Lessons From The Cockpit

Welcome the eighty-second episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit show! I'm your host Mark Hasara, aviation and conflict history expert.

Colonel Ray “Donk” Strasburger began his flying career as a Navigator in the B-52, qualifying for a pilot slot when his initial eye test was determined to be wrong! Donk and his wingman were awarded Silver Stars for destroying major elements of the Special Republican Guard Hammurabi Division assaulting Task Force 2-69th Armor at the Muthanna Bridge, called Objective Monty, during the sand storm sweeping through Baghdad on 6 April 2003. The ground controller for 2-69th callsign ADVANCE 33 was a voice Donk recognized immediately!

This and previous episodes of the Lessons from the Cockpit show are financially sponsored by Wall Pilot, custom aviation art for the walls of your home, office, or hanger. These four, six, or eight foot long aircraft profiles printed on vinyl peel off and stick to any flat surface. They are also water proof. There are 149 Ready-to-Print and ship profiles of aircraft from WWII to fifth generation fighters. We can also do custom aircraft profiles of your favorite aircraft. Go to www.wallpilot.com and purchase one or two of these highly detailed aircraft profiles for you or your kids.

This A-10 Warthog belongs to the 163rd Fighter Squadron "Black Snakes" from the Indiana Air National Guard and represents an A-10 like Donk flew over Iraq. This print is available from Wall Pilot at the link here.

This F-16CG Block 40 Fighting Falcon was deplooyed to Al Udied Air Base in the United Arab Emirates during the 2003 Shock and Awe air campaign. It is the flagship of the World Famous Highly Respected (WFHR) 555th Fighter Squadron out of Aviano Air Base Italy.

This F-15E Strike Eagle flagship represents the 335th Fighter Squadron "Chiefs" deplooyed to Al Udied Air Base in Qatar and flew missions in both the first and second Gulf Wars.

Thanks for downloading this and previous episodes of the Lessons from the Cockpit show found here on my YouTube channel and at www.lessonsfromthecockpit.show. Become an All Ranks Club member and receive unpublished chapters of my book Tanker Pilot, pictures taken during my KC-135 career, and soon a Lessons from the Cockpit coin for the Virtual Bar Nights. I set up personal Zoom calls for All Ranks Club members just so we can talk aviation.

Thanks again for listening and we’ll talk again next week on the Lessons from the Cockpit show!

Welcome folks to the eighty-third episode of the lessons from the cockpit show! I am your host Mark Hasara, a retired Lieutenant Colonel in the United States Air Force and former KC-135 pilot.

Captain John Markle was an F-4 Phantom II pilot in the famous 550th Tactical Fighter Squadron in the spring and summer of 1972, some of the most intense periods of the air campaign over North Vietnam. The LINEBACKER ONE campaign began on 10 May 1972, and John was flying in the famous Oyester flight, shooting down a MiG-21 Fishbed that day. John also tells us about his shoot-down and Recovery on another mission. 

This episode of the Lessoons from the Cockpit Show is financially supported by www.wallpilot.com, custom aviation art for the walls of your home, office, or hanger. You can choose from the 149 Ready-to-Print aircraft profiles of your favorite airplanes, which are printed and vinyl in four, six, and eight foot lengths you can peel off and stick on any flat surface. We have learned these graphics are also water proof! Wall Pillot also does Custom Aviation profiles. If you have a favorite airplane you want to put your name on, from a favorite unit, with a cool weapons load, then fill out the custom form and we can draw it up for you. These are highly detailed and exhaustively researched profiles of aircraft, so detailed you can read the stenciling on the weapons!

This F-4D Phantom II was the jet everyone wanted to fly in the 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron. It had the best engines which made this jet faster, but most importantly had the COMBAT TREE Identification Friend or Foe system in its radar. Aircrews flying this jet had a greater advantage over North Vietnamese Air Force pilots because COMBAT TREE could identify enemy aircraft 30 to 40 miles away.

