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Landing Party
The U-2 is about the only aircraft in the inventory that when the pilot lands, comes in and stops, and shuts down the engine, twenty people are standing at the bottom of the ladder waiting for him to get out. Some are there to welcome the pilot back. Others are there to see how their sensors worked. Contractors and blue-suiters are there waiting to fix the jet so it can be gassed up and turned right around for the next mission. When a mission jet lands at a deployed location, all the pilots who aren't on the flying schedule or in crew rest welcome the pilot back.
— Maj. Tom Parent
 Combo Block 40/50
We received our first CCIP F-16 back in August 2003. The CCIP modifications will be complete in July 2004. Under CCIP, we are going to be the first Link-16-equipped Block 50 wing. We'll also be able to carry the Sniper targeting pod. Tape 4.0 will give us the capability to carry an ASQ-213 HARM Targeting System pod on the left side of the inlet and a targeting pod on the right. The full-up CCIP F-16CJ mission is going to be huge. We're becoming a combination Block 40/50. We will be able to carry pretty much every bomb in the fleet. The new color displays in the CCIP cockpit make a huge difference. We can look down and instantly differentiate objects by color instead of having to read the green text.
— Maj. Dave Youtsey
Generic Sand And More Sand
The weather was not always good. We often had to go down below the clouds and expose ourselves to a lot of threats to help our ground forces. Once we got down there, the terrain was usually all nondescript desert.
— Lt. Col. Andy Larson
Helping Out
We never bickered when something needed to get done. I'd offer to help the crew chiefs when I wasn't busy. Even though I specialize in weapons, I can help maintenance by removing panels. Every effort made a big difference over there.
— TSgt. Larry Hunt
419th Fighter Wing Fact
This unit from Hill AFB, Utah, flew from 19 March to 31 April, recording 260 sorties and 1,430 combat flight hours.
BDA By CNN
On about the tenth day of the air campaign, a CNN guy stood on the rubble of a building that was my flight lead's target. My target was about a block down. The strikes cut off communication between Baghdad and surrounding area, so the Iraqis couldn't coordinate resupply efforts.
— Maj. Don Cornwell
You Just Need The Numbers
OIF was the first time Spangdahlem Block 50s used JDAM, which is an all-weather weapon that doesn't require a laser to designate a target, just good GPS coordinates. We initially carried HARMs, but later we substituted a pair of JDAMs or WCMDs. Coalition ground forces moved north in a matter of days, which lowered the threat posed by surface-to-air missiles.
— Maj. Adrian Pone
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