Afterburners

by William Robert Stanek

  Our packages weren’t even outbound yet, and we still had more than an hour on orbit—Captain Willie was confirming this to the pilot. “Roger, Pilot, no one has called an abort yet. We’ll do our best to get those fighters off our tail and to stay in jam. I don’t know what good it’ll do with us bouncing around like this. I really need you to hold her level for about a minute.”

  The pilot leveled the Lady off. “MCC, Pilot, the clock’s ticking.”

  “Seven, MCC, are you ready? Six, MCC, are you ready? On my mark, you have twenty seconds. Mark!”

  “MCC, Seven, I have their data comms, locking.”

  “MCC, Six, I have their voice comms, locking.”

  “MCC, Seven, sending the details. Ready for jam when you are.”

  “MCC, Six, sending the details for jam. Ready when you are.”

  Everything afterward was intense static as Captain Willie put the system back in jam. Allen continued to work his magic with the fighter’s data signals, tracking and locking new signals. I continued to work on the voice signals, monitoring for the inevitable frequency hopping, tracking and locking as I went.

  Elsewhere in the mission crew area, the other crewers were doing the same. Jammed targets switched to clear frequencies, so we had to constantly keep up with them. I searched as fast as I could. I wanted those enemy fighters to remain confused and without communications.

  As we searched, no few of us were praying. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw Big John. He was visibly shaken. His face was pale; there was a look of terror in his eyes. Both he and Cosmo were hugging their chutes. Me, I was more worried about my .38—had I loaded it in all the excitement or not?—and freezing to death if we dropped down into the white caps I knew were below us.

  Seconds ticked by with agonizing slowness as if time itself were nearly standing still. I was conscious of my own breathing and everything around me. I took in a breath. Let it out. I felt my fingers tap the keyboard. My eyes moved between the CRT in front of me and the banks of equipment to the left and right.

  Captain Willie called out, a note of concern playing in his deep voice, “Pilot, MCC, first wave is egressing. Are we going to stay on orbit to support the second when they go in or not?”

  “MCC, Pilot, what’s their ETA to ingress?”

  “Fifteen mike.”

  “Roger that, we’ll drop back to the edge of box.”

  “Pilot, MCC, roger that.”

  “Did he follow?” Bobby called out, accidentally switched onto Interphone and not Select.

  “We’ll sure find out,” I answered, keying Select to remind him what channel he was on.

  “Thanks,” he whispered, switching onto Select.

  I said, “I think it’s safe to say they’re singing solo into their mikes if nothing else.”

  As the Lady turned, I glanced over my shoulder at Big John. He was sitting at his position with this blank, wide-eyed expression. His wide eyes made him look like a deer that’d just been caught in the beam of a flashlight. Cosmo, the newlywed, was in the back tossing up whatever he’d eaten in the hours since or before the flight. I knew this because Thomas pointed it out on Private B.

  It took a few minutes after we leveled off for my thoughts to catch up with my racing heart, for the world to come back to normal. I flashed my eyes at PBJ and dialed into his station on Select. “MCS, Six, Select. Did they get him?”

  “Gypsy’s not saying anything; guess we’ll find out in debrief.”

  What PBJ meant by “Gypsy wasn’t saying anything,” wasn’t that Gypsy wasn’t squawking, but that they were too busy to reply. She was screaming so loud I had punched off her station. Besides, on another channel I was trying to find out what Paladin Leader had to say.

  I concentrated on finding signals. It seemed the second wave was over target forever. The adrenaline rush just wasn’t lasting as long as it had in previous days, but there was no denying that the tension threshold was peaked. We still didn’t know what had happened to the Bandits. We only knew they weren’t an immediate threat to us at the moment.

  My headset went through a high-low tone sequence, and I knew someone had dialed up Select and connected in with me. “I hope they got him,” Allen said.

  After a pause, I replied, “I bet they splashed that bandit. They’ll owe us a MiG under those flags they’re promising.” I was referring to the painted on flags that symbolized the number of combat missions a particular plane had flown. The fighter symbolized an assist in a shoot-down.