This F-4E Phantom II was part of the famous 388th Tactical Fighter Wing stationed at Korat Royal Thai Air Base in Thailand. This F-4E is armed for a Surface-to-Air Missile or SAM Hunter-Killer mission, carrying electronic countermeasure pods and CBU-52 cluster bombs used to destroy the SAM Site SA-2 launchers.

The Republic F-105G Wild Weasel was used in the most intense mission of an air campaign, hunting SAM sites across North Vietnam, an extremely dangerous mission. The electronics in the F-105G showed where the SAM radras were operating from and the crews would fire a Shrike or Standard ARM anti-radiation missile at the site. F-4s armed with cluster bombs would then come in and destroy the launchers. This F-105G had three MiG kills during the Vietnam air campaign, one when the pilot ejected its bomb rack which the MiG chasing it ran into and destroyed it!

Thanks for downloading this and previous episodes of the Lessons from the Cockpit show! This and previous shows can be found on my YouTube Channel at @markhasara or on the Lessoons from the Cockpit Show YouTube channel. We will be back in two weeks with another episode. I will be on the road next week for the Tanker Weapons School’s 25th anniversary.

Welcome to all my listeners out there to the 81st episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit podcast I am your host Mark Hasara and I'm a veteran of four Wars, an initial Cadre member of the kc-135 weapons school, and curriculum director at National Defense University's Joint Combined Warfighter School

One of the great experiences of hosting this show and being a member of the Red River Valley Association is being in contact with these Vietnam heroes. Today we are talking to one of my childhood heroes! Air Force Colonel Chuck DeBellevue was the highest scoring Ace of the Vietnam War, destroying six MiGs while flying F-4 Phantoms in the 555th Tactical Fighter Squadron, the famous Triple Nickel. On today's show Chuck's going to talk about not only knocking down MiGs, but flying Forward Air Control missions and going after nasty air defense sites. Wait till you hear about him getting hit by an 85 or 100 mm shell!

This episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit show is brought to you and financially supported by Wall Pilot, custom aviation art for the walls of your home, office, or hanger. These are highly detailed and exhaustively researched profiles of famous aircraft printed on vinyl in four, six, and 8 ft lengths you can peel off and stick to walls or any flat surface. The vinyl prints are even waterproof, a good friend has his unit patches on the rear window of his truck for over a year. So go to wall pilot.com, order a couple of our 144 Ready-to-Print graphics. If there's a favorite airplane you want your name on, from a particular unit, with a cool weapons load, fill out the custom request form on the website at wallpilot.com.

Chuck talked about flying a famous F-4D Phantom II now on display in the quad at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs. This is the famous F-4D tail number 463 Chuck flew on several of his MiG CAP missions, equipped with the Combat Tree IFF interrogation system, and some super duper engines. F-4D tail 463 had a great crew chief in Staff Sergeant Reggie Taylor, keeping 463 in top shape..

Two of Chuck's kills with then Captain Steve Ritchie in the front seat were accomplished in a 58th Tactical Fighter Squadron F-4E deployed from Eglin Air Force Base, Florida. Here is a cool picture of Chuck and Steve just after landing from the MIGCAP mission with all of the external tanks punched off! This version of the Phantom has the 20mm Vulcan Cannon in the nose.

This F-105G Wild Weasel was assigned to the 17thWild Weasel Squadron flying out of Korat Royal Thai Air Base and accompanied every package into North Vietnam, particularly going anywhere in Route Pack 6 and the Hanoi and Haiphong area. This F-105G Wild Weasel tail number 320 has the distinction of three North Vietnamese MiGs destroyed, one by Vulcan cannon, one by AIM-9 Sidewinder, and supposedly a MiG-17 when the pilot punched off the centerline multiple ejector bomb rack!

This F-4E Phantom II flew with the 34th Tactical Fighter Squadron, carrying Surface-to-Air Missile and Suppression of Enemy Air Defense missions. F-4Es flew as the wingmen with the F-105F/G Weasels launching an anti-radiation missile at the radar, and F-4Es dropping CBU-52 cluster bombs to destroy remnants of the site.

