, Sir, Ross said. oeI hope the two of you had a....heated celebration

oeThat we did, Sergeant, Guru said. oeWhat's with the dress uniform

oeJust going into Spokane, Sir. Got to check and see if any of our guys need to be bailed out. Ross replied. He handed the CO a thermos. oeFor you, and Captain Eichhorn, Sir. I figured the CO would need some coffee after last night.

oeSergeant, you are a mind reader, Guru said. oeAll right; find out if anyone's in need, and get them bailed out. Is the base still standing He looked around in his stupor and couldn't really tell.

oeYes, Sir, but the base commander was by here earlier, shaking his head, Ross said. oeNever seen a General with that kind of frail expression on his face before.

oeHe's probably wondering what he'd done to deserve this, Guru replied. oeThanks for the coffee, Sergeant. Most everyone on this base is probably looking for some right now.

oeYou and the Captain need it more than I do, Sir.

oeOkay, Sergeant, get going. We'll still be here, said Guru.

Ross looked past his CO and saw Captain Eichhorn, well, fast asleep and fully displayed on the bed. oeDrunk, laid, and parlayed, Sir.

oeSo is most of this base, the Major pointed out.

Nodding, Ross saluted, then went on his way. Guru went back into the tent, and poured himself a cup. The caffeine jolt hit him, and he certainly needed it. He was on his second cup when Goalie sat up in bed, and the sheets slid off. oeIs that coffee

oeHere, Guru said, pouring her a cup and handing it to her. oeGo back to sleep if you want. Nobody's doing much of anything today.

oeI'll do that, she replied, draining the cup as she did so. oeWhat's that line from a M*A*S*H episode 'You know how you feel after drinking cheap booze and eating chili dogs'

oeI know. And Potter replies, 'Yeah'

oeI wish I felt that good. Goalie said, laying back down on the bed.

Nodding, Guru looked around. oeI'm gonna take a shower and get some breakfast, I'll bring back something for you. Interested

oeI'm not getting out of this bed until I feel human again, she replied. oeJust bring me something edible.

Guru got his shower kit and went off to get a hot shower. He noticed that quite a few others had slept in, and were in the same need of a shower as he was. He also figured the base must have set some kind of record for one-night stands. After his shower, he went back to the tent, where Goalie was fast asleep. Careful not to wake her, he got into a fresh flight suit, shaved, and went out to breakfast. He had just cleared the tent city when Don Van Loan pulled up in a Hummer. oeDon.

oeMajor, want a lift to the club for breakfast The mess tent's still closed.

oeI was headed there anyway, Guru said as he got in. oeHave a fun night

Van Loan smiled. oeMe and Sweaty You bet we did. How about you and Goalie

Guru looked at his Exec. oeI think we set a personal record for how many times we did it in one night.

oeJust like me and Sweaty, Van Loan said as the went past the dispersal area and the flight line to the Officer's Club.

oeThey even close Guru asked.

oeThey closed about 0400, Van Loan said as he parked the Hummer oeNow they're open for food only-I bet everyone drank the place dry,

Guru nodded as the two went inside. There, he found several other 335th people having breakfast, including Cowboy, Hoser, and several others. oeMind if we join you guys Guru asked.

oeNo problem, Major, Cowboy said. oeIf it's on the menu, it's available. No ration coupons this morning.

oeTo be grateful for, Guru said as the waitress came over. oeCoffee first, Miss. And did you guys run out of steak last night

oeStill got some left, Major, the blonde replied. He looked her over. She was too old to be in uniform.

oeGood. Steak and eggs breakfast for me. And can you guys fix an order to go

She nodded, oeSure thing, Major, what'll it be

oeSausage and eggs breakfast and coffee.

Van Loan looked at his CO, who said, oeI promised Goalie I'd bring her something edible.

oeNo problem, Major, the waitress replied, and she went off to get the coffee.

oeSo, Don, where'd you get the Hummer Guru asked. oeOr do I want to know

oeRoss and the, uh, scroungers got hold of it, the Exec said. oeI didn't ask, and they didn't say where.

oeLet me guess: 'in confusion, there is profit,' or something like that.

oeWhere'd you hear that line Van Loan asked.

oeThe movie Operation Petticoat, you know, the one with Cary Grant and Tony Curtis. Guru replied.

Van Loan nodded as the waitress brought the coffee. oeOne piece of advice, Major,

Guru looked at his Exec, and he could tell the Exec was very serious. oeWhat

oeDon't look in the bar just yet.

oeWhat oe The CO got up and headed that way. oeDon, if there's something you're trying to hide....

Van Loan and Hoser West looked at each other. They wondered what their CO's reaction to the sight would be.

oeIf this is... Guru stopped as he saw what was on the bar. A quite nude Kara Thrace, laid out, unconscious. He put his palm to his face and muttered, oeOh, shit. He turned to Van Loan. oeWhat happened

oeWell, uh, the Exec said. oeJust before I left with Sweaty, she got drunk, stood up on the bar, and stripped down. Then she hustled two B-52 guys at the pool table. The story is that they had lost their shirts at a poker game, and they were trying to get some money back at the pool table. They lost, and well....

oeLet me guess: they paid their debt, but a way that would make a born-again preacher blush, commented the CO. oeThey found a closet or someplace semi-private, and....

oeThat's about it, Van Loan said.

oeAll right, find her flight suit and get her semi-dressed. And start filling her up with coffee, Guru ordered. He turned to the barkeep. oeGot a phone handyThe bartender nodded and handed him one. Guru called the squadron's office tent.

oe335th, Lieutenant Kirby, 1st Lt. Brad Kirby was one of the new guys, fresh from the RTU. And one likely reason he was still on duty was that he was from some town near Salt Lake City.

oeBrad, this is Guru. Find Sergeant Crandall-I'd rather have Ross, but he's in town. Get him over to the O-Club with a vehicle, now. He's bringing Captain Thrace back.

oeYes, Sir.

oeAnd find one of the female officers, if you can. Crandall may need the help. Guru said. oeAnd make it snappy, before the base commander shows up.

oeYes, Sir!

After dressing Kara, and making sure her wallet with her winnings was still in one of her flight suit pockets, they took her over to their table. And the waitress understood: more coffee. It didn't take long before Kara came to semi-consciousness.

oeKara Major Wiser asked.

oeMajor....so I'm not dead' She replied.

oeNo, but you're an advertisement for the walking dead, Guru said. He handed her a full coffee cup. Drink, Captain.

oeMajor, don't say 'drink,' Kara moaned.

oeJust start guzzling coffee, Captain, Guru said. oeThat's an order.

She nodded, and slowly began to sip the coffee. oeOne I'll be glad to obey.

Then 1st Lt. Toni oeNooner Grey came in. She was Cowboy's WSO. oeMajor, Sergeant Crandall's outside with a Hummer.

oeGood, the CO said, turning to Cowboy. oeYou and Nooner, take Kara to that Hummer. Nooner, when you get to the squadron area, get Kara into her tent and see if her tentmates are anything resembling consciousness. If they are, tell 'em to fill her with black coffee. If not, just let the whole bunch sleep.

Cowboy and Nooner understood. They took Kara out to the waiting Hummer, and left just as a staff car pulled up. It was General Shelby, the base commander. He came into the club and shook his head. And the 335th people looked on in amazement as Cowboy came back in and gave a thumbs-up to the Major.

oeWhat do you think's going through his head Van Loan wondered aloud as Shelby left.

oeProbably asking somebody upstairs what he'd done to deserve this, Guru said. Just then, the waitress brought their order, and the CO and Exec dug in. After they finished, the waitress brought Guru's take-out order for Goalie, and Van Loan had also ordered one for Sweaty, and they headed back to the squadron area. Guru went into his tent and found Goalie still asleep. He left the food on the table, and headed to the office tent, where Brad Kirby was still there. oeBrad.

oeMajor, Sergeant Ross called. A few of our guys needed to get bailed out, and he's on his way back, Kirby said.

oeAnything serious

oeNo, Sir, Ross said. Kirby reported. oeThe usual drunk-and-disorderly, he said.

oeThat's a relief, the Major said. oeAnything from Colonel Austin

oeNo, Sir.

Guru nodded and went into his makeshift office. The squadron's mascot, a Golden Retriever, was in his small office couch, fast asleep. And the CO wondered out loud. oeDid you have a wild night He smiled, then went back out, just in time to see Colonel Austin come in. oeColonel

oeMajor, Austin said. oeHope your celebrating went off without any .issues. Word's going around about Captain Thrace.

oeExpecting that to stay secret was wishful thinking, Major Wiser replied. oeAny news

Austin nodded. oeNothing about you guys, Eleventh Air Force said. Other than that, the North Koreans and the Cubans have rejected any kind of Cease-fire.

oeLet me guess: they've issued a bunch of demands that Philly rejected out of hand.

oeYou got it. The NK s want to keep Guam, saying it's compensation for the damage we did during the Korean War, and Castro's demanding all of his POWs back, even the ones who refuse to go home, we pay him reparations, that sort of thing. Austin said.

oeGuam, that's a Navy and Marine thing, but Cuba.... Wiser said, looking at Kirby. oeSo we might head down there.

oePossible, Austin admitted. oeYour squadron's originally from Seymour-Johnson, so, yeah, South Florida might be your next stop.

oeAnd a chance to rejoin our parent wing, Guru was saying. oeTo be hoped for, anyway.

oeThere is that, Austin agreed. oeAnyway, no flying today; just making that official, and no flying tomorrow.

oeThank you, Sir. Major Wiser said.

[Matt Wiser]

The conclusion: and the 335th finds out they're not done just yet....



Fairchild AFB, WA: 1100 Hours Pacific War Time, 17 October, 1989:


Major Wiser was in his makeshift office, wrapping up the battle with the oeother enemy, namely the AF bureaucracy. How much longer until the peacetime Air Force kicked into gear Not much, he reasoned. It was bound to happen sooner or later, he knew. Oh, well. Some battles you win, some you lose. Then there was a knock at the door. oeCome on in and show yourself,

It was Nooner. She was taking her turn as Squadron Duty Officer. oeMajor, Colonel Austin's here.

oeAll right, show him in, Major Wiser said. He stood as Colonel Austin came into the office. oeSir.

oeMajor, Austin said. oeI've got some good news, and some not-so-good news. He had a message form in his hand.

oeWell, sir, what's the good news Major Wiser asked.

oeThe good news Eleventh Air Force just released you guys. Austin said.

Major Wiser was trying to keep from shouting. oeBack to North Carolina He asked.

oeNo, and that's the not-so-good news. You guys are going back to Tenth Air Force. Austin said, waving the message form.

oeUh, Sir

oeYou're headed to Naval Air Facility El Centro, in the Imperial Valley. Seems the two states in Baja have severed ties to Mexico City, and they've asked for U.S. Military protection. The Army and Marines are moving in, and some AF will provide CAP for 'em, and strike if necessary.

oeSo, our war's not over just yet, Major Wiser observed.

oeAfraid so, Major, Austin said. oeIt could be worse: you guys could be headed to Florida or the Bahamas, and flying strikes into Cuba.

oeYes, Sir, Major Wiser said. He was dreading telling his people that they weren't headed home just yet. oeWhen do we have to be there

oeGround echelon leaves in two days. Your squadron's equipment goes by air, and we'll have a few C-141s to help you move the heavy stuff. Get your planes there by the 23rd. Austin said, handing Major Wiser the message form.

oeVery well, Sir.

Austin put out his hand. oeGood luck, Major. And knock on wood, you won't have to fire a shot.

oeThank, you, Sir, Major Wiser replied, shaking his CO's hand.

Colonel Austin then left, and the 335th CO was looking at the message form again. oeNAF El Centro, lovely. He shouted for his Exec. oeDON!

[Matt Wiser]

Anyone surprised how wild the celebrations were

[Matt Wiser]

Guys, any comments, questions, etc. before I put the next one up

[Matt Wiser]

Settling into command, and finding out there are some things not taught at OTS,ROTC, or the Academy....

Settling In


Sheppard AFB, TX: 0530 Hours Central War Time, 28 October, 1987:


Captain Matt Wiser, the CO of the 335th Tactical Fighter Squadron, came into his new office. He had been CO for barely a day, after the death of Lt. Col. Dean Rivers, the longtime CO of the 335th, and was still getting used to the job. One thing, though, that he didn't intend to change was the squadron's attitude to things getting in the way of results. If they had to fold, spindle, bend, mutilate, go over, around, on top, or underneath AF regulations in order to produce results So be it. Colonel Rivers had felt that way, and that attitude had been confirmed by Maj. Gen Robert Tanner, the Commanding General of the Tenth Air Force, which ran the air war in the Southwest. oeIf it gets in the way of winning the war, winning the war comes first, were his feelings on the matter. Though an overzealous officer, Major Frank Carson, had tried to blindly enforce every rule and reg in the book, much to the disgust of three previous CO s, and he loathed Captain Wiser for being promoted to Exec, then CO, over his head, despite what the previous CO, the late ColDean Rivers, had said, and General Tanner had confirmed the promotion to CO. Not to mention that Carson had a very negative attitude towards any officer who didn't have an Academy class ring, viewing all as brand-new Doolies, and treating enlisted airmen and NCOs as pieces of equipment. And Captain Wiser had a personal reason for his loathing of the Major, for Carson had tried to get him and his WSO, 1st. Lt. Lisa Eichhorn, written up on a fraternization violation for having an off-base relationship. Colonel Rivers had asked the pair if it was interfering with their jobs in the cockpit, and they had replied no, but if it started to, he would be the first to know. Then Colonel Rivers gave Carson a very loud tongue-lashing, reminding him that many peacetime regs didn't last when the shooting started, and not long after, a formal directive from Tenth Air Force followed, instructing base and unit commanders to ignore such incidents, as the country was fighting for its national survival, and that if such conduct was not interfering with one's duties, or was otherwise not impacting the unit (such as a senior officer using his rank to get subordinates into bed), it was to be ignored. Carson fumed, and persisted in trying to get things run as if it were still peacetime, and everyone despised him for it. So much that when the Executive Officer's slot opened up due to the death of the XO, Captain Wiser had been put into the slot instead of Carson, which meant that if anything happened to Colonel Rivers, he would get the squadron instead of the Major.

Now, Captain Wiser was starting his second full day in command of the 335th, after the death of Colonel Rivers. General Tanner had called him, and assured him that he had the General's full confidence, and that the General would be stopping by on a visit that day to see how things were going, not just in the 335th, but in Marine Air Group 11, which the 335th was attached to, but was under Tenth AF control. He looked around the desk, his desk now, he reminded himself, and saw that overnight paperwork was brief-another thing Colonel Rivers liked, and nothing yet that required his signature. Soon, the chow tent would be open, and then it would be time for their first sorties of the day. Then there was a knock on the door. oeCome on in and show yourself.

Capt. Mark Ellis came in, bearing a clipboard tucked under his arm, and two cups of coffee in his hands. oeGuru, or do I call you Boss from here on out Guru was Capt. Wiser's call sign.

oeEither one will do, Mark, Guru replied. oeWhat do you have for me

oeNot much, Ellis said. oeJust the usual. He handed the CO the clipboard. oeAnd some coffee.

