At the time you are reading this, I have high hopes of being on my way to College Station to get MBD's final approval of my idea for renovating her built in book shelf. It's pretty darn big, taking up almost all of the main wall of their living room. But...I think they've got the books to fill it. More to follow on the subject.
As I've been reading Sarge's posts on Waterloo, I got to thinking about what a horribly crappy situation those poor schmedleys were in. Schmedley being a highly defined word describing the folks that nobody really gave a crap whether they lived or died. Nor did they get much out of it in return. Pay sucked, food sucked, quarters sucked (if they were lucky they got a tent half). In short, life sucked and was short. Unfortunately, the method of dying was often protracted and excruciatingly painful.
Why?
And would it be any different today? Now, that's the question. There's a lot of nuancing going on about the situation (situation being synonymous for skullduggery/shenanigans/corruption, choose your favorite) today. I'm even hearing folks whose opinions I respect (if not wholeheartedly agree with) saying it's not worth fighting for, we can't win.
Now, I've never been at or in a war. Never fired a shot in anger. So take this or leave it. The closest I've been to combat was sitting 5 minute alert at Osan AB ROK in the F-15. Our mission was to protect the reconnaissance aircraft patrolling on the south side of the border watching for any sign the North Koreans were intending to vacation in the South without reservations.
Our requirement was to be airborne with 2 Eagles within 5 minutes of the horn going off. We'd be vectored and briefed on our way.
However...
Assuming we got scrambled as the "Bad Guys" headed south, but hadn't crossed the border yet. And assuming both of us were doing 600 Knots or 10 miles a minute. That means we'd be at the merge in... let's see 56 NM/2 =28/10= 2.8 minutes.
2 minutes and 48 seconds..not a lot of time to sort things out and build your Situational Awareness. Compound this with the fact that the rules don't apply to the "Bad Guys". They most certainly do to us. If we screw up, it's all over international news. If they screw up. It never happened, And the USAF was harassing them. And THAT was all over international news.
Yeah, I did a lot of thinking about War while sitting alert. My wingman and I did a lot of what- iffing as we certainly weren't going to get a lot of time to do it while airborne.
So, no, I've never been to War. (Thank You, Lord!) But we did a lot of practicing for it. We'd practice scramble frequently, generally when the assets we were protecting were not airborne or scheduled. But every once in a while the Guys in the HQ on the advice of the Guy in the HQ wearing a Star would put a fake asset on our schedule, so we'd not be expecting a practice scramble.
The horn would go off, generally when we were sitting down to a meal. The first words were "Oh S--t" or worse. And off we'd go. Jump out of the van, sprint to the jets, pull the Jet Fuel Starter (the starter motor) as we stepped into the jet and the crew chief strapped us in while we were turning equipment on. When done, he'd jump off the ladder and remove it just in time for us to start the left motor. Soon as that was going, he'd pull chocks and we'd be taxiing.
Since we were parked at the end of the runway, that didn't take long. Just long enough for my prayer.
"Dear Lord, I don't feel the need to show off my aerial prowess nor take someones life today, but if you disagree, please don't let me screw (or another word) it up!"
By that time, I was at flying speed, I'd rotate, the jet would come off the ground, the gear handle would be up. I'd level off until I got to 500K (which was before I got to the end of the runway) I'd do a 4g pull to the vertical. Contact our controller for a heading to the targets. Roll the aircraft to that heading and begin to pull the nose back down to level flight on that heading. At this point, #2 was about 3-4 miles behind me. Now, we're heading towards the border. Any contacts are well within radar range and very soon (mere seconds) will be in shooting range. For both us and them. I haven't gotten any word yet on WTF is going on, nor had my radar pointed at the threat vector for long enough to have good Situation Awareness yet.
OT Suz, I wonder what my Cardiologist would say about a heart monitor reading I'd have right then.
Then they'd give us the daily code word for WTF was going on. Fortunately in my case, it was always the "Good" one. Meaning no one was going to die today. Had it been the other one, and given the NK's weren't going to send just one bad guy, chances of us RTBing were not real good.
So, I haven't been to war, nor have I been all that close, but I've got a pretty good feeling what it might be like.
Do I want a war? F**K NO! But as I was reading and thinking about the way people are "talking" these days, I'm reminded of this (very long) quote.
That quote is as true now as it was in 1867 when he spoke it. I fear for this country and the road it's headed down.
Peace out, y'all! (I pray)
Just because I hate to end on a down note, here's what an F-15 Afterburner Takeoff and climb out looks like. Damn, I miss flying that jet!
Curious as to how long you did the five minute alert duty juvat. Mr. Mills nailed that justice/injustice issue all right.
ReplyDeleteNylon,
DeleteIt's been awhile and I'm not sure I remember correctly, but I believe we deployed 6 Pilots and a dozen or so MX folks for a 2 week TDY. The alert rotation was 2 pilots on with a spare. So I'd be on alert for 24 hours, off for 24, possibly the spare for 24, if not then off for another 24. Then rinse and repeat for 2 weeks. It wasn't especially hard duty, but there was a fair amount of tension involved throughout.