This and previous episodes of the Lessons from the Cockpit show can be listened to and downloaded from the podcast website at Lessons from the Cockpit.show. All episodes can be found there with the show notes. Episodes are also found on my YouTube channel @markhasara. Become a member of our All Ranks Club, a coin-holding member of our shAll Ranks Club,and every member who joins will get unpublished chapters from my book Tanker Pilot and the history of air refueling. There were 31 chapters unpublished I will send to everyone who joins the All Ranks Club monthly for $8, or yearly for $80. Paying members of the All Ranks Club also receive some of the cool graphics we are making, 7 inch profiles you can stick on water bottles, walls, or even your vehicle. All Ranks Club members will also have a one to two hour Zoom meeting with me to just talk aviation. Go by www.lessonsfromthecockpit.show to join.

Next week we meet another Vietnam MiG destroyer Captain John Markle, who flew in formations with Chuck DeBellevue. We look forward to talking to you next week on the Lessons from the Cockpit show.

Welcome to the 80th episode… eight zero… of the Lessons from the Cockpit show! I am your host Mark Hasara and for over 60 years my passion has been all things aviation.

This is episode two with the Flight Operations Director Jamie McCarthy of Port City Air on what used to be Pease Air Force Base in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. In this episode he's going to talk about FBO planning and execution lessons learned when you have everything from big airplanes like a C-5M Galaxy to Executive Jets like Gulfstream G550 needing services at Port City Air. Every once in a while things don't go the way they're planned and Jamie tells a great story about how they obtained a massive C-5 tow bar when a Galaxy had a bleed duct failure and how to handle a fuel truck hitting a G550 winglet.

The Lessons from the Cockpit show is financially supported by Wall Pilot, custom aviation art for the walls of your home, office, or hangar; these are incredibly detailed aircraft profiles printed on vinyl in four, six, and eight foot lengths you can peel off and stick on any flat surface. There are 144 ready to print aircraft profiles on the Wall Pilot homepage. Wall Pilot can also draw your favorite airplane with your name, unit, squadron, and your favorite weapons load. Just go to wallpilot.com and fill out the custom survey for your airplane. We also do unit patches, which we've found out all of our stuff is waterproof!

Jamie speaks about several A-10 Warthog aircraft that come through Port City Air FBO for servicing during Large Force Exercises in Europe. This A-10 Warthog is from the Indiana Air National Guard Black Snakes squadron, the Hawg as it is called is the ground grunts best friend!

While he and I were walking around the airfield several KC-135s were operating from the Pease ramp. This KC-135 is the airplane that had my name on it in the 90s while stationed with the 909th Air Refueling Squadron, Kadena Air Base in Okinawa Japan.

When aircraft are deploying to Europe or the Middle East, chances are good that KC-10 Extenders are dragging them across the pond. This KC-10 is from the 60th Air Mobility Wing based at Travis Air Force Base near San Francisco California.

The F-15 Eagle has always been one of my favorite airplanes! this is an F-15E from The 391st Fighter Squadron "Bold Tigers" based at Mountain Home Air Force Base, Idaho. It is carrying a Close Air Support and Battlefield Air Interdiction weapons load of GPS and laser-guided bombs with air-to-air missiles.

Thanks for downloading and listening to this episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit show. We are almost at 27,000 downloads now. This and previous episodes of the Lessons from the Cockpit show can now be found on my YouTube channel @MarkHasara. I’m now posting the audio and video on my YouTube channel! I also do some pretty fantastic short videos on aviation and military subjects on my YouTube channel. You can also find all episodes of the lessons from the cockpit show on my website at www.markhasara.com

Next week we’ll hear from the highest scoring MiG Ace of the Vietnam War and talk to him about chasing and shooting down MiGs but also being a Fast Forward Air Controller doing Road Reconnaissance at night along the Ho Chi Minh trail. Thanks for tuning in and we'll talk to you next week on the Lessons from the Cockpit show.

Welcome to the seventy-ninth episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit show! This one was done on location so get ready for some cool background jet noise!