Guru nodded, and took the cup. Then he reviewed the papers. oeAircraft status sheet, Morning Report for MAG-11, he muttered, and signed where necessary. oeAnything else

oeSupply requisitions, Ellis pointed out. oeStill not getting the extra hydraulic fluid we need.

oeTell Ross to have that put at the top of the scroungers' list. And find out what else we really need, and give them their hunting orders, Guru said. oeWhat else

oeTwo enlisted airmen asking for permission to get married.

oeLocal girls The CO asked. The locals had been on the short end of things, especially food and medicine, during the occupation, and marrying a servicemember automatically entitled the spouse to the benefits entitled to service dependents.

oeNope, Ellis said. oeOne's going back to Beaver, Pennsylvania, to marry his high school sweetheart. The other-he's off to Biloxi, Mississippi. Same thing. When the R&R rotation comes and they're on it.

oeHope they know what they're marrying into, Guru said. He was a bachelor, but knew one thing about the AF, it was tough on marriages, even in peacetime. With a war on, though...it was probably murder.
He signed the forms.

oeI wouldn't know: I'm still a bachelor, Ellis said. oeOne more thing: Airman Don Handley applied to Pararescue School at Hill. He wants an endorsement of his application.

Guru looked at Ellis. oeHe knows what he's getting into That's got a seventy percent attrition rate, I hear. If not worse. And it's a two-year course.

oeEighteen months, now, with the war, Ellis told his CO.

oeIf he washes out, he's back here

oeThey recycle those people, but chances are, yeah, Ellis said.

oeOkay, just so he knows, Guru nodded as he signed the endorsement. oeWhere'd you get the coffee

oeOvernight made a fresh pot. Theirs is a little stronger than usual.

Guru shrugged. oeCan you blame them He took a drink from the cup Ellis offered him. oeAnything else

oeNo word on when General Tanner's due here. Sometime today is all we know.

Guru nodded, then drained the cup. oeAs long as he shows. All he told me in that phone conversation was he'd be here, and 'with responsibility comes rank.'

oeHe going to promote you Ellis asked. oeThat'd make Rivers smile. And give Frank a coronary.

oeTo be wished for, Guru said. oeI think the General can issue field promotions, but that's something they never talked about in OTS.

oeOr ROTC, Ellis nodded. 'Ohio State.

oeYou're from there, right

oeYeah, Commercial Point, Ohio, Ellis said. oeGot a few classmates either KIA or MIA.

oeWe all do, Mark, Guru pointed out.

oeOne's in Cuba: Kelly Ray. You wouldn't know, being on the E&E, but she was one of the first female Phantom drivers. Shot down only a month after reporting to Homestead.

oeWe've all lost someone, Guru said. oeWhether it's family or close friends.

oeYeah...with her, if she's alive, and they did see her and her GIB on the ground alive, it's a Caribbean version of the Hanoi Hilton.

oeNot good.. Guru said. Then there was a knock on the door. oeShow yourself and come on in.

The office door opened, and 1st Lt. Lisa oeGoalie Eichhorn came in. She was Captain Wiser's WSO. oeDon't want my pilot and CO going to sleep on me in the cockpit.

oeIs everyone trying to bribe me with coffee this morning Guru asked deadpan.

oeJust want you fully alert, Goalie smiled. oeDon't want to lose two squadron commanders back-to-back. And putting both of us behind barbed wire, eating Kasha and Borscht.

oeOr going with the Texas branch of the Resistance, Guru finished. oeThe folks who go into combat shouting 'Remember the Alamo!'

oeCan't have that, Ellis said.Once was enough for you, I bet.

oeIt was. Guru said, referring to his five months with the Resistance in Colorado, a year and a half earlier. Eighteen months or eighteen lifetimes....He took the cup Goalie offered him, and nodded to Mark. oeTen minutes to the chow tent opening. Get another cup for yourself.

Curious, Ellis left the office and came back with a refill. oeNow what

Guru raised his cup, and the other two did so as well. oeColonel, if you're looking down on us, we're going to make you proud.

oeHear, hear, Goalie said.

They drained their cups, then Guru said, oeCome on, let's get over to the chow tent. We got a busy day ahead. Four or five hops, at least.

oeThis Dallas business ain't letting up, Ellis observed.

oeYeah, and we may be at it the whole winter, Guru said. oeCome on. Time to eat, then the sky awaits.

After breakfast, the CO's flight gathered in a briefing room. Before the war, Sheppard had been an Air Training Command base, and among those trained here were students from a number of NATO countries. After the base's recapture, MAG-11's squadrons had moved in from Amarillo International Airport, and they had taken over the facilities-after EOD Teams had checked them over for booby traps. One way to tell who had occupied a base prior to U.S. Forces returning was whether or not there were booby traps. The Soviets hardly planted any, while Cubans did so liberally. When Guru opened the door, with Goalie right behind him, the other members of his flight were waiting. oeGood mornin' all.

oeMorning, Boss, Capt. Kara oeStarbuck Thrace, replied. oeHow's it feel to be CO

oeAsk me in a few days, when it all settles in, Guru said. oeGot a busy day ahead. On his way in, he'd been handed a briefing packet by 1st Lt. Darren Licon, the squadron's Intelligence Officer, and the FRAGO from Capt. Don Van Loan, the Ops Officer. oeOkay, here's the deal. I-30 is generally the battle line northeast of Dallas, though last night Rangers took the I-30 bridges over Lake Ray Hubbard.

oeCAS for them 1st Lt. Valerie oeSweaty Blanchard, his second element lead, asked.

oeNope, Guru replied. oeThey got relieved, and our business is a little south of there. He pointed to a TPC chart. oeRight here, south of Forney, is an I-20 bypass that was under construction prewar. I have relatives there, and stopped there on the way to Seymour-Johnson from Fairchild.... Guru's voice trailed off at that, wondering if those relatives were still alive. oeAnyway, Ivan used forced labor to build the bridges over the East Fork of the Trinity River, and they've been using the bypass along with the old I-20 as a supply route. The bridges got taken out, and they've been using pontoon bridges as replacements. We need to make those go away.

1st Lt. Nathan oeHoser West, Sweaty's wingman, nodded. oeHow

'Getting to that, Guru replied. oeFirst element, that's me and Starbuck, and Guru saw that he had the close attention of not only Goalie, but Starbuck, and 1st Lt. Judd oeBrainac Brewster, Kara's WSO. oeWe get a dozen Mark-82 Snakeyes. We make the bridges go boom.

oeAnd us Sweaty asked.

oeYou and Hoser get a dozen CBU-58/Bs. You know, the ones with the incendiary submunitions. Hit any vehicles along the east side of the river. Anything headed west is priority.

oeGot you.

oeThreats 1st Lt. Byran oePreacher Simmonds, who was Sweaty's WSO, wanted to know.

oeRight at the bridges, there's triple-A. Two batteries of 57-mm, one on each side of the river. Two more to the north on the existing I-20 bridge. That's a full regiment, mind you. And that ain't all: this is Army rear area, so watch for SA-4.

oeWe getting Weasels Kara asked. oeIf not, this is a good way to get some of us killed.

oeWay ahead of you, Guru said. oeWe're getting two Weasels. Coors One-five and One-six will join us at the tanker track northwest of Fort Worth. Two HARMs and two Standard-ARMs each airplane. I'll send them on ahead to do their stuff. We've also got our jammer pods: ALQ-119s for the element leads, ALQ-101s for the wingmen. Air-to-air is four AIM-9Ps and two AIM-7Es, plus full load of 20 mike-mike.

oeGood to hear, Hoser replied.

oeIt is. Now, have a look, Guru said as he showed the flight path on a TPC chart. oe We go in low, west of Fort Worth, no more than 450 feet AGL, but climb as necessary to avoid power lines or other obstacles. Hit the Brazos River, then turn east. Past I-35W, I-35E, I-45, then we turn northeast. Hit U.S. 175, then turn north and pop up. The highway is the IP. Get to 900 feet AGL for your bomb runs, hit the target, then get your asses back down low. We go due north, past I-20 and then over Lake Ray Hubbard. Watch for the Army, though.

oeThose guys are likely keyed up after yesterday, 1st Lt. Kathy oeKT Thornton, Hoser's GIB, said.

oeYeah, so stay low,' Guru told his flight. Stay low over Lavon Lake, and once we're clear of the lake, do we pull up to altitude. Turn on your IFF then, and if you need fuel, tanker track SHELL is over Durant, Oklahoma, just north of the Red River. If not, we turn west and come on home.

oeAnd get ready to do it again, Sweaty nodded.

oeThat we do. Now, the air threat is MiGs and Sukhois of various types: They're flying MiG-23s out of Terrell Municipal, and we may get a call to do something about that, and Seagoville-Crandall Municipal, which we hit the other day, may be active again. Other MiG fields are at Corsicana, Hillsboro, Athens, and as far east as Tyler, and as far south as Waco.

oeDivert fields Kara asked.

oeGood question: if you have battle damage or run low on fuel, there's two options. First is Perrin AFB west of Sherman. It was closed in the early '70s and became a civilian field. Ivan moved in after the invasion and flew Su-24s there. Now we're back, and the Hogs and Jolly Greens are there. Your second option is D/FW International, but don't go there unless you absolutely have to: One part of the field is turned over to Army Aviation, and the other half is MAC's. Everything from C-7s on up to C-5s and 747s are going in and out. They'll take you if needed, though. Guru said.

oeBailout areas

oeNo good bailout areas, but the more rural the area, the better. The best is anyplace north of I-30, as that's friendly territory.

Heads nodded.

oeOkay, anything else Guru asked.

oeYeah, Sweaty asked. oeWhen's General Tanner coming

oeDon't know. All I know is sometime today, Guru said.

Kara shook her head. oeAnd why haven't you kicked that asshole Carson out I thought you'd do that first thing.

oeBelieve me, I was tempted, Guru replied. oeI didn't for two reasons: first, he's qualified, and we still need warm bodies in cockpits. Second, if I transferred him out first thing, he'd have a good reason to go to JAG and claim that me sending him packing was retaliation. And I sure don't want to do that.

oeLovely, Boss, Kara said. oeSo we're stuck with this asshole.

oeNot for long, Guru nodded. oeHe's on the clock, whether or not he knows it. If he hasn't shaped up by New Year's He's out. Now that I'm CO, I can see his OER. That meant Officer Efficiency Report. oeThere's five or six good reasons in there to send him to Goose Bay, And if he hasn't shaped up by New Years

oeYeah Goalie asked. She and Guru both had good reason to want Carson out of the squadron.

oeHe packs his woolen underwear. But if he royally screws up before then

oeThen he's gone

The CO smiled. oeIn a heartbeat.

oeBut business before pleasure, Sweaty said.

oeThat's it. Anything else Heads shook now. oeAll right: gear up and meet at 512.

The crews then left the briefing room and went to gear up. They met at the revetment where F-4 number 512 was parked, and that was the CO's airplane. As they did, the first faint light of dawn was breaking. Staff Sergeant Mike Crowley, the crew chief, was waiting, oeCaptain, he said, saluting. oeEverything's all set. You can preflight when ready.

oeThanks, Sergeant, Guru said as he gathered the crews around for his final instructions. oeOkay: three things. First: unless we're talking to AWACS, Weasels, or anyone else We go by call sign or mission code. He saw his flight nod. oeSecond, watch for obstacles like power lines, radio or TV towers and the like. Third No repeat passes in the target area. One pass and that's it. If you have hung ordnance, try and get rid of it in one of the lakes. Anything else

oeYeah, Hoser asked. oeHow many today

oeThe usual: four or five. Anything else Heads shook no. Guru nodded. oeOkay, let's hit it.

The crews nodded and headed to their aircraft. Guru and Goalie did their walk-arounds, and after Guru signed for the aircraft, the two mounted 512. After the cockpit checks, Sergeant Crowley gave the oestart engines' sign, and first one, then both, J-79 engines were up and running. Then Guru called the tower. oeSheppard Tower, Firebird One-one with four, requesting permission to taxi and takeoff.

oeFirebird One-one, Tower. Clear to taxi to Runway three-three left. Hold prior to the runway.

oeRoger tower. Firebird One-one rolling. Guru taxied out of the revetment, and as he turned to taxi to the runway, Sergeant Crowley snapped a salute and he returned it. The four F-4s taxied to the runway and held there so that the armorers could remove the weapon safety pins. Once they were clear, Firebird Flight was cleared to taxi onto the runway.

oeAll set back there Guru asked his GIB.

oeReady back here, Goalie replied. oeLet's go.

oeLet's, Guru said. He called the tower. oeTower, Firebird Flight ready for takeoff.

The tower didn't acknowledge over the radio, but flashed a green light. Clear for takeoff. Guru and Goalie closed and locked their canopies. Then he throttled up to full power, released the brakes, and 512 rolled down the runway and into the air, with the other three F-4s following.



Over North-Central Texas, 0720 Hours:


Firebird Flight was headed east, south of the D/FW Metroplex, They had met up with their two F-4G Weasels at the tanker track, and had penetrated enemy territory. Now, they were headed east, towards the IP. oeI-35W Guru called as twin ribbons of interstate highway passed beneath his F-4.

oeCopy, Goalie called. oeTwo minutes to 35E.

oeRoger that, Guru replied. He called the AWACS. oeCrystal Palace, Firebird One-one. Say bogey dope

oeFirebird, Crystal Palace. Negative bogeys, the reply came.

oeCopy, replied Guru. The crews were flying with their visors down as they were heading into the rising sun. While the GIBs handled the navigation, the pilots were concentrating on flying the aircraft, as threats could come from anywhere, and their heads were constantly swiveling between the cockpit view and their controls. Which the RTU had drummed into their heads.

The time went by fast, and they were just south of Waxahachie when I-35E came into view. oeMark, 35E, Goalie said.

oeCopy, Guru replied. oeNext nav point

oeI-45, north of Ennis. One minute forty-five seconds, Goalie said.

Guru nodded, then checked his Three O'clock. Kara's F-4 was tucked in formation, as she should be. And the Weasels were just ahead and slightly above the strike birds. It didn't take long until I-45 appeared. oeI-45 in sight.

oeRoger that, Goalie said. Turn now, zero-four-five.

oeCopy, zero-,four-five, Guru said, putting 512 into a left turn to head north towards U.S. 175 east of Seagoville.

oeOne minute thirty to IP, Goalie said.

oeCopy, set the ordnance up. Everything goes at once.

oeRoger that, Goalie said. oeSwitches set.

Then U.S. 175 appeared. That was the IP Time to go to work. oeFirebirds, Lead. Switches on, music on, and pull. That meant arm ordnance, turn on the ECM pods, and pull to attack altitude. oeWeasels, go to work.

oeCopy, Firebird Lead, Coors One-Five called. The two F-4Gs pulled up to 2000 feet AGL, daring the radars down below to come on. And they did. oeSA-4 up. MAGNUM! And a HARM missile left the rails. oeFirecan up, MAGNUM! That meant a 57-mm AAA radar. And this time, a Standard-ARM was shot off.

oeWeasels going in, Guru said as he pulled back on the stick. He leveled off at 900 feet AGL and saw the target just as one of the AAA radars ate a missile, and the site went off the air. Then the site on the west bank came up, and a HARM went after it. oeTarget in sight. Lead in hot.

