Great thread !!

@RogerRoger

@bansil

wow that's so sad.  I'm very sorry.  My neighbor I spoke about ended up getting divorced from her husband, it destroyed their family.  He did think she cheated on him.  I ran a daycare at the time and I had their kids more than they did because of the fighting (and work.). I never knew what to think, she seemed so sweet-it was hard to believe that she cheated on her husband, but then it was hard to imagine what caused men's semon to do that too.  

we are strong and have been together 28 years now, she is a great woman, thanks for the kind words it is just something we have learned to live with and work around.

There are two different types, 1 is only with D.S. vets and the other is actually very rare. (from my limited knowledge

I didn't do anything compared to those of you who actually deployed. The only thing I did was try not to die of boredom and frostbite. It really was several months of a "Groundhog Day" like existence. Every day was the same as the day before. Every now and then, they would rotate which platoon had the back gate instead of the perimeter fence. Other companies in the battalion guarded the housing area / commissary or the Military Community HQ downtown.

I will say that the difference in Force Protection postures from 1990/1991 to post-9/11 was a night and day difference. Where we carried an unloaded rifle during DS/DS, we carried a full combat load while guarding Ft. Campbell after 9/11. We even had fully armed uparmored HMMWV's with M-2HB's, Mk-19's, SAW's, and TOW missiles at important sites and intersections, as well as fully armed Apache and Kiowa Warrior helicopters patrolling after 9/11.

LA Times story about Red Army Faction attack on U.S. Embassy in Bonn, Feb. 13, 1991.

I was at Mildenhall from 99-01. Those engines were still on the RCs until after I left. They may be the loudest set of engines behind a bone....I remember them being annoyingly loud.

Awesome story. I'm assuming the target was Safwan Hill or close to it? If so, I've walked on a lot of the shrapnel/bone fragments you guys left behind.

Disregard after looking at the map again, definitely not.

"I effed up" is a hard thing to say

Great story OP

NEW STORY

 Desert Storm has been going on for a month.  At this point I have flow 18 or so missions into Iraq.  All at night.  I would get up around 1700 and get ready for my mission.  I would take my truck, collect my flight member and head over to the squadron and see what the targets were for the attack.  After talking with the mission planners, I would go over to maintenance and see what the status of our aircraft was.  After talking with my crew chief, it was time to find something to eat then go back to the squadron.  The rest of the evening would be final planning, a main mission brief and then individual formation briefs.  We would step to the aircraft around 2230 for taxi and takeoff between 2330 to 0000.  Tonight’s target is a refinery and oil storage facility north of Bagdad.  Fifty aircraft including 18 F-111Es and 10 B-52’s are the attack aircraft tonight.  Each F-111 is carrying 32 Mark 82 500lb bombs and the B-52’s are loaded with 70,000lbs of general-purpose bombs.  We will hit the target with a little over 1,000,000lbs of ordinance. Big Bada Boom.

    My wing man and I arrived on station about 10 minutes before the attack begins. I have a 4 ship of F-4G Wild Weasels with me.  They are about 20 miles away in a holding orbit waiting for the show to begin.  My job to screen the attack force from 2 different SAM (Surface to Air Missile) sites.  The Weasels are the ambush.  If a site shoots a SAM at me I will do my best to avoid it and the Weasels will attack it with a HARM (High speed Anti-Radiation Missile).  

    Showtime!  The bombs start to fall.  The scene is difficult to describe.  It is medieval.  Like something out of Dante’s Infernal.  Each B-52’s bombs fall in a box that is 2000 feet wide and 6000 feet long.  Over one hundred 500lbs bombs in each of those boxes.  And there are 10 of these boxes overlapping each other.  Add to that is the 18 F-111’s 32 bombs and it is quite the show. Besides the primary explosions from the bombs there are secondary explosions from all the oil tanks.  There is smoke and fire everywhere.  Now let’s add the AA (Antiaircraft) fire to the mix.  Imagine every 4th of July fireworks display you have ever seen and add them all together.  Then imagine all of that going off continuously for at least an hour.  That doesn’t even come close to describing it.  Tracer fire everywhere.

