[simpits-tech] OT - Interesting Day

[Al West]

It's possibly AARS by BAES (CNIR) - they were testing it on Block 50 F16s last 
year.  Unless it was a Raytheon unit.

On Thursday 03 June 2004 20:05, John Miguez wrote:
> Thanks for the update Brian.  I would be interested in that Recon pods
> capabilities, seeing as I am an old Recon guy myself.
>
> John
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Brian Sikkema [mailto:hangr18 at hotmail.com]
> Sent: Thursday, June 03, 2004 7:17 AM
> To: simpits tech
> Subject: [simpits-tech] OT - Interesting Day
>
> Hey all,
>
> Just thought I'd relate the day I had yesterday. I found out Tuesday
> night that my buddy, the F-16 crew chief in Iraq, was coming home
> yesterday afternoon. We knew he was due back this week, but obviously
> the details don't get released until the last possible minute.
>
> What an eye opener! We had all assumed when he was going that he
> wouldn't be in much danger, being on an airbase and everything. He said
> intel told them before they left that there were occasional rocket
> attacks, but nothing ever came anywhere near the base. Well, so much for
> military intelligence. They had over 100 rocket attacks at their base
> (Kirkuk) in the month of March alone, and not miles away, either. He had
> one occasion where he had to pull shrapnel from his aircraft, and
> several where he was pretty sure he was going to die. He said their base
> was attacked more than the one in Baghdad. But not too surprising when
> you realize the Bathe party headquarters are in Kirkuk - he has pictures
> of the arena there where public executions took place.
>
> But, everyone made it back safe and sound, and they did an oustanding
> job. They had a CAS and Recon mission, and were the most accurate
> bombers of any of the units at their base - he said the navy unit there
> was so bad they had to give them a week off! They also boast the first
> recon aircraft to ever drop a bomb. Their unit has a new type of recon
> pod, I forget what it's called, I think it started with a "T", but they
> are the ONLY unit that has them. Before they got there we were working
> off photos from as late as 1998. Anywho, while they have the pod
> attached it's technically a recon aircraft, and they had one get called
> in for CAS, hence the history making mission.
>
> He also said that the Air Force demands that a unit meets 90% of their
> taskings. They met 112%. Far above and beyond what anyone else was
> making. So even with some of the older aircraft, the 127th came through
> in flying colors.
>
> He brought a bunch of stuff home, too. He gave me a flag that had been
> flown on a combat mission, a peice of shrapnel from when the US had
> attacked his base on earlier operations (we're not sure if it's from
> Iraqi Freedom or Desert Storm, though), and an Iraqi bayonet. All very
> cool! :)
>
> So there you have it, folks. A slightly secondhand but nonetheless real
> look into Iraq.
>
> Brian
> The ultimate responsibility of the pilot is to fulfill the dreams of the
> countless millions of earthbound ancestors who could only stare skyward
> and wish.
>
>
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