A-10S Over Kosovo
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A-10s over Kosovo The Victory of Airpower over a Fielded Army as Told by the Airmen Who Fought in Operation Allied Force Edited by CHRISTOPHER E. HAAVE, Colonel, USAF and PHIL M. HAUN, Lieutenant Colonel, USAF Air University Press Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama December 2003 Air University Library Cataloging Data A-10s over Kosovo : the victory of airpower over a fielded army as told by the airmen who fought in Operation Allied Force / edited by Christopher E. Haave and Phil M. Haun. p. : ill., ports. ; cm. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 1-58566-122-8 1. Operation Allied Force, 1999—Aerial operations, American. 2. Operation Allied Force, 1999—Personal narratives, American. 3. A-10 (Jet attack plane) 4. United States. Air Force—History. 5. Air power. 6. North Atlantic Treaty Organization— Yugoslavia—Kosovo (Serbia) 7. Air warfare. I. Title. II. Haave, Christopher E. III. Haun, Phil M. 949.7103––dc21 Disclaimer Opinions, conclusions, and recommendations expressed or implied within are solely those of the editors and do not necessarily represent the views of Air University, the United States Air Force, the Department of Defense, or any other US government agency. Cleared for public release: distribution unlimited. Air University Press 131 West Shumacher Avenue Maxwell AFB AL 36112-6615 http://aupress.maxwell.af.mil ii We owe much of our combat success to many outstanding folks who were not present at either Aviano AB or Gioia del Colle AB. Those folks include families and friends who supported us from afar, leaders and commanders who placed faith in our abilities, fellow warriors who shared the danger in the air, dedicated professionals at home bases who provided the logistical lifeblood, and all the past and present members of the A-10 and Air Force communities who trained us right. All these loved ones and colleagues deserve the lion’s share of credit for the A-10 achievements during Allied Force. Contents Chapter Page DISCLAIMER . ii DEDICATION . iii FOREWORD . xiii PROLOGUE . xv CONTRIBUTORS . xix CHRONOLOGY . xxvii 1 THE A-10, ITS MISSIONS, AND THE HOG UNITS THAT FLEW IN OPERATION ALLIED FORCE . 1 Lt Col Chris “Kimos” Haave Introduction . 1 Current A-10 Roles and Missions . 3 A-10 Weapons . 11 A-10 Units in Operation Allied Force . 15 2 MISSION LEADERSHIP AT THE TACTICAL LEVEL . 23 Introduction . 23 Lt Col Chris “Kimos” Haave I Feel Lucky . 40 Maj Phil “Goldie” Haun This Time It’s Real . 54 Maj Dave “Devo” Gross 3 BEDDOWN AND MAINTENANCE . 67 Introduction . 67 Lt Col Chris “Kimos” Haave Commanding the 40th Expeditionary Operations Group . 75 Col Al “Moose” Thompson Redeployment, Beddown, and Maintenance . 86 Maj Dave Brown v Chapter Page Getting There from Here . 96 Capt Kevin “Boo” Bullard Showing Our Support . 99 Maj Dawn Brotherton 4 ENEMY ACTION . 105 Introduction . 105 Lt Col Chris “Kimos” Haave Hit by a SAM . 109 Maj Phil “Goldie” Haun Last Day to Fly—Last Chance to Die . 123 1st Lt Mike “Scud” Curley The Only Sortie as a Wingman . 126 Capt Jim “Meegs” Meger Deep Thoughts . 130 Capt Andrew “Buffy” Gebara 5 TARGET IDENTIFICATION AND RULES OF ENGAGEMENT . 137 Introduction . 137 Lt Col Chris “Kimos” Haave When Things Work Out . 153 Maj Pete “Bro” Brotherton When Things Don’t Work Out . 157 Maj Pete “Bro” Brotherton Humor in the Midst of Controlled Chaos . 163 Maj Pete “Bro” Brotherton Their Last Gathering . 166 Maj Pete “Bro” Brotherton The Truck I Couldn’t Forget . 169 Capt Ron “Stu” Stuewe The Call Sign Was Cub 31 . 171 Capt Marty “JD” McDonough 6 THE GREAT HUNT FOR RADARS . 177 Introduction . 177 Lt Col Chris “Kimos” Haave vi Chapter Page The Giraffe . 185 Capt Ron “Stu” Stuewe Attack on Montenegro . 194 1st Lt Johnny “CBU” Hamilton A Monkey and a Giraffe . 197 Capt Joe “Joe Bro” Brosious 7 TACTICAL INNOVATION . 209 Introduction . 209 Lt Col Chris “Kimos” Haave The First Night CSAR . 