  I sighed and relaxed a bit in my chair as Captain Willie’s voice tweaking into my headset told me it was almost over. “Crew, MCC, the second wave has successfully egressed. Excellent job today, way to stay on it!” He paused, and then switched to Interphone. “Pilot, MCC, stations. We’re clear off orbit when you’re ready, sir. Hell of a fly job.”

  “Roger. Crew, we’re on our way home!”

  There was silence again while we listened to the radios. Gas Station was headed home and so was Gypsy. Phantom was turning south.

  “Who was that on Interphone earlier?” asked the navigator.

  “Nav One, that was me,” admitted Bobby.

  “I guess bravos are on you. You know the rules: screw up on radio, you buy the bravos.” It was another crew dog rule: don’t screw up on radio, or you buy the beer, a case was the usual payment. “I only say this because tomorrow we’re going to have time to catch some wind.”

  “Nav, One, I got the first case.”

  “Roger that, One.”

  A number of heads were nodding. Most of us could already taste that first icy cold beer. We were sure looking forward to some down time and an hour more than eight was all we needed to be able to drink a few beers.

  The Nav’s mike had just tweaked off Interphone when the wings began to rock back and forth. What the hell was going on? I twisted my seat around to face front and checked shoulder straps to make sure they were in the unlocked position, remembering then that I had pushed in Gypsy’s squawk. I pulled it out just in time to hear Captain Smily’s response, “Roger that, splash one confirmed.”

  Paladin-3 had confirmed a hit and a kill. We’d find out in tomorrow’s tallies for sure. At the moment we were all elated, and none of us recalled how terrified we had been just a few short minutes ago.

  I jumped out of the seat with the others and slapped out a round of high fives.

  Time passed. We were thirty miles out from base. With the Iraqi border and the enemy behind us, we could all afford to relax in our seats.

  The only channel I had pulled was ship’s Interphone so I could hear the front-end chatter as we approached base. The pilot and the copilot were going back and forth about the air traffic and I listened in, “Co, we’re bottlenecking here. I don’t think we’ll beat the KCs in today. Let me see if I can get clearance around them, or else we’ll be stuck on the pad for an extra thirty. God knows it’s been one hell of a long day already.”

  The copilot called Tower, and soon afterward I heard Tower’s reply for the go-ahead. Accordingly, the pilot increased the throttle. I closed my tired eyes and rubbed them, then groped for my helmet bag and the bottled water within. I’d already finished one liter bottle, so I had to uncap a new one. Just as I popped the cap, a loud squeal came into my headset and then the plane banked hard to the left. Water went everywhere.

  “What the hell was that?” I heard the pilot say on Interphone, “Did you see that explosion, Co?”

  “I did. Holy shit,” responded the Nav. “What was it?”

  “I don’t know; but whatever it was, it was aimed at us or that KC. Get the pilot on radio. I’ll try Tower.”

  “It looked like a missile, but how the hell? We’re within visual of Tower.”

  “Pilot, Co, Tower’s redirecting us; they want us to circle wide and come in from the other side.”

  “Did you ask them what the hell’s going on?”

  “No, I didn’t. Didn’t have time to,” responded the copilot.

  Tower beg
an re-directing all inbound traffic.

  “As near as I can tell from all this chatter,” began Captain Willie on Ship’s Interphone, “that was a Patriot or at least that’s what Gas Station said after the explosion.”

  Suddenly a look of extreme shock returned to our eyes. We all realized just how close we had come to death’s door once again. Two close calls in one day were more than enough to bring us back into the dizzying spiral of confusion and frenzy. I swallowed my heart back down my throat along with a big gulp of water that I nearly choked on.

  During debrief we found out that it had indeed been a Patriot missile. It had been accidentally triggered by an erroneous IFF transponder. We were just glad the missile had such an elaborate fail-safe system that it hadn’t plucked us from the sky.

  The story continues with

  Imminent Threat: Air War #2.

  Thank you for reading this book!

