Wolverine and Chiefs

[Matt Wiser]

Dave Golen got it.

[Matt Wiser]

Working on the next piece, folks.

[Belushi TD]

YAY!!!!

[Wolfman]

W00T!

[Matt Wiser]

Getting set for the next one....


335th TFS, Sheppard AFB, TX: 1145 Hours Central War Time:


In the CO's Office, Major Wiser sat behind his desk, dealing with the armchair warriors. While annoying, at least the XO filtered out what was really important for his attention, and dealt with the rest “on behalf of the Commanding Officer.” Though some did get through the XO's filter, such as a memo from a Supply Officer at HQ TAC, reminding squadron commanders about “excessive expenditure” of 20-mm ammo. I thought Sundown cleaned these up, Guru thought. He thought about feeding it to the shredder, but decided that General Tanner needed to see it. And he will the next time he comes to Sheppard, the CO decided.

He was just about finished when there was a knock on the door, and it opened to reveal Goalie, with two plastic bags and a drink carrier in her arms. “Beware Romulans bearing gifts,” she said.

“You're not much of a Trekkie and neither am I,” Guru said. “But that's still a nice little phrase.”

“At least I didn't have to cross the Neutral Zone to get these,” Goalie quipped. “Bison burgers with cheese, no onions, fries, cole slaw, and lemonade.” She saw the memo on his desk. “And what's that, or do I need to know.”

“Here,” Guru said, showing her the memo. “Sundown cleaned this bunch out, but another bunch of parasites wound up replacing them.”

Goalie read it. “Lovely. So some unrated weenie, even if he has eagles on his shoulders, is upset we're shooting off too much 20-mm. You showing this to Tanner?”

“Colonel Brady first,” Guru said. “Then if he comes in a week or two? Then General Tanner. And then, hopefully, Sundown sees it from Tanner, and the housecleaning at TAC is more intense this time.”

“Maybe.”

“Maybe is right. Enough talk, let's eat.”


Over lunch, they discussed squadron matters, and the two strikes they had flown that morning. “The MiGs came last time, and we were too late,” Guru lamented. He wanted to get his own shot at double ace, though he knew that ace fever was something to keep in check.

“Can't get them all and we both know it,” said Goalie. “At least Dave Golen, Flossy, and the RAF have been on the ball.”

“And the RAF won't be here in two or three weeks,” Guru reminded her. “They go to San Diego, turn their birds over to the Navy, and then...”

“And they get some R&R, some stay on and learn the E, and the rest head back across the Pond.”

Guru nodded, but before he could say anything, there was a knock on the door. “Yeah? Come on in and show yourself!”

Capt. Kevin O'Donnell, the Maintenance Officer, came in. “Boss,” he nodded. “Flossy's bird is ready. She's taking 1569 up on a check ride, and before you ask, Dave Golen is with her.” He had two papers for the CO. One was the maintenance summary. The other was the flight plan. Guru quickly signed both.

“Okay,” Guru said after returning the papers. “Find Don, and tell him to pass the flight plan to MAG-11. And have Don tell both Flossy and Dave that they need to get whatever they need done, done and back here in thirty minutes from wheels-up.”

“On the way, Boss,” O'Donnell said, going out and closing the door. A few minutes later, the sounds of four J-79 engines warming up could be heard from the squadron's dispersal.

Kara then came in after knocking. “Boss, we got a mission, but...”

“But what?” Guru asked.

She showed him the Frag Order, along with a few photos. Some had been taken from an SR-71, while others were low-level from an RF-4C. Both the CO and Kara wondered if Athena had taken these... “Says here it's a 'Liberation Radio' transmitter facility, and across the road is a truck park. The 'but' is this: The ordnance is laid out here: six Mark-82s and six M-117s for both the transmitter and the truck park.”

Goalie asked, “So?”

“So here: next to the ordnance for the transmitter is 'Or at strike leader's discretion.'” Kara looked at the CO. “You thinking what I'm thinking?”