As Guru rolled in, the F-4Gs were doing thair job. Coors One-Five shot his two remaining missiles at the 57-mm batteries near the I-20 bridge, while One-Six killed a search radar. Then an SA-4 launched, and One-Six sent another HARM after that radar, killing it.

Down below, on the old Wiser farm, two of Guru's cousins, Ned and Linda, were outside. They had moved into the old family home after the matriarch of the family had passed on, and so far, they had been relatively untouched by the war. Ned' had been raising some livestock, such as pigs, chickens, and even a few cattle, and so far, he and his wife were able to eat relatively well, along with a number of other nearby families. Linda, though, had worked as a bank teller in Forney, and when the Russians came, they had interrogated everyone who worked at the bank. She had to convince the KGB and PSD that she was just a teller, who handled customers' deposits and withdrawals, cashed checks, and so on. They had let her and most of the other employees go, but as they left, they were made to watch as the bank manager, the assistant manager, and the head of the loan department were all taken out and shot. Linda had made a vow right then to never forget, and though there were those in the area who were involved in resistance activity, she was more a passive resister, putting up posters, that sort of thing. Now, they were out doing their morning chores as the attack came in. They watched as two fighters seemed to be circling, and occasionally fired a missile at some target. Both of them had seen the two antiaircraft batteries open up, and then stop shooting as they took missile hits. Then they saw the Russians pointing to the south. More planes coming in.

oeSteady, steady,' Guru said as he lined up the westbound bridge in the pipper. He knew he was only a mile from the old farm, where his Grandfather's mother had lived. Try not to think about that now.....and...HACK! He pressed the pickle button, and a dozen Mark-82 Snakeyes came off the racks. He pulled level, and headed north.

Guru's bombs smashed into the bridges, ripping apart both the eastbound and westbound pontoon bridges, and smashing up what was left of the structure the Soviets had built as well. Goalie managed to get a brief rear view as the bombs exploded. oeSHACK!

oeGood hits

oeGood hits, she confirmed. oeNo secondaries, though.

oeNot every time, he called as he put 512 back down low, and buzzed the I-20 bridge, forcing the KGB troops guarding the bridge to scatter for cover. oeLead off target.

oeTwo's in! Kara called. She put her bird in, and lined up on the smoke left when Guru's bombs had exploded. So what if her bombs did nothing but make the scrap metal fly farther Good riddance. oeAnd HACK! Her bombs came off the racks, and a dozen more Mark-82s landed among what was left of the pontoon bridges, ripping apart what Guru hadn't been able to destroy. oeTwo's off. Kara then followed Guru north.

oeThree's in, Sweaty called. She came in just east of the bridge, and found a truck convoy lined up along the I-20 right of way. Not your morning, Ivan. oeHACK! She called as a dozen CBU-58/Bs came off the airplane, and the CBUs tore into the convoy, ripping apart a number of trucks and a couple of BTR-60P APCs. As Sweaty pulled away, she didn't notice the tracer fire coming up from a couple of BTRs, nor did she (or Preacher for that matter) see an SA-7 come up after their aircraft. She took the big Phantom back down low, and called, oeThree's off target.

oeFour in hot! Hoser called. He had seen the fire coming up at his element leader, and mentally changed his mission from oestrike to oePoststrike flak suppression. He lined up the APCs and several intact trucks in his pipper, then hit the pickle button. Again, a dozen CBUs came off the aircraft, and ripped into the convoy. These BTR-60s were open-topped, and unfortunately for their crews, completely vulnerable to the CBU bomblets, and were easily set on fire. Hoser's strike killed several APCs and trucks, and as he pulled away to the north, he called. oeFour off target.

oeCopy that, Guru called. oeForm on me and let's egress.

As Firebird flight headed north, the two Weasel Phantoms finished their work, killing another search radar and also a solitary ZSU-23-4 that had come up from somewhere. Both Coors One-Five and One-Six went back low, and followed the Firebirds north.

Back near the bridge, Ned and Linda picked themselves up. They heard shouting from the Russians on the road, and from the bridge area. They knew from past experience that the Russians sometimes made nearby locals clean up after an air raid, so they simply went about their chores. This time, though, the Russians didn't bother anyone living near the strike area.

In his F-4, Guru smiled as he flew over Lake Ray Hubbard. Kara had tucked into his Four Oclock, and Sweaty and Hoser were right behind them. They overflew the I-30 bridges, and thankfully, the Army pukes down below held their fire. They flew on, clearing Lake Ray Hubbard and then over Lavon Lake, and only when they had cleared that lake did Guru call for the flight to get back to altitude.

oeFirebird Lead, Coors One-Five. We need to hit the tankers. Nice doing business with you, fella. The Weasel element leader called.

oeLikewise, Guru replied oeMaybe we can do this again sometime.

The two F-4Gs peeled off and headed for the Red River and the tanker track, while the F-4Es headed west towards Sheppard. After contacting the tower, they got into the traffic pattern, and waited for several outbound flights-AF, Marine, and Navy, to take off before they were able to come in to land. After landing and taxiing back to their revetments, the crew chiefs were waiting.

Guru shut down, and popped his canopy, and Goalie did the same. Sergeant Crowley came up with the crew ladder. oeHow'd it go, sir

oeMade some bridges go away, Sergeant, Guru said as he got down.

'Great, sir, Crowley said. oeWe'll have her turned around in a half-hour. He indicated the ordnance guys waiting with a mix of napalm tanks and Mark-82s.

oeShake'n Bake, Goalie observed.

oeThat means CAS, Guru said. He turned to Crowley. oePull the strike camera film and send it off. 512's working like a champ, Sergeant. No issues, and no battle damage.

oeThanks, sir, Crowley beamed. oeOh, sir, do you want her painted up as the CO's bird

oeNo, Sergeant. Colonel Rivers didn't with his bird, and I'll do the same, Guru said. oeDon't want anyone to see who was flying the bird if she goes down.

oeUnderstood, sir, Crowley said.

oeAll right, Sergeant, get her turned around, Guru ordered. He turned to Goalie. oeLet's get debriefed.

Goalie nodded as they walked to the edge of the revetment, and found the rest of the flight coming over. oeHow'd it go for you guys

oeWeasels did their job, Kara said. oeNo flak or SAMs.

oeSame here, Goalie said. oeMade some trucks and APCs go away.

oeYou sure about no flak Hoser asked. oeSome came up after Sweaty, but she didn't see it.

oeCome on, Guru said. oeSave it for the debrief, because we're going back out in an hour or so.

They nodded, and headed back to the squadron's offices. When they went into their building, which had belonged to a prewar training squadron, they found people acting nervous. Then Capt. Don Van Loan, the new Operations Officer, came over. oeDon, what's up The CO asked.

oeSome lieutenant came in after you left, been around asking a bunch of questions, not just about us, but the rest of the units on this base, Van Loan replied. oeHe's not from JAG or OSI, though.

oeLet me guess, Goalie said. oeInspector General's Office.

oeThat's a fair bet, Guru said. oeOkay, if he comes back before we go back out, have him see me. If he's got anything specific, I'll listen to him. Before I tell him to take his complaints to General Tanner. Who will tear him a new asshole.

Van Loan nodded. oeSpeaking of which, Base Ops called. His C-130's inbound. ETA fifteen minutes.

oeOkay, we need to debrief, Guru said. oeIf he comes here before we have to brief and launch, let me know when he arrives.

oeWill do. Mark's due back shortly, by the way.

oeOkay, Guru said. He turned to his flight. oeLet's debrief. Won't be long until we go back out. He led them to the old classroom that his flight used, and found 1st Lt. Darren Licon, the Intelligence Officer for the 335th, waiting. oeDarren.

He stood up. oeBoss, how'd it go

oeMade those pontoon bridges go away, Guru said.

Licon pulled out a TPC map, and asked them to indicate their flight paths. oeOkay, what'd you get

oePut my bombs onto the westbound bridges, Guru replied.

oeHits

oeGot a few, Goalie said. oeCouldn't see much, though. He was getting us north as fast as he could.

oeCaptain Thrace You were right behind him. How'd he do

Kara smiled. oeBombs on target, she said. oeI put mine where the eastbound bridge would've been, but there was so much smoke I couldn't really see. No secondaries, though.

oeI'll go along with that, Brainac said. oeNo secondaries means no traffic on the bridges.

oeOkay, Sweaty Licon asked.

oeHit a truck convoy east of the local road, Sweaty said. oeAPCs and trucks.

oeAny resistance

oeThe flak guns were firing, she replied. oeBut not radar-guided.

oeWeasels shut down those guys, Kara added. oeThey had antiradar missiles in the air first thing.

oeSweaty had some tracers come up after her, Hoser said. oeFrom the rest of the convoy.

oeWhat kind Licon wanted to know.

oeEither machine-gun or 23-mm, Hoser said. oeEven an SA-7, but it didn't guide. I put my CBUs on those guys.

oeGet any secondaries

oeSweaty's bombs got some, And we did, too, KT said.

oeAny MiGs

Heads shook no. oeNot a one, Guru said.

oeOkay, Licon said to sum up. oeI'll check the strike camera footage, and pass that up to Tenth Air Force Nice job, and from your description, that crossing's out of business for a few days. Thanks, guys.

As Licon got up to leave, Guru nodded. oeDarren, how are you holding up

oeWhen I go to the CO's office Half the time I think I'll see Colonel Rivers. Instead, it's you.

oeWell, when I open that door, I think I'll see him, and it's empty. Then I remember that's mine now. Takes some getting used to.

oeI guess so, Licon said. He'd joined the 335th after Rivers took over the squadron, and hadn't been around when two previous squadron CO s had been KIA.

oeOh, Darren Guru asked the Intel as he got ready to leave. oeYou have a right to know. Rivers recommended you for Captain. He forwarded the paperwork..

oeCaptain Licon asked, and his voice showed the surprise. oeYou're serious

oeYep, Guru said. oeDon't know when it'll go through, but you're not the only one. He turned to Goalie. oeGoalie, Sweaty, and a few others.

oeThanks, Boss, Licon said, while Goalie and Sweaty were beaming.

oeDon't thank me, thank Colonel Rivers. And Darren

oeYeah, Boss

oeIf you want to talk, in fact, spread the word. That includes all of you, Guru told his flight. oeIf anyone needs to talk, get things off their chest If I'm not flying, my office door is open. Colonel Rivers did the same, and I'm following his example.

oeWill do, and thanks, Licon replied.

oeAnytime.

After Licon left, Sweaty asked, oeSo what's next

oeYou saw the ordnance, Kara replied. oeShake'n Bake. That means CAS for somebody.

oeYeah, Guru said. Then there was a knock on the door. oeCome on in and show yourself.

It was Capt. Don Van Loan, the Ops Officer. oeBoss, we got a problem. Not just this squadron, but this entire base.

oeWhat do you mean Guru asked. oeYou can talk.

oeSomebody from the Inspector General's Office. Poking around, asking a bunch of questions. Wondering why not just the 335th, but MAG-11 and everyone else on this base is pretty loose militarily.

Guru shook his head. oeWhere is this guy

oeIn your office.

Guru scowled. oeOkay, let me know when General Tanner arrives. He went to his office and opened the door. He found a First Lieutenant in dress uniform sitting in a chair. The man came to attention. oeLieutenant, and you are

oeRichard Ellison, sir, the man replied. oeI'm from the Inspector General's office. I was sent here to check out a complaint from an officer on this base. Not just the 335th, sir. But how every unit on this base is run.

oeLet me guess, Guru said as he came in and leaned against the desk. oeYou're responding to a complaint from Major Frank Carson.

oeSir, I....

oeLieutenant, I've got two bars. You've got one. Tell me, Guru said. oeNow.

oeYes, sir. From his standpoint, things are pretty loose around here from a military standpoint, Lieutenant Ellison said. oeI've seen officers calling each other by first name or call sign, for starters.

Guru rolled his eyes. Clearly, this guy didn't get out much. oeDid it ever occur to you that every unit in MAG-11 is a combat squadron, whether it's AF, Marines, or Navy We're flying four, five, six times a day, if you haven't noticed. Fly, land, refuel and rearm, take care of whatever squadron business you have, then go back out. We don't have time for snappy salutes and other protocol. In case you haven't noticed, there's a war on.

oeSir, I realize that. Another thing is how poorly dressed ground personnel are. Instead of undress whites, everyone's in BDUs and is packing weapons. And the mechanics are in the dirtiest uniforms I've ever seen.

Guru got into the man's face. oeOkay, you ever hear of Spetznatz He pointed at the AKMS rifle on his wall. oeSee that rifle I carried it out with me after five months with the Resistance. It's loaded, always. If I hear the call oeSappers in the Wire, that means Spetsnatz is here. And I'd rather face them with a weapon than without. He glared at the junior officer. oeAs for the mechanics It never occurred to you that they work with hydraulic fluid, oil, grease, and a lot of other crud You should've been at Williams or Cannon back in Summer, or Amarillo. Hot and sometimes humid on the flight line. If they got things done wearing only gym shorts, or shorts and sports bras for the women I wouldn't mind at all. If it keeps them comfortable while they're doing their jobs, I could care less how they're dressed.

oeSir, there's such a thing as Air Force standards, Ellison pointed out. oeThey're there for a reason.

oeAnd a lot of that goes out the window when the shooting starts, Guru said. oeDid that ever occur to you It happens in every unit. What else

Ellison nodded. oeThree more things, sir. First, there's a lot of scrounging. Some would call it rampant-

Guru got into his face. oeWhen supply's flat on its ass, and won't give us the things we need to keep these birds flying, I could care less how my supply people acquire those items. As long as there's no felony arrests, no one gets hurt or caught, it makes no difference to me.

The lieutenant looked at the CO. Clearly, the respect for proper procedures and the necessary protocols had gone away. And this wasn't the first unit he'd seen where this was happening. oeThen you have a tech sergeant in the CSPs using an unauthorized weapon.

Guru rolled his eyes again. oeI guess you don't get out much. Did it ever occur to you that a CSP would want a sniper's rifle with a little more range than a standard 7.62 NATO round Tech Sergeant Danielle Tucker's dad didn't want his little girl to have to worry about Spetsnatz snipers. He sent her one of his own rifles, a Winchester 700 in .300 Winchester Magnum. I never argue with results: she's got twelve confirmed kills and seven unconfirmed with that weapon. If we have to go through other channels that the Air Force has set up-or did you even bother looking-to get the ammo she needs So be it. What's the last thing

oeSir, there is an officer ranked above you, and yet you are in command of this squadron. Why is that Ellison asked.

oeBecause my predecessor made a judgment that the officer you're referring to wasn't fit to command anything higher than an element. We award positions in this unit based on experience, not rank. And I might as well tell you right now: I'm not as rank as he is. Then there was a knock on the door. oeWhat

Don Van Loan opened the door. oeGuru, General Tanner's here.

oeHe just landed

oeNo, he's here. Right outside. Van Loan said. Then a voice shouted oeTen-shun!

oeAs you were, people, another voice said. oeWe're on a base at war, and we can do without the jumping up and down nonsense.

oeHear that Guru said to the Lieutenant. oeThat should tell you a lot.