  Learn more at

  www.robert-stanek.com

  GLOSSARY OF TERMS

  AAA

  Anti-Aircraft Artillery. Most Iraqi AAA ranged from short range 23mm to long range 130mm artillery. Small caliber weapons fire vast amounts of rounds and rely largely on this high number of shells to destroy the target. Large caliber weapons fire large shells, which contain an explosive charge (detonated at altitude) to scatter a great number of fragments. Most AAA systems rely on command and control communications and radar to help target enemy aircraft and are largely mobile.

  AAM

  Air-to-Air Missile. Most fighters are equipped with AAMs, which are used to destroy enemy aircraft.

  AIM

  A type of air-to-air missile. The AIM-7 (radar-seeking missile) and AIM-9 (heat-seeking missile) are widely used by US fighters.

  Alarm

  There are four conditions of alarm associated with possible nuclear, biological, chemical and/or conventional attacks. With the exception of the all clear signal, the alarms require the donning of protective gear and assuming defensive posture. See All Clear, Alarm Black, Alarm Red, Alarm Yellow.

  Alarm Black

  Nuclear, biological or chemical contamination is expected or present.

  Alarm Red

  Alarm condition that means an attack is imminent or in progress.

  Alarm Yellow

  Alarm condition that means an attack is probable.

  All Clear

  Alarm condition that means to resume normal wartime activities.

  ASM

  Air-to-Surface Missile. Smart ASMs launched from fighters are very effective in destroying their targets.

  AWACS

  Airborne Warning and Control System. Refers to the E3A Sentry aircraft and/or its associated airborne radar system used to detect enemy aircraft and direct friendly aircraft to intercept them.

  Bandit

  An enemy aircraft. Usually a fighter.

  Bogie

  An unidentified (possibly hostile) aircraft/fighter.

  Buff

  Refers to the B-52. A heavy bomber capable of delivering a substantial payload.

  C3CM

  Command Communications and Control Counter Measures. Tactics for denying enemy command and control communications through jamming and other electronic means.

  CAP

  Combat Air Patrol. Normally a group of one to four F-15C, which provide air support and are directed to intercept enemy aircraft by AWACS.

  Control

  The ground controller at the operations center.

  Dogfight

  Aerial combat with friendly fighters pitted against enemy fighters.

  Eagle

  Refers primarily to the F-15C, an air superiority fighter used for air support. Could also refer to the F-15E Strike Eagle which can be used for deep interdiction missions. The F-15C and F-15E are very similar and it is difficult to tell the two aircraft apart. However, the F-15E normally carries a payload along with its air-to-air missiles.

  EC-130

  Electronic Combat configured C-130, the Gray Lady. One of the most capable electronic warfare aircraft in the US inventory, it is primarily a communications jammer. The many different EC-130 configurations are denoted with a suffix. The experimental models flown in the Persian Gulf have since been decommissioned due to budget issues.

  Egress

  Exiting the sensitive/critical area where enemy activity can be expected.

  Environment

  The targeted area where most enemy activity can be expected to originate from.

  EW

  Electronic Warfare. Primarily the use of counter measures (like jamming) and other electronic means to detect and counter enemy communications and radar.

  Falcon

  F-16. A superior air-to-air/air-to-ground capable aircraft. Excellent for close-in dogfights.

  Ingress

  Entering the sensitive/critical area where enemy activity can be expected.

  Jam

  To deny/degrade enemy command and control communications through electronic means. Effective against AAA, SAM sites, and enemy aircraft by blocking communications and/or radar.

  Jam window

  Refers to times when the EC-130 aircraft must jam to support an inbound wave or package group.

  JP-4

  Jet fuel.

  KC

  Refers to the KC-130, KC-135 or KC-10 aerial refueler. US fighters such as the F-15 and F-16 use KC for aerial refueling. Aerial refueling is vital for fighters that provide air support and conduct long-range missions.

  Life Support

  Group responsible for maintaining aircrew gear, which includes helmets, oxygen masks, and air chemical protection gear.

