Perspicacious readers will have by now noted that your hosts store of “there I was” stories of naval derring-do have, well: diminished. Either through the telling, distance or the egregious assaults made by father time upon our brain cells.
So we’re offering up a guest posting position to one Whisper, active FA-18 pilot and patriot. See how that goes.
So without further ado, here y’are.
–
It was a black overcast night that ended with an OK 3-wire – which on the good ship G.H.W. BUSH is of course your last chance to stop, but I “ticked the two to the three”, so paddles thought it fine enough to call OK. The trap came at the end of a 3.5 hour mission over south central Florida where we were simulating what we expect to be doing in Afghanistan this summer. That mission is, of course, the direct support of combat troops on the ground. My WSO, LT Andy “Dickens!” Hurst, guided a 500-pound inert bomb into a vehicle with devastating accuracy resulting in a metal-on-metal impact that was every bit as exciting as many of the live bombs that I have dropped.
We then came around and made two strafing passes expending a total of 150 rounds of 20mm ball ammo. Strafing on this upcoming deployment will be much different than it was on my first deployment. In 2003 we employed the gun from a much higher altitude, using it almost as an area weapon for providing suppressive fire. My gun runs last night were nothing of the sort. We press the attacks in much closer now, and are very good at providing precise target effects for troops in contact. And this is one of the areas where the two-seat Super Hornet shines. You see, strafing at night is an intrinsically insane thing to do. You start-off by putting yourself in a twenty to thirty degree dive at five hundred knots with binocular night vision goggles strapped to your face. In this already disoriented state you now fire a six-barreled canon sitting approximately six feet in front of you that is effectively blinding. Through the goggles it looks like going to “warp” in Star Trek. Awesome. There are two great things about having a guy sitting behind you in this situation. First of all, he works the FLIR and puts the target designation right where he wants the bullets to go. Then all I have to do is put the gun pipper on the target diamond and squeeze the trigger. Secondly, he yells at you if you try to fly into the ground (which you are very close to at this point). Put the thing on the thing, squeeze the thing, then pull like hell on the stick. Catch your breath and take another lap around the pattern.
No graduate level strike-fighter training sortie could be called complete in the naval service without a trip to the tanker. Of course the tanker of choice for making an already exciting night even better is the USAF KC-135. In a Frankenstein-esque way that displays their true affection for the idea, the USAF grudgingly retrofits their strategic tanker for refueling Navy aircraft. The rigid boom that they normally poke in to the dorsal of an Air Force jet is hence modified to accommodate the reverse mentality of naval tanking. At the end of the extended boom sits a six foot piece of hard rubber hose with a king size inflexible badminton birdie attached to the very end. Whereas my normal M.O. is to put my probe in a soft flexible basket and push a certain amount of hose back into the tanker in order to make fuel flow to my jet, getting gas from the KC-135 “Iron Maiden” requires getting into the basket and bending aforementioned piece of rigid hose into a “C” shape in order for fuel to flow. I’m sure that guy lying on his belly in the boom pod gets a real kick out of watching the jousting match. Of course this is all made extra exciting by the utter darkness of it all. Tanking complete and all of our ordnance expended, we head back down to the restricted airspace below to support a small team of guys that is driving around a neighborhood in suburban Florida and needs us to be their eyes in the sky.
Armed Overwatch is what we call it, and it’s a pretty cool mission too. Soon it’s time to head back to sea so that we aren’t late for our scheduled recovery time aboard BUSH. The bright lights of South Florida fade behind us and then disappear completely as we punch into the cloud bank offshore. Dickens! checks the flight through the appropriate frequencies until we are given our holding instructions and join the conga line behind the ship, at which point we separate into singles and take separation for landing at sixty second intervals. Gear down, flaps full, hook down, ¾ mile call the ball. #300. Done.
There’s really nothing that significant about having 300 traps, it’s actually kinda below average for my peer group. I flew some long flights on the first cruise (vice a lot of short ones) and helped save a lot of lives after the tsunami on my second deployment.