“I am,” Guru said. “Somebody at Nellis decided to let us use the intellectual bombs if we want. And I do want to use them. We've got the pods, got the bombs, and crews trained to used them. We've done it before, remember?”

“And General Olds gave us his blessing that time,” Goalie recalled. “He'd be suggesting an UNODIR right now.”

Guru nodded. “We will, but not with the bombs, but I want some extra BARCAP for the MiGs out of Brownwood Regional. That place still crawls with Red Air.” He picked up the phone and called Capt. Kerry Collins, the Ordnance Officer. “Kerry, Guru. How fast can you put two GBU-10s and a Pave Spike on 512 and 520, with the two AIM-7s, wing tanks, jammer pod, and 20-mm?”

“Twenty minutes, Boss. Easy.” Replied Collins. “This UNODIR?”

“Yep. And the same goes for Dave Golen and Flossy. I want them with four AIM-9s, two Sparrows, the rest the same. How fast on that?”

“They just landed, Can do theirs in fifteen, Boss.”

“Then don't waste anymore time talking to me. Get those birds prepped and ready.”

“On it, Boss.” Then Collins hung up.

Guru hung up himself. “And that's off.” He was about to say something else when Colonel Brady knocked on the door, then opened it. “Colonel?”

“As you were, people,” Brady said as he came in. “Major, I wanted to let you know personally. So far, no sign of any CAS tasking.”

“Sir that's good to know,” Guru replied. “Because we have something in mind for this next one.” He and Kara outlined what was in mind to Brady.

The MAG-11 CO looked at the Frag Order and the photos. Then he nodded. “I like it. Just do this UNODIR as you've done previously and I'll run interference with anyone who complains from Tenth Air Force. Not the first time with you people, or my Marines, and it won't be the last.”

“Well sir, if we have to invoke General Olds...”

“If we have to, we have to,” Brady finished. “I know, the Frag Order says it's your discretion, but do it UNODIR anyway due to you pulling two birds off what the ATO wants them to do. I'll make sure the strike launch message gets sent. After you all are off the tankers.”

Guru nodded. “Yes, sir. And thank you, sir.”

“No thanks necessary, Major,” said Brady. “And if somebody squawks about something not being hit because two F-4s got pulled from that to do a BARCAP? That came first. Just fly your mission and we'll sort it out later if necessary.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good luck, Major,” Brady said.

“Thank you, sir,” Guru said as they both shook hands, then Brady left.

“Well,” Goalie said.

“Well,” Guru nodded. “Okay, Kara? You go back to the Ops Office and get the briefing packet. Bring it with you to the briefing room, and while you're at Ops? Create the necessary paperwork to get Dave and Flossy on BARCAP with us.”

“Got you.” Kara nodded back.

“Then both of you, round everybody up who's going. Briefing Room in Fifteen. And not a second over.”

“On it and we're gone,” Kara said as she and Goalie went out the door.

Guru then pulled out a TPC chart and a JOG chart, decided his options on how to get in and out, then made his decision. He then put the charts away, then headed for the Briefing Room.

When he got there, he found the squadron's mascot, Buddy, waiting outside the door. Guru opened the door, and the dog went inside, found a place to curl up, then went to sleep. The rest of the flight, including Dave Golen, Flossy, their GIBs,(who had just arrived from their check flight) and Dave Gledhill's element from the RAF, were there. “Okay, people, halftime's over, and we're kicking off the third quarter. And we got an UNODIR one right out of the gate.”

“Haven't had one of those for a while,” Sweaty quipped. “This because of the bombs again?”

“No,” Guru said. “This is because I pulled Dave Golen and Flossy of what the ATO had them doing and put them with us. Since Kara and I have the smart bombs, I want two extra birds loaded for air-to-air.”

Dave Golen nodded. A chance at pure air-to-air didn't come that often, so....

