Downtime in Switzerland

After our return from Iraq, everyone had two weeks of what's called reconstitution time to relax away from work with family and friends. I decided to spend a little over a week of it with Lana in Germany and then the rest with a friend traveling around Switzerland. Switzerland is an amazing country and I think the Alps there are some of the most impressive in Europe. We stayed in a town called Lauterbrunnen which is close to the more well known town Interlaken. Lauterbrunnen is in a big valley with very high and steep mountain cliffs on each side. A big glacier on the Jungfrau Mountain Range is also close by, which we took a train up to see. While up there we did some hiking around on the snow to a few observation points and also took a tour through the ice caves.

Since we had taken the train to the top of the mountain, we decided to get out about half way down and hike the rest of the way home on some hiking trails from a trial map we had picked up in town. The hike down took about 4-5 hours with great scenery. We were hiking through farmers pastures with cows (dodging the cow patties), over rivers and through mountain valleys. Many times on the way down the snow would let loose on one of the nearby mountains and crash down the face...sounding like a fighter jet flying low off in the distance. It was quite a sight to see. After we finally reached the vally Lauterbrunnen is in, we were definitely ready to eat and get off our feet. I was sore for a few days after the hike since most of it was downhill...worked the quads pretty good. After our few days in Switzerland, we headed back to Aviano ready to start local flying again. It was nice to see green grass and mountains while flying after so much brown sand!

I also moved to a new shop within the squadron after returning from Iraq. Within the squadron there are many other things which need to be taken care of in addition to flying. Things like flying scheduling, training requirements, weapons and tactics and standards and evaluation. We call each of these different areas "shops" of the squadron. Typically you move from one "shop" to another every year or so to get experience in the different areas. After I finished MQT back at the beginning for my time in Aviano, I was assigned to weapons and tactics. Now, I've moved on to scheduling and will be learning a lot over the next weeks in how to build a flying schedule and interact with the maintainers to make sure the jets are available and configured correctly. Always more to learn...

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Balad Air Base, Iraq

After a 4.5 month deployment to Balad Air Base, Iraq, it was great to be back home in Italy again. Our time there was long in the sense that we missed home and family, but not long when you realize how much the Army troops need your support. They are the real heroes in the war, and I'm glad I was able to use my skills in the air to support them on the ground. I personally had the chance to drop some ordinance when the ground forces needed it, and for a fighter pilot that's the culmination of many years of training...to contribute directly in a conflict. I don't say this meaning I like war, but it is my job to use the training and skills God has given me to serve the country when needed and help save the lives of my brothers in arms when in danger on the ground. The media would have us think it's a lost cause, but I disagree. We're responsible for deciding to invade Iraq, and we owe it to the country and region around to finish the task with the help of the local and regional people. If we're resolute in our aim to bring stability to Iraq, it is possible.

Our squadron jets left Aviano on 10 Jan to head for the desert, and I was one of 12 pilots to fly an aircraft. Our 7 hour flight took us down over the Mediterranean, Egypt, the Red Sea, Saudi Arabia and then finally into Iraq. As we crossed the border into Iraq, our flight lead checked in with the American air traffic controllers, "Buzzard 51 flight checking in 100 miles southwest of Baghdad." Their radio transmission back was, "Buzzard 51, welcome to the war." Hearing that actually sent chills up my back and I realized we "weren't in Kansas anymore." Soon we were on final approach to land at Balad Air Base, Iraq which is a short distance north of Baghdad. It was strange flying over and landing in such a brown desert like country...for the most part the only green areas are those along the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. Both of these rivers are mentioned in the Bible, and I thought it interesting I was now flying my F-16 over areas that have been around since the beginning of the world.