No regrets. In reflection, the most significant thing about this flight is that it was really no source of great stress for us. It’s what we do, and we’re out here doing it day in and day out. Very soon we will be certified “surge ready” and be on the hook to do the Nation’s bidding at a moment’s notice.
No big deal.
“No big deal”
Glad to know it…it’s called “mature simplicity” i.e., no extra extraneous BS…i.e., professionalism. I’ll drink to that, Whisper..
I prefer to use the term “quiet competence.” When others are throwing fits and making themselves a source of trouble or drama, look to the quiet one for an example of how the job gets done well.
A braggart is making up for something. A shrill man is covering his bases for anticipated failure. The quiet man is the one to depend upon for results.
– Max
MaxDamage wrote:
‘A braggart is making up for something. A shrill man is covering his bases for anticipated failure. The quiet man is the one to depend upon for results.’
Good writing conveys Truth and Wisdom in a concise manner that is a joy to read, and that was a delight. Thank you.
And Welcome, Whisper. You and your colleagues have my total admiration and undying gratitude. May G-d be with you always.
Best regards, Peter Warner.
Max, I’m pretty sure you can say God on here. I doubt Lex would mind.
Tuna wrote to MaxDamage:
‘Max, I’m pretty sure you can say God on here. I doubt Lex would mind.’
That may have been in reference to a comment I had posted, which included typing out ‘G-d’, meaning of course the Almighty.
It’s a habit I’ve picked up from my Jewish elders – they consider the name of our Creator sacred, and so refuse to write it out if the material it is written on will be discarded in the future, since that would be trashing the Holy One, even indirectly (they also avoid speaking His name casually or directly). It’s a gesture that I appreciate and follow out of respect.
Best regards, Peter Warner.
Peter, hard for me to think that if there is an All Powerful One, that our puny attempts to describe him are of any consequence at all.
Yahweh, Lord, God, ….. just cannot imagine that it would be of the least consequence to him what words we use. Respectfully, maybe, but not the words themselves.
Peter, each sect may have their preferences, but those would be their preferences, not His.
Have to confess that the whole organized religious element escapes me; not spirituality, but organized religion. Used to have to eat fish on Friday, now it is not important. Really? As if He would care. Just IMHO.
v/r
Ron, thank you for your consideration and response. You wrote:
‘Have to confess that the whole organized religious element escapes me; not spirituality, but organized religion.’
I venerate tradition and the accumulation of insight and wisdom from devout study over the generations, yet ultimately I have no argument with your sentiment; in fact many prominent speakers say the same. Paul Rusher, preaching on Matthew 7:15~23, concluded: ‘What’s most important is not if I know Jesus. What’s most important is, if Jesus knows me.’
Best regards, Peter Warner.
The Lord bless you and keep you;
the Lord make His face shine upon you
and be gracious to you;
the Lord turn His face toward you
and give you peace.
Numbers 6:24-26
+1 from CG
there’s only three arrester wires on the GHWB? Why’d they remove #4?
Three were deemed enough, and it buys back a lot of space below decks. REAGAN has the same setup.
Positioning-wise, they eliminated number 1, then re-numbered the rest.
LOBAR thread comments will help explain 4 to 3 wires change also:
http://www.neptunuslex.com/2010/12/11/lobar/#comments
The Brother – in – law related that the adapter on the boom sucks. Much rather go KC-10 or tank from the brits.
Will the new tanker also have separate hoses with the basket for those forced to live with the Navy way of tanking? I was under the impression that it would. It certainly would make life easier for the Marines and Navy, as well as the choppers that use that equipment.
BTW, Whisper, got so many iron-bomb Mk 82s left over that you can afford to use ‘em as practice bombs rather than the old blue practice 25 pounders? Besides, I’d think space/storage limitations aboard ship would favor use of the smaller stuff rather than full-scale..what gives? (just an old ex-zoomie, what do I know..)
Ha -we probably still have some Mk-82′s that I built, though you would have to find them in the Western Pacific Isles.
Specifically, this was a BDU-45 bomb body with a Paveway II guidance kit strapped on it. A GBU-12 without the boom – which also has some tactical uses in low collateral damage situations.
Whisper/
AHhhh–youse guys cheat, eh? “Guidance” kits, eh? What’s this world coming to?