Yeah, he's remarkably prescient isn't he?
Turning spare, or just hang out just in case spare?
DeleteTuna,
DeleteA little of both I think. He would have to take the 5 min scramble role until the scrambled jets were back on status. (Which begs the question why there weren’t two).
We had four birds on alert at Itazuke and when we went to Osan, we were there for two weeks. We liked it pretty much, the Hun and Thud Drivers with their blivots didn’t like the duty so much. We were generally 24 on one day off, one day Squadron stuff at ITA. I don’t remember flying much at Osan (1962-64).
DeleteD4,
DeleteSounds very familiar. We didn't fly all that often either. It required a 4 hour window with no assets airborne. That gave MX plenty of time to fix the jets if something broke. Plus there weren't all that many times somebody was giving the NK's 4 hours to misbehave without supervision.
I was recovering from some interesting surgery 5 years ago, totally out-of-it, and not too aware what was happening internationally (or anywhere for that matter), but how come we had F15's based in the Ukraine in 2018?
ReplyDeleteBoron,
DeleteNo idea what the real objective was, but I suspect the public answer is training against a 4th generation fighter adversary (Mig-29/Su-27). It might have also had something to do with tweaking someone's nose.
OT Suz, I wonder what my Cardiologist would say about a heart monitor reading I'd have right then....probably that you passed your stress test with flying colors....esp since I suspect you weren't strolling around the plane chatting like the guys in the video were, but were full tilt up the ladder and into the cockpit...but what do I know? Never been to war, thank you Lord!!
ReplyDeleteAnd yes, Mr Mills certainly seemed to be a solid student of humans. What goes around, does indeed, come around..
Suz
Suz,
DeleteNo, there wasn't a lot of strolling (in any form of the word) going on until I got the "Good" code over the radio. I've got a lot of reasons in my life to Thank the Lord. Not having to go to war is high on that list.
Thanks
juvat
"please don't let me screw (or another word) it up!" "
ReplyDeleteLeave out the "it" and it can become "fornicate in a positive Z."
We do seem to be drifting towards the '50s and '60s. Our Catholic School version of the duck and cover was "Take out your Rosaries and kneel by you desk."
Joe,
DeleteI remember that duck and cover routine. perhaps that was an influence...
juvat
To those in the know, it has always been thus since the advent of aerial bombs, just got more intense after the invention of nuclear flashbulbs. Just the general public has gotten very lax.
DeleteAs to 'Duck and Cover,' still a very effective tool as long as you are not in the direct radiation release zone. Which naysayers just don't understand. An old school school desk could stand up to a 250lb fatass sitting on it, so it was quite capable of protecting against vertical load drops not exceeding relative design parameters (and, yes, that type of design consideration actually went on in designing the old school desks where the seat wasn't part of the desk unit.)
Beans,
DeleteInteresting. I thought they were that heavy so only Sister Mary Elephant would be able to move them.
juvat
No, because they had to stand up to earthquake debris if in California.
DeleteAnd, yes, I know, you're trying to get my goat. Baaaa....
Coulda been filling both roles, couldn't it?
Deletejuvat
The closest I came to war was that little incident in Grenada. We watched the fires from the attack on the prison, which was east of the airfield. We did have a crew from our squadron that got tagged while at Pope AFB to go in on the first wave to airdrop troops.
ReplyDeleteI have to chime in on Mr. Mills. He is correct. Despite technological change, human nature is fairly static.
When in Decimomannu, Sardinia, years ago when delivering cargo there, we got an airshow of those F-15 takeoffs.
I had a discussion with one of my classmates at Army C&S who'd been in on one of those little wars. His comment which may not have been his was "Ain't no such thing as a "Little" war when somebody's shooting at YOU!" Can't say I would disagree with him. He went on to wear 3 on his collar. Smart guy.
DeleteWar has been been around for a long time....
ReplyDelete>>The battlefield of the Tollense valley (German pronunciation: [tʰɔˈlɛnzə]) is a Bronze Age archaeological site in the northern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern at the northern edge of the Mecklenburg Lake District.
Thousands of bone fragments belonging to many people have been discovered along with further corroborative evidence of battle; current estimates indicate that perhaps 4,000 warriors from Central Europe fought in a battle on the site in the 13th century BC. <<
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tollense_valley_battlefield
I missed all the wars of my lifetime (so far) but things are now looking 'not so good' around here these days... Not much I can do from where I'm sitting right now other than wait.
I forgot to include this link... https://www.science.org/content/article/slaughter-bridge-uncovering-colossal-bronze-age-battle
DeleteRob,
DeleteThanks for the pronunciation assistance it helped a lot! 😜
That having been said, that dig would be very interesting to visit.
Thanks
juvat
Rob, just had time to scan the article. Looks fascinating, thanks for including it.