    Let’s get back to the SAMs.  My EWO (Electronic Warfare Officer) and I have been putting up an electronic shield to provide some protection to the attack force so now they turn their attention to us.  My EWO callsign “Monkey Boy” says “Smoke” (that’s me) “I think one of the SAMs search radars is looking for us.”  Now the game is afoot.  I have an array of electronic equipment available to me and I start listening and looking for the site.  From my Intelligence Briefing I have an exceptionally good idea where the site is.  After about 2 minutes my RHAW (Radar Homing And Warning) receiver (Think of it as a very smart car radar detector) starts to light up.  It’s telling me a SAM radar is looking at me.    Years of training are paying off.  Our squadron Intel Officer insisted we spend time studying about each potential threat.  The primary threat tonight is a SA-3.  It’s a well-known and respected threat.  I can route the raw audio from the ALQ-99's receiver antenna array into my comm system.  I can listen to the sounds of the SAM search radar looking for us.  It makes a unique sound as it searches for us.  About 90 seconds later all hell breaks loose.  I got a Missile Alert warning from my RHAW followed shortly by a Missile Launch Warning.  I look towards the site, and I can see the exhaust from a missile launch.  What would be your first thought if this happened to you?  My first thought was not that I was being shot at.  Intel told us each missile had a distinct colored exhaust.  I can remember my first thoughts being, damn she was right, it really is that color!  I made a radio call.  “Ghost Lead is engaged SA3 3 o’clock.” (My Callsign for that night was Ghost) That tells everyone that I am in a fight for my life and get the hell out of my way.  I start a defensive maneuver designed to make the missile lose track of me.  As I start this dance I punch out two bundles of chaff (bundles of aluminum foil designed to confuse the SAMs radar.) every time I change the flight vector of my plane.  I make sure that my ECM (Electronic Counter Measures) equipment is on.  It is designed to try to trick the SAMs radar and cause the missile to miss me (I hope).  

    Now we spring the ambush.  As soon as the SAM targets me with his radar the Weasels detect it and start their death dance.  While I am in the middle of my defensive maneuver, I hear the word “Magnum” called twice.  That means the Weasels have fired two HARMs at the SAM site.  I take some satisfaction in this knowing that the folks on the ground are going to see Allah shortly.  While this is happening, I am continuing with my maneuvers.  Since I am writing this, I lived to fight another day.  After the missile overshot me I rolled wings level and took a few moments.  Anyone who has been in a firefight or any high stress situation will understand this.  This first thing you do is a self-check.  Am I ok?  Yep, everything appears to be working.  I look over to Monkey Boy, “ you ok Jeff?”  He’s fine.  How about the aircraft, is it ok?  A quick scan of the instruments, fuel, hydraulics, and oil quantity, yep, they are all good. WHERE THE FUCK AM I!  For the last several minutes my world has been the missile and me.  I could tell you I was most likely in Iraq but that’s about it.  Ok, I got my bearings and figured out my position.  Now where is the fight?  I orient myself quickly and started heading back that way.  As we headed back Monkey Boy says to me, “they’re dead.”  I asked his how he was so sure about that.  I as had been trying to keep us alive he had been listening to the WW EWO’s talking over the radio.  He got a hack on his stopwatch when the HARM’s were launched.  He said that when the time of flight of the missile was over the radars went off the air.  Serves them right for shooting at us!  They rest of the mission was less eventful and after all the attack aircraft had safely left the area, we started back toward Incirlik, Turkey.  We were “First in Last out” so everyone was back before we landed.  Our Chaplain would welcome everyone home and pass out beers.  It would be either a one or two beer mission.  Tonight, he gave me three beers and I got a very personal welcome home.  We debriefed, ate breakfast and went to bed around 0600.  

   That was a brief description of a typical combat mission during Desert Storm.  

A SAM launch in DCS is stressful enough for me. Great story!

It is. And I'm sure it's more difficult for someone in that type of job. But woo boy, at some point you have to know when to fold 'em.




Thanks for sharing!

I have to ask, what did your EWO do to get the callsign "Monkey Boy?"

I gots to know!

wow, serious pucker factor. You Sir should write a book!

Your call sign is given to you based on something you did (good or bad), it goes with your name or because of some physical attribute.  If you took one look at him the first words out of your mouth would be ,"Monkey Boy!"

Same thing with bikers and road handles. There have been some entertaining ones I've come across during my years in the saddle.

@Sparkvark:

Ever been to Pease AFB when it supported 111s? A HS classmate was stationed there in the mid to late 80s doing avionics work on the birds.

My favorite memory from the war was flying some Army folks from Germany to someplace in the AO. Drinking coffee and chatting with a couple of them while enroute, they asked if we were staying in country once we dropped them off.