BTW, does anybody even know anymore how to drop iron-bombs the old fashioned way if we ever lose GPS, etc., when the PLAN takes out all the satellites and we run out of laser bomb assembly kits?
That is a great question Virgil.
Virgil,
To answer your question, yes. The Navy and Marine Corps (as does the USAF) Strike Fighter community continues to train on a daily basis in dropping ‘dumb’ bombs, in fact I would say that we train as much if not more in the realm of general purpose or “GP” bombing as we do in LGB or JDAM tactics. The fact of the matter is however, that the current theater demands low CDE weapons and GP bombs just do not support that requirement, but we still train to those tactics. Of note, USMC pilots dropped a fair amount of GP bombs in the early days of OIF(’03) in support of 1MEF, again the CDE requirements then weren’t what they are today.
Someone mentioned or asked why we ‘waste’ guidance kits in training. While we do have LGTRs (Laser Guided Training Rounds) to train with and can simulate the delivery of each piece of ordnance the Hornet/Superhornet can carry and deliver, each squadron has what is called NCEA or Non Combat Expendature Allowance. NCEA provides the squadron the opportunity to train end to end with real weapon systems. It allows the ordies the chance to load real weapons and train to real weapons. It allows the AT’s/AE’s the chance to do actual release checks and continuity checks on real systems. It allows the aircrew the opportunity to plan and execute real tactics with real ordnance to bring back real BHA. It allows the intel folks the chance to practice assessing BHA during intel debriefs. There are many benefits to training with real ordnance and it ensures our aircrew are combat ready and trained when they are called upon to do so.
Thanks for the info bdgerjmn.
I was always fond of the little blue bombs as they were so much easier (and safer) to work with than the other ones.
I should have also mentioned that about 90%(give or take) of the the GP bombing training we do involves light inerts or “blue death”, mostly low drag. We used to drop high drag(beer cans) light inerts until a couple years ago. The Hornet has had a propensity to ‘hang’ those bombs and they like to fall off when the airplane slows down in preparation to land. The Navy is looking at allowing the community to carry them again soon.
I totally agree w. the live ordnance tng necessity, bdgerjmn. Some things simply can’t be simulated realistically, e.g. the temp flash blindness and asymmetrical (un)loading a night shoot of something as large as a HARM engenders, etc.
Ex-Zoomie *and* LSU grad. That’s important to remember too.
It’s been awhile since I’ve said that, so I thought I’d throw that out there.
Wow! Welcome aboard Whisper.
Enjoy!
Well done, Whisper! Wish I could say #300 for me came on something more exciting than a lead safe in the T-45. But, I think I had somebody in my back seat too. Can’t wait to read more!
Whisper, eh? I like the cut of that man’s jib.
– Max
Very cool!
Not the first mention of him on here is it? The callsign sounds familiar.
Belay my last- found him on the LOBAR entry.
Good read, look forward to more!
And after all that, the bombin and strafin and tankin, ya still gotta land it on a movin piece of steel in the middle of an angry black ocean. God bless em.
Thanks Whisper.
An infusion of fresh words…themed just right. BZ to Lex and Whisper!
Lex,
I suspect that were you to get a group, not just one or two, but several of your old shipmates together, you’ll remember a lot of things that left to your own devices, you don’t think of any more. So, next time there’s an opportunity, grab them, switch on a tape recorder and hang out with them. Listening to the tape later, you’ll probably find plenty to keep you going and in the process of writing them, probably remember yet more. Left to our own devices we fall into a rut of “there I wuz” stories. Our comrades, having differing views, remember different things and more comes out.
Whisper, good stuff. I see why he added you. When you’re putting warheads on foreheads downrange, you’ll be supporting some of our families who, like you and us before you, have stepped forward to serve the Republic. Fair winds sailor.
marcus erroneous
Very nice. More please, when the whim strikes.
And Lex, your distinctive writing elevates any topic discussed. Yes, I appreciate the well-told sea stories and tales of daring-do. Your cogent observations on the current scene impress as well. So try and overcome that shyness, please.
And I’d buy your book(s), in hardback, multiple times, for the gift-giving in it.