Then Major General Robert Tanner came into the offices. Not in dress uniform, but in BDUs. To Captain Wiser, he looked like an older version of Harrison Ford, the actor. He shook hands with several of the officers and NCOs, then came to Guru's office. oeCaptain,

oeGeneral, Guru said, saluting. oeWelcome to the 335th.

oeGlad to be here, Tanner said, shaking Guru's hand. oeI only wish the circumstances were less,well, unpleasant.

Guru nodded. He knew that Colonel Rivers had been an aide to Tanner when the latter was a one-star. oeYes, sir. The memorial service for Colonel Rivers is tomorrow morning at 1000. Sir, there's no time for dress uniform as we'll be flying all day.

Tanner nodded as well. oeNo sense getting dressed up for that when you'll have to get back into flying gear. He looked at Guru. oeI made plans to be here all day, and if necessary, tomorrow, in case there was a service.

oeSir, I know he'd appreciate that, Guru said. oeHe told us that he was your aide some time back.

oeHe was, Tanner said. oeAnd he wasn't just an aide, he got to be a good friend. And who's this He regarded Lieutenant Ellison.

oeSir, this fellow's from the IG's office. Seems a certain Major that we've all gotten to know, loath, and despise made a complaint to the IG, and he got sent to check into those.

oeIs that true, Lieutenant Tanner asked. And by the tone of his voice, he wasn't too thrilled with what Guru had said.

oeYes, sir! Ellison replied. oeAnd I have found quite a bit to verify those complaints. If the General would like to hear what I have to say-

Exasperated already, Tanner turned back to Guru. oeCaptain, have you explained how we do things in Tenth Air Force

oeI started to, sir, but wasn't able to finish before your arrival, Guru said.

Tanner nodded, then shot a withering glance at the Lieutenant, then turned back to Guru.. oeI'll take care of that, Captain. And I'll make sure you won't have to worry about frivolous complaints to the Inspector General. All you need to worry about is getting on with the war. Is there someplace private I can discuss this

Guru smiled. oeMy office is available, sir,

oeGood. Close the door on your way out. After I'm finished with this chap, I'd like to talk to you and your squadron leadership team. I've got some good news.

oeYes, sir, Guru replied.

oeAnd Captain Do you have a mission coming up

oeYes, sir. Mission brief in thirty minutes, Guru said.

oeI'd like to sit in, if you don't mind, Tanner said.

oeNot at all, sir.

oeGood. I'll see you in a few. Tanner said.

oeYes, sir. As Guru turned to leave, he whispered in Ellison's ear. oeYour ass is grass, and he's going to mow it. Then he left the office, closing the door behind him. After he did, Guru and those outside could hear shouting from inside.

oeWell Kara asked.

oeIf Frank or anyone else thinks they're getting the squadron today, they're sadly mistaken, Guru said.

Mark Ellis snapped his fingers. oeOh, well. Back to the old advancement-by-assassination plan, then.

oeGuess so, Kara grinned. oeNow what's up

oeTanner's going to want to talk to us shortly, then sit in on the mission brief. He'll be here all day. Not just with us, mind, but the whole base. And he'll RON. He wants to be here for Rivers' memorial service.

oeThat's at when 1000 tomorrow Goalie asked.

oeYep, Guru said. oeYou did arrange things, Don He asked his Ops Officer.

oeI did, Van Loan nodded. oeEveryone should be back by 1000, and we've got an hour before the next set of sorties launches just after 1100.

oeGood, Guru said. oeCome as you are, and chances are, we'll have people fresh out of the cockpit showing up.

Sweaty nodded. oeThat we will.

oeCome on, let's get something out of the break room, the General will see us in a few, and we've got a mission brief, Guru told his flight. They went to the break room, and found Master Sergeant Michael Ross, the 335th's senior NCO, coming out. oeSergeant. What do the Jarheads have to offer us

'Sir, the usual: Chicken, Ham, Turkey, Roast Beef, Tuna, and something brown that just sits there, Ross said. oeAnd one of the brown sandwiches just moved.

oeWell, at least it's not a BLT where the tomato looks back at you, Kara quipped.

oeIt is that, Ma'am, Ross said.

oeOkay, thanks, Sergeant, Guru said. oeOh, and Sergeant

oeSir

oePlease let us know when the General wants to see us, if you would.

oeYes, sir.

[Matt Wiser]

Sorry for the delay, but here's the next part. And please, leave some feedback!




335th TFS Operations Building, Sheppard AFB, TX: 1045 Hours:

Captain Matt Wiser and the rest of his flight were in a former classroom, which their flight had taken over for a briefing room, and they were waiting until General Tanner was ready for them. And conversation was going to what the General might have in mind. oeHe said he had good news for everybody, Guru said. oeA stand-down and sending people off on the R&R rotation would be just fine.

oeAnd where would you and Goalie go, Kara asked. oeLas Vegas, where you can lose some money and your inhibitions

Guru looked at his WSO, 1st. Lt. Lisa oeGoalie Eichhorn, and saw her expression go coy. oeMaybe. Or San Diego. Get some sun and surf.

oeFine with me, Goalie said. oeOr Yosemite in winter Wouldn't mind a nice Winter Wonderland.

oeNot enough in the Valley, Guru said. oePlenty of snow in the high country, but not much down in the Valley. A early-season storm had gone through California and the West a week earlier, and had kept their squadron grounded when it came through Texas.

oeHow about you, Kara Goalie asked oeVegas and hit the blackjack tables

oeAnd take on some guys from Nellis, Sweaty asked. oeAnd I'm not talking at the casinos.

Hearing that, Kara poked Sweaty in the arm. Everyone in the squadron knew that if there was such a thing, Kara would be a board-certified nymphomaniac. oeMaybe.

oeAnd given how good you are at cards, they might ban you from the casinos, Hoser West said.

oeCan't have that, KT Thornton, Hoser's GIB, quipped.

Then there was a knock on the door. oeYeah Guru asked.

It was Master Sergeant Ross. oeSir, the General's finished tearing up that puppy from the IG.'

Guru and the others got up. oeThanks, Sergeant, the CO said. He led them back into the office, and saw his office door open.

oeIf I were you, they heard the General's voice say. oeI'd pack my bag and get on the next space-available C-130 out of here.

Then the officer from the IG's office came out. oeYes, sir, and he left the building, and General Tanner came out of the office.

oeGood riddance, Kara muttered.

oeGeneral, Guru nodded politely. oeColonel Rivers told us once that you weren't comfortable with some of your powers.

oeYou're right about that, Captain, but by God, there are times when it's mighty useful. And this was one of them, Tanner said. oeAnd don't worry about the IG's office. I'll call General Butler personally, and nip this in the bud. oe General Conrad Butler was the Inspector General of the whole Air Force.

oeThank you, sir, Guru said.

oeOkay, got a couple of other things to take care of. First, the 335th is up for a Navy award, since you're under MAG-11. They're getting the Navy Unit Commendation, and since you're attached to them, you are all eligible to wear the ribbon when the commendation is awarded.

oeWell, sir, that's unusual, Guru commented, and heads were nodding.

oeIt is, but then again, so is this whole damn war, Tanner replied. He turned to his ADC. oeMajor, you have that other material

Major Scott Reynolds smiled. oeYes, sir, He took out a Manila folder and a small case from his bag.

oeAll right: Captain, if you'll come to attention Tanner said.

Guru gulped, but came to attention. The last time he'd been this tight His OTS graduation.

oeRead it, Major, Tanner said.

Major Reynolds read a paper from the folder. oeAttention to orders. The Secretary of the Air Force takes pleasure in the promotion of Captain Matt Wiser, United States Air Force Reserve, to the rank of Major, United States Air Force Reserve, with all the privileges and responsibilities of that rank. Said promotion to take effect as of 27 October, 1987. By direction of the Secretary of the Air Force.

Guru's jaw dropped. Major

Tanner smiled oeCongratulations, Major, he said. oeLieutenant Eichhorn

Goalie's jaw dropped herself. oeSir

oeYou're his GIB, I understand. Will you assist me with the honors

oeYes, sir. She went over to Major Reynolds and took a small case from him. She handed it to the General. Inside was a pair of gold oak leaves. The General took one, and she took the other. After removing the captain's insignia, they pinned on the oak leaves.

oeCongratulations, Major, Tanner said.

oeThank you, sir, Guru said, saluting.

Tanner smiled and returned the salute. oeYou deserve it. Then he stood aside as Goalie came to face her pilot and CO. She came to attention and saluted Guru.

oeCongratulations, Guru, she said.

oeThanks, Guru replied. Then he saluted his GIB.

Goalie smiled, then went back to the rest of the flight.

Then Master Sergeant Ross's voice rang out. oeRoom, Ten-shun! And everyone stood to attention. oeSalute! And everyone in the room, officer and enlisted, saluted their CO.

Guru returned it, then nodded. oeCarry on, people. Still got this war on, so get back into game mode. But thanks, guys. I know Colonel Rivers is looking down on us and smiling. Let's make him proud while we kick those Commie bastards back across the Rio Grande and back to Mexico City.

oeHear, hear, Mark Ellis said.

oeCouple of other things: First, the promotion party'll have to wait until we get a stand-down, and chances are, there's going to be multiple promotions celebrated at the same time.

There were smiles in the office as word had gone around that Colonel Rivers had recommended quite a few people for promotion before his death.

oeSecond I'll buy a round at the club tonight to celebrate.

There was quite a bit of applause when people heard that.

oeMajor If you don't mind, I'll buy the first round, General Tanner said. oeNot just to celebrate the promotion, but to drink a toast in honor of Colonel Rivers. Who will be greatly missed.

Guru shrugged oeWell, sir, that is the General's prerogative.

oeThank you, Major. You heard your CO. Let's get back in the game. Tanner said, and people got on with their duties.

Guru went back to his flight, and there were handshakes and hugs. And quite a few other pilots and WSOs came to offer their own congratulations. Then the General came over. oeMajor, I see the 'Wild Thing' is in your flight

Hearing that, Kara came to attention. oeSir!

oeSo this is the wild and crazy Captain Thrace. Tanner turned to Guru. oeDon't worry, Major. Word about her antics in the 335th has traveled. Along with some crazy things at Kadena or in Hawaii while she was on the TransPac ferry run.

oeSir Guru asked.

oeSomething about a rented bungalow on the North Shore of Oahu, a dozen other officers of both genders, and a beach party gone wild is the story I heard.

oeOh, boy, Guru muttered. Did he want to know the details Part of him was silently shouting oeHell, no! But another part of him wanted to know.

oeGeneral, I can explain- Kara said.

oeCaptain, as long as there were no felony arrests, and the place was returned to its owners somewhat intact Who am I to criticize

oeSir, Kara nodded.

oeGeneral, as far as her antics in the 335th are concerned, Guru said. oeSome of those, I can assure the General, are wildly exaggerated.

oeNot by much, Goalie muttered to Sweaty, who nodded.

oeAnd some, Major, have a good deal of truth The General wanted to know.

oeSome, sir, Guru replied.

oeAnd some have a considerable deal of truth attached, Tanner said. It wasn't a question.

Guru sighed. oeYes, sir.

oeAgain, who am I to criticize Eat, drink and be merry, for tomorrow we may not be separated from the rest of the aircraft, is something that's gone pretty far in the Air Force these days.

Heads nodded, while Guru said, oeYes, sir. He knew it himself, and so did Goalie. Intimately.

oeGood. Now, I believe you have a mission brief in a few minutes

oeYes, sir, Guru said. oeWould you like to sit in He already knew, but the rest of the flight didn't.

oeThank you, Major. I'll try and stay in the background, Tanner said.

oeYes,sir. If you'll excuse me, I need to get the FRAGO and the intel briefing sheet.

The General nodded. oeDo whatever you need to do, Major. I'll stay out of your way.

oeThank you, sir, Guru said. He saw Preacher talking with the other GIBs in the flight. oePreacher

Sweaty's GIB came over. oeMajor

oeHe's Lieutenant Blanchard's GIB, sir, Guru explained. oeWould you escort the General and his aide to the briefing room I'll be there in a few.

oeYes, sir, Preacher said.

Tanner regarded him. oeHow'd you get that call sign, Lieutenant

oeSir, I was studying for the priesthood when the war began. I left the Seminary and went to the nearest Air Force recruiting office and joined up. I qualified for OTS, then Nav school, and they sent me to the F-4 RTU.

oeAnd when your classmates found out your background, they gave you the call sign, Tanner finished.

oeYes, sir, Preacher said. oeIf you and your aide will follow me

While Preacher escorted the General and his aide to the briefing room, Guru nodded to Kara. oeGet everyone else there. I'll be there in a minute.

She nodded back. oeGotcha.

Guru then went to the Ops desk, and Don Van Loan was there. He was getting ready to go out himself.
oeDon,

oeBoss, Van Loan replied. oeCongratulations, man.

oeThanks. Going to take some getting used to, though, Guru said. oeWhat have you got for me

oeOn call CAS. Northeast sector, along I-30. And that's all there is, Van Loan replied. He handed Guru the FRAGO.

oeLovely, the CO replied. oeIntel sheet

oeLicon had this to give to the CAS packages, Van Loan said. He gave the CO the sheet. oeBasically, everything from regimental level on up.

oeDarren's full of good news this time, Guru said. oeAnd a secondary in case we don't get any CAS calls

oeNot in the FRAGO, but I can give you one. Here, at the intersection of Route 276 and F.M. 548, east of Rockwall. Southeast corner has a truck park.

Guru nodded. It would have to do. oeThanks, Don. Good luck, and be careful out there.

oeYou too, Boss. Van Loan said.

Guru nodded, then he headed to the briefing room. He took a deep breath, then opened the door. He found everyone milling around, then Kara said, oeCO on the deck!

oeAs you were, Guru said. oeLike the General said, we can do without the jumping up and down business. He nodded at the General as everyone else gathered around.

oeWhat have we got Sweaty asked.

oeOn-call CAS, Guru said. oeNortheast sector, along I-30 from Rockwall to Royce City,

oeThat's it Kara wanted to know.

The CO nodded. oeYou guys know as much as I do, and no, I don't like it. But that's how it is with CAS.

oeThreat level Goalie asked.

Guru scowled as he read it oeExpect air-defense assets to be from regimental level on up, he said. oeThat means SA-9 or -13 and Shilkas all the way up to SA-6 or -8. No SA-11s or -15s reported, but just because they're not in the threat board doesn't mean they're not there.

oeTypical intel, Preacher said. oeWe're betting your life.

oeTwo years into this war, we should know by now, quipped Kara.Weasels on this one

oeNot available, Guru said. He looked at the General, who was nodding. oeAnd no, I don't like that either. Now, divert fields are the same as this morning: either Perrin AFB or D/FW International. The tanker track is the same: Track SHELL is over Durant, Oklahoma, north of the Red River

oeBailout areas Goalie asked.

oeNorth of I-30 is your best bet, because that's friendly territory. South of I-30 The more rural, the better. And anyplace away from the roads.

oeOrdnance loads Hoser asked.

oeShake'n Bake, Guru replied. oeSix Mark-82 Snakeyes on the centerline, and four BLU-27 Napalm bombs on the wings. Four AIM-9Ps and two AIM-7Es, full load 20-mm, two wing tanks and the usual ECM pods.

oeGood to hear, Kara said. oeAnd if we don't get a CAS call

oeGood question, Guru said. oeVan Loan ID'd a secondary target for us. There's a truck park at the intersection of Route 276 and F.M. 548, east of Rockwall. There's a truck park in the southeast corner. With the load we'll have, we can barbeque some trucks. And there's no change to the weather.

