William L. Smallwood - Strike Eagle: Flying the F-15E in the Gulf War

TO FOUR WHO GAVE IT ALL:

LT. COL. DONNIE HOLLAND

MAJ. TOM KORITZ

MAJ. PETE HOOK

CAPT. JIM POULET

In May 1990, before Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait, my friend Lt. Col. Harold "Skip" Bennett talked me into visiting his squadron, the 461st Deadly Jesters, at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona. "We've got an awesome new airplane and I would like to show it to you," he said. I made the visit, did a walk-around on the flightline with Skip, then went to the squadron and watched a video taken during a night flight. I could hardly believe what I was seeing. As if in daylight, the pilot flew the airplane through a winding mountain pass, then attacked a truck in the desert. "There had to be a full moon when this video was made," I said to Skip. He just smiled. "Nope, it was pitch black that night. I know because I was flying the airplane." Then we went to the squadron bar-it was Friday afternoon-and I was regaled with F-15E stories by enthusiastic crewmen who were in the process of transitioning to the airplane. It was a memorable afternoon, and ultimately the reason I became interested in writing about the adventures of the Strike Eagles after the Gulf War. So, thank you, Skip, and thanks to all you guys in the bar that afternoon. You hooked me good.

Before embarking on my research at the different air bases where the Strike Eagles were stationed, I visited the McDonnell-Douglas factory, where I interviewed test pilots and engineers and toured the assembly line where the Strike Eagles were being assembled. Thanks to Lee Whitney who organized the visit, and to Gary Jennings, Paul Nelson, Dave Thompson, and Irv Burrows, who gave me long, informative interviews.

Thanks also to Lt. Col. Mike Gannon at Air Force Public Affairs, who arranged support for me at all the air bases I visited. Thanks to this support I was able to track down and interview 106 of the crewmen who flew the 48 Strike Eagles that fought in the Gulf War.

I started my research at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, where all Strike Eagle crews are trained. (As this book went to press, the training unit was moving to Seymour Johnson Air Force Base.) Capt. Joe Davis in the Public Affairs Office at Luke was very helpful. In addition, Lt. Col. Terry Branson, who was one of the first operational pilots to fly the F-15E, instructed me about flying the airplane as if it were a single-seater and I were about to go out and fly it. He spent several hours teaching me everything I would have needed to know to take off, climb to altitude, descend, and land. After that, I was passed on to Maj. Tim Malone, who took me to the simulator and patiently endured while I went through the motions of being first a pilot, then a WSO. Also helpful during my visit to Luke were Col. Bron Burke, Lt. Col. T. J. Wyatt, Lt. Col. Steve Spencer, Lt. Col. Ron Heyden, Capt. Jim Gilstrap, and Capt. Bob Schwarze.

At Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, Mr. Jay Barber at the Public Affairs Office went out of his way to help me during a two-week visit. Thanks also to those who provided background interviews or other assistance related to my research, including Lt. Col. Patricia O'Connell, Lt. Col. Mike Gegg, Lt. Col. James Ruttier, Maj. Rick Jones, Capt. Kent Johnson, Capt. Laura Warn Berry, Capt. Robert Del Toro, Lt. Jay Chafin, Mrs. Betty Jane Turner, Mrs. Char Gruver, M. Sgt. Danny Brown, M. Sgt. Steve Neufeld, Tech. Sgt. Stephan Lackey, Staff Sgt. Karl Bowlby, Sgt. Lloyd Sample, and Sgt. Herbert Parrish.

Several of the crewmen read parts or all of the manuscript and patiently replied to multiple requests for information beyond their initial interviews. For their help I would like to acknowledge Col. Mike "Slammer" Decuir, Col. Steve "Steep" Turner, Col. Dave Eberly, Maj. Tom Griffith, Maj. Jim "Boomer" Henry, Capt. Mark "Yogi" Aired, Joel Strabala, Maj. Jack Ingari, Chris Hill, Capt. Merrick Krause, Maj. Rich Crandall, Maj. Larry "Hammer" Coleman, Col. Scotty Scott, Capt. Larry Bowers, Maj. Joe Seidl, Capt. Greg "Moose" Barlow, Rick Henson, John Pavlock, Capt. Chuck Robinson, Capt. Rich Horan, Capt. Steve Kwast, Capt. Bill Mullins, Capt. Jeff Latas, Lt. Col. John "Taco" Martinez, Maj. Dan Bakke, and Capt. James "Chainsaw" McCullough.

Col. Ray Davies, despite a heavy schedule, took time to describe in detail how Al Kharj was transformed from bare desert into a working U.S. Air Force base in less than one month. He also furnished helpful videos and reviewed chapter 5 of this manuscript.

The following crewmen were interviewed at least once during the inquiry, and several responded numerous times to follow-up telephone calls. Thanks to all of the following: Brig. Gen. Hal Hornburg (Maj. Gen. select), Col. (Brig. Gen. select) Dave "Bull" Baker, Capt. David "Hammer" Castillo, Capt. Jay "K-9" Kreighbaum, Maj. Jerry "One-Y" Oney, Capt. Darryl "OBD" Roberson, Maj. Gary Cole, Col. Dick Hoey, Capt. Norman "Abbe" Reese, Maj. Brian "BJ" Dillon, Capt. Tom "Two Dogs" McIntyre, Capt. Bill Schaal, Capt. Ken Garrison, Capt. Jim "Cubes" Grahn, Capt. Tom Plumb, Garrett Lacey, Capt. Al Botine, Capt. Ned Rudd, Maj. Lee Lewis, Capt. Jim "Bear" Hayden, Maj. Bill "Frenchie" Chamblee, Col. Bob Ruth, Ray Smith, Capt. Mike Duvall, Capt. Dwayne Smith, Col. Stoney Sloan, Lt. Col. Paul "PB" Burns, Capt. Brian Allen, Capt. Nick Sandwick, Brian Shipman, Capt. Brad Freels, Col. Bob Gruver, Capt. Matt Riehl, Capt. Randy "R-2" Roberts, Capt. Mark "Bones" Wetzel, Capt. Mark Stevens, Maj. Steve Chilton, Maj. Mike Cloutier, Capt. Joe Manion, Capt. Joe Justice, Lt. Col. Charlie Heald, Capt. Kevin Mertens, Capt. John Flanagan, Capt. Brian Killough, Maj. Dan Wise, Lt. Jeff Mase, Capt. Karl Von Luhrte, Capt. Murray Roberts, Lt. Col. Mark Ordess, Capt. Kerry Phelan, Capt. Mark Mouw, Capt. Bill "Bruno" Millonig, John Norbeck, Capt. Houstoun Waring, Lt. Col. Keith Trumbull, Capt. Rick McGivern, Maj. Gary "Greeno" Green, Capt. Gary Klett, Mike Smyth, Capt. Ansel Mangrum, Capt. Keith "Spitter" Johnson, Capt. Charlie Bowman, Capt. Greg Johnson, Maj. Randy Garrett, Maj. Al Gale, Maj. Bill Polowitzer, Maj. Craig Wilcox, Capt. Reno Pelletier, Capt. Chris DiNenna, Bart Pfautz, Maj. Baxter Sosebee, Capt. Mark Waid, Capt. Greg Torba, Capt. Russ Mack, Capt. Tom "Radar" O'Reilly, Capt. Tim Bennett, and Capt. Kevin Thompson.

Special thanks are due to "Tanker Dan" Wise for copying several hundred of his slide photos for me.

In addition, Lt. Col. Mike Hoyes at F-15E Fighter Weapons School gave me special insight on F-15E tasking during the Gulf War.

As always, I want to thank the field guys at Silver and McGrawthey know whom and for what-and my son, William M., for his ever-critical input to my thinking.

I also want to thank my editor, Don McKeon, for his stalwart support, and my wife, Patricia, for her special sustenance.