Kosovo (24)
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YouTube video of the video F16 fight in Kosovo 1999-02-05. 510th Fighter Squadron pilot preflight, taxi, and takeoff. Includes refuel on this CAP mission.
{qtube vid:=37nPe9BLZow}
Constantinople to Kosovo
By Col. John X. Loughran III, USAF (Ret.)
Written for the Reserve Officers Association
No language can describe adequately the condition of the large portion of the Balkan Peninsula Serbia, Bosnia, Herzegovina and other provinces. Political intrigues, constant rivalries, a total absence of all public spirit-hatred of all races,, animosities of rival religions and absence of any controlling power-nothing short of an army of 50,000 of the best troops would produce anything like order in these parts."
By Lt. Col. Dave Nichols
As told to Master Sgt. Tim Barela, USAFR
Photos by Master Sgt. Keith Reed
As Lt. Col. Dave Nichols climbed aboard his F-16 fighter, only a few miles away his two children slept soundly in bed. His wife, Jan, did not. She knew something her kids didn’t, and it scared her to death. Tonight, Daddy wasn’t just going to work; he was going to war.
I stepped into the cockpit of my F-16 at Aviano Air Base, Italy, like I had done a thousand times before. Only, this time, butterflies seemed to be dancing in my stomach, and all my senses were on full throttle, as if I’d chugged an entire pot of coffee. I was keyed up. But then again, everyone was. This wasn’t just training anymore. It was the first night of bombing runs against Serbian targets (March 24), and we didn’t know what to expect. I was going in on the first mission.
FIRST TANK KILL
8 May 99
Another jolt for Buzzard history as we bomb the heck out of Melosevich and his Serbian aggressors who seem to think they have a license to kill Albanians, performing what they call "ethnic cleansing". What they didn’t realize is that a nation 10 times greater than them, with the power of a thousand armies, were standing by, ready to utterly afflict mass destruction on anyone who participates in such anti-humanistic, sadistic acts of violence against innocent people. And as the Boss said in his interview with World News Tonight, "We have the ability to find and destroy targets…we look for them, we find them, we hit them…message wise ‘Don’t mess with us’"!!
Apr 10, 1999
Throughout the days of the war, as I sit at my desk ‘pushing paper’, I get numerous phone calls: CNN wants to do interview with troops and the commander, and shoot footage of the 510 FS in action; Newsweek wants to do interview with the commander and an additional pilot, and get footage of pilots briefing and stepping to their aircraft. Who would be the lucky troops chosen for the CNN interview? TSgt Rosie Muniz, SrA "Sully" Sullivan, and SrA Perry McCiver. All three are cool, calm, and ready for their interviews, which goes very well.
The adventures of Pigpen & the Wing King
23 Apr 99
The Wing King and I are tasked into the Kosovo Engagement Zone. Primary targets are tanks, APCs, and other military vehicles but we are also assigned to several fixed dump targets. I’m carrying 4xGBU-12 500lb laser guided bombs and the Wing King has 2xGBU-10 2000lb laser guided bombs. This gives us the flexibility to attack many small targets as well as one or two larger hard targets. We takeoff around midnight and head to the tanker. The tanker rejoin is uneventful except for a frequency thrash in the end game.
4 April 1999
29 March: We were part of a 30 or so aircraft strike into Kosovo. Our target was the Pristina Army Barracks. We briefed our 6 ship and you could feel the anxiety in the room and hear it in folks voices. The squadron hadn't flown that many sorties across the fence and we didn't know what to expect. While anxious all were very focused during the brief, paying particular attention to their assigned responsibilities and targets. Ground operations went smoothly with the exception of one jet’s self protect equipment having a minor malfunction.
THE TIME HAS COME
FOR ME TO MOVE ON
WOULD LOVE TO HANG AROUND
AND SEE YOU THROUGH THIS STORM
BUT A NEW ADVENTURE LIES AHEAD
I’LL LEAVE YOU GUYS TO KEEP POUNDING MELOSEVIC
UNTIL HE SURRENDERS, OR ENDS UP DEAD!!
OOH…WAS THAT TOO HARSH?…THE "END UP DEAD" PART?