Deletejuvat
When I relocated the station from one side of GTF (Great Falls) to the other, the Montana ANG would regale us with Falcon burners. Two jets taking off and heading out was a beautiful thing. The ripping of the air by the exhaust, the sound of freedom and the smell of burned fuel was some pretty heady stuff. F4's from the Texas AG did the same back in the early 80's as they did low levels in the hill country. That black dust they left behind is a cherished memory.
ReplyDeleteLike it or not, we are all on strip alert now. At least those of us that take the country seriously and see our family and co-citizens as worthy of protection and support. I wondered what it would look like when the hard times came. I prayed I'd be ready, willing and able to help keep my country a free land, a place for my progeny to thrive. My prayers for our leaders sound very similar to your Prayer of the Righteous Rotation. The last year I was working, I went to Fannin, Tx and sat by the gin screw (placed at the position Col. Fannin held) and contemplated what they did there. I drove on in to Goliad and walked around the monument to men that gave all their tomorrows for this great Texas Republic, so I could live free today. And I had to come to grips with the idea that if I am called to do the same, it would be cowardice to avoid it. I still think about that day, and pray I won't let my neighbors, friends and family down if it comes to it. I'd rather face my Creator having done the hard thing, as opposed to having skedaddled to save my own hide. Thanks for the reminder.
STxAR,
DeleteI’ve mentioned a time or two that we live very close to a low level route. We don’t get buzzed as often as we used to, just enough to get me to hop outta my easy chair and run outside. So…I got that going for me.
Haven’t been to Fannin nor Goliad. Road Trip!!!!
Thanks
juvat
Crusty Old TV Tech here. Yeah, the smell of mostly burned JP-4 in the morning is a righteous thing. F-4's are kinda like big herons, pretty poor at digesting their fuel, but what a noise they make! BUFF MITO's was the thing that brought the fierce grin to my mug in the Olde Days. Sitting at some comm facility beside the runway of Da Griff, over they went. The noise, the smoke, the long lasting smell! Nowadays, I think that one of my friends was in one of those B-52G's getting generated, and that grin turns more circumspect. Although, climbing and outbound in case of the real thing would be better than sitting in a comm facility near the runway of a big target for the bad guys...nah, we all have our role in this mess to play. Even comm weenies.
DeleteCOTT,
DeleteNever saw one of those BUFF scrambles, and that's a good thing.
Much like the old saw says, " You don't need Comm (fuel, weapons, airspeed, altitude etc...ad infinitum) until you need Comm, then you need it BAD".
John Stuart Mill was a very smart guy. Too bad we now live in the Idiocracy.
ReplyDeleteSarge,
DeleteYes squared.
juvat
Dad did Pad Alerts and CAPs in Korea and Japan right after the cease fire. He was sure he'd be facing Russians flying or Chinese on the ground. Interesting times, yes?
ReplyDeleteThe Korean War Memorial considers someone a vet of the war if they'd served 30 days continuous or 60 days overall within Korea up to 1985 or so.
Beans,
DeleteI’m sure your Dad wasn’t alone in those concerns. There were a few times when I had similar ones.
I guess that qualifies both Sarge and I. Not sure I’m going to “register” or whatever though. Don’t want to dilute the honor for those more deserving.
The war was and is still going on. Civilians and military on both sides have been and are still dying, just not in joblots like they were when widespread shooting occurred.
DeleteThink of how America would have been like if the fanatics took control on both sides of the ACW and just called a cease-fire, but not a formal end to the war. Constant low-level skirmishes, guerilla warfare, terrorism, the whole smear of low-intensity conflict.
What is amazing is that South Korea has become so prosperous and advanced while staring down the barrel of thousand and thousands of artillery pieces. Kind of like Israel.
Beans,
DeleteSo...a lot like what may be in the winds would look like now?
juvat
Having just re-read Thucydides The Peloponnesian War, it is shocking how little human nature has changed in 2500 years. Mr. Mill has the right of it.- TB
ReplyDeleteTB
DeleteHad to read that at SAMS (Army Training, Sir!), and you’re right on both parts.
juvat
Just started watching a good series of four programs on Korea. On Fox Nation. They have removed (I say again) ALL of Tucker’s stuff, so it’s nice to have a reason to go back for some historical content.
ReplyDeleteD4,
DeleteHaven't noticed that, any titles I can look for?
juvat
WoW! I can barely imagine what it's like to control that much raw power, let alone use it properly.
ReplyDeleteThank you for your service, juvat. Must have been a H3ll of a ride!
DrJim,
DeleteOne got used to it. Checkout in the F-15 was different than any other airplane I've flown. First ride is Solo with an IP in the other airplane. Max Performance TO was also the plan for first takeoff, weather permitting. Evidently one could get severe vertigo in a vertical climb in the clouds. Other that that, it was hold on to your hat and try HARD not to screw it up. Everyone, and I mean Everyone, on base was watching.
It was my pleasure. And yes it was, both the short version and the 20 year version.
juvat