[Matt Wiser]

Debrief of Yeager's going into combat:



335th TFS, Sheppard AFB, TX: 1245 Hours Central War Time:


The main briefing room was busy as those involved in the F-20s vs. MiGs incident, along with General Olds, Colonel Brady, and Major Wiser-and several other 335th people, went over the encounter. The board at the front of the room was covered with a grease pencil diagram of the engagement, while a TV and VCR showed the gun-camera videos, and it was IDF Maj. Dave Golen, the Israeli AF “Observer” who spoke first.

“Clancy, you would be the hero of this engagement back home! You came back with a gunshot kill!”
Everyone knew the Israelis prized gun kills over any other.

“Thanks, Major,” Clancy replied.

General Olds studied the diagram. “Well, in my professional opinion, General Yeager was the only one in position to take the Yak-28 recon bird,” he observed. “How close was he to the SAM envelope?” Olds was referring to the I-HAWK SAM sites the Marines operated to protect the Wichita Falls area.

“Twenty miles, at least,” Yeager said. “Didn't pick up the HAWKs on my EW.”

“Okay....so he couldn't let him go, and Pruitt there was out of position, but trying to roll in,” General Olds commented. “Chuck, you were closer, so he was all yours. Looks like you got a kill.”

“Thanks,” Yeager grinned.

“Sirs,” Capt. Darren Licon, the 335th's intel officer, said. “Based on all of this, all claims are valid. That makes Prada there-he nodded in her direction-an ace, and also gives Ops his seventh.” That meant her back seat passenger, the 335th's Ops Officer, had a kill on the flight.

“I'll take it,” Capt. Don Van Loan said. “Major, something jumps out at me on this.”

“What is it, Don?” Major Wiser asked.

“The radar display. Those MiGs were flying close together that they showed up as single targets until we got close enough to eyeball them. These guys were good.” Van Loan said.

“Not arguing that,” Prada nodded. “Any word on who they were?”

General Yeager said, “These guys weren't rookies, I'll give them that much.”

“Intel?” Colonel Brady asked Licon. “Anything?”

“Sir, I've got a query in with the Army. They've reported three captured. The crew from the Yak-28, plus a MiG driver. They're looking for at least two more,” Licon replied.

“General? Those guys better hope the Army finds 'em before the Resistance does,” Major Wiser noted. “Speaking from experience? Old habits die hard with those people, and sometimes when the Resistance brings a downed pilot to the Army? It's kinda hard to interrogate corpses.”

Heads nodded at that. Often, downed ComBloc pilots and aircrew who fell into Resistance hands were often lynched, or, at the very least, given a severe mauling. And not just from the Resistance, but also angry locals. “Anyone who expects otherwise from the Resistance is either naive or a fool,” Colonel Brady observed.

“No arguing that, Colonel,” Olds said. “We need to find those wrecks, and not just the recon Yak. I'd like to know who these MiGs were.”

“General,” Brady said. “MAG-11 Intelligence has a team ready to depart. They'll find the wrecks.”

“Do it, Colonel,” Olds said. “Anything else?” Heads shook no at that. “All right: Major,” Olds said, turning to Major Wiser. “Get this typed up and faxed to General Tanner.”

“Yes, sir,” Guru replied. “Sir, what about the gun-camera video?” He glanced at the F-20 drivers. “They're going to want to keep these, or copies.”

“I'll second the Major's comment,” Yeager said.

“Make whatever copies you need, and send the originals to General Tanner,” Olds ordered. “Let's get with it.”


The report was quickly typed up and prepared, and it was time to call General Tanner. Major Wiser made the call from his office, and General Olds, Colonel Brady, and the Exec, Capt. Mark Ellis, were there. It didn't take but a minute, and then the General's voice came over the line. “Tanner.”

“General, we've got the report on the incident. We're faxing it to you now, sir.” Major Wiser said.

General Tanner's fax machine hummed, and the pages of the report came out. “Got it, Major. And I've got that directive for your media types. My PAO here recommends a seventy-two hour hold, and I'm agreeing with him. What did you tell them?”

“Sir, I told Ms. Wendt twenty-four to forty-eight hours,” replied the Major. And I know they're not going to like this, he said to himself.

“They won't like it, Major. I know, she interviewed me, but AF brass needs time to digest this and deal with the national media,” Tanner said. “Okay, we're going over your report. My Chief of Staff and Ops Officer are here. Where exactly did the fight take place?”

“Sir, twenty-five miles east of Wichita Falls proper,” reported Major Wiser. “On the Texas Side of the Red River.”

“Anyone going out to find wrecks?”

“Sir, Colonel Brady has an intel team going out to do just that. And the Army has three of the downed Soviet aircrew. They're looking for at least two more. If the Resistance doesn't get them first....”

General Tanner knew what the Major was talking about, and not just from his own E&E experience, but a number of others as well. The Resistance just didn't bother with prisoners, other than for interrogation. They couldn't house them, feed them, care for them. Nor could they release them, so it was no surprise that prisoners were disposed of after interrogation, or even upon capture. “I'll get on the horn to the ALO team at III Corps, Major. I'll take this from here, and handle the brass and the news media. You take care of the Russians. Clear?”

“Clear as a bell, sir.”

“Good. Any questions, Major?”

“General, what about the gun-camera tapes? General Yeager's people are making copies, and....” Major Wiser's voice dropped off.

“Hold a moment, Major,” Tanner said. He put Guru on hold, then came back a minute later. “Major, a C-21 Lear is leaving Nellis in thirty. It should be there in three hours or so. Get those tapes on that bird, Major.”

“Yes, sir!” Major Wiser replied. “If I'm in the air, then my Exec or Ops Officer will do so.”

“Very good, Major. That'll do. Like I said, I'll take care of things on this end. You take care of the Russians,” Tanner said.

“Will do, sir.”

With that, Tanner hung up, and after Major Wiser did the same, he turned to General Olds, Colonel Brady, and his own Exec and Ops Officer. “Well, that's that. General Tanner will send the report to General Dugan, General Cunningham, TAC HQ, and probably other interested parties,” Major Wiser said.

“What else, Major?” General Olds asked.

“Only that there's now a seventy-two hour news blackout on this,” replied the 335th CO. Just then, their own Fax Machine hummed, and out came a signed directive from General Tanner, imposing the blackout. The Major turned to his Exec. “Find the Newsies when we're done and give 'em this. They don't have to like it, but that's the way it is.”

Ellis nodded. “Will do, Major.”

“Okay, one other thing, and this concerns the gun-camera videos,” Major Wiser said. “There's a C-21 coming from Nellis to pick 'em up. Don?” He turned to his Ops Officer. “Box those tapes up, address to Commander Tenth AF, and get that box to the Lear when it arrives.”

“Got you,” Van Loan replied.

General Olds looked at the Major. “Anything else, Major?”

“Just that General Tanner said he'd handle the brass and the news media. And we're to take care of the Russians.”

“Sound advice, Major,” Olds said. “Colonel,” he turned to Colonel Brady. “I believe you all have missions scheduled?”

Brady nodded. “That we do, sir. Major? Time to get on with it.”

“Yes,sir,” Major Wiser said. “Okay, people! Let's get back in the groove. Just because we took a break doesn't mean the war did.”


As the crowd broke up, Kara came over to her CO. “Mission brief?”

“You got it,” Guru said. He turned to his GIB. “Goalie? You and Kara round our flight up. Don't know if Dave and Flossy are with us on this one.”

“When?” Goalie asked.

“In five,” the CO said. It was 1310 by the office clock.

Both crewers nodded. “On the way,” Kara said, and both went in search of the CO's flight. Once everyone had been notified, they all met in their usual briefing room. The CO, meanwhile, went to Ops and got his briefing packet, then went to the briefing room. He found their RAF Liaison Officer waiting.

“Guru,” Jack Lord said. “Mind if I sit in?”

“Not at all, Jack,” Guru replied. “Come on in.” They went into the briefing room and found the rest of the flight waiting. “All right, people, we had an extended break, but it's game time.”

“What's the mission?” Sweaty asked.

Guru opened the packet. “Chalk Mountain Missile Support Facility,” he said. “Eighteen miles southeast of Stephenville along U.S. 67.”

“East German sector,” Kara observed. “This'll be fun.”

“It should,” Guru said. “Okay, here's the deal. There's a ranch at the intersection of U.S. 67 and F.M. 196, just east of the State Route 220 junction. Either the Russians or East Germans are using it as a missile support facility. What kind of missiles, they're not sure. It could be SAMs, SCUDs, or FROG-7s. We make them go up-in pieces.” He indicated a spot on the map, just north of the intersection.”

“Visual landmarks?” Brainiac asked.

The CO nodded. “There's a hill just to the west, maybe a half-mile or so. That hill has a flak site on the imagery.” He passed around a recon photo, probably an SR-71 product. “Too big to be 57-mm, so it's either 37s or 23s.”

“Still can be trouble at low altitude,” Kara noted.

“They can. No flak suppressors or Weasels with us, so we go in low, pop up and release, then get back down low, and our asses to the Brazos,” Guru said.

“Ingress route?” Hoser asked.

Guru showed them on a TPC map. “Follow the Brazos to the Route 174 bridge north of Lake Whitney. Turn west to the town of Walnut Springs, then we turn north. IP is the F.M. 198-F.M. 105 intersection. The target is just north of U.S. 67. Have a look at the photos: there's a ranch house probably being used as offices and officer quarters. Two barns, and one of them is probably being used to billet the NCOs and enlisted-there's no sign of tents on the imagery.”

“Missiles in the other barn and storage buildings?” Goalie wanted to know.

“That, and have a look to the east of the ranch house. There's a bunch of crates on the ground, and missiles like the SA-8, -9, and -13 are issued as sealed rounds...”

“Looks like they just got a delivery,” Preacher said. “Threat at the target?”

“Just the flak site west, plus small-arms and MANPADS,” replied the CO. “This is the East German rear, so SA-4 is still possible from their Army-level SAMs, so be on the lookout. Weather is unchanged, and so is the MiG threat from this morning. Bailout areas are also the same: anyplace away from the roads. And be careful on the way out. Once clear, head northeast.”

“Back to the Brazos?” Kara asked.

“You got it. Those chumps we hit earlier today and yesterday are not expecting anyone coming from their rear. Still, avoid the likely FLOT. Once clear of the target, head northeast to Granbury, get across the river, then head for I-20,” Guru said.

Sweaty looked at her CO. “Ordnance loadout?”

“Full air-to-air, which means two AIM-7s and four AIM-9s. Air-to-ground is six Mark-82 Snakeyes and six M-117Rs. Snakeyes on inner wing stations, M-117s on centerline MER. Two wing tanks and ECM pods-the usual ALQ-119 for leads, -101s for wingies.”

“Got it,” Sweaty replied. “And MiGs?”

Guru nodded. “We might run into their CAS people-both fast-movers and helos, so be careful. If you come across some of those chumps, take a shot. If you're jumped by MiGs? Fight's on. Otherwise, don't go out of your way to get one. Flak traps are still possible, so if a chopper or fast-mover looks too good to be true....”

“He probably is,” Kara finished.

“You said it,” the CO smiled grimly. “Anything else?”

Hoser asked, “How many more after this?”

“Hopefully, just one,” Guru said. He turned to the RAF officer. “Any comments, Jack?”

The RAF Flight Lieutenant nodded. “Just one: you still going to do those phony 'Magnum' calls?”

“We just might,” Guru said, and he saw the rest of the flight grin. “It worked last time.”

“Quite.”

“All right, anything else?” Heads shook no. The CO nodded. “Then let's gear up, and I'll see you outside.”

After turning in the briefing material at Ops, Guru went to the Men's Locker Room to gear up. When he came out, Goalie was waiting, as usual.

“Ready?” She asked.

“Normally I'm asking you that,” Guru grinned. “Hope this afternoon's not as exciting as the morning.”

“To be wished for,” his GIB nodded.

Guru nodded back. “One way to find out.” When they left the squadron's offices, both had the bush hats on, and as they left, they ran into the loathed Major Frank Carson, who stared at both CO and GIB as if they'd grown two heads and four arms. “Frank,”

“Major,” Carson replied politely. “Bush hats?”

“Just a way of carrying on a SEA tradition,” Guru said. “Nothing wrong with that.”

“General Olds likes them,” Goalie added.

Guru smiled. “If he doesn't have a problem, nobody should,” said the CO. “Got that?”

“Perfectly, sir,” Carson said.

“I hope you do,” Guru said. He turned to Goalie. “Come on. We have someplace to be.”

“Gladly,” replied Goalie.


When Guru and Goalie got to 512, the rest of the flight was there. “Ready?”

“Ready,” Kara replied. “Usual procedures on the radio?”

Nodding, Guru replied, “You got it. Call signs between us, and mission code to AWACS and other parties.”

“What's with Frank?” Sweaty asked. “We saw you two talking.”

“He's just surprised at seeing people in SEA-style bush hats,” Guru said. “He seems to understand, but I doubt it.”

“And when does he get the bad news about not getting F-20s?” Kara asked.

“Maybe tomorrow night. If not, Yeager leaves an envelope on his desk. Then watch out.”

“He'll pop. Sooner or later,” Preacher observed.

“When it happens, we'll deal with it,” said Guru. “Anything else?” Heads shook no. “Then let's hit it.”

People headed to their revetments to mount their aircraft, and when Guru and Goalie entered 512's, the Crew Chief, Staff Sergeant Crowley, was waiting. “Major, Lieutenant? Five-twelve is ready to go.” He said, saluting.

“Good work, Sarge,” Guru replied. He and Goalie did their preflight walk-around, then they mounted the aircraft. After they strapped in, they went through their preflight checklist.

“Frank's going to freak out,” Goalie said as she went through the preflight. “He's going to pop. Ejection seats?”

“Armed top and bottom. Check yours,” Guru replied. “And yeah. No telling what he'll do. Just hope nobody else gets hurt or killed. Arnie?” The CO meant the ARN-101 DMAS and the INS.

“Arnie and INS all set,” Goalie replied. “You're not the only one hoping that. Preflight checklist complete.”

“Roger that,” Guru replied. He gave a thumbs-up to his CC, and Sergeant Crowley gave the “Start Engines” signal. One, then both, J-79 engines were soon up and running. Once the warm-up was finished, he called the Tower. “Tower, Camaro Flight with four, requesting taxi and takeoff instructions.”

“Camaro Flight, Sheppard Tower. Clear to taxi to Runway Three-Five-Lima. Hold prior to the active, and you are number three in line.”

“Roger, Tower. Camaro Lead is rolling.” Guru gave another thumbs-up to Sergeant Crowley, who motioned to the ground crew. The chocks were pulled away from the landing gear, and Crowley gave the “Taxi” signal. Guru taxied 512 out of the revetment, and as he cleared it, Crowley gave a perfect salute. Pilot and GIB returned it, and 512 taxied out.

When he got to the holding area, Guru saw a Marine F-4 flight and a Navy A-7 flight from VA-135 ahead of him. Once it was their turn, he taxied to the holding area, where the armorers removed the weapon safeties. Then he called the Tower. “Tower, Camaro Lead requesting taxi for takeoff.”

“Camaro Lead, Tower, Clear to taxi for takeoff. Winds are two-six-six for eight,” the controller replied. “Good luck.”

“Roger, Tower, and thank you,” Guru said. He taxied 512 onto the runway, and Kara followed in 520. A final cockpit check followed, then he and Goalie checked to the right. Kara and Brainiac were right there, in position. 520's crew gave a thumbs-up, and both Guru and Goalie returned it. Then it was time. “Tower, Camaro Lead requesting clear for takeoff.”

As usual, the tower didn't reply by radio, but flashed a green light instead.

“Canopy coming down,” Goalie said as she pulled her canopy down and locked it.

“Copy,” Guru replied as he did the same. A quick glance to the right showed Kara and Brainiac had also done it. It was time. He applied full power on the throttles, released the brakes, and 512 rolled down the runway and into the air. 520 followed, and thirty seconds later, it was the turn of Sweaty and Hoser's birds. They formed up at Flight Level 100 (10,000 feet) and headed south for the tanker track.