  MCC

  Mission Crew Commander/Controller. An officer who controls the mission crew of an aircraft such as the EC-130 or AWACS.

  MCS

  Mission Crew Supervisor. A senior enlisted crewmember who often coordinates with other EW assets.

  MiG Sweep

  A forward CAP dedicated to intercept enemy aircraft.

  MPC

  Mission Planning Cell. Performs auxiliary duties such as planning, coordination and duty driving.

  MRE

  Meal Ready to Eat. Field or combat rations consisting of packaged and largely dehydrated foods. MREs contain a main item such as barbecued pork, hot dogs, or ham; a vegetable item; and a dessert such as a brownie. Also usually included is instant coffee or hot chocolate and crackers with peanut butter, jelly or cheese.

  Nomex

  The material flight suits, flight jackets, and flight gloves are made out of. It is designed to resist flames.

  NVG

  Night Vision Goggles. NVG are very similar to binoculars except they allow you to see in the dark. Small and distant lights can be reflected through the green of the viewer. Afterburners reflected in NVG are normally a very bright green.

  Ops

  The operations center. A center of control for missions and crews.

  Package

  A group of friendly aircraft, which usually includes fighters, bombers, and radar jammers projected to enter enemy territory. A package normally refers to more than one wave (or groups) projected inbound into enemy territory.

  Pad

  An aircraft’s hardstand or parking area.

  Raven

  Refers to the EF-111. A capable radar jamming aircraft.

  RC

  Refers to the RC-135. A reconnaissance aircraft.

  SAM

  Surface-to-Air Missile. Iraq’s SAMs ranged from handheld Stingers, to mobile SA-13 air defense units, to fixed sites such as SA-2 sites. SAMs are fired at enemy aircraft. SAM sites/units depend on radar and command and control communications for their effectiveness.

  SCIF

  Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility, a high security, restricted access facility.

  SP

  Security police. A security police officer.

  Splash

  Knocking an enemy fighter/aircraft out of the sky (destroying it).


  Squawk

  Refers to an aircraft’s channel or radio frequency.

  Thunderbolt

  Refers to the A-10, a ground attack aircraft.

  Tower

  The air traffic controller at base.

  Wave

  A group of friendly aircraft, which usually includes fighters, bombers, and radar jammers projected to enter enemy territory. Part of a package.

  Weasel

  Refers to F-4G fighter. A capable fighter that can locate and then destroy enemy electronic emissions. Also used for reconnaissance.

  Window

  (see Jam window)

  Timeline

  Start of the Persian Gulf War

  Wed., 16 Jan Alert

  Thursday, 17 Jan Fly to Turkey

  First week deployed

  Friday, 18 Jan 1st combat flight

  Saturday, 19 Jan 2nd combat flight

  Sunday, 20 Jan 3rd combat flight

  Monday, 21 Jan 4th combat flight

  Tuesday, 22 Jan 5th combat flight

  Wed., 23 Jan 6th combat flight

  Thursday, 24 Jan 7th combat flight

  Second week deployed

  Friday, 25 Jan 8th combat flight

  Saturday, 26 Jan 9th combat flight

  Sunday, 27 Jan 10th combat flight

  Monday, 28 Jan 11th combat flight

  Tuesday, 29 Jan 12th combat flight

  Wed., 30 Jan 13th combat flight. First major ground offensive

  Thursday, 31 Jan 14th combat flight

  Third week deployed

  Friday, 1 Feb No flight

  Saturday, 2 Feb 15th combat flight

  Sunday, 3 Feb 16th combat flight

  Monday, 4 Feb 16th flight ends

  Tuesday, 5 Feb 17th combat flight

  Wed., 6 Feb 18th combat flight

  Thursday, 7 Feb no flight

  Fourth week deployed

  Friday, 8 Feb 19th flight

  Saturday, 9 Feb 20th combat flight

  Sunday, 10 Feb 20th flight ends

  Monday, 11 Feb 21st combat flight

  Tuesday, 12 Feb 22nd combat flight