“All right, here's the target.” Guru pointed at a map, then the photos Kara had shown him earlier. “It's a 'Liberation Radio' facility on the west side of F.M. 1702, and this one's mobile. They've been there a couple days, the intel sheet says, so we need to take them out before they pull out for somewheres else.” He looked at Kara. “I'll take the antenna truck. That's about three hundred yards south of the other trucks. You get the trucks proper, there's several of them, and put your bombs smack in the middle.”

“And send them scattered into the next county,” Kara quipped.

“Fine with me,” Guru said. “Sweaty?” He looked at his second element lead. “You and Hoser have this, north of Kirkendell Creek, southeast side of 1702. There's a truck park. That's yours.”

Sweaty nodded. “Mark-82s and M-117s?” Seeing the CO nod, she and Hoser looked at each other, then nodded again. “We'll take it out.”

“Good,” Guru said. “Now, ordnance. Kara and I each have two GBU-10s, a Pave Spike pod, two AIM-7Fs, full 20-mm, an ALQ-119 pod, and two wing tanks. Sweaty and Hoser have six Mark-82s with the Daisy Cutter fuze extenders, six M-117s, and the usual four AIM-9s, two Sparrows with pod, 20-mm, and two wing tanks.”

“Got you,” Sweaty replied.

Guru then turned to Dave Golen. “Dave, you and Flossy are BARCAP to the West. Block anyone coming out of either Brownwood Regional or Goodfellow further West. And Goodfellow still has MiG-29s, by the way.”

“Will do,” Dave Golen replied, while Flossy and their GIBs nodded.

“Dave Gledhill?” Guru turned to the RAF. “You guys are BARCAP to the East. Kill anyone coming from Temple Regional, Waco/TSTC, Austin and Bergstrom, or further south. The MiG threat is unchanged since this morning, but they note that Brownwood Regional has MiG-21s and -23s, with the former East German, and Goodfellow has MiG-23s besides the Fulcrums.”

“Can do,” Dave Gledhill said. “We'll have four Sky Flash, for AIM-9Ls, a SUU-23 pod, and wing tanks.”

“Good,” said Guru. “Now, go in ahead of us when I give the strike commit call, and kill anyone in the air at the target. Don't get too close to Dublin Airport, as the East German 9th Panzer Division's HQ is there, and there's SA-6.”

“Understood,” Gledhill replied, and Dave Golen nodded.

“Okay, defenses,” Guru went on, and he saw that he had everybody's attention. “There's SA-6 at Dublin, as I said, and at the targets proper? Nothing around the radio site, but expect possible gun trucks with ZU-23s or those quad 14.5 machine-gun mounts. The truck park has ZU-23s, and both probably have folks who have MANPADS, so be careful. This is both a Divisional rear area and an Army-level rear area, so be careful.”

“Got you,” Sweaty said, and both Kara and Hoser nodded.

Guru nodded back, then said, “Here's how we get in,” pointing to a TPC chart and a JOG chart. “Tanker Track CHEVRON at Mineral Wells is where we tank up. Then we go in following the Brazos as usual, and stay on the east side if at all possible.” That meant dipping into the Nicaraguan II Corps Sector, but since they hadn't been attacked, they were likely to hold their fire. The East Germans on the west side, though.... “Stay with the Brazos until we hit Lake Whitney. About a mile short of the dam, we turn onto a 270 heading. Go south of Meridian until we get to the town of Fairy, at the junction of F.M. 1602 and F.M. 219. Then we go northwest along 219 to Purves-which is more a crossroads with ruins than a town. That's our IP. Pull up, and keep going west until you see a ranch pond with dam. The Truck Park is to the northwest of that, and the Radio Site is across the road. Hit your target, then get back down low, head northwest, and find the Leon River. Follow that to Highway 16, then head north to the I-20. Climb after clearing the Interstate, join up with the tankers at CHEVRON, then come on home.”

“And right into CAS,” Hoser spat.

