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 Slow-Moving Blip
My wingman and I were taking fuel from a tanker on our way to the target area. AWACS provided target coordinates and asked us to contact a forward air controller on a particular frequency. The radio signal from the controller was strong and clear. The controller confirmed that we had a laser spot search capability and then passed me the laser code. Once in the target area, the controller called, “Laser on.” I dialed in the laser code and my targeting pod locked in on a building. The controller asked me to tell him what I saw. I described the shape of the building and the automobiles around it. “That’s your target,” he said. I dropped two laser-guided bombs and guided them in with my targeting pod. Both were direct hits. We headed south and waited for further tasking. On the turn back north towards the target area, my radar picked up a slow-moving blip. I locked on it with my targeting pod and then realized that the blip was a small prop-driven aircraft—a Predator. I believe this was the first time in combat that an unmanned air vehicle laser-designated a target for another aircraft.
– Maj. Ross, 944th FW
OPS Tempo
We had to be creative with the spare aircraft we had on strip alert for Operation Southern Watch. We often put bombs on the spares because we used them as backups for Afghanistan missions. Sometimes we would have a two-ship to OSW, a four-ship to OEF, and another two-ship on strip alert. That’s eight jets committed out of the ten deployed. One or two of the remaining aircraft were usually in phase inspections. Several times when I walked out to preflight my jet for another twelve-hour mission, the tail feathers of the engine were still hot from the previous flight. Often, the airplanes were on the ground only two hours between two twelve-hour flights. We sustained this pace the whole time we were in Southwest Asia. The deployment didn’t impact our training mission. While we were flying combat sorties, we had pilots back at Luke flying RTU sorties.
– Lt. Col. Dion, 944th FW
- phase inspections – thorough aircraft inspections required at 300- flight hour intervals
- RTU – replacement training unit; training for pilots new or returning to the F-16
Unique Capability
The capability of our Block 30 F-16s became known as the OEF missions evolved. Even before SCU 4, the mission planners had to learn that we had a laser spot search capability. A Predator or forward air controller would lase a target. We would put our pod in a search mode and, boom, our pod would lock onto that target. No one else in the theater could do that, not even the F-15Es. Neither could the Navy.
– Lt. Col. Dion, 944th FW
All Over The Map
 My first mission was more than twelve hours long. It took over three hours for my two-ship to get to the theater. Once there, we were sent from one target area to another. We went all the way from Kabul in the east, to Mazar-e Sharif in the north, and then all the way out to Herat in the west. Typically we spent five hours running around the country, then another three-plus hours flying back to our operating location. Sometimes we came back with all of our weapons. Sometimes we came back with some of our weapons. Sometimes, we came back empty. Some pilots even came back with no bullets in their Gatling guns. To deal with these extended periods in the cockpit, we had to watch total crew rest, eat low-residue meals, and use go pills at the tail end of the mission if needed. We’d take three or four water bottles and protein bars with us. For night missions, we would normally launch an hour or two before sunset, fly into the darkness, and land at sunrise. The missions were like flying across an ocean, performing a lengthy close air support mission, and then flying back across the ocean again. Time usually went by real fast the first two-thirds of the mission.
– Lt. Col. Dion, 944th FW
Female Predator
My fourth mission was a Predator mission over Kandahar. The Predator controller, a female, put a spot down and directed me to a building. It was about one a.m. My wingman and I orbited the building for the next three hours waiting for people to show. She had me look around the roads to see if anyone was coming. I didn’t see anyone. At the end of the third hour, we were cancelled and directed back to base. Just as we were departing Southern Afghanistan, the controller called us back. We returned to the area and dropped on the building. I think the controller knew who was in the building, but she never told us.
– Lt. Col. Leonard, 944th FW
Morale
We faced no air threat and conducted no sweeps. Nothing. I don’t know why we even carried air-to-air missiles. A couple of pilots saw some anti-aircraft artillery. This operation was nothing like Desert Storm or Allied Force where we faced air threats. It was also different because of what happened on 11 September. We felt like we were making an active contribution. Morale was very high over there.