My wife and I recently were guests of Port City Air, a Fixed Base Operations or FBO at my first base of assignment Pease Air Force Base in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Port City Air has an incredible reputation among military fliers! I walked the ramp with Port City Air's Director of Flight Operations Jamie McCarthy while recording our conversation. We had a blast discussing what an FBO does, watching props, jets, and helos coming in and going out... including a scary moment when an engine quit! Jamie explains what it takes to keep military and civilian aviation moving 24/7/365... to include a broken C-5!

This episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit show is financially supported by Wall Pilot, custom aviation art for the walls of your home, office, or hanger. Go by www.wallpilot.com and order one or two of the Ready-to-Print four, six, or eight foot long aircraft profiles printed on vinyl you can peel off and stick to any flat surface. Wall Pilot also creates custom aircraft profiles of your favorite aircraft with your name, tail number and weapons load on the aircraft, from WWII P-51 Mustangs to F-35 Lightning IIs and F-22 Raptors.

While Jamie and I walked the ramp a KC-135 was being refueled for another operational mission the next day. This KC-135 was my personal jet while stationed at Kadena Air Base on the island of Okinawa Japan in the 1990s. Twenty one years later I flew home Space Available from England on tail number 8874, which had 26,000 hours on the air frame and over 16,000 landings!

All kinds of fighters fly in and out of Pease International Airport now. This F-15E from the 335th Fighter Squadron was the jet flown by one of my guests during the Battle of Robert's Ridge on 4 March 2002, a low point in Operation Anaconda because of the loss of so many soldiers and a Navy SEAL.

The F-16 is one of the most popular fighter aircraft in the world. This F-16CJ Wild Weasel is assigned to the 35th Fighter Wing and the 14th Fighter Squadron Samuaris out of Misawa Air Base in Japan. The Crew Chief of this jet took a black grease pencil and filled in the corners of the 8s on the tail, the airplane is still called 'BOB' to this day. The Crew Chief said it stood for "Bombs over Baghdad."

Jamie mentioned during the show KC-10s often stop at Pease International while flying missions to and from Europe and the Middle East. This KC-10 is assigned to the 60th Air Mobility Wing at Travis AFB in California. Three KC-10s had left Pease and Port City Air's ramp the day before we arrived.

There is only ONE fighter aircraft in the history of the world that has never been shot down in combat, the McDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle. This F-15C from Desert Storm was the 33rd Tactical Fighter Wing's flagship and shot down three Iraqi fighter jets during the conflict.

Thanks once again for downloading this and previous episodes of the Lessons from the Cockpit show, which can be found at www.lessonsfromthecockpit.show or on my website at www.markhasara.com. All episodes are now on my Lessons from the Cockpit YouTue channel also. 

Next week we will finish our discussion with Jamie McCarthy on Fixed Base Operations and what Port City Air does for customers coming through Pease International Airport. 

Welcome to the seventy-eighth episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit show! I'm your host Mark Hasara, retired Air Force Lieutenant Colonel, KC-135 pilot, and author of the book Tanker Pilot.

In the second episode with Navy Captain Bo Smith he explains Iron Hand missions, the methods and weapons the US Navy used to destroy Surface to Air Missile or SAM sites defending North Vietnam. Bo and his VA-82 Marauders A-7C Corsair II pilots developed tactics with the A-7C's improved avionics during the LINEBACKER I and LINEBACKER II air campaigns at the close of the Vietnam War. Leaving the Marauders Bo attended school in England, and he talks of developing great relationships with our allied leaders while attending classes.

This episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit show is financially supported by Wall Pilot, custom aviation art for the walls of your home, office, or hanger. The aircraft profiles are extremely detailed, the arming t-handles and stenciling on the missiles clearly readable. Famous and favorite aircraft are captured in profile illustrations, printed on vinyl you can peel off and stick to any flat surface. Wall Pilot can create custom aircraft profiles of your favorite aircraft, with your name on  the canopy rail, specific tail number, and favorite weapons load. These profiles keep the show going so visit www.wallpilot.com and order one or two Ready-to-Print or a custom profile.