WELL, THAT’S WHAT HAPPENS
WHEN YOU COME UP AGAINST
"BUZZARD STANDARD"
29 MAY 99
A VIEW FROM THE COCKPIT: Prozac’s Story
In the movies, they talk about "waiting for the balloon to go up," the signal that we need to get airplanes in the air against aggressive forces. Well, I did not see any balloons released on the base, there was no fanfare, there were no sirens or bells. It was a very sedate evening when we received word that the next day we were to begin the air strike campaign against Serbia. As a pilot for the 510th Fighter Squadron, the Buzzards, flying the block 40 (LANTIRN-equipped) F-16s, I found myself experiencing a cornucopia of emotions. There was anticipation that we were FINALLY going to try to contribute to the resolution of the conflict in Kosovo; relief that we knew exactly what was happening instead of months of rhetoric, threats, and chest-beating; anxiety because my very young squadron (young in experience) was going to be put to the test and asked to perform a dangerous task; confidence, for our entire existence has been training for this precise moment and we know we have had the best training in the world; no kidding fright, for our intelligence briefings (as well as the media) were touting the Serbian air defense as quite formidable.
Washington Post
Yugoslav Missiles Targeting NATO Planes
By William Drozdiak
Washington Post Foreign Service
Friday, May 28, 1999; Page A32
BRUSSELS, May 27 –– As NATO warplanes step up the pace and number of their airstrikes on Yugoslavia, Belgrade's air defense forces are responding for the first time with ferocious volleys of antiaircraft fire and surface-to-air missiles, alliance officials said today.
More...
23 Apr 99
During war, a lot of attention goes to the pilots and their mission…well deserved I must add. However, there is a lot going on behind the scenes to make this war effort happen that many people don’t know about. I’d like to briefly introduce you to only a portion of "behind the scenes" action.
Behind the scenes at Life Support with MSgt Valpey, 6 Apr 99, 1500hrs:
Behind the scenes at HAS 65, 6 Apr 99, 1630:
14 Apr 99
I managed to break away from the daily grind of computerizing, writing reports, and doing all the stuff we "paperpushers" do, and head to church for 1830 Bible study. Afterwards, I got a chance to speak with one of our pilots Capt Nate "Rip" Smith, and told him I’d love to hear any war story that he might have. One that came to mind for him instantaneously was the downed F117, and how angry he was to hear that it had happened, and how he so badly wanted to do something, and how helpless he felt not knowing what was going on with the rescue efforts. I could see the expressions on his face, and could readily empathize with him. He was even more upset that he had gotten into a motorcycle accident a few days prior to our conversation, and had broken his thumb (I believe this may be where he got the name "Rip"), therefore, he is unable to fly for a few weeks. No matter what the Chaplain said to him to ease his distress about not being able to fly right now, he just didn’t want to hear it…his final words were "This is what I’ve trained to do…to fly in combat…and now I can’t because of this thing (raises his casted arm which is dawned in purple – our squadron color)". I can only imagine how he must feel…all of his comrades, the guys that he trains with day in and day out for combat, are out there fighting a war without him.
It’s about 1400 hrs, 24 Mar 99. Our first set of jets are getting ready to take off for a CAP (combat air patrol) mission. A CAP mission are fighters that go up loaded with missiles prior to the bombers to ensure the bombers don’t encounter attack from other aircraft or ground weapons while they’re locking in on targets to drop their bombs. I get my three personnel troops from the Orderly Room, and one administrator from tech-admin to go on a field trip to the flight line with Captain Jackson, the Sortie Support Flight Commander. He’s a maintenance officer who knows all about planes, bombs, and stuff. He escorts us out to the flight line, and we are teased all the while we’re out there, being called "degenerates, misfits" and the like. We’re teased because we are what you call "paper pushers"; we don’t work on planes, load bombs, and stuff, we simply ‘push paper’ ensuring all the "I’s" are dotted and "T’s" are crossed. However, today I wanted my troops to see what goes on in the preparation of war. I wanted them to feel the adrenaline pumping, to become part of our wartime mission. No more sitting behind a desk and computer, but out on the line seeing, living, and understanding what our on-line troops do.
Apr 8, 1999
I’m up in the break area where a couple of engine troops are getting ready to go home after a long night’s work. I’m interested in hearing their war story. One proceeds to tell me: "Just another day at the job. We’re out there just pushing jets out everyday, good or bad weather. We see the pilots just before they get in the jet and we’re like ‘you guys are kickin’ a__’ and the pilots are saying ‘well, we wouldn’t be able to do it without you guys’, and I say ‘no, you guys are kickin’ a__’, and we go back and forth like this. We just think that everything going on here for this war is just awesome…it’s unbelievable that our pilots are actually going out everyday to fight a war." As I’m writing down what the engine troop is saying, he and his counterpart begin to "brag" about how awesome the 510 FS is, displaying their pride in what they do. They are both tired after having worked 12 hours last night, but they still muster up enough energy to brag about the squadron.