“Down, boy,” Guru said. “You might just be right about that. Still, let's hope things get under control, and the Scooters, SLUFs, and Hogs can do their thing without us.”

Kara looked at the CO. “To be wished for.”

“You and me both,” said the CO just as a knock on the door came, and an Ops NCO arrived to collect the briefing materials. “We're Mustang Flight on this. Anything else?”

Flossy nodded in the dog's direction. “Buddy's still asleep.”

“Let him sleep,” Guru said. “If that's it, gear up, and meet at 512. We've got somewhere to be and people and things to burn, bleed, and blow up.”

“Once more unto the breach, dear friends.” Preacher said as things broke up.

Jang replied, “Just as long as that 'close up the walls with our dead' shit gets left out.” And everyone laughed.

After going to the Men's Locker Room to gear up, Guru found Goalie outside, waiting. “Ready?”

“And they pay us for this?” Goalie quipped.

“Not much, and not enough,” replied Guru as they headed out the door to the dispersal area. They soon got to 512's revetment and found their flight there. “Okay, folks, gather 'round.” It was time for his final instructions.

“Usual on the radio?” Flossy asked. That was mission code to AWACS and other parties, but call signs between them.

“It is, and bailout areas are unchanged. Anyplace away from the roads, simply put.”

“And when we get back, we get CAS assigned,” Kara said.

“Even money bet,” Guru nodded. “Anything else?” Heads shook no. He then clapped his hands for emphasis. “Meet up at ten grand overhead. Time to hit it.”

The crews headed for their aircraft, and Guru and Goalie went into 512's revetment. There, the Crew Chief was waiting. “Major, Captain,” Sergeant Crowley said, snapping a salute. “Five-twelve's ready to kick some more Commie ass.”

“Thanks, Mike,” Guru said as he and Goalie returned the salute. Pilot and GIB did a quick preflight walk-around, then Guru signed for the airplane. “What do you think, Sergeant?”

“Been a while since these got hung from my airplane,” the Crew Chief replied, with a nice reminder that Crew Chiefs “owned” the aircraft and that the flight crew merely “borrowed” it.

“Might be doing this a lot more come spring,” Guru said as he and Goalie mounted the aircraft and got settled in. The Crew Chief helped both get strapped in, then both plugged in their helmets to the radio/IC and the oxygen system.

They went through the preflight in the cockpit, and Goalie said as they went through the checklist, “You're serious about doing more smart bomb strikes.” It wasn't a question.

“Why not? We've got the bomb kits, we've got the pods. So let's go and use 'em,” Guru replied. “Arnie?” He meant the ARN-101 DMAS nav system.

“Arnie's set. Backup INS ready,” Goalie said. “I don't see why not,” she added. “Ejection seats?”

“Same here. Armed top and bottom, check yours,” said Guru.

“Ready here. Preflight checklist complete and ready for engine start.

Guru nodded in the front seat. He gave a thumbs-up to Sergeant Crowley, who gave the “Start Engines” signal. First one, then both, J-79 engines were soon up and running. Once the run-up was complete, it was time to call the Tower.

Guru made the call. “Tower, Mustang Lead with eight, requesting taxi and takeoff instructions.”

“Mustang Lead, Tower,” a controller replied. “Clear to Taxi to Runway Three-Five-Charlie. Hold prior to the active, and you are number two in line.”

“Roger, Tower. Mustang Lead rolling.” Guru then gave the “Chocks” signal to the Crew Chief, who waved to the ground crew. The chocks were pulled back, and Crowley gave the “Taxi” signal.

Guru released the brakes, and 512 taxied out of the revetment. Once clear, Crowley snapped a salute, then gave his own thumbs-up. Both pilot and GIB returned it, then as 512 taxied, the rest of the flight fell in behind. They taxied to Runway 35C, where four Marine F-4s from VMFA-333 were waiting. Their armorers removed the weapon safeties, then the four Marine birds taxied onto the runway. After an arriving C-141B came in, landed, and taxied clear, the Marines were cleared for takeoff, the four Phantoms thundering down the runway and into the air. Then it was Mustang Flight's turn.