Bo Smith was assigned to Attack Squadron VA-15 Gold Tails flying Douglas A-4Cs off the USS Intrepid during his second 1967 Rolling Thunder Vietnam tour. This print of a  VA-15 Douglas A-4C Skyhawk is Bo's personal jet, armed with an AGM-45 Shrike anti-radiation missile which homes in on North Vietnamese radars, destroying the antenna and control van.

During Bo's third Vietnam cruise he flew with VA-82 Marauders off the USS AMERICA in the new Ling-Temco-Vought A-7C Corsair II, designed with a new computer bombing system and the first attack aircraft with a Heads Up Display in the cockpit. This  VA-82 A-7C Corsair II is armed for an IRON HAND mission carrying Mk20 ROCKEYE cluster bombs and the AGM-45 Shrike anti-radiation missile.

The Marauders were chosen for the famous Than Hoa Railway Bridge strike on 6 October 1972 carrying AGM-62 Walleye tv guided bombs. Walleyes launched by LCDR Leighton "Snuffy" Smith and his wingman Ltjg Marv Baldwin destroyed the center pillar supporting the Than Hoa bridge, causing the center span to collapse. LCDR Leighton Smith retired as a four star Admiral and commander of all Naval Forces in Europe.

Assigned an exchange tour with the US Air Force, Bo traveled to McConnell AFB as an instructor pilot in the Republic F-105 Thunderchief, training new aircrews how to fly the Thud. Although Bo did not fly the Wild Weasel mission, the counterpart to the Navy's IRON HAND role, this F-105G Wild Weasel was assigned to the 333rd Tac Fighter Squadron flying out of Takhli Royal Thai Air Base. This Thud shot down three North Vietnamese Air Force MiG-17s during the Rolling Thunder air campaign. 

The A-7 Corsair II ended its combat career flying IRON HAND missions over Iraq in the 1991 Desert Storm air campaign. This VA-72 Blue Hawks A-7E is armed with the best anti-radiation missile made, the Texas Instrument AGM-88 High Speed Anti Radiation Missile or HARM.

Want a great place to learn about Navy attack aviation? Bo created in my opinion the best electronic memoirs of his experiences on the web. His great website can be found at Bo Smith. He has terrific pictures and even some of the maps showing the air defenses around the Hanoi and Haiphong areas. 

Thanks for downloading and listening to this episodes of the Lessons from the Cockpit show. This and previous episodes can be found at the Lessons from the Cockpit webpage found here. Please sign up for the All Ranks Club, receiving benefits like unpublished chapters to the book Tanker Pilot and very soon Virtual Bar Night, a Zoom meeting where we all get together with a special guest to talk about aviation and answer questions. If you want to see an example, go to my TikTok page and watch the four recent LIVE episodes doing Q&A and just telling some cool stories. We are also working on a coin All Ranks Club members will receive for signing up.

Next week's episode will be with Captain John Markle, F-4 MiG-21 FISHBED killer with the famous 55th Tac Fighter Squadron, the Triple Nickel!

Welcome to the seventy-seventh episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit show with your host retired Lt Col Mark Hasara, KC-135 pilot and Air Force Weapons School graduate.

I was turned on to a great memoir website by my good friend Scott Brown. Navy Captain Bo Smith is responsible for helping create the Navy’s IRON HAND Surface to Air Missile or SAM suppression procedures during the Vietnam War. Bo started his Naval Aviation career with two Vietnam tours in the Douglas A-4B and A-4C Skyhawk with Attack Squadron VA-15 Valions. His third tour during the 1972 LINEBACKER I and LINEBACKER II campaigns Bo was assigned to Attack Squadron VA-82 Marauders flying the A-7C Corsair II. In this first of a two part series, Bo tells us what it’s like flying the A-4 and A-7 on YANKEE Stations, to teaching new aircrews in the Republic F-105 Thunderchief at McConnell AFB Kansas in a US Air Force exchange tour.

This episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit show is financially sponsored  by Wall Pilot, custom aviation art for the walls of your home, office, or hanger. Wall Pilot sells four, six, and eight foot long profiles of famous aircraft printed on vinyl you can peel off and stick on any flat surface.

Bo's first assignment flying Navy attack aircraft was in the Douglas A-4 Skyhawk during the 1966 and 1967 Rolling Thunder air campaign. Bo flew with VA-15 Gold Tails, developing the IRON HAND SAM suppression tactics used in Carrier Air Wing Ten. This print of a VA-15 A-4C was Bo's personal Skyhawk during his second 1967 Rolling Thunder Vietnam cruise.

During the LINEBACKER I and II campaigns in 1972 over Vietnam, Bo flew with Attack Squadron VA-82 Marauders. This VA-82 Marauders A-7C is loaded for an Iron Hand mission he spoke of during the show carrying Mk20 Rockeye cluster bombs and AGM-45 Shrike anti-radiation missiles. US Navy attack planes carried similar weapons loads on Iron Hand SAM suppression missions like this A-4F Skyhawk assigned to VA-55 Warhorses.

The Marauders were chosen for the famous Than Hoa Railway Bridge strike on 6 October 1972 carrying  AGM-62 Walleye tv guided bombs. Walleyes launched by LCDR Leighton "Snuffy" Smith and his wingman Ltjg Marv Baldwin destroyed the center pillar supporting the Than Hoa bridge causing the center span to collapse. LCDR Leighton Smith retired as a four star Admiral and commander of all Naval Forces in Europe.

Bo flew the Republic F-105B/D and F-105F Thunderchief as an instructor pilot training new Thud crews during his Air Force exchange tour out of McConnell AFB near Wichita Kansas. Being around Thud Drivers, Bo learned a lot about Air Force SAM and defense suppression tactics, techniques and procedures. Although Bo did not fly Wild Weasel Thuds, this F-105G from the 333rd Tactical Fighter Squadron flew missions over Vietnam and is credited with three North Vietnamese MiG kills, one by dropping centerline bomb rack off the jet which hit the MiG chasing it.

The last combat cruise for LTV A-7E Corsair IIs was during Desert Storm. VA-46 Clansmen and VA-72 Blue Hawks were part of the USS John F Kennedy air wing sailing in the Red Sea. This VA-72 A-7E was the Squadron Skipper Commander JR "Shooter" Saunders jet armed for a Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses or SEAD mission into Iraq during the Desert Storm air campaign.

Please go by Bo Smith's fantastic website, an electronic journal of his exploits flying missions in the A-4 Skyhawk and A-7 Corsair II over Vietnam. He even has some of the charts of his targets showing the triple A gun sites and SAM sites on the maps! This is the best Vietnam War memoir website you will come across at Bo Smith. He does update the website when he finds new information.

The second episode with Captain Bo Smith will be out next week. Thanks for downloading and listening to this and previous episodes of the Lessons from the Cockpit show. We are over 25,000 downloads now. This and previous episodes can be found on the new Lessons from the Cockpit website at www.lessonsfromthecockpit.show  

Welcome to the seventy-sixth episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit show! I'm your host Mark Hasara.

My circle of friends has expanded because of my book Tanker Pilot: Lessons from the Cockpit. One of those great friends has vast experience in almost every Boeing airliner... 727, 737, 757, 767, and the Lockheed L-1011 I found out during this show. My good buddy TC Cappelletti is also one of the most knowledgeable military historians I know because he's a voracious reader of history. And most of the books in his library are signed by the folks in those books. TC shares several lessons learned from his beginnings in the C-9 Nightingale to flying 737-800/900s with Alaska Airlines.

This episode of Lessons from the Cockpit is supported by Wall Pilot, custom aviation art for the walls of your home, office, or hanger. These are four, six, and eight foot long graphics printed on vinyl you can peel off and stick to any flat surface. Wall Pilot can draw custom profiles of your favorite aircraft with your name, tail number and weapons load on the aircraft. Go by www.wallpilot.com and chose from 140 Ready-to-Print profiles or fill out the custom sheet for a favorite plane

TC began his flying career in the McDonnell Douglas C-9A Nightingale, designed from the ground up for the aeromedical evacuation mission of the US Air Force. This is a print of the C-9A TC flew while stationed at Scott AFB near Bellevue Illinois.

