Maj. Jacek Pszczola recalls aiming high when his company commander asked him and his fellow cadets what they wanted to do after graduating Poland's air academy in 1990. "I told him I wanted to fly the F-16. He told me I was dreaming — Poland would never fly the F-16." But dreams do come true — Poland will fly the F-16. And Pszczola, now an instructor pilot in the Polish Air Force, is slated to be one of the first pilots to fly the F-16 operationally. By the end of the decade, he and his fellow pilots of the 10th Tactical Air Squadron at Lask Air Base will convert from the TS-11 Iskra trainer/light attack aircraft to the F-16. In September, these Polish pilots got a taste of their dream when pilots and maintainers from a Texas Air National Guard unit brought F-16s to Lask.
Introducing The F-16
"The Texas Guard's visit is part of a thirty-plus event program for Poland," explains Maj. Mike Mitchell, the project officer for the deployment. "We are here to demonstrate how we operate and maintain F-16s so that the Polish Air Force will have a better understanding of the capabilities and training required to begin to operate the aircraft themselves."
The F-16s sent to Poland came from the 149th Fighter Wing at Lackland AFB in San Antonio as part of the National Guard's State Partnership Program. Poland's designated state partner is actually Illinois. But with the F-16 Air Guard unit at Springfield, Illinois, committed to an Air Expeditionary Force rotation to Iraq this year, the Texas unit covered the deployment. The Springfield unit is scheduled to come to Poland in 2005. The deployment was funded by the US-European Command Joint Contact Team Program as part of Operation Sentry White Falcon.
"We are introducing the F-16 to those who will be working with it in the Polish Air Force," says Lt. Col. Kerry Holloman, squadron commander for the 182nd Fighter Squadron, the flying unit of the 149th FW. "A large part of our deployment purpose is with the Polish maintainers out there on the ramp, showing them how to care for and feed the F-16 and how to bed it down. Essentially, we're showing the maintainers how we deploy the airplane. And we're showing the pilots how we plan, brief, and reconstruct fights."
"We hit the ground, and the Polish Air Force was ready to go," says Col. John Presley, the operations group commander of the 149th. "The day after we arrived, they briefed us on all their aircraft and operations, and we briefed them on the F-16. That night, we had a party and initiated a lot of new friendships."
The 149th sent approximately 100 members, fourteen of which were pilots. With the 149th a training unit, all the pilots were highly experienced instructors who averaged 2,000 flying hours in the F-16. Poland's 1st Tactical Air Squadron at Minsk sent four MiG-29 Fulcrums to Lask for the event, and the 7th Tactical Air Squadron sent Su-22 Fitters from Powidz AB. The first week started with one-versus-one basic fighter maneuvers, followed by tactical intercepts and strike missions. The second week included basic mixed force employment with two fighters facing off against two defenders and four strikers — a mix of F-16s, Su-22s, and MiG-29s.
Two missions were typically flown each day, one in the morning and one in the afternoon. MiG-29 and Su-22 pilots provided backseat rides to the American pilots. The Guard pilots doled out as many incentive rides as they could during the two weeks as well, flying three sorties per day during the last week. Most of the backseat rides went to pilots of the 10th Tactical Air Squadron, which is scheduled to convert to the F-16 beginning in 2008.
Dreams Fulfilled
Pszczola waited fourteen years for his dream to come true. In the meantime, he flew MiG-21s with the 10th Squadron until they were decommissioned from the Polish Air Force in 2002. After that, he flew the Iskra (Polish for star). Then the long-awaited dream ride in the F-16. "It was an amazing experience," he says. "I flew backseat on an air-to-ground mission in which we escorted two Su-22 Fitters on a low-level mission. Fortunate for me, the Fitters returned to base with radio problems so we engaged another F-16 in basic fighter maneuvers. That was the first time I experienced two aircraft in such a close-in engagement. When I flew the MiG-21, the distances in aerial engagements were always much greater.
"The F-16's performance exceeded my expectations," continues Pszczola. "The view from the cockpit is excellent from every position or angle in the dogfight. All controls in the F-16 are at our fingertips, so we pilots can keep our eyes on the opposing jet. In the MiG-21, we always had to look in the cockpit at the various displays on the instrument panel. By comparison, the F-16 seems very easy to fly. We can concentrate on the airplane's advanced capabilities."
Lask is the second of two bases designated to receive F-16s. The first Polish F-16s are scheduled to go to Krzesiny AB, near Poznan, where they will be used mostly for pilot training.
Poland purