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Old 06-11-2017, 07:37 PM
Matt Wiser Matt Wiser is offline
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Location: Auberry, CA
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Getting ready for the last run of the day, and anyone surprised at something like Belenko getting past the censors?



335th TFS Office, Sheppard AFB, TX; 1515 Hours Central War Time:

Major Wiser was in his office, having finished the debrief, then he and several others had managed to get in their four-mile runs on the treadmills in the tent that was the base fitness center. After a quick shower, he'd come back to the office, and found some paperwork that required his attention. After taking care of it, he sat back in his office chair and read the latest Air Force Times. Well, last week's anyway, as the new one hadn't arrived yet. An op-ed by General Curtis LeMay, who was retired and living in Southern California, caught his attention. LeMay was writing about the state of the Air Force in the war when Guru's eyes widened. “The Air Force has to change with the circumstances it finds itself in. With this war, opportunities for women have opened up, much further than they would have been in peacetime, and we must adapt. Anyone who thinks the Air Force will 'turn back the clock' when the war is over is either living in a dream world or a fool.”

Bravo, General, Guru thought aloud, then another piece caught his attention. How it had cleared the censors he had no idea, but there he was, at “An undisclosed base in the Southwest”. Ex-Voyska PVO Senior Lieutenant Viktor Belenko was standing in front of a captured MiG-23, and he was wearing a USAF flight suit with a Major's oak leaves. Not only that, but another photo showed Belenko giving a lecture to what looked like a new class of pilots, given how young the faces on the men and women in the room looked. Then there was a knock on the door. “Yeah? Show yourself and come in!”

Goalie came in with a couple of papers. “Got some poop. First is from Doc.”

“Good news or bad?” The CO asked.

“Depends. The Navy doctors at MAG-11 have four cases of the flu,” his GIB reported. “Three Marines and one Navy, and one of the Marines had just come back from R&R. Get this: he was one of Kicker's table mates a few days ago-when General Olds was recalling his adventures.”

“That explains how Kicker got sick,” Guru said. “Any more cases?”

“None yet, but...” Goalie said. “I know, Mark usually handles this, but he's out, and so is Van Loan. Kara's busy in Ops...”

“Look at it this way,” Guru said. “Twenty years from now, you might have a squadron or better yet, a wing, and....”

“On-the-job training,” Goalie finished. “Assuming, of course, we all live that long.”

The CO nodded. “That little detail is always there. What else?”

“New PAO coming, and she should be here in a few days.” Goalie handed her pilot and lover a sheet of paper. “She's technically in the Reserve Pool, but since she was kicking her heels there, somebody had the idea to let her go on R&R. She's back East, visiting her folks.”

“And since we've got a temporary PAO, even if Kodak Griffith's a jarhead, that somebody decided she could finish her R&R. Well, I'm not complaining. These days, time with family is something to treasure,” Guru said firmly. “She should be here when the RAF comes?”

“About that time.”

“Fair enough,” the CO said. “Any word from Kara on a mission?”

“Not yet, but shouldn't be too long,” Goalie said.

“Okay.” Guru handed her the copy of Air Force Times. “Have a look at General LeMay's Op-Ed.”

She scanned it. “Last thing I thought I'd see from old Iron Ass himself. Then again, SAC probably keeps him in the loop, so to speak.”

“Wouldn't be surprised myself.”


A few minutes later, Kara came into the CO's office. “Boss, we've got a mission. Birds should be ready by now.”

“This a four- or six-ship?” Guru asked.

“Four. Dave and Flossy have their own tasking.”

The CO nodded, then turned to Goalie. “Round up the rest of our flight. Briefing Room in ten.”

“On my way,” Goalie said, then she headed out of the office.

Kara?” Guru asked his Assistant Ops Officer. “The Exec or Ops back?”

“Should be anytime,” Kara replied. “Let me guess: you want somebody you trust to run things, and not Frank.”

“You guessed right. We're not leaving until one or both of them is back.”

“I'll find out.”

Guru nodded. “Good girl. Go.”

“I'm gone.” Kara then headed back to the Ops Office.


Ten minutes later, the flight was in their briefing room. “All right, people!” Guru said. “Last one of the day, so let's get the show on the road.” He turned to Kara. “Exec or Ops in?”

“Mark's flight is in the pattern, and Van Loan's is ten minutes or so out,” Kara said. “So no Frank in charge.”

“Good,” Sweaty nodded.

“It is that,” the CO said. “Okay...” He opened the briefing packet. “We're headed back into the East German sector. Place called Eulogy, southwest of Brazospoint, and west of the river proper. It's not even a town, just a spot on the map where three of those F.M. Roads come together.”

“What's the target?” Hoser asked.

“Supply dump,” replied Guru. “No way to know whose, either Soviet, East German, or Libyan. Yeah, I now, this is the East German sector, but the Libyans are right across the river.”

“So they might get involved in this little fracas, then?” Goalie asked.

“They might,” Guru said. “Okay, the dump is on the Northwest side of the F.M. 56/F.M.2800/F.M. 2965 junction. Some what look like office trailers, and some tents for the personnel to sleep in on the imagery. Other than that? Just the dump itself and the motor pool-there's trucks there. Now, if you can't ID a drop point in the dump? In the Southeast corner of the intersection is a truck park. That's an alternate target, and Sweaty? Hoser? You guys may wind up dropping on that instead of the dump.”

“Either way, we make them go away,” Sweaty said, and Preacher nodded.

“Either way. Now, ordnance load is twelve Mark-82 Snakeyes each bird, plus the usual air-to-air of four AIM-9Ps, two AIM-7Es, and a full load of 20-milimeter. Two wing tanks, and the usual ECM pods: 119s for element leads, and 101s for the wingmen,” Guru said.

'”Ingress?” Kara asked.

“Simple: we follow the Brazos, and stay to the East, as that's the Nicaraguans as we all know and appreciate, since they rarely shoot at us. Follow that to the Route 174 Bridge, and turn west. We turn north at the F.M. 56/Route 174 junction, and head northwest. There's a small lake or large pond about five miles from the target. That's the only good visual landmark, other than a hill due south, and that hill has a flak battery. It's 37-mm, by the way.”

“Lovely, so we give the flak site a wide berth,” KT said.

“Right. Pop-up at that point, and it's a straight shot to the target area. Hit the target, and on your way out, there's a lake to the north of the target. Pick that up, turn right, and you'll be back at the Brazos. Stay on the East side if at all possible: the Nicaraguans won't shoot unless we're hitting them, but the East Germans and whoever's manning the flak at the Nuke plant north of Glen Rose will.”

“Defenses?” Preacher asked.

“At the target? Just 23-mm, plus MANPADS, small-arms fire, and machine guns,” Guru said. “We will be in the East German rear, so expect SA-4s. The Waco SA-2s are also a factor, as we found out on the last one, so stay low and use your ECM pods. Flak is still a threat at the bridges and around the nuclear plant.”

Kara asked, “MiGs?”

“Unchanged since this morning, and bailout areas, tanker track, and weather,also unchanged, before you ask.”

“Got it.”

“One last thing, people!” Guru said. “This may be the last one for today, but do NOT get complacent. That gets people killed, or worse, captured. We fly it like it's the first one out of the gate. Got it?”

“Loud and clear, Major,” Sweaty said.


“Any other questions?”

'What the hell kind of town is Eulogy?” Kara deadpanned.

The CO nodded. “Well, maybe somebody like John Wesley Hardin or Clay Allison made sure somebody said an eulogy over one of their kills, back in the day.” There was some laughter at that. “Anything else?” Heads shook no. “Let's gear up. Meet at 512.”

The crews went to their respective locker rooms to gear up, and when Major Wiser came out of the Men's, Goalie was there, waiting as usual. “Ready?”

“IF this turns out to be the last one, then I'm more than ready.” she replied.

“Let's go.”



Guru and Goalie left the office, sporting their still-new bush hats, and found General Olds talking with Dave Golen, Flossy, and their GIBs. “Major,” Olds said. “And Lieutenant. Just having a friendly chat with Major Golen about some of his experiences in '73.”

“That we have,” Golen said. “You people were probably envious of us in 1967.”

“We were,” Olds said. “Too bad Johnson and MacNamara wouldn't cut us loose like you guys. LBJ wasn't kidding when he openly said that we flew into North Vietnam with one hand tied behind our back.”

“General, maybe after the war, we can figure out if that kind of stupidity convinced the Russians we didn't have what it takes to win,” Guru noted.

Olds nodded. “You have no argument from me on that, Major. Major Golen? I'd like it if you shared my table tonight in the Club. We have some stories to swap. Have a look at Southeast Asia compared to Sinai '73.”

“It'd be an honor, General,” Golen said.

“Good. You all going back out?” Olds asked.

“Yes, sir,” Guru replied. “This should be the last one for the day.” Just then, the XO's flight taxied in, and Van Loan's came into the pattern. “Knock on wood, General.”

“There is that,” Olds said. “Good luck, all of you,”

“Sir,”

After General Olds went back into the office, Guru and Dave had a quick chat. “Where are you going?”

“West of Glen Rose,” Golen said. “You?”

“South of there,” Guru replied. “You still Mustang?”

“We are, and you're still Camaro?”

Guru nodded. “We are. If you hit trouble, holler. We'll be there.”

“Same for you,” Golen said with due seriousness.

“All right,” the CO replied. “Flossy? You and Jang take care of him. He's your older brother from another mother.”

Flossy nodded. “Always, Boss.”

“Good. You all be careful, and don't get complacent.”

“Got you,” Golen replied.

Guru put out his hand. “Good luck.”

“You too,” Golen said, shaking it.


When Guru and Goalie got to 512, the rest of the flight was there. “Saw you with General Olds and Dave Golen,” Kara said. “What's up?”

'Just that the General and Dave are going to be swapping stories tonight,” Guru said. “Yom Kippur War, Lebanon, versus Southeast Asia, I bet.”

“At least the Israelis had leaders who got out of the way of the folks fighting the war, unlike Landslide Lyndon and the Edsel Mechanic,” Goalie spat.

“They did,” Preacher said.

Guru nodded. “You're right, but save it for later. Now, usual procedures on the radio: call signs between us, mission code to AWACS and other parties.”

“Any weather coming in?” Kara asked.

“Other than those clouds?” Guru replied. “Forget it. Not for at least a week. I know, we can use a stand-down and get caught up on sleep, working out, and maintenance, in no particlular order. Not for a while, though.”

“Too bad,” Hoser said.

“It is that. Anything else?” Guru asked. Heads shook no again. “All right, time to go. Let's hit it.”


The crews headed to their aircraft, and when Guru and Goalie entered the revetment, Sergeant Crowley was waiting, and as usual, he snapped a salute. “Major, Lieutenant. Five-twelve's ready to rock.”

“Good, Sergeant,” Guru replied, as he and Goalie returned the salute. “She's all set?”

“Ready to kick some Commie ass, sir,”

“Then let's get with it.” He and Goalie did their preflight walk-around, then mounted the aircraft. As they went through their preflight checks, Guru said, “I'm going to see about getting your friend Corrine into the squadron.”

“Thanks,” Goalie replied. “She's tired of the ferry run. Arnie and INS all set.” That meant the ARN-101 DMAS and INS.

“Don't blame her for that. Copy on the Arnie and INS.”

“Ejection Seats?”

“Armed top and bottom. Yours?” Guru replied.

“All set,” Goalie said. “Preflight complete. Time for engine start.”

“It is that.” Guru gave his Crew Chief a thumbs-up, and got the “Start Engines” signal in reply. First one, then both, J-79 engines were soon warming up. When the warmup was complete, he called the Tower. “Sheppard Tower, Camaro Flight with four, requesting clear to taxi.”

“Camaro Lead, Tower. Clear to taxi to Runway Three-Five-Charlie. Hold prior to the Active, and you are number two in line.”

“Roger, Tower. Camaro Flight is rolling.” Guru gave another thumbs-up to his CC, who then motioned for the ground crew to pull back the wheel chocks, Then came the “Taxi” signal, and Guru taxied 512 out of the revetment. When the big Phantom cleared the revetment, Sergeant Crowley snapped a salute, and both pilot and GIB returned it. Guru taxied to Runway 33C, and the rest of the flight followed. They held prior to the Active so that the armorers could remove weapon safeties, while a Navy A-7 flight went ahead of them. Then a C-141B came in and landed after the A-7s launched, then it was their turn. “Tower, Camaro Flight requesting taxi and takeoff instructions.

“Camaro Lead, Tower. Clear to taxi for takeoff. Winds are two-seven-two for six. Good luck.”

“Roger, Tower, and thank you.” Guru taxied 512 onto the runway, and Kara followed in 520. “All set?” He asked Goalie.

“All ready back here,” she replied. “Let's get it done.”

“Let's. Tower, Camaro Flight requesting clear for takeoff,” Guru called.

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

Guru looked at 520, and saw Kara and Brainiac signal ready. “Canopy coming down. He closed and locked his canopy, and Goalie did the same. A quick glance at their Five showed Kara and Brainiac had done the same. “Time to go.” He firewalled the throttle, released the brakes, and 512 rolled down the runway and then climbed into the air, with Kara's 520 right with him. Thirty seconds later, it was the turn of Sweaty and Hoser. They met up at FL 110, then headed south for the tanker track.
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