“Tower,” Guru called. “Mustang Lead requesting taxi for takeoff.”

“Mustang Lead, Tower,” the controller called back. “Clear to taxi for takeoff. Winds are Two-six-five for five.”

“Roger, Tower.”

The 335th's own armorers removed the weapon safeties, then Guru and Kara taxied onto the Runway. A final cockpit check showed everything ready. “All set?” Guru asked Goalie.

“Ready back here,” Goalie replied.

“Tower, Mustang Lead requesting Clear for Takeoff.” Guru called.

As usual, the Tower didn't reply by radio, but flashed a green light. Clear for Takeoff.

“Canopy coming down,” Guru said, closing and locking his canopy. Goalie did the same, and a quick look to their right at 520 showed Kara and Brainiac had done the same. They gave a thumbs-up to the CO, and it was returned. “Time to go,” he said on the IC.

“That it is,” Goalie said.

With that, Guru released the brakes, and 512 thundered down the runway and into the air, with 520 right with them. Thirty seconds later, it was Sweaty and Hoser's turn, followed by Dave Golen and Flossy, then the RAF. Mustang Flight formed up at FL 100, then headed for the tanker track.

[Poohbah]

"My GBU-10 was Bomb of the Month at Sheppard AFB."

[jemhouston]

How good was the enemy search and rescue?

[Matt Wiser]

What enemy Search and Rescue? Downed Combloc aircrew were told that unless they were found by Spetsnatz or other SOF (like the Cuban TE) behind American lines, they were on their own. Some units told their crews that the best option was to be captured by the U.S. Military instead of the Resistance or worse, angry locals. Lynchings of downed aircrew were not uncommon, and the fate meted out by Indian Tribes like the Apache to downed aircrew has been mentioned before.

[jemhouston]

I may be too hard on the man, but that sounds like something the Edsel mechanic would say.

[Wolfman]

I may be too hard on the man, but that sounds like something the Edsel mechanic would say.

ISTR hearing that one of his Whiz Kids actually did say something to that effect while visiting a carrier…

[jemhouston]

I may be too hard on the man, but that sounds like something the Edsel mechanic would say.

ISTR hearing that one of his Whiz Kids actually did say something to that effect while visiting a carrier…

I couldn't remember if it was him or a Whiz Kid that said it. I'm pretty sure if a Whiz Kid was shot down behind enemy lines, he would want an entire Marine Division to come get him

[Wolfman]

I may be too hard on the man, but that sounds like something the Edsel mechanic would say.

ISTR hearing that one of his Whiz Kids actually did say something to that effect while visiting a carrier…

I couldn't remember if it was him or a Whiz Kid that said it. I'm pretty sure if a Whiz Kid was shot down behind enemy lines, he would want an entire Marine Division to come get him

And they’d say that he was on his own.

[Matt Wiser]

I may be too hard on the man, but that sounds like something the Edsel mechanic would say.

ISTR hearing that one of his Whiz Kids actually did say something to that effect while visiting a carrier…

This happened in late '65-early '66, IIRC. A Whiz Kid showed up on TF-77's flagship in the Gulf of Tonkin, and the Admiral commanding the carriers had his skippers and CAGs present. This snot who'd traveled all the way from the Pentagon told those assembled that it was more cost-effective to recruit and train new pilots and aircrew than to risk SAR birds, RESCAP aircraft, and their crews to go after one or two downed pilots. Basically, "leave them to the NVA/VC and the Pathet Lao." The Admiral exploded, as did everyone else, and told the snot that he had an hour to get off the carrier-and they sent him back to the Philippines on the next C-1. Message traffic went faster, going to 7th Fleet, CINCPAC, then the CNO. It was this attitude (among others) that Admiral Dan Gallery said "I doubt Mr. MacNamara has a morale setting on his computers."