The KC-10A Extender is the military version of the McDonnell Douglas DC-10-30. Sixty KC-10s were built for the Air Force to air refuel and move cargo. The 59 aircraft left in the inventory will soon be retired to the Davis Monthan AFB Boneyard. This KC-10 is assigned to the 60th Air Mobility Wing at Travis AFB, California.

The Boeing KC-135 has been passing gas since the mid-1950s. This KC-135R Model was my personal jet and flew with the 909th Air Refueling Squadron based at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa Japan. The 909th ARS heritage goes all the way back to the Vietnam War as the Young Tiger Tanker Task Force, the emblem on the nose of the aircraft.

During our discussion we spoke of John Connors, Navy SEAL killed during the Panama Invasion December 1989. A statue of John is being funded and placed in the park of his Massachusetts home town of Scituate. The website you can donate to is found at https://www.ameasureofaman.org/

We also mentioned another great organization which grants scholarships to young men and women who need help. The Red River Valley Association, nicknamed The River Rats, was created by Air Force fighter pilots in the early years of the Vietnam War. There is now a River Rat museum in Bowling Green Kentucky memorializing amazing pilots from all the recent wars. You can donate to the scholarship fund by going to the River Rat website.

This and previous episodes of the Lessons from the Cockpit show can be found on our new website at lessonsfromthecockpit.show. Sign up to be one of our All Ranks Club members for a monthly or yearly fee. We'll soon have All Ranks Club virtual Bar Nights to share stories and most importantly lessons learned. Only All Ranks Club members will be able to join in the Bar Nights.

Thanks again for tuning in and downloading episodes of the Lessons from the Cockpit show!

Welcome to another episode, the seventy-fifth, of the Lessons from the Cockpit show! I am your host Mark Hasara and for over 60 years my passion has been aviation.

The situation in the Red Sea and Gulf of Adan has everyone's attention. It's the continuation of the Proxy War between western powers and the Ayatollahs of Iran and their influence with the Houthi Rebels in Yemen, attacking shipping in one of the largest and wealthiest waterways on the planet. America and our allies have been here before, sometimes with tragic results. The USS Cole was nearly sunk in the Yemeni harbor of Adan after an al Qaeda suicide boat rammed into it. The weapons used are now much more sophisticated and supplied by other US enemies. But we are more prepared in my opinion to fight and win a maritime conflict in this region, which this episode discusses.

This episode is financially supported by the book Tanker Pilot, found in all four formats; hardback, softback, Kindle, and Audible on Amazon. The Hardback, Kindle and Audible formats contain the 32 pictures in color, the softback in black and white. Tanker Pilot gives readers a behind the scenes look at global air refueling and air operations in four wars.

The Lessons from the Cockpit show is sponsored by Wall Pilot, custom aviation art for the walls of your home, office, or hanger. Wall Pilot creates profile views of famous aircraft, printed on vinyl in four, six, and eight foot lengths you can peel off and stick to any flat surface. Wall Pilot can also create custom graphics of your favorite airplanes with your name, tail codes and numbers, and cool weapons loads. Support the Lessons from the Cockpit show by ordering one or two of these very detailed prints for the walls of your home, office, or hanger. We did a thirty foot long profile for one customer and his hanger!

US and Coalition forces recently struck Houthi targets in Yemen. The Navy aircraft carrier USS Dwight D. Eisenhower has four F-18 Super Hornet squadrons in its air wing. This F-18F Super Hornet from VFA-103 represents the 22 Super Hornets involved in the air strikes in Yemen.

The strike packages were supported with electronic intelligence by the RC-135 Rivet Joint signals collection and intelligence aircraft of the US Air Force. This print is an RC-135 Rivet Joint aircraft assigned to the 343rd Reconnaissance Squadron of the 55th Reconnaissance Wing, Offutt Air Force base Nebraska.