My first flight took place a few days after getting to Iraq. Since we had at least two of our F-16s in the air 24/7 (there were three squadrons at the base), we had guys flying day and night. I was on the night train for about 2.5 months and then days for the rest. On our way to the jets my first night, I was pretty nervous...not really sure what to expect and wanting to do my best. I just prayed God would guide my mind and hands the whole night, especially if we were called upon to drop some bombs. We didn't end up dropping, but I learned a lot of how the air operations worked. Our sortie was over five hours long with three air refuelings, and I had only tanked at night once before. Everything worked out fine and we were able to give the ground troops the support they needed and make it back to Balad safely. The first month or so was fairly similar to my first flight...but some were definitely more tense than others.

My fifth flight was one of those tense flights. After getting airborne, my flight lead and I were immediately retasked to support a troops in contact (TIC) situation. Troops in contact means our friendly forces were taking fire from the terrorists. As we arrived overhead and made radio contact, the shooting had stopped but some Al-Quieda were still suspected to be in a certain building not too far away. After getting our "eyes" on (with night vision goggles and targeting pod) the suspected building, it was about time for us to get gas. I left for the tanker alone so that flight lead could keep watch overhead, and we would switch roles once I got back. 10-15 minutes later I was back and lead left for the tanker. As soon as I took over talking to the ground troops, the radio suddenly came to life, "We're taking fire down here again...we need bombs on that house now!" I could hear the shots being fired when he keyed the mic as well! As I looked outside with my night vision goggles, I saw tracer rounds being fired back and forth between the two positions. With my adrenalin pumping, I start running my checks to ensure I had all the switches and bomb settings correct to drop a laser guided bomb on the house. It didn't take long to finish the coordination and soon I was turning inbound to drop as flight lead was getting back from the tanker. "Buzzard 22, in from the west...bombs away in 30 seconds." "Buzzard 22, you're cleared hot, cleared hot! But, no sooner had I rolled my wings level towards the target did I get a caution light and an error message in the cockpit...I wasn't going to be able to drop! Immediately, I was able to pass lead the information and a few minuets later the building was no more. I couldn't believe my jet decided to act up right at that moment, but thankfully we saved the ground troops that night!

On another night after a little over a month of flying in Iraq, my flight lead and I arrived at work and were told we had a pre-planned strike mission to fly. There was a town northeast of Baghdad known to be used for harboring terrorists and the Army was preparing for a raid of the small down. There were three main roads into the town, and two of them needed to be taken out. The roads had been used for terrorist supplies and the Army didn't want anyone able to leave easily as they pushed into town. Our particular target was a two lane dirt road, and the request was for two 2000lb GPS guided bombs in each lane. After briefing up our flight, we took off and headed for the target. After some final coordination with the Army, we turned in towards the target and were given the "cleared hot" call over the radio giving us the clearance to drop. With the jet shaking a little bit side to side, my bombs were on their way and soon we could see our four bombs completely destroying the road. It was a pretty amazing sight to see. The picture link at the bottom of this post has a few pictures some Army guys took of the road afterwards, you can see there wouldn't be anyone using the road to support terrorism for quite some time. A few weeks from the end of the deployment, I dropped another 500 GPS guided bomb on an empty Al-Quieda in Iraq safe house.

It wasn't all work while in Iraq. Here and there we would get a day off, and once the temperature really got hot the time was spend at the base pool. The Iraqi Olympic team used it for training, but now it's used to cool off coalition troops during the summers. The picture above was taken by some tanker guys for me...you can see the US flag there on the right. We all flew many flags while in Iraq.

Soon, the end of May was approaching and we were all looking forward to getting home again and back to normal life. We missed things like green grass, mountains, Italian food, being able to use the toilet and shower in your own home but mostly the people. We had it much better than most of the Army guys, so I'm not complaining at all! I was ready to see Lana again and ask her to marry me. Thankfully she said yes! It's only been a little over a month since returning to Italy, and already Iraq seems somewhat of a distant memory. I'm glad I was able to serve the country, and may need to again in the future. But, while we're all enjoying the conveniences of life, lets not forget there are many guys still over there risking their lives to battle terrorism. They need our support and prayers!

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