Heads nodded. oeHow about MiGs Sweaty asked. oeSame as this morning

oeYou got it. Terrell Municipal, or as far away as Athens, Tyler, or Waco. Maybe we'll do something about Terrell Muni or Seagoville-Crandall as well. Anything else

oeYeah, KT asked. oeWhat's after this one

oeWe'll find out when we get back, Guru said. oeThat it General Anything to add

Tanner stood up. oeGood brief, Major. Good luck, everyone. And Major

oeSir

oeBring everyone back, and one other thing: Do it to them before they do it to you.

oeFair enough, Major. Good luck, and I'll see you when you get back. Then Major Reynolds opened the door, and the General left the room, and he followed.

oeGlad that's over, Hoser said.

oeStill got the mission, Sweaty reminded her wingman.

oeThat we do, Guru said. oeOkay, gear up, and I'll see you at 512.

They headed for their respective locker rooms and got their flight gear. Guru was the last to leave, and he went to 512's revetment, where the crews were waiting, along with Staff Sergeant Crowley, his Crew Chief. oeMajor! Crowley said, saluting.

oeSergeant, Guru said. oeWord travels fast.

oeSergeant Ross's been passing it around. Congratulations, sir.

oeThanks, Sergeant, Guru said. He gathered his flight around. oeOkay, listen up. All I've got is this: Same drill as this morning: if we're talking to AWACS, Tankers, FACs, or Hillsboro-that's the EC-130 AB-triple-C command plane We go by mission code. If it's amongst ourselves Call signs. Got it

oeGot it, Kara said, and everyone else nodded.

oeGood. Anything else Heads shook no. oeAll right: let's hit it.

They broke up and the crews headed to their aircraft. Guru and Goalie did their walk-around, then mounted their bird. Sergeant Crowley helped get them strapped in, and as he did so, Guru said, oeSergeant, does Major Carson's ground crew know

oeAbout you being promoted, sir Crowley asked. Seeing Guru nod, he said. oeI think so, sir.

oeGood. Do me a favor. Tell them not to tell the Major about it. I want to see the look on his face when he comes into the squadron office and sees for himself. They can tell his GIB, or his wingmates, but not him. Got it'

oeYes, sir! Crowley said. oeAnd good luck, sir.

oeThanks, Guru said as he and Goalie started the cockpit preflight. Crowley took the crew ladder away as they went through their checks. Then it was time for engine start. Sergeant Crowley gave the signal, and Guru started one, then the other, J-79 engine. Both were running normally, then it was time to taxi. oeTower, Firebird One-one with four, requesting taxi and takeoff instructions.

oeFirebird One-one, Tower. Clear to taxi to runway Three-three left. Hold prior to the runway.

oeRoger, tower. Guru replied. oeFirebird One-one rolling. He taxied out of the revetment, and Sergeant Crowley snapped a salute as he turned to taxi to the runway. Guru returned it, then led the flight to the runway, where the armorers removed the weapon safety pins. Then he was cleared to taxi onto the runway, and Kara followed him in left echelon. oeReady back there Guru called Goalie.

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

oeCopy that, Guru said. oeTower, Firebird Flight ready for takeoff.

The tower acknowledged with a green light. Seeing that, Guru released the brakes, applied full power, and 512, with Kara's 520 in echelon, rolled down the runway and into the air, with Sweaty and Hoser right behind them.

As they lifted off, General Tanner was watching. oeGood luck.

oeWish you were with them, General Major Reynolds asked. He was counting the days until his ADC tour was up, and he got back into a cockpit,in his case, an F-16.

oeI do, Major, and so do you, Tanner said. oeYou'll get back in the saddle soon enough. But for me Combat's a young man's-or woman's-game these days.

oeAin't it the truth, sir.



Over North-Central Texas: 1200 Hours:


Firebird Flight was orbiting over Lavan Lake, southeast of McKinney. Guru had checked in with both the AWACS and Hillsboro, the EC-130 airborne command plane, and there had been no business for them, though the A-10s and A-4s were pretty busy. It had been a twenty-minute flight to the orbit point, and there were several other flights, either Marine F-4s and Hornets, or Navy A-7s, orbiting as well. oeHillsboro, Firebird One-one. Anything for us Can't wait all day.

oeStand by, Firebird, the controller said.

oeThey said that when we got here, Guru muttered.

oeYou'd think somebody would want some barbequed Russians or Cubans, Goalie said.

oeLead, two, Kara called. oeAnything

oeNegative, two, Guru said.

In her cockpit, Kara shook her head. oeHurry up and wait, even up here.

oeTwo, just enjoy the view, Guru said. Looking down from 24,000 feet, one could forget there was a war on. It was a sunny day, with a few puffy clouds down below, and some thin cirrus as well. Only when one looked towards Dallas did smoke from the fighting appear. As the flight banked away from the direction of the front lines, McKinney Airport appeared. Though not a divert field, it was busy, as it was a designated Medevac field. C-130s and Army Dustoff helos were in and out, and the MASH set up near the airport was busy, so the grapevine said. Then a call came.

oeFirebird One-one, Hillsboro.

oeHillsboro, Firebird One-one, go.

oeFirebird, Hillsboro. Contact Nail Four-two for tasking.

About time, Guru thought. oeCopy, Hillsboro, Nail Four-two for tasking. He then called the FAC. The airborne FACs always used the old Vietnam Nail call sign. oeNail Four-two, Firebird One-one.


oeFirebird, Nail, the FAC replied. oeSay aircraft and type of ordnance.

oeFirbirds have for Foxtrot-Four Echoes with Shake'n Bake loadout. Guru said.

oeRoger, Firebird Lead. Target is enemy artillery at the Route 205-F.M. 549 intersection. Towed one-five-two at least.

oeCopy that, Guru said. oeSay surface-to-air threat

oeFirebird, expect divisional level air defense. Can mark the target.

oeRoger that, Guru said. oeWe're coming in.

oeAbout time, Goalie said.

oeYeah, Guru replied. oeFlight, lead. We've got a target. Follow me in. One pass only unless Nail requests a second go.

oeTwo copies, Kara said.

oeThree, Sweaty called.

oeFour, said Hoser.

oeNail, Firebird Lead.. How do you want it

oeYour call, Firebird, Nail said.

oeRoger, Nail. One pass only.

oeCopy. Marking target, Nail said. And Guru and the others watched as an A-7K rolled in, and fired two rockets. Both rockets exploded on impact, sending up clouds of WP smoke. oeTarget marked. Gun line is east of the smoke.

As Guru began to roll in, he saw some 23-mm come up after the A-7, just as a strobe appeared on his EW repeater, and a GUN warning light came on. That meant a ZSU-23-4 Shilka was down there, and probably more than one. oeFlight, Lead. Music on, and follow me in. Music on, and Snakeyes on this one.

oeTwo, Kara.

oeThree, Sweaty.

oeFour. Hoser.

oeRoger that. One pass, and follow me. Lead's in hot! Guru called.

oeYour switches are set, Goalie said. oeSnakeyes only.

oeGotcha, Guru replied as he rolled in. Lead on target, Guru called as he rolled in on the target.


Down below, the gunners of the Third Battalion, 53rd Guards Artillery Regiment, 25th Guards Motor-Rifle Division were serving their guns. They were divisional artillery, and they had the big 152-mm howitzers. Though due to combat losses, instead of the Self-propelled 2S3 152-mm guns, they had the old towed D-20 howitzers. Still, this division, which had been in America since 1986, was one of the better divisions in the 1st Guards Army from Chernigov in the Ukraine, but it was still a long way from their home station at Lubny, near Poltava.

The battalion commander was, however, in a fit. The blasted Americans had seized the bridges over Lake Ray Hubbard (whoever that was, he wondered), and had been reinforced, taking Rockwall earlier that morning and starting to probe south of Interstate 30. His battalion's fire missions had been trying to make the Americans who'd seized the bridges a little miserable, while also trying to interdict the highway traffic into Rockwall from the north. And he hadn't had time to displace, as the divisional artillery commander had explained, the 200th MRD to their right flank was taking up some of the space that his guns might have used. Shaking his head, he went back to the battalion's command bunker when his Zampolit pointed to the Northwest. First he saw the smoke, then he raised his binoculars. oeAIRCRAFT!

Guru came down the chute, and lined up some of the guns in his pipper. oeHACK! He shouted, and his six Mark-82s came off the centerline MER. He leveled out and began to pull away, and as he did, six explosions followed in his wake. oeWhoo-hoo!

oeSHACK! Goalie cried. oeGood hits!

oeSecondaries

oeWe've got 'em, she said.

oeCopy that. Lead off target.


Kara saw her CO roll in, then she followed him down. oeTwo's in hot. She saw the WP smoke drifting, the explosions of the CO's bombs, and the secondaries that followed. And several guns still intact. Kara lined them up in her pipper, then hit the pickle button. oeHACK!

The Soviet battalion commander was shouting orders to his men to take cover. The more experienced men quickly ran to their shelters, while many of the battalion's support troops, who were mostly Uzbek or Turkmen, weren't doing much. Then he saw a second F-4 come in, and release its bombs. He shouted again at the men to take cover, but never saw the five-hundred pound bomb that went off a dozen feet from him.....

oeSHACK! Brainac called to Kara. oeGood hits!

oeSecondaries

oeLots, he said. oeYou must've hit the ammo trucks.

Nodding, Kara pulled away. 'Two's off target.

oeThree's in! Sweaty called. She could see some command vehicles parked in a circle. Sweaty lined them up, and then hit the pickle button. oeHACK! And her bombs landed among the battalion's command vehicles, tossing several of them like toys. oeThree off target,

oeCopy three, Guru said. Then he saw tracers coming up. oeBREAK RIGHT!

Sweaty didn't even respond. She broke instantly, and as she did, the tracers were visible. Then she leveled out and headed north.

As Sweaty got out of the area, Hoser rolled in. He saw the tracers, and decided, just like he had in the morning, to do something about that. He lined up on where the tracers had come from, and rolled in. oeFour's in. He went down the chute, and then he released his bombs. As he pulled out, KT called oeGood hit!

He rolled away and banked to get a better look. There was smoke rising from the area, and a secondary explosion. oeScratch one flak battery.

Unknown to Hoser, his bombs had hit two ZSU-23-4s. They had been deployed to protect the guns, and they had shot down an A-7 and damaged another that morning. The section commander had fired at Sweaty's plane as it turned away, but hadn't had a good solution due to the jamming. Then Hoser's F-4 had come in, and due to the ZSU's radar being jammed, he had no warning. Then the bombs exploded around the vehicles.....


oeFour's off target, Hoser called.

oeCopy, Four, Guru said. oeNail, how'd we do

oeFirebird, Nail replied. oeGood bombs on target, fella. Taking out whoever was shooting that flak was a bonus. Thanks a lot and have a nice day.

oeThanks, Nail. Anyone you know need some barbeque That was code for napalm.

oeNegative, Firebird. If you've got a secondary for that, be my guest.

oeRoger that, Guru said. oeFirebirds, on me. We're headed for the secondary.

Firebird Flight reformed, and they headed for their secondary target, the truck park. However, before they got there, Kara spotted something. oeLead, Starbuck. Got something at Eleven O'clock low.
oeI've got it, Sweaty confirmed. oeGawd, it's a SAM site. And they're not set up!

oeGot it, Hoser said. oeIt's an SA-6 site.

Guru smiled underneath his oxygen mask. oeLet's get him. He banked his F-4 around and he saw the target for himself. oeOne pass only, and get out. Meet up over Lavon Lake. He called Goalie. oeSwitches set

oeAll set here, Goalie said.

oeRoger that, Guru said. He rolled in onto the SAM site, and a grim satisfaction was taking hold. He'd been shot down by an SA-6 that January day in '86, which led to his time with the Resistance. Now....Lead's in. And now it's barbeque time, Ivan....


Below, a Soviet Army Captain was not having a good day. His unit, the Second Battery, 1175th Anti-Aircraft Missile Regiment from the 25th GMRD, had to relocate twice, and it wasn't even noon. Those blasted Americans were finding out his battery's location, and either targeting them with anti-radar missiles or long-range artillery fire. Now, he'd found a location that was perfect, though some buildings were nearby, along with a number of houses. Though civilians were nearby, that made no difference to him. Now, his men could get the battery set up and ready to fire, and give this sector of the division needed SAM cover, for American aircraft had been active all morning. He had just left his battery command vehicle, a BRDM-2U, and was shouting orders when he turned to the east. The smoke trails and the dots told him from experience that F-4 Phantoms were coming in. oeAIR ALARM! Then he jumped into a ditch as the lead aircraft came in.

oeHACK! Guru shouted, and four BLU-27 napalm bombs came off the inboard TERs. He had selected the Straight Flush radar track as his aimpoint, and as he banked away to the north, he saw the four napalm bombs explode around the radar track, engulfing it in flame. oeLead's off.

oeTwo's in! Kara said. She picked out two of the SA-6 missile tracks, and centered her pipper on one of them. oeHACK! She called, and the four canisters fell away.

The battery commander stood up in the ditch. Both his command vehicle and the 1S91 radar vehicle were engulfed in flames, and for a moment he didn't know what had happened. Then his training took over. Napalm. Then one of his sergeants pulled him down back into the trench as a second F-4 came in and released its bombs.

oeTwo's off target, Kara said as she pulled away. Her BLU-27s fell onto two of the SAM tracks, and they were drenched in flame as the napalm went off. Take that, Ivan. oeTwo off target.

oeThree's in! Sweaty called. She picked out the other two SAM tracks and rolled in. Lining them up in her pipper, Sweaty made the oeHACK call, and pulled away. Four more BLU-27s fell down on the SAM site, and two more SAM tracks were drenched in flames. oeThree's off.

oeFour's in, called Hoser. He couldn't pick out much, as missile tracks were on fire, and then missiles began cooking off in the heat of the napalm. Another missile shot off a few feet off the ground, headed for something to the west. Whatever it hit wasn't his problem. Then he spotted the missile reload trucks and the battery's support vehicles. He banked slightly, then released. As he pulled away, Hoser called. oeFour off target. His BLU-27s landed on the missile reload trucks, and they, too, were engulfed in flames. One of the bombs missed the trucks and its fiery cargo immolated a nearby ditch.

Hoser's last BLU-27 had landed next to the ditch where the Soviet battery commander had taken cover. His last sensation was the heat as he and the soldiers who'd taken cover with him became human torches.....

oeFirebirds, form on me and let's get the hell out of here, Guru called. He was heading for Lavon Lake as fast as he could.

oeTwo's behind you, Kara said.

oeThree's comin, Sweaty called.

oeFour copies, said Hoser.