"Nope", I said, "We've got hotel rooms outside of London waiting for us."

One of the guys looked at his buddy and said, "See? I told you we joined the wrong service!"

I never served.
I have the highest respect for anyone who has ever or will ever serve regardless of what their military job was.
In no way shape or form do I intend this as disrespectful to anyone.
My buddy joined the Navy in between the Iraq wars and received the NDM after completing boot camp.

My question, and it's only a question, is it even possible to have earned a CAR since 1990 and not have an NDM?

Middle of the day in Kuwait city. Oil fires caused the black sky.
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Iraqi beach fortifications in Kuwait.
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Always having fun no matter where I'm at...

That's why I asked. I was hoping for a juicier story but alas.



Yes. NDR/NDM are for times of actual "war" and not "military action." So guys in Grenada or Mogadishu could've earned a CAR but not the NDR.

ETA: Didn't realize that the NDR time frame went until 1995. And I know Grenada was pre 1990, just the only other one I could think of off the top of my head.




The DNC drip! Hot!

Awesome!  Keep them coming everyone!  Just try to be nice and explain your acronyms please.

Yes I passed thru Pease several times in the late 80s early 90s bring aircraft across the Atlantic for depot level maintenance in California and for Red and Green Flags at Nelis.

@Stryfe

Yes, it is possible.

The NDSM (National Defense Service Medal) is awarded for service during a period of eligibility. The four periods of eligibility are:

Korean War 6/27/50 to 7/27/54
Vietnam War 1/1/61 to 8/14/74
Persian Gulf War 8/2/90 to 11/30/95
Global War on Terrorism 9/11/01 to 12/31/22

If someone entered active duty after 11/30/95 and left before 9/11/01, they would not have earned an NDSM. Theoretically, they could have earned a combat award during that time, but there would have been few opportunities to do so. There were really just two chances for a CAR to be awarded during those times: Operation Assured Response (Liberia, April 1996) and the opening stages of the Kosovo Campaign (March 99 to January 2000).

Somalia/Mogadishu fell within the Persian Gulf War dates for the NDSM.  

Grenada was in between the Vietnam and Persian Gulf periods.

NDSM dates:

Korean WarJune 27, 1950July 27, 1954
Vietnam WarJanuary 1, 1961August 14, 1974
Persian Gulf WarAugust 2, 1990November 30, 1995
Global War on Terrorism September 11, 2001December 31, 2022

I need to get some of my 35mm pics from the Highway to Hell scanned. And some oil well fire pics. Have 2 or 3 where my Humvee is parked and 3 oil well fires are blazing in the background.

Got me before my edit.

I was a 19k, M1A1 tank gunner during the war.  C co 3-67 Ar(Hounds of Hell), 1st (Tiger) Bde, 2nd Armor Division (Hell on Wheels).  The brigade was attached to the 2nd Marine Division.  We hit Kuwait International Airport, highway north of Kuwait City, and Mutla Ridge. Khafji pre invasion.
Our brigade lost 3 soldiers and one tank damaged in mine field

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What task force were you in?

Ripper

Spartan

War started on my birthday.  It was already a rotten birthday, the war just capped it off.

I was doing a 12 mile footmarch for EIB. Empire range, Panama when ground war kicked off..one of the guys I was rucking with had a small radio...an I got my EIB.

I would love to see those.

Amazing

That picture is awesome.


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Low Level flight somewhere in northern Iraq

January 91, behind the berm, with the oldest NV weapon sight in the Corps

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Found a mine!
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Whoops!

USS Tripoli LPH-10 February 18, 1991.
Picture taken in drydock in Bahrain.

I was only 5, but I have these in memory
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My grandmother bought me a case to open, and another case to save.

Spent Desert Storm on crew at U.S. Space Command on Peterson AFB in Colorado. We'd detect Scud launches with IR detecting satellites designed to detect Russian & Chinese ICBMs in the Cold war, but found out early that they'd also detect smaller (Scud) missiles. We'd get the predicted impact points and pass lat/longs to Centcom via voice so they could warn affected troops to seek cover. We'd sometimes get 10-15 on an 8-hour shift in the command center. Real-world tactical application of a strategic asset to help the guys and gals on the front lines.

We cleared some bunkers near Nasiriyah and torched open a couple safes we found.  Stacks of dinars.  I only kept two 25 notes because of the 3 white Arabian horses. Everyone else grabbed what they could carry.  You were at the right place at the right time.

Thanks for posting that, Spark.