– Lt. Col. Leonard, 944th FW
 Desert Storm Comparisons
We took off in Desert Storm with a set of targets that we subsequently struck ninety percent of the time. We were retasked during a mission only on rare occasions. At the beginning of Desert Storm, we took off in large packages and attacked complexes. Near the end, we took off in smaller packages and attacked more mobile targets. In Enduring Freedom, we were assigned targets, but they were rarely the targets we struck. We almost always received new tasking. Only two missions out of sixty struck the targets they were originally tasked to strike. Everyone else was retasked in the air. Normally, the retasking involved being assigned to a GFAC. We were talking to GFACs early in this war when no friendly territory existed. A GFAC would often sound like some guy from South Dakota or Texas. He might be hiding in the hills near Bagram Airport with his binoculars, night vision goggles, and radio. He might have ridden into the country on a mule. He might not have eaten familiar food in weeks. Occasionally, GFACs lased our bombs in on targets after we dropped them on GPS coordinates. Those guys are talented. And tough.
– Lt. Col. Leonard, 944th FW
Right Place
I’ve flown every F-16 that flies. Right now, we have the most lethal F-16 for the mission. With the targeting pod and the datalink, no one can touch our capability. I wish we had a Block 50 radar and an interrogator. But our GPS is really nice, and our datalink is superb. The technology came together for us right when OEF kicked off. We were in the right place at the right time.
– Lt. Col. Leonard, 944th FW
- interrogator – device used to identify friendly and threat aircraft
Laser Search
My most interesting mission was one I didn’t drop bombs. I was getting ready to leave the airspace over Bagram Air Base when a GFAC with a southern accent told me he was going to have some paratroopers in thirty minutes. The GFAC, who was called Texaco, asked me to make sure the area to their west was clear. It was night so I used my night vision goggles and targeting pod to check the area. My wingman was flying in trail formation. We saw nothing. I watched the C-130 fly in. Then a bunch of lights appeared on the ground. I didn’t know what the lights were so I asked the FAC if he was okay. He told me the paratroopers had just turned on their flashlights. He asked me to look west again. The GFAC had an infrared pointer and a laser pointer. He pointed the infrared beam on a hill to the west so I could follow it with my night vision goggles. Then he gave me a code for his laser pointer so I could do a laser spot search with the targeting pod. The targeting pod and my eyes were immediately drawn to the hill. That was the first time I used the laser spot search in combat. It was pretty cool.
– Maj. Jeff, 944th FW
 Kandahar Airport: Perspective One
My most interesting mission was my last mission, a day mission that helped friendly ground forces take the Kandahar airport. I was number two in my two-ship. Lt. Col. Mark, my lead, was the airborne FAC for the mission. The airborne FAC owns the target area and clears other aircraft to drop ordnance. The GFACs and all the friendly forces were about six or eight miles south of the airport. Our job was to bomb enemy troops, vehicles, and tanks in and around the airport. Mark directed a bunch of flights, including F-14 Tomcats, F-18 Hornets, B-52 Stratofortresses, and F-16 Block 52 jets from Mountain Home. He used rockets to mark targets for the Block 52 guys since they didn’t have targeting pods. He assigned me an area to search for targets. I found a tank in a revetment and passed the coordinates to Mark, who directed the Hornets against the tank. We worked the area for about three hours, going back to the tanker every hour or so. Some of the aircraft had targeting pods; others had FLIRs and lased in their own bombs. Mark gave some B-52s GPS coordinates and they dropped JDAMs. After the B-52s, F-14s, F-18s, and other F-16s left the area, we dropped our bombs. Some targets remained, so both of us strafed. We flew back completely empty. Friendly forces took the airport that day.
– Col. Roger, 944th FW
Awesome Capability
SCU 4 was awesome. Targeting with GPS coordinates was a huge capability for a GFAC. He didn’t have to talk people onto targets. He simply passed along a set of coordinates and the target was destroyed. The commanders wanted to keep our AFRES airplanes over there because they don’t have the same capability in the active duty. The capability we’ve added to our Block 30 jets paid off in combat. The airplanes were awesome.
– Col. Roger, 944th FW
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