A couple minutes later, Firebird Flight reformed over the lake, and they reformed. Now that they were over friendly territory, they could turn their IFF on and their ECM pods off. The flight reformed and headed back to Sheppard, as they didn't need to get a drink from the tankers. When they got to Sheppard's traffic pattern, they had to wait as two F-4 flights from the 335th, and two more from the Marines, were outbound. Then they were cleared to land.

Guru landed, then taxied back to the dispersal area used by the 335th. After taxiing into his revetment, he popped the canopy and shut down. Sergeant Crowley was waiting with the crew ladder. As Crowley got the ladder into position, Guru said to Goalie, oeTwo today, and probably two more.

oeAt least we get to eat, Goalie said. oeAs long as it's not a roadkill sandwich from the Jarheads' mess tent.

oeI'll take some fried chicken, Guru said. oeHell, I'll even have a slider cheeseburger. The Marines, like the Navy, were notorious for serving greasy hamburgers.

oeHow'd it go, sir Sergeant Crowley after he put the ladder in place.

oeBlasted some artillery pieces, and barbequed a SAM site. Guru said. oePull the strike camera and get it to the intel guys.

oeYes, sir! Crowley said. oeYou'll be ready in forty-five minutes.

oeGood, Sergeant, Guru said. oeNo problems or issues, and 512's working like a champ. And we didn't take any fire.

oeThat's good, sir, Crowley said. oeHate to have any more holes in my airplane.

oeYou and us both, Goalie said.

Guru nodded as he saw the ordnance people coming over. This time, it was all Mark-82 Snakeyes. oeAll right, Sergeant. Get her ready to go.

oeWill do, sir, Crowley said.

Guru and Goalie went to the taxiway, and found the rest of the flight waiting. There were high-fives all around as they went back to the squadron offices. On the way, they ran into Maj. Dave Golen, their IDF oeObserver. oeDave, Guru said.

oeGuru! Dave replied. oeI wasn't able to give my congratulations on your promotion. Well done, my friend.

oeThanks, Dave, Guru said, shaking Golen's hand. oeStill getting used to it myself.

oeYes...Colonel Rivers will be missed.

Guru nodded. oeWho's going with you

oeSandi Jenkins, Golen said. 1st Lt. Sandi Jenkins had been Colonel Rivers' wingmate, and had been flying with him when he was shot down.

oeOkay, Guru said. oeVan Loan set it up

oeHe did.

oeGood, Guru said. oeFor now, she's your wingmate. And she's your younger sister from another mother. You bring her back. She's got the fire in her, and it's why I pulled her from the flight schedule yesterday. Remind her when you get to your birds that this isn't the time or place for grudges.

oeUnderstood, Golen said. He'd seen it before, in the Yom Kippur War.

oeOne more thing: tell Sandi that if she wants to see me and talk, my office door is open. Always.

oeWill do.

oeOkay, Dave. Good luck, and remember: do it to them before they do it to you.

oeGot you,

oeAll right, have a good one, Guru said.

oeYes, Golen said, shaking Guru's hand, then he headed to his aircraft.

oeWhat was that about Kara asked. oeWhat's with Sandi

oeShe was with Rivers when he was shot down, and she's got the fire in her, Guru said. oeRivers treated her like she was his own daughter, and she's got something burning inside her. And no, I don't know what it is. He left me a packet with a bunch of stuff in it, in case he was shot down. Haven't had time to look at it.

oeDoes it involve Carson Sweaty asked. oeWhen they're in the Club, and if they exchange eye contact, her stares....if they were knives, Frank would be dying the death of a thousand cuts.

oeI noticed, Guru said. oeI'll have to look at her file, Frank's, and that packet Rivers left me. Haven't had time yet. If I have time this afternoon or evening, I will.

oeWhat could it be Goalie asked.

oeNo idea, Guru admitted. oeCome on, let's debrief and eat.

They went into the squadron office, and noticed a new metal sign on the CO's office door. It read. oeMaj. Matt Wiser. CO, 335th TFS. Guru nodded approval, then they went to the classroom his flight used. The SIO, 1st Lt. Darren Licon, was waiting. oeMajor, how'd it go Licon asked.

oePretty good, Darren, Guru said. oeMade some artillery pieces go away.

oeAnd barbequed a SAM site, Sweaty added.

oeWhere was the artillery Licon asked, pointing to some reconnaissance photos.

oeRight about here, Guru said, pointing to the Route 205/F.M. 549 intersection. oeBig ones. 152-mm or larger.

oeYour strike camera footage may tell. Or the BDA from the RF-4s, Licon said. oeWhat'd you use

oeMark-82s all around, replied the CO.

All three who hit the guns showed their flight paths,while Hoser showed where the AAA had come up after Sweaty, and he put his Mark-82s on the gun site. oeDidn't get a radar hit, though.

oeThey may not have had it, Licon said. oeOr they weren't using it. After that, what was your secondary

oeWent towards a truck park at the Route 276/F.M. 548 intersection. But about a mile from there, we found an SA-6 site just setting up, said Guru.'

oeAnd you turned it into a barbeque pit, Licon said.

oeWe did, Kara nodded.

Licon nodded himself as he checked the recon photos. oeNot on the imagery, so they must've arrived sometime this morning. I'll check your strike camera footage. Anything else I should know

oeNo MiGs, Sweaty said, and everyone else nodded.

oeThanks, Major, Everyone, Licon said. oeI'll pass this up the line to MAG-11's intel shop, and then Tenth Air Force. Good luck on your next one.

oeThanks, Darren, Guru said. oeHolding up OK

oeDoing fine, Boss, Licon said. oeIf I need to talk...

oeLet me know. My office door is always open, Guru reminded him.

oeThanks, Major, Licon said, then he went to debrief the next flight.

oeNow we eat, Kara said. It wasn't a question.

oeWe eat, Guru said. They went to the break room, where the Marine Mess people had brought lunch. The aircrews were usually too busy to head over to the chow tent, so Colonel Allen Brady, the CO of MAG-11, had the meals brought to the air and ground crews.

oeWhat'll it be, sir, A Marine corporal asked. oeCheeseburgers and fries, Philly Cheesesteak sandwiches, or fried chicken with Cole slaw

oeAt least it's not your roadkill sandwiches, Goalie said.

The crews had a laugh as they selected their lunches, then went back to the classroom to eat. While they ate, discussion went from the day's sorties to the topic of what would happen when Major Carson found out Guru had been promoted. oeHe'll have a coronary, Kara said. oeCouldn't happen to a nicer asshole.

oeMaybe, Guru said. oeThat'd make Doc Waters happy: he hasn't had much to do other than flight physicals or the occasional sports injury. Doc Waters was the Flight Surgeon for the 335th.

oeHe'll probably go through the ceiling, Hoser said. oeI've never seen anyone so arrogant.

oeI'll go with that, Preacher agreed. oeComing from the Academy, and a rich Boston family breeds that, I imagine.

oeAnd throw in a big sense of entitlement, Goalie said. oeI have classmates who'd be just like him, given the chance.

oeYou're Academy, right KT asked.

oeYep. Class of '82. Goalie said. oeThird class with women. And there were some guys who couldn't take being in a class with women.

oeI'll bet, Kara said. oeThough the Academy's now at Beale, right I bet they don't have that kind of attitude now.

oeNo arguing that, Goalie replied.

Heads nodded, then people looked at the CO. He was lost in thought. oeWhat's up KT asked. oeOr can you tell us

oeIt's Sandi and Frank, Guru said. oeSomething just isn't right between those two, and it's not just Frank's attitude towards non-Academy grads. The way she looks at him in the club....

oeThey've got a history, Sweaty nodded. oeThe question is what

oeAll I know is that she was in the squadron when the war began, and she was one of the first to go into the Airman to Pilot program, Guru said.

oeThe one where they let enlisted with two or more years of college to go to a thirty-day knife and fork, get their commissions, then flight or nav training Preacher asked. oeThey were starting that when I went to OTS.

oeThe same. But when she came back to the unit, Rivers had a private talk with her, and even I don't know what they said. She became his wingmate, and he treated her like she was his own daughter. She was flying wing on him when he went down, and she was pretty much out of it when she got out of her plane, Guru said. oeI had to pull her from the flight schedule yesterday, and she was fine this morning. But she's Dave Golen's wingmate from now on.

oeSo what's the deal with her and Frank Kara asked.

oeThat, I don't know, Guru admitted. oeSomething's not right, and I can't put my finger on it. I'll look at her file, Frank's, and that packet Rivers left for me. This afternoon, I'll find some time and do it. He looked at his flight mates. oeEnough of that. He opened the mission briefing packet. oeWell....looks like we get to do something about Terrell Municipal after all.

oeWe're busting up an airfield Goalie asked.

oeWe are, Guru said. oeThey're basing MiG-23s and Su-25s there. All Soviet.

Kara smiled. oeBoss, looks like we may have some MiG action.

oeYep, and Sweaty and Preacher are one kill away from becoming aces, Guru said. oeAnd Goalie's one kill away from making backseat ace. He looked at his GIB, who had an evil-looking grin on her face.

oeOrdnance Sweaty asked.

oeTwelve Mark-82s each airplane, Guru said. oeJust like this morning, only we'll be about twelve miles to the east. Same approach route, though we make our northern turn over Kaufman, then go north. Make a Southeast to Northwest run, and angle your run so that your bombs cover both east and west ramp areas, as well as the runway. The same air-to-air load, and the usual ECM pods and both wing tanks.

oeGotcha, Hoser said. oeAnd defenses

oeWe'll have two Weasels. Coors One-three and One-four will meet us over Mineral Wells. Because there's an SA-2 site, and since this is on I-20 and U.S. 80, there may be other air-defense assets around. Besides the SA-2, there's radar-guided 57-mm AAA. One battery to the west, another to the northeast. Possible optical 23-mm and heavy machine guns as well. Not to mention MANPADS like SA-7 or SA-14.

'Where's the SA-2 site Kara asked.

oeNorthwest of town. Guru said. oeThe Weasels go in ahead of us and do their thing. When we're clear of the target, form up and head north. Don't climb to altitude until you're clear of I-30. Same drill on bailout areas: the more rural the better, and anyplace away from the roads. Best area is anywhere north of I-30. No new update on the weather.

oeSame drill on the radio Brainac wanted to know.

oeYou got it, Guru nodded. oeIf it's between us, we go by call sign. If it's to AWACS, Weasels, or anyone else Mission code. Anything else

oeHow many more after this one KT asked.

oeOne for sure, Guru said. Maybe two. He nodded. oeThat it' Heads nodded. oeGear up and I'll see you at 512.

They nodded, then the crews went to their locker rooms to gear up. When they came out, there was a familiar,though loathed, face there, staring at the door to the CO's office. It was Major Carson.

oeWell, well, Kara said. oeHe finally knows.

oeHi, Frank, Guru said. oeToo bad you weren't here this morning.

oeIs this a joke' Carson snarled.

oeNo joke. Tanner pinned on the oak leaves this morning, Guru said. oeWhile you were out. Oh, and he knows about the snot from the IG's office. Tore him a new hole, and he'd probably do the same to you, if you gave him the excuse.

Carson just glared at Guru, then he shook his head. oeThis isn't right.

oeWant to tell a two-star General he made a mistake Guru said as he headed on out. oeToo bad I'll be out, because I'd love to see him tear you a new hole.

oeWhat about seniority You may have rank, but I have seniority over you.

Guru got into his face. oeWhen you can't command anything more than a flight, seniority means nothing. Nor does that Boston blue blood of yours. He turned to his flight. oeLet's go, guys. We got a MiG field to rip up.

oeI'm taking this to a higher authority, Carson fumed.

oeYou going to write your Mom and Dad again Kara quipped.

Carson glared at all of them, then left the building in a fit of the sulks.

oeThat is not a happy camper, Preacher said.

oeHis problem, Guru said. oeI'll tell him he's on the clock, either tonight or tomorrow.

oeGood, Goalie said. oeThe sooner he gets away from here, the better.

oeRemember what I said this morning Guru reminded everyone. oeBut yeah, he gives me the slightest excuse, he's out of here. Let's go.

The flight went to 512's revetment, where Sergeant Crowley was waiting, and 512 was bombed up and ready. oeSir, she's ready to go.

oeThanks, Sergeant, Guru said. oeAll right: a reminder. Call signs between us, mission code to everybody else. Anything else Heads shook no. oeAll right: let's mount up and hit it.

The crews split up and headed for their aircraft. Guru and Goalie did their walk-around, then Guru signed for the aircraft. They mounted up and began their preflight checks. Once the preflight was done, it was time for engine start. After running up the engines, it was time for taxi. Guru called the tower and got permission to taxi, and the lead the flight to the runway. After holding so that the armorers could remove the weapon safeties, Guru got permission to taxi onto the runway. Kara taxied into the slot next to him, and they ran their engines up to full military power.

oeTower, Firebird One-one requesting clearance for takeoff.

As usual, the tower acknowledged by flashing a green light. Guru released the brakes, and 512 rolled down the runway and into the air. Kara did the same with 520, and she was right behind the CO. Sweaty and Hoser followed, and Firebird Flight headed south to their rendezvous with the Weasels.

[Matt Wiser]

Sorry for the delay in updating, but RL was in the way...

And so.....



South of the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex: 1330 Hours:


Firebird Flight was at low-level once again, and headed east. They were south of Fort Worth, and had just crossed I-35W. The meetup with the Weasels had gone off, and Major Wiser had found that the lead Weasel, Coors One-three had two HARMs and two Shrikes, while Coors One-four had two HARMs and two Standard-ARMs. The Weasels were just ahead and above, while the F-4Es were tucked in tight, in two elements as they headed east.

oeTwo minutes to 35E, Goalie called from 512's back seat.

oeCopy, Guru said. He was keeping his head on a swivel, watching the sky, watching his instruments, oeMan, would you kill to have the displays in this bird that the F-15E's supposed to have

oeI would, Goalie replied. She, like the other GIBs, was handling the navigation. oeMake my job a lot easier. One minute.

oeOne minute, Guru called. They were at 450 feet AGL, and doing 500 Knots. So far, there was no sign of SAM or MiG activity, but he knew from experience that could change in a heartbeat. Then another interstate appeared. It was I-35E. oeThirty-five E dead ahead.

oeRoger. Your next turn point is I-45. One minute.

oeI-45 in one, Guru acknowledged.

It didn't take long until the twin ribbons of I-45 appeared, and right then and there, Guru was wishing armed reconnaissance was their mission, for there was a supply convoy headed north. oeAnd turning.

oeU.S. 175 in one minute forty-five, Goalie said. oeRight past Kaufman.

oeCopy. Guru said. So far, no SAMs or MiGs. But soon, it'd be time to go to work. He looked around, and saw Kara's bird tucked in nice and tight, at his Four O'clock.

oeKaufman dead ahead, Goalie called. That was the IP. Twelve miles to target, forty-five seconds.

oeRoger that, Guru said. Then he made the call. oeFirebird flight, ready, ready...PULL! Switches on, music on, and time to go to work.

oeTwo copies, Kara.

oeThree, roger, Sweaty.

oeFour, Hoser.

oeFirebird lead, Coors, the Weasel leader called. oeTime for us to go to work.

oeCopy that, Coors. Get some. Guru said. He turned on his own ECM pod. oeSwitches set He asked Goalie.

oeAll set. Everything in one pass.

oeGood girl, Guru said as he pulled up to 1200 feet AGL. That was bending it for the SA-2, but the Weasels should be able to kill the SA-2's Fan Song F radar.