214 Maj Phil “Goldie” Haun Memorable Missions . 231 Capt Mike “Hook” Shenk Big Brother . 243 Lt Col Mark “Coke” Koechle Fear, Luck, and Divine Intervention . 249 Capt Rip “Rubble” Woodard 8 MY TURN IN THE BARREL . 259 Introduction . 259 Lt Col Chris “Kimos” Haave Okay, Two, Big Eyes Out! . 260 1st Lt Allen “JAKS” Duckworth First Time Out Front . 264 Capt Nate “Foghorn” Brauner My First Combat Sortie . 287 1st Lt Scott “Hummer” Cerone From Wingman to Flight Lead . 291 1st Lt Stu “Co” Martin EPILOGUE . 299 Lt Col Chris “Kimos” Haave APPENDIX . 303 Lt Col Phil “Goldie” Haun GLOSSARY . 317 INDEX . 325 vii Illustrations Figure Page A-10 mission loads during OAF . 12 Map OAF theater of operations . 17 Valley four miles north of G-Town . 114 Target area southwest of Prizren . 124 Serb command post west of Urosevac . 127 APC just west of Vranje . 156 Convoys near Dakovica on the road to Prizren . 174 Coverage of suspected Serb radar . 178 Map and photo of suspected Serb radars . 204 Satellite photo of Giraffe radar area . 205 Plot of initial coordinates for Vega 31 . 217 Actual location of Vega 31 . 218 Location of L-shaped building north of Pristina . 245 Location of military vehicles south of Vranje . 262 Call sign . Outlaw . Bandit . 278 Artillery positions between G-Town and Vranje . 279 Location of tank decoys near Presevo . 295 viii Photo Page A-10 Thunderbolt II, . Warthog, . Hog . 2 Loading Mk-82 slicks on an A-10 . 13 Loading a CBU-87 on an A-10 . 14 A-10 leads fellow 52d AEW aircraft past a German castle . 15 A-10s of the 81st EFS at Gioia del Colle AB, Italy . 16 74th EFS patch and Flying Tiger nose art . 18 Col Al Thompson after flying a mission in the KEZ . 19 General Van Cleef and Colonels Thompson and Haave at Gioia . 21 Lt Gen Mike Short, 16 AF/CC, speaks to troops as Lt Col Chris Haave observes . 22 Combat-loaded A-10 taking off from Aviano . 24 Crew chief arms Willy Pete rockets and AIM-9s . 41 An A-10 attacks Serb forces . 46 Artillery attacked by F-15E with A-10 FAC . 47 Lt Glib Gibson inspecting weapons prior to a daytime mission . 61 A-10 with extra munitions deploying to Gioia . 72 Pope A-10 with the Panther-Rat cowling . 74 ix Photo Page Crew chiefs generating aircraft and finishing the forms . 75 40th EOG Hogwalk . 76 Col Al Thompson and Brig Gen Scott Van Cleef . 77 Lt Col Chris Haave and Col Al Thompson debrief their mission . 81 SrA Nick Kraska working on a jet . 88 A-10s and crew chiefs at Gioia del Colle AB . 90 Crew chiefs troubleshoot an IFF write-up . 92 Fully integrated—81st and 74th jets on the Gioia flight line . 93 Using a bike to get around the flight line at Gioia . 94 Capt Dawn Brotherton greets Prince Andrew . 101 Serb SA-9 decoy . 109 Taxiing for a CSAR mission at Aviano AB . 112 2S1 122 mm self-propelled artillery . 113 Destroyed T-54/T-55 tank . 115 Damaged jet at Skopje . 120 Major Haun and aircraft 967 after repairs . 122 British GR-7 Harrier . 140 RQ-1A Predator . 142 x Photo Page Serb artillery after an A-10 AFAC attack . 143 Fuel trucks destroyed by Captain McDonough . 173 A-10 as seen from the tanker . 175 Flat Face radar . 179 A1C Jerry Herron replenishes the A-10’s 30 mm ammunition . 190 EOD personnel prepare to “safe” a jammed GAU-8 . 193 Rock star Joan Jett is shown the Maverick missile . 195 Giraffe air-defense-system radar . 206 Crew chief cleaning the canopy . 207 Weapons troop inspecting an IIR Maverick and IR illumination rockets . 215 Capt Meegs Meger gets ready to take off in the rain at Aviano . 216 Vega 31’s boots with caked-on Serbian mud . 230 Sandys involved in the Vega 31 rescue . 231 SA-6 Gainful . 235 APC destroyed by A-10 . 238 Capt Beau Easterling straps in . 241 Lt Col Coke Koechle getting ready for another mission . 244 xi Photo Page Capt Rip Woodard and aircraft 956 . 258 Lt JAKS Duckworth following a combat mission . 263 Panther taxiing at Gioia del Colle AB, Italy . 264 Crew chief performing an early morning preflight . 271 Tables 1 Aircraft Involved in KEZ Operations . ..