F-15E Strike Eagles from Royal Air Force Lakenheath England have deployed to the region when Iran tried to close down shipping going through the Straight of Hormuz. This F-15E Strike Eagle from the 494th Fighter Squadron is configured for the Maritime Air Support or MAS mission to interdict and destroy enemy surface ships using Laser and GPS guided weapons. The Panthers Strike Eagles carried the AN-ASQ-236 Dragon Eye pod on the centerline as this graphic depicts.

Unmanned and remotely piloted vehicles have played a huge role in the Horn of Africa, combating terrorism and piracy on the high seas. This MQ-9 Reaper drone armed with GBU-12 500 pound laser-guided bombs and AGM-114 Hellfire missiles is assigned to the 867th Attack Squadron of the 432nd Wing based out of Creech Air Base north of Las Vegas Nevada. MQ-9 Reapers are the type of drones operating out of Djibouti and Chadbelli airports in the Horn of Africa.

Thanks for downloading and listening to this and previous episodes of the Lessons from the Cockpit show. This and previous episodes can be found on the Lessons from the Cockpit website. Every lesson learned today becomes the foundation for tomorrow’s breakthroughs and your stories fuel our mission! We are always looking for guests with compelling aviation stories and terrific lessons learned from those experiences. Contact us through the website and lets talk about you becoming a guest on the show. We want to hear your lessons learned and leave a legacy of wisdom for future generations of aviation enthusiasts.

Welcome to the seventy-fourth episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit show! I'm your host Mark Hasara, retired KC-135 pilot, author, and entrepreneur!

We laid to rest another American veteran this week involved in one of the greatest air strikes of Air Force histroy. He left his mark on aviation because of his incredible courage in the face of overwhelming enemy odds, innovative technique to save two commrades, and airmanship in pulling off a feat which almost got him court martialed. Twenty-two years later an evaluation board awarded him the Silver Star for his efforts to save lives. On this March afternoon, his target was the most heavily defended piece of real estate in enemy territory. This was the first time a large strike package was allowed to bomb this lucrative target.

And the enemy knew he and buddies flying in a twenty-seven aircraft US Air Force strike package were coming.

This episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit show is supported by the book Tanker Pilot, found in all four formats on Amazon. Tanker Pilot is now listed on General Mike Minihan, Commander of Air Mobility Command, Leadership Library reading list. Thirty-two pictures are included in the book, many taken during the events described in the chapters. The hardback, Kindle and Audible versionn havve th epictures in color, the softback in black and white.

The Lessons from the Cockpit show is also sponsored by Wall Pilot, custom aviation art for the walls of your home, office, or hanger. You can choose from 136 Ready-to-Print four, six, and eight foot long graphics prinrted on vinyl you can peel off and stick to any flat surface. Wall Pilot can create your favorite aircraft with your name, tail number and codes, and favorite weapons load by filling out a custom request form. These are very detailed and exhaustively researched aircraft profile graphics which you can read the stenciling on the aircraft and weapons. Go to www.wallpilot.com and order one or two profiles for your home, office, or hanger.

This F-4E Phantom II was part of the 388th Tactical Fighter Wing based out of Takhli Royal Thai Air base during the Vietnam War and is armed for a Surface-to-Air Missile or SAM suppression mission carry CBU-52 cluster bombs dropped on SAM sites to destroy the missiles and launchers. The F-4Es flew in formation with the F-105F/G Wild Weasels which would locate the SAM radars and control vans.

The Rupublic F-105F two seat Thunderchief accomplished many missions during the Vietnam War. One special mission was flying night time air strikes in a role called Ryan Raiders. This aircraft was assigned to the 13th Tactical Fighter Squadron and painted in the distinctive Ryan Raider wrap around paint scheme. The paint schem was created by Major Ralph Kuster, Thud Pilot extraordinare and MiG-17 Killer.

Russian Mikoyian and Gurevich (MiG) fighter aircraft defended the Thai Nguyen Steel Mill on 10 March 1967. The North Vietnamese Air Force flew early model MiG-21 Fishbed fighters like this example assigned to the famous US Air Force Red Eagle squadron based out of Area 51 near Tonapah Nevada.

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