Up ahead, Coors One-three fired his first HARM missile, and that HARM took out a nearby P-40 search radar that not only served the SA-2 site, but the AAA batteries near the airport. A second HARM forced the SA-2 to shut down, while he began to orbit. His wingmate, Coors One-four, fired a Standard-ARM at the SA-2, unknown to him, and unfortunately for the Soviet SAM operators, the AGM-78 went right to the Fan Song radar, and the AGM-78's big 214-lb warhead blew the radar apart.

Just then, the AAA batteries near the airport came up, and fortunately for the inbound raiders, only one had a Firecan fire-control radar, and as it came up, a HARM came down on it, killing the radar, and causing casualties among the AA gunners.

At Terrell Airport, the MiG-23MLAs of the 85th Guards Fighter Regiment (GIAP) were sitting on the ramp at the west side of the field. Their three squadrons had only just arrived in Texas, and it was proving to be everything they had been told about the place. And all of it bad. From locals who hated their guts, guerrillas who took pot shots at sentries at night, and could be counted on to mortar the field on a regular basis, and then there were the Americans in the air, whose F-14s, F-15s, and F-16s were every bit as dangerous as their intelligence briefings had told them. Some of the pilots were wishing they'd paid more attention to what the Su-25 pilots of the 452nd Independent Ground-Attack Regiment (OshAP) had told them about oethis wonderful place called Texas. Then the alert siren sounded, and the alert pilots ran for their aircraft. They were just getting strapped in when one of them looked to the south. The smoky trails and the chevron tail were obvious. F-4s were coming in.

oeLead's in! Guru said. He'd pulled up to attack altitude, lined up the runway and ramp area in the pipper, and rolled in. oeSteady, steady....

oeFlak coming up, Goalie said. She'd noticed the 57-mm guns starting to shoot.

oeNot this time, Ivan... Guru muttered. oeAnd...HACK! He hit the pickle button, and walked his dozen Mark-82 Snakeyes across the field. He pulled away, and called, oeLead's off target.

At the airport, the sirens were sounding and those personnel still out in the open were running for cover as Guru's F-4 came in. Two of the 2nd Squadron, 85th GIAP's MiG-23s were taxiing to takeoff when the F-4 walked its bombs across the field, and not only had several of his bombs hit either Su-25s or MiG-23s, but at least two had blasted holes in the runway. The leader taxied to the end of Runway Three-Five, but didn't notice the second F-4 coming in...

oeSHACK! Goalie said as Guru pulled off target. She could see several fireballs as parked aircraft exploded. oeWe got secondaries!

oeSave it for later, Guru said. He turned north for I-30.

oeTwo's in hot! Kara called. She rolled in, and as she did so, she saw two MiG-23s attempt a takeoff roll. Ignoring the flak, she released her bombs and pulled away to the north. oeTwo's off.

The two MiG-23s had started to roll down the runway as Kara's F-4 came in. The wingman saw the bombs exploding ahead of him and aborted his takeoff, but the leader didn't. As his MiG went down the runway, his MiG got into a bomb crater and crashed, going up in a fireball.

oeGood hits! Brainac called to Kara from 520's back seat. oeAnd we got a couple of fireballs.

oeGood enough, Kara said. She turned to follow Guru north. The sooner they were north of I-30, the better.

oeThree's in hot! Sweaty called. She came in, and put her bombs to the right of where Guru had. Not only was most of the Su-25 regiment exposed, but several warehouses next to the airport were as well. oeHACK! She called as her twelve Mark-82s came off the airplane. As Sweaty pulled away, she saw her bombs rip into two of the warehouses, while several Su-25s were blasted apart by a couple of Mark-82s landing among them, and at least one of her bombs landed right on the runway for good measure. oeThree's off. She, too, headed north.

oeGood hits! Preacher said. oeAnd there's secondaries.

oeFour's in! Hoser called. He saw where his element leader had made her run, and he laid down his bombs perpendicular to hers, namely, going right down the runway, and though he was taking a chance with the AAA coming up, he wanted that runway. oeHACK! Hoser called as he flew down the runway. His bombs came off his F-4 as he overflew the runway, and both he and KT saw a MiG-23 parked on the runway, while a fire burned in the middle of a bomb crater. Not your day, Ivan....

The MiG pilot saw what happened to his leader, and with the tower not answering his calls, he decided to get out of the plane. He'd seen Sweaty's F-4 make its run, and ran for a slit trench west of the taxiway. He had just jumped in when Hoser made his run, The bombs marched down the runway, and when one of the bombs found his MiG-23, the plane blew apart. He ducked into the trench as the F-4 pulled up and away.

oeFour's off, Hoser called.

oeGot a secondary, KT said. oeMust've been that MiG.

oeHe didn't have a good day, Hoser said as he headed north.

oeFirebirds, Guru called. oeForm on me and let's egress. Coors, how's it going

oeKeepin' 'em busy, Firebird, Coors One-three said. oeYou guys get clear. Clearly, the Weasels were living up to their motto of oeFirst in, last out.

oeCopy that, Guru said. Just then, Kara pulled her bird close to him in combat spread. Then both of them heard a call from Sweaty.

oeLead, Sweaty, BREAK! Bandit in your six.

Guru and Kara immediately broke. Guru pulled up and did a cross-turn to the right, while Kara stayed low and did a turn to the left. As they did, both could see an Su-25 that had been right behind them. oeSweaty, Guru. You have him

oeGot him, Lead, Sweaty said. She lined the Su-25 up in her pipper and selected HEAT. She got a loud growl in her headset as the AIM-9P3 was tracking. oeFOX TWO! Sweaty called as she squeezed the trigger.

In that Su-25, Lt. Col. Alexander Rutskoi was cursing his luck. He'd had several chances for air-to-air action in his combat time in America, and had actually shot down two CH-47s and two Hueys, along with taking a shot several times at A-10s. Now, he'd been getting ready to land when the tower waved him off. The base was under attack. Colonel Rutskoi seized his chance and got in behind the first two F-4s as they formed up. He armed his R-60 AAMs and checked his cannon ammo status. Enough. He was trying to lock up one of the Phantoms when he saw them suddenly break. How'd they spot him Then he saw a missile trail fly past his aircraft. Now he was the hunted.

oeDamn it! Sweaty cursed. The first Sidewinder had simply oegone stupid and not tracked. She lined up the Su-25 again and got tone. oeFox two again! This time, the missile flew straight and true into the left engine of the Frogfoot and exploded. To her surprise, the Russian was still flying, though trailing smoke.

Colonel Rutskoi let out some curses of his own as the Sidewinder exploded ahead of him. He was turning his head, looking for his attacker, when a loud bang exploded behind him. Then his left engine light went on, along with a couple other warning lights. But the Rook, as the Su-25 was known to its pilots, was built to take punishment, like its American counterpart.

oeTough mother, Sweaty muttered. She got good tone on her third missile. oeFOX TWO! Again, an AIM-9P shot off the rail. This one went right, then left and tracked the Su-25. As it did, she did a high yo-yo to maintain position behind the Russian. This time, though, it wasn't necessary, for the third missile flew right into the Su-25's right engine and exploded. After the explosion, she saw the canopy come off, the seat fire, and the pilot was in his chute. Then the Frogfoot just flew into the ground, exploding on impact. oeSPLASH!

oeGood kill, Sweaty! Hoser called.

oeWhoo-hoo, Lead! Kara called. oeLooks like we got another new ace.

oeSave it for later, Guru reminded her. oeLet's egress. Coors, we're out of here.

oeCopy that, Firebird. We're on the way out.

Colonel Rutskoi had felt and heard the second strike on his Rook. He knew he'd be ejecting for the third time in America when the right engine exploded and every light on his control panel came on. He pulled the handle on his K-36D ejection seat, and he was soon hanging in his chute. Rutskoi watched as Sweaty's F-4 pulled up and rolled, apparently so the crew could verify the kill, then the F-4 rolled back and headed north, followed by a second F-4, obviously the wingman. Now, as he drifted to earth, he saw Soviet soldiers converging on his parachute. Shouting every cuss word in Russian that he knew, the Colonel saw the soldiers put their weapons down. These motor-rifle blockheads thought every parachute was a downed American.....He landed, and the pain that shot through his ankle meant he'd broken it. As he stood up, though in pain, a Kazakh private came up, shouting oeStoi. He replied with several choice cuss words in Russian, along with his rank, and the private lowered his AK-74 and motioned for him to follow.

Sweaty and Hoser joined up on Guru and Starbuck, and the Weasels were right behind them. It wasn't long until I-30, and the Weasels, just like the morning strike, they broke off to head for the tanker track. Firebird Flight, though, didn't need to refuel, and they headed back to Sheppard. After waiting in the pattern for two Marine flights and another 335th flight to land, and two more Marine flights to take off, they came in and landed.

Guru taxied 512 to its revetment, and popped the canopy. oeGood one.

oeIt was, Goalie said. oeWe need to get one more, then I'll be an ace.

oeIn time, Guru replied as Sergeant Crowley brought the crew ladder. oeGet some buckets of water, Sergeant. Lieutenant Blanchard's now an ace.

oeYes, sir! Crowley said. After attaching the ladder, the crew chief ran to fill a couple of buckets, while Guru and Goalie climbed down from the aircraft. They did a quick postflight check, then picked up the buckets. oeHere you go, sir.

oeThanks, Sergeant. Guru said. He and Goalie headed towards the revetment where Sweaty's aircraft was parked. Kara and Brainac were waiting when they got there, and they, too, had water-filled buckets. Hoser and KT showed up just afterward, and all six converged on Sweaty and Preacher, who were demonstrating the kill with hand signs to their crew chief. The Staff Sergeant saw those bearing buckets,and backed away. oeSweaty, Guru said.

oeMajor She asked, then she turned, seeing the six close in on her and her GIB. oeOh, shit.

oeFor which we are about to receive, we thank you, oe muttered Preacher.

oeCongratulations, Sweaty and Preacher! Guru yelled as Sweaty and Preacher were drenched by their flight mates.

oeWelcome to the club, Kara said. oeLike the Major said a while back: 'you only make ace once.'

oeThanks, guys, Sweaty said. oeGuess we'll be celebrating something else tonight.

oeWe will, a voice said from behind Major Wiser. It was General Tanner, who was there along with his aide, and Colonel Allen Brady, the CO of MAG-11. oeLooks like we've got another ace team.

Guru and the others turned, and saw the three. oeWhups, Guru said, sketching a salute. oeGeneral.

oeAnother pair of aces Tanner asked.

oeYes, sir! Guru replied. oeLooks like someone's buying a round for these two.

oeI'll take care of that one, Colonel Brady said. oeBy the way, congratulations, Major.

oeThank you, sir, Guru said. oeBeen pretty busy today, and haven't had much time to notice.

Both General Tanner and Colonel Brady nodded. oeUnderstandable, Major, Tanner said. oeGet debriefed, and you've got time for one more mission today. Get that done, and get back here by 1700. Two hours before twelve-hour ought to be enough.

oeYes, sir!' Major Wiser said,

Everyone got back into game mode, and on their way back to the squadron's offices, Guru stopped by 512 and informed Sergeant Crowley of his aircraft's condition. The crew chief was pleased that no problems or issues had come up, and that there was no battle damage. Then they went into the classroom they used, and found the SIO there, waiting. oeMajor, Lieutenant Licon said. oeHow'd it go

oeTore up the airfield, Guru said. oeAnd Sweaty got her fifth.

Licon nodded, then asked everyone to show their strike paths on a recon photo, and on an FAA chart of the field. oeSo you guys hit both ramp areas

oeWe did, Kara said. oeGot bombs on both the MiGs and the Su-25s. Too bad they don't credit ground kills like they did in World War II.

oeI'll go along with that, Goalie said.

oeSame here, Sweaty added.

oeOkay, Licon asked. 'How about resistance

oeJust triple-A, Guru said, and the others nodded. oeDidn't have any SAMs, so the Weasels did their thing.

oeFlak optical or radar

oeOptical, .looked like, Sweaty said. oeThere was smoke coming from the center of the west battery. They had the radar, and must've taken a HARM or Standard-ARM.

Licon nodded. oeAnd the kill

oeSu-25, Sweaty nodded. oeHe pulled in right behind the CO's element, and I called the break. They broke away, and took the first shot with AIM-9. It missed, so I gave him two more.

oeBoth hits Licon asked, and Sweaty nodded. oeSee a chute

oeCanopy went off, and the seat fired. Then he was in his chute, Preacher said.

oeWitnesses Asked the SIO, and six hands shot up. oeOkay, he smiled. oeI'll write that one up as confirmed, and it's official: you're now an ace, Licon said to Sweaty.

Sweaty smiled back. oeThanks, Darren.

oeYou're welcome. I'll see you guys later, he said, then went to debrief the next mission.

oeNow what Kara asked.

oeI'll check with Van Loan and see what Ops has for us, the CO said oeGet something to eat, get some rest, and check your squadron paperwork. Be back here in an hour.

Heads nodded. oeWhere you headed Goalie asked.

oeTaking my own advice on the last, Guru said. oeThis CO thing takes getting used to. He reminded the flight to be back in an hour, then went to his office. He was pleased to see that there wasn't much, and after taking care of what there was, he decided to see what was in the special packet Colonel Rivers had left for him. After Rivers' death, Sergeant Ross had come to Guru the following day, with a key to one of Colonel Rivers' desk drawers. In a letter in a packet Rivers had left for him, Guru had been told to get the key from Ross. Though he'd done so, he hadn't had time to see what was in the drawer. Now Guru did.

He went to the coffee maker and poured himself a cup, then unlocked the drawer. He got the packet, and opened it. There were a couple of Manila folders, and a note from Rivers. Guru, if you're reading this, get Carson's 201 File. Curious, Guru went to a file cabinet which had the officers' records and got Carson's file. He opened it, and went back and forth between the file and Rivers' material. oeSon of a....this can't be right. Guru went back and reread it. Then he read the other two folders. His jaw dropped. oeMother of God... And the bile was forming in his stomach. oeOf all the... He'd had good reason to loathe Carson before, but now....And what to do

Guru got up and thought for a moment. Nodding, he opened his office door and saw the Exec there. oeMark, I need to see you.

oeGetting ready to brief and then go, Ellis replied. oeWhat's up

oeThis can't wait, Mark. The CO replied. oePush your mission back by an hour. Then come in here.

Curious, Ellis nodded, and went to the Ops desk to postpone his mission. Then he came to the Major's office. oeWhat is it Ellis asked, seeing the expression on Guru's face.

oeClose the door, Major Wiser said. oeFirst, we never had this conversation, and you did not see this material. Understood

Ellis was curious. oeOkay, what are we, uh, not talking about, and what am I not seeing

oeHave a look, Guru said, indicating the material on his desk.