Outstanding post Whisper, Thank you for your service! Fair Winds and Following Seas!
And thank you Lex for allowing another voice to share some sea stories…
I do agree with NaCly Dog that the main reason I keep coming back it your distinctive voice and views on the oh-so-crazy doings of us hairless apes.
That said, I would not complain about having to read a few more “this is a no-sh_ter-I-was-there” stories… heck it may even inspire a few more of the young 1% to follow their patriotic callings and serve. Just as the epic film TOPGUN insired my generation with the late-grate Tomcat! RIP.
Long time lurker but lasting reader, formally with VF-14 in the early/mid 80s and then with 1st Marines during Storm/Shield.
I know, I know… long story.
Bigol
Do tell…
Indeed!
Long story short I wanted to stay in the military while going to UVA… so I went to the USN recruiter to inquire about that possibility.
“We have just the job for you! There’s an opening at Norfolk, maintenance squadron!” What would be involved I wondered… and made a call. Lots of scraping/painting/lubing/and such. Hmmm… I was a highly trained Fire Control Technicion. I’m sure my skills could be better used someplace. Anywhere other then the paint shack NAS.
“Nope.”
Across the hall sat a very squared away Marine. Perhaps they could take a wayward soul interested in serving his country?
Yep! And with all my outstanding military high tech skills involving computers, fire control, networking and such the ONE skill the marines most wanted was the simple fact I had a military license to drive a truck!
Loved it.
Didn’t last long driving… though I did end up with my very own Hummer and didn’t let anyone else drive! I eventually landed in FDC, doing fire control, computers, networks, and such. Was one of the few Marines that understood the BRAND NEW (only about 15 years out of date but new to the USMC) BCS Fire Control system. Reminded me of the programing in the back seat in the ol F14.
Cheers!
B
I’m still laughing at the “quiet competence” reference…. Having had the distinct pleasure of working with Whisper, I can only wish that his external volume knob was set set at the same level as his writing style! Great post though, bud! Enjoy cruise!
“external volume knob was set set at the same level as his writing style!”
Is that how the call sign was derived?
Whisper is a welcome addition to the Lex world and obviously has some stories to tell, and will tell them well.
One sentence caught my attention and has me wondering:
“Tanking complete and all of our ordnance expended, we head back down to the restricted airspace below to support a small team of guys that is driving around a neighborhood in suburban Florida and needs us to be their eyes in the sky.”
Huh?
John -
In short, we were practicing urban close air support. The SOF team we were working with that night was also working-up to deploy soon. Following bad guys in a rural area with a FLIR is much different that taking a defensive sensor posture around friendlies in a dense urban environment. We don’t practice this particular skill set with releasable ordnance on the jet, thus the reference to first being winchester.
Ah, no…VERY big deal…thousands of sailors, backed up by thousands more civilians building the aircraft, the carrier, and all of the equipment needed to enable ONE man to do what you do (well, make that two: “Dickens!” is not to be forgot). Hats off to Whisper/Dickens and ALL the folks behind them.
More, please sir!
Thanks for bringing Whisper on board, Lex.
Nicely written, Whisper. Looking forward to reading more from you. Best to you and the rest of your air wing.
Brian (old Hawkeye dude)
Very well done, Whisper. I had no idea you could be so artistic. Good luck on the upcoming deployment.
Wonderful post – thanks for bringing him on Lex. Good luck to you both Whisper/Dickens! Thanks loads for your service and – as mentioned by others – your calm and collected self. Everyone in the house of reality honors you.
Lex, your stories are always a treat to read. I have passed many of them on to friends of mine. I don’t comment much but I lurk. A lot.
Very nicely done. Thanks, Whisper!
Great tale, Whisper….Thanks! Now, perhaps, can we have Dickens! version of the story? The Bear always has an interesting viewpoint of the process.
Thanks for the story, Whisper, and good luck on the upcoming deployment.
The Hornet has a failure mode of the left leading edge flap (LEF) that has proven to be fatal and catastrophic over the years. One Saturday morning while flying near NAS Fallon, NV I had that very same failure…Whisper was on the other end of the radio that June morning and I’m glad he was. While a ready room full of aviators was in organized chaos preparing for the worst, Whisper remained very calm, cool and collected and helped me get the jet back aboard the airfield, I say getting back aboard the airfield because my airspeed at touchdown was 204 KIAS…my rough math based on a 4600′ DA placed my ground speed somewhere around 238 knots(that’s movin’)…it was either that or shell out somewhere near Bravo 20. We chose wisely. Thanks Whisper, good read. Fly safe in the Stan. -PADI
Whisper –
Nicely written and well done. BZ … But “no big deal?” Please.
What you do is a result of very extreme and selective screening, expensive and expert training. You are entrusted with multi-million dollar equipment, and expected to safely land it on a dodgy deck at night, and even in dreadful weather. You are entrusted with ordnance that kills and destroys, even with ‘friendlies’ in close proximity. Most of this is beyond the knowledge and even the imagination of most. It is certainly beyond the capability of over 99% of our people. Yes, your service and the team that supports you in the name of our country is alway, a very big deal!
Your challenges will be many, often in the extreme. You were selected and trained to be the best, under the worst conditions few could envision. Your current “insane” of course is relative.
I remember listening to old salts who did 40-degree night dives under parachute flares. Swinging back and forth in their descent, the night flares produced vertigo inducing, dancing shadows on the ground, as the pilot hurled toward the dirt at 500 kts. To add to that insaneness, it was in a nasty place called the Mu Gia pass, with in addition to the disorienting, swinging flares, multitudes of enemy tracers always went flashing by their cockpits.
Yes, the Iron Maiden is a beastly witch that can easily dent your machine and ruin your day. But you apparently managed her, which nevertheless is a big deal that few can, or ever are allowed to do.
Confidence in what you do is indeed a virtue. It is necessary and expected. It is a result of not only your make up as an extraordinary individual, but your very unique talent, expertise, and training. However, one word of advice. Never substitute self-confidence in your abilities with over-confidence, or hubris. Too many of the very best are no longer with us because of excessive confidence. Over the years, too many skippers have told an accident board, “but he was my best pilot.”
Go forth, young man, and be rightly proud…. as we are proud of you. You are indeed, a big deal! As is all that you do.
Oh yeah, I forgot. 300 traps is a very big deal, too.
Good move bringing Whisper aboard. Nice writing style.
Suggestion. See if SNO might like to send in a few things during his fling wing training on his experiences going through the mill. I wouldn’t mind seeing some of that too.
Lex you need to tell us your sea stories I really miss them.
Hit the “sea stories” tag on the bottom right to read through ‘em again!
Lex, have you considered “Kindelizing” the Sea Stories? Even at $0.99 a pop, selling a few thousand a month would be a non-trivial income stream.
Given the first word in Lex’s post above, I thought I’d throw this out in Memoriam of a Geology Prof at Tennessee Tech, and for JTG’s benefit,
“Eschew Obfuscation. Venerate Perspicuity.”
Snake would like that also, I expect.
One of my many lasting benefits from military service is being able to make sense (or at least a good guess if given a context) out of such terms a SNAFU and other similar terms. Well, and military time and a line thru my Z’s.
I remembered that on Richard Finch’s office door in Earth Sciences a bit before I posted it. JTG implies that I may be an Aspie myself(and he may be right) because of my grandson. Since I enjoy the exchanges, I find myself compelled to “feed the monster.”
You don’t have to be an Aspie to enjoy such things (or crazy to frequent Lex’s place) but it does help.
Lawyers like such things too. I made a poster of that for the Common Pleas Judge where I used to be County Engineer and he posted it on his office door.
Ron S, Indeed words/advice to live ones life by… Best
PS, A big welcome Wisper…new blood/war stories/lies are always in demand…a good group all around…including the Pedantic-Peckerwoods…who, of course, know who they are.
Thanks Whisper – and welcome aboard.
Also Dickens! (?) The exclamation mark seems mandatory…
Welcome!
Thank you for your service.
Thank you for taking the time to share with us.
Lex-Thank you for letting Whisper be here.
More, Please!
Thank You!