William Robert Stanek - Boots on the Ground

Boots on the Ground
AIR WAR #4

THE INCREDIBLE TRUE STORY OF THE COMBAT FLYERS

INCLUDES A SPECIAL FOREWORD
BY THE AUTHOR

William ROBERT STANEK

RP MEDIA

REAGENT PRESS

Boots on the Ground
AIR WAR #4

This Edition Copyright 2015 William Robert Stanek.

Original release 2006 William Robert Stanek

All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form. Printed in the United States of America.

RP Media

Cover design & illustration by RP Media
Cover photo licensed from ThinkStock

Stanek, William Robert.

Boots on the Ground: Air War #4. The Incredible True Story of the Combat Flyers / William Robert Stanek.

p.cm.

1. Persian Gulf War, 1991Personal narratives, American.

2. United States. United States Air Force.

3. Stanek, William Robert. Title.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

The author proudly served in the Persian Gulf War as a combat crewmember on an EC-130H, an Electronic Warfare aircraft. During the war he flew numerous combat missions and logged over two hundred combat flight hours. Additionally, he has nearly 1000 hours of EC-130H flight time.

In his military career, he has always been at the top of his classa two-time distinguished graduate, honor graduate, and unit technician of the year. His civilian education includes a B. S. in Computer Science, magna cum laude, and a Master of Science Information Systems with distinction. His distinguished accomplishments during the Gulf War earned him nine medals, including our nations highest flying honor, the Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross.

His last station while in the Air Force was at the 324th Intelligence Squadron, Wheeler Army Airfield, Hawaii. His initial training in the intelligence field was as a Russian linguist. His language background also includes Japanese, Korean, German and Spanish. As a writer, he has always preferred book-length fiction and non-fiction. One of his essays on military life won a writing contest, earning him a cash award and the George Washington Honor medal from the Freedom Foundation at Valley Forge.

His experiences in the Persian Gulf War changed his life and helped drive his successful career as a writer and entrepreneur. To date, he has written and had published over 150 books. His books are sold all over the world and have been translated into many languages.

Times and dates are included to provide a sense of chronology and are not absolutes. The notes in my journal had times referenced in Greenwich Mean Time (Zulu), which were converted to local times dependent on location.

The events depicted in the story are taken from real accounts, my personal journal, and various other unclassified sources. Names have been changed to protect the privacy rights of those involved. Some aspects of the story have been dramatized to provide a more complete view of the air war.

Callsign

Aircraft type

Role

Gas Station

KC

Refueler.

Gypsy

AWACS

Airborne warning and control.

Paladin

F-15C Eagle

Air support. CAP. MiG Sweep.

Phantom

RC-135

Reconnaissance.

Shadow

EC-130

EW/Communications jammer.

Nickname

Aircraft type

Role

Buff

B-52

Heavy bomber.

Eagle

F-15C

Air superiority fighter/interceptor.

Falcon

F-16

Air-to-air, air-to-ground fighter.

Raven

EF-111

EW, primary radar jammer, attack.

Strike Eagle

F-15E

Deep interdiction; carries payload.

Thunderbolt

A-10

Ground attack aircraft.

Weasel

F-4G

EW radar jammer, attack, reconnaissance.

Note : A suffix indicates the aircrafts number as part of a group. Paladin-1 is the leader (Paladin Leader). Paladin-2 is his wingman. Paladin-3 is the next fighter. Paladin-4 is Paladin-3s wingman.

Normal crew load is 13 (this can vary)

Front Crew

Nickname

Full Name

AC

Aircraft Commander; the pilot

Co

Copilot

Eng

Engineer

Nav

Navigator

AMT

Air Maintenance Technician

Mission Crew

Nickname

Full Name

MCC

Mission Crew Commander

MCS
(Pos. 5)

Mission Crew Supervisor

Positions
1, 2, 3, 4

Junior operators/ operators

Positions 6, 7

Senior operators

Channel

Description

Flight Crew Hot

For emergencies. When pulled, it activates the headset microphone without having to key it. Also called Ships Hot.

Listen

For listening to Flight Crew Hot comms.

PA

The ships loudspeaker; only the front-end can talk on PA.

Private A

The mission crew commanders channel, used to pass targeted signals to the MCC.

Private B

The mission crews channel, and for comms to the mission crew supervisor.

Select

Patch directly to other positions, like a dial-in telephone switching bank for general chatter.

Ships Interphone

Cockpit comms and comms to the front-end.

May, 2015

My accomplishments during my 11-year military career earned me 29 commendations. When I left the military, I was one of the most highly decorated in the command.

My commander and supervisor loved it when I put on my dress blues and participated in the various parades and celebrations on base, especially Memorial Day, Veterans Day, and the 4th of July. I met a few presidents, including George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, and a few generals, including Colin Powell and H. Norman Schwarzkopf, that way. And let me tell you, it was truly great to have presidents and generals shake my hand and meant it.

With whats happening in the world right now, its a good time to look back and reflect. I served my country in foreign lands and during several tours of duty in combat zones, including two combat tours in Iraq. During the tour of duty I write about in this book, I flew on 32 combat missions from the opening days of the war to its end. In that time, there was never a day I didnt look death in the face. Never a day I didnt face AAA, SAMs and more as we flew our missions.

Because of that service, I will always know that when the darkest of hours arrives I will not hesitate. When asked, I answered. When called, I went. When death stared up from the void, I did not fear. I gave because it was my duty and because I felt it was the right thing to do.

I write about some of my experiences in this book, which was featured in a full-page review in the Journal of Electronic Defense and on NPR. Though a memoir, the book is largely a tribute to the men and woman I served with.

As you read, I hope the book opens a window for you as big as the original experiences did for me. After combat, the world never seemed quite the same. The return to normalcy was a strange experience, never quite accomplished. I dont, in fact, think I ever slowed down or ever quite touched the earth after those experiences. For it was afterward that everything in this world changedthat everything in this world became so clear. And afterward that I set my sights on the future and never looked back.

Terrible experiences can change a person for better or worse. Id like to think the terrible experiences recounted herein changed me for the better and opened my eyes to the wider world. As you read my story and that of those I served with, remember that I wrote this book as I lived it, when I was a much younger man than I am today.