Ellis gave a nod, then sat down and went over the material. It didn't take long for a look of revulsion to come across his face. oeNow what




335th TFS Commander's Office: Sheppard AFB, TX: 1430 Hours:


Major Matt Wiser stared at his Exec. oeMark, I have no idea. Most of what's in that file Either the Statute of Limitations passed a while ago, or an Article 32 Hearing is going to see it as oeHe said, she said.

Captain Mark Ellis looked at his CO, then at the material on the CO's desk. oeHate to say this, but you're right. Not much we can do, legally.

The CO ndded. oeYeah. Still, get Ryan Blanchard here. Capt. Ryan Blanchard was the Officer-in-Charge of the Combat Security Police detachment attached to the 335th. And before joining the Air Force, she had been a deputy sheriff in Michigan. oeI want to run this by her, then get the Department Heads, Ross, and the senior female NCO.

oeWill do, Ellis said as he got up. Five minutes later, Captain Blanchard, who was no relation to Sweaty Blanchard, came in.

oeRyan, Major Wiser said. oeI wish I didn't have to ask to see you. But this concerns a member of the 335th.

oeMajor, Ryan said. oeWell, Congratulations first of all. What's up

oeFirst of all, we are not having this conversation. You didn't see this material.

oeUnderstood, sir, Blanchard nodded. oeSo...

oeHave a look.

Ryan nodded, then went over the material that the CO had shown the Exec. Both Major Wiser and Captain Ellis watched as her face turned red. To both of them, it looked like she was ready to pop.

oeMajor....I knew he is some kind of arrogant, self-righteous, know-it-all, and wannabe martinet who comes across as someone you'd like to punch out, but this

oeYeah. And there's nothing legally we can do about it The CO asked.

The ex-Deputy Sheriff nodded. oeAfraid so, Boss. The stuff at the Academy The Statute of Limitations has expired, and even it it hadn't, says here the victim wouldn't testify. Elmendorf That was consensual, even if the girl in question was the Wing Commander's daughter. She was over eighteen at the time.

oeOkay, Ellis said. oeAnd the last thing

oeThat is the he said/she said. No way would a civilian grand jury get an indictment. I know, you can get a grand jury to indict a ham sandwich, and even if they didn't and a DA went ahead, it'd get tossed at the Preliminary Hearing. Which is equal to an Article 32, Ryan said. oeI don't like it any more than you guys, but that's the way it reads to me.

oeOkay, Ryan. I read it the same way. Stay here, I want you here with the Department Heads. Mark, get them, Major Wiser said.

Fortunately, it took just a minute to get the squadron's department heads, since Ellis had already contacted them. Not to mention Master Sergeant Michael Ross, the senior NCO in the 335th, and Tech Sergeant Natalie Sanchez, the senior female NCO. Kara was there, as she was the senior ranking female pilot, while Goalie was there as senior WSO, though there were WSOs with the rank of Captain in the squadron. Doc Waters, the squadron flight surgeon, Don Van Loan, the Ops Officer, Darren Licon, the SIO; Capt. Kevin O'Donnell, the Maintenance Officer, and the supply and ordnance officers. Everyone was wondering what the CO wanted them for. oeMajor, Van Loan said. He could tell this was serious.

oeOkay, last one in, close the door. And draw the blinds, The CO said. oeNow, we did not have this meeting, and the subject matter stays in this room. Do I make myself clear

Heads nodded, then Mark Ellis said, oeYou do, Major.

oeSergeant Ross

oeLoud and clear, sir, Ross' voice thundered.

oeGood, Major Wiser said. oeNow, we all know, love, and loathe one Major Frank Carson, even if you can't admit it, the CO nodded.

oeYou can say that, Major, Kara said. oeEven if it's barely concealed.

Major Wiser nodded. oeYeah. Okay, Carson's Academy as we all know. His contempt towards officers who aren't Academy grads, and treating NCOs and enlisted as serfs and he's the lord That's just the start.

oeWhat are you getting at Van Loan asked.

oeOkay. You and Goalie are Academy, right

oeYeah, Im '81, Van Loan said.

Goalie added, oe82 for me.

oeOkay, Carson is '78. They have a SERE course at the Academy, and cadets are instructors, right the CO asked.

oeThat they do, Goalie said.

oeCarson was an instructor, Major Wiser said. oeHe took advantage of a female cadet during an interrogation scenario. And the CO saw jaws drop and feelings of disgust come across their faces.

Kara stared at the CO. oeWhy isn't this SOB in Leavenworth

oeA week before the Article 32 hearing, she backed out and refused to testify. Then she left the Academy, the Major said. oeRivers did some digging and found she had a visit at an off-campus cadet hangout from a couple of tough guys with Boston Irish accents saying if she testified, it would be a shame if something happened to her mother.

oeWitness intimidation, Van Loan observed.

oeYeah. Rivers found out that she transferred to the University of Washington, and OSI arranged an ROTC scholarship for her. She's a C-130 driver at Yokota now, Major Wiser said. oeAs for Carson We've got a fellow who treated the Academy as a frat house in uniform.

oeOf all the... Goalie said. oeNot surprised. They told us a couple things about him. Wasn't sure if it was Upper Classmen scaring us Doolies, but now...

Doc Waters nodded. oeOkay, he graduates, gets flight, then what

oeGot sent to Clark, and we all know how wild the towns are near that base, Major Wiser said. oeEven if we haven't been there, word gets around.

Heads nodded at that. The towns near Clark AB in the Philippines were notorious for being dens of recreational activity whose legality was dubious at best. oeThen what Kara asked.

oeHe got sent to Elmendorf in '82, he's a Captain now, and got sent back to the Lower 48 six months later.

Several people looked at each other. oeWhat for Mark Ellis asked. Though he already knew.

oeSeems he got caught in the sack with the eighteen-year old daughter of the Wing Commander, Major Wiser said.

Jaws dropped when the others heard that. oeOh, boy, Sergeant Ross said. oeUh, sir.

oeSo where'd they send him then Kevin O'Donnell asked.

oeMoody, and the 347th, the CO replied. oeHe impressed enough people that he went to Squadron Officer School, then got promoted to Major in October, '84. How he did any of that, I have no idea. Got married about that time, too.

oeAnd that didn't last long, Van Loan commented. oeIt was final about the time he joined the squadron.

oeYeah, Major Wiser nodded. oeAnyone want to bet that she found out about his past

oeNo takers, Doc Waters said. oeThat's a given.

oeMakes sense, Kara noted. oeWhen was his divorce finalized

oeNovember, '85, the CO said. oeRight after he joined the Squadron, and two weeks after Rivers did.

Darren Licon nodded. oeOkay, Major. How'd he get to the 335th

oeHe was on leave from Tinker when the war began. Couldn't get back to Tinker, as Ivan was slicing through West Texas and New Mexico like a knife through butter. So he reports to the nearest base, which is Nellis-

oeHe was in Vegas Van Loan asked. oeHell, you and me were there for the Red Flag!

oeI know, Major Wiser nodded. oeBut he was on leave. After a couple weeks at Nellis, they sent him to Kingsley Field and the first wartime F-4 RTU class. He passed-barely. And because of the losses we took those first few weeks, they sent him to us.

oeHe does look good on paper, Ellis admitted. oeBut he sure doesn't have a clue how things go in wartime.

Major Wiser nodded. oeDon and I picked that up pretty fast, though we were only First Lieutenants at the time. Colonel Rivers did, too, along with everyone else. But hold onto your hats. Frank was a flight leader three times, and he lost it three times.

oeWhat happened Licon asked.

oeHe had six wingmen shot out from under him, the CO said firmly. oeThe last time it happened, I was Ops Officer and the guys in the second element came to me and said they wouldn't fly with him anymore. Took them to see Rivers, and then he called Frank in. Pulled him as a flight lead then and there.

Kara nodded. oeThat sums up his flying ability.

oeIt does, and the only thing keeping him in the cockpit is the fact that we need warm bodies in cockpits. If I could, I'd ground him and keep him pushing paper. Major Wiser said. oeWhich brings us to this last matter. You all know Sandi Jenkins, right

Heads nodded. oeYes,sir, Ross said. oeWhen she was an Airman First Class, she was real popular, friendly, and I thought that if she ever finished college and went to ROTC or OTS, she'd go far.

oeOkay, the CO said. oeA month or two into the war, the Air Force announced an Airman to Pilot program. Enlisted airmen with two or more years of college, pass a flight physical, and pass the Officer Qualifying Test could go. A thirty-day version of knife and fork, they get their commissions, then off to flight or nav training.

Van Loan nodded. oeThat's right: the knife-and-fork at Vandenberg, along with basic flight. The intermediate and advanced flight at Edwards.

oeRight you are, Major Wiser said. oeOkay, Sandi was the first enlisted airman from this squadron to go to that. How does Carson get into the picture He was her immediate superior, and before Rivers saw her application, he had to endorse it.

Darren Licon looked at the CO. oeDon't like the way this is going, Major.

oeNeither do I, Doc Waters said.

oeFast-forward to September, when we're still at Cannon. We get our first replacement crews since PRAIRIE FIRE kicked off. Sandi was one of them, though she didn't want to come back to the 335th. But we needed replacements, and she was in the pool. When she reported in, Rivers had a long talk with her. And as Exec, I wasn't allowed in. Just between the two of them. Then Don, he had you put her in as his wingmate. said Major Wiser.

oeThat I remember. He treated her like she was his own daughter, Van Loan recalled.

oeThat he did, the CO noted. oeShe's a natural as a stick, and if she finishes those two years of college She'll go far. And have you noticed that when she and Frank are in the Club at the same time She stares at him with this look that says oeDon't fuck with me.'

oeYou bet, Kara said. oeIf those eyes were daggers, Frank would be dying the death of a thousand cuts.

oeI've done the same thing, Goalie added. oeAfter the BS that he tried with me and Guru, she nodded at the CO.

oeGuilty, Major Wiser admitted. oeNow, Sandi was with the Colonel when he went down, and she was pretty distraught when she came back.

oeThat she was, Van Loan said. oeCan you blame her Not to mention having a 57-mm shell go through her left elevator without exploding

oeNo, Kara said. oeBut what's with her and Frank

oeBottom line He gave her a quid pro quo. I'll endorse your application. You give me one night in bed, the CO said, and he hardly concealed his disgust at the thought.

Jaws dropped, and several people were muttering curses. oeOf all the....bastard! Kara yelled. And Goalie turned red, looking like she was ready to blow her cork.

Kevin O'Donnell looked at the CO. oeCan't we put cuffs on him

oeWish we could, Major Wiser said. oeRyan, you tell them what you told me.

Ryan Blanchard stood up and spoke for two minutes. When she was finished, the same looks of disgust were still on everyone's faces.

oeWe can't change the past, people,' the CO reminded them. oeWe can, though, affect the future. And here's what we'll do.

oeAnd that is Kara asked.

oeFirst, Carson's on the clock, even though he doesn't know it. He's got until 11:59 PM on New Year's Eve to shape up. If not, there's half a dozen good reasons in his OER to send him packing. I haven't kicked him out yet because he'd have good cause to go to JAG and say it was retaliation. So....Kara, you're the senior female officer in the squadron. You and Goalie Major Wiser nodded at his GIB. oePass the word to the other female officers. Any unusual behavior on the part of Major Carson gets reported. Either to me, Captain Ellis, Captain van Loan, or Captain Blanchard. Got it

Kara and Goalie nodded. oeGot it, Major, Kara said. When he heard that, the CO smiled. That was the first time Kara had addressed him by his new rank.

oeMark You and Don, in fact, all of you, spread the word to the other officers. Same thing.

oeWill do, Major. Mark Ellis replied.

Okay, Sergeant Ross

oeSir Ross asked.

oeSpread the word to the NCOs and enlisted airmen. Same thing. Anything unusual about Major Carson, I want reported. Sergeant Sanchez

oeYes, sir' The Cuban-American female NCO asked.

oeTell the enlisted women. Same drill, the CO said. oeBut, all of you I'll need proof. No rumor or innuendo. It has to be verifiable. Good enough that I can kick Carson out, at least. And at most Our friend Ryan here can put cuffs on him.

Heads nodded, while Ryan grinned, arms folded across her chest. oeIt'll be a pleasure to do just that, Major.

oeTo be wished for, Major Wiser said. oeAll right: if he screws up big time He's out. If he comes to me anytime between now an New Year's and asks for a transfer I'll happily get rid of him that way. But, if he doesn't shape up He's gone, period. Only thing is, he'd be someone else's problem.

oeCollateral damage, Van Loan said.

oeUnfortunately, the CO nodded. oeOkay, remember: we did not have this conversation, and this subject matter stays in this room. All we did was have a meeting of department heads and the CO. I'll talk to the General tonight along with Colonel Brady. Marine Colonel Allen Brady was the CO of MAG-11, to which the squadron was attached. oeI'll also talk with Sandi ASAP, and the soonest I can, I'll lay down the law to Carson. Is that clear, everyone

Heads nodded, and Ross' voice boomed. oeLoud and clear, sir.

oeGood, the Major said. oeOkay, we've still got a war to win, people, so get back in the game. We've got missions to fly and two and a half hours of daylight left.

Mark clapped his hands. oeYou heard the boss, people! Let's get back in the groove.

People got up to leave, and as they did so, the CO told Kara, oeGet our flight together. As soon as Van Loan has a mission for us, we're going.

oeGot you, she replied.

He turned to Goalie. oeWish those rumors you heard at the Springs were just that

Goalie nodded. oeYeah, I do. Heard some nasty ones. Part of me wishes they weren't true.

oeI know, the Major nodded. 'But then, you do know now there's some basis to those.

oeNothing we can do about that, like you said. But I've got classmates who have that same kind of behavior. Hating non-Academy grads, thinking that class ring entitles them to whatever they want in the Air Force, and being general, all around assholes.

Major Wiser looked at his GIB. oeWhich is why I probably won't go to my ten-year high school reunion, if the war's over by then.

oeWhy's that Goalie asked.

oeThe jocks are still jocks and the jerks are still jerks.

oeRemind me not to go to mine, if the war's over by this time next year. Or my fifteenth. For just that reason. Goalie laughed.

The CO smiled. oeBack in the groove. That's the Goalie I know He saw his GIB have a nasty-looking grin.. Come on, we've got business with the other enemy. Van Loan should have a mission for us by now. We'll brief, then let's get it done.

oeToo bad some poor Russians have to pay for Carson's sins, Goalie quipped.

oeConvenience, Major Wiser said. oeCome on. We've got two hours of daylight left. Let's see what Don's got, then we make some poor Russians or Cubans burn, bleed, and blow up.


And thoughts or comments about the conduct of Major Carson Folks on other boards wanted him to meet with an "unfortunate accident."

[Panther Al]

No worries, but please.. keep 'em coming.


And since the hero planes are F4's, might be interested reading up how Exercise Frisian Flag 2008 went.. F4's left with their heads up high... Rafales Not so much...

[Matt Wiser]

You might see in a future story how the F-4 and the Su-27 get along...

[Adm.Lee]

Are some of these revised editions It seems to me that you're repeating some stories.

[Matt Wiser]

This one's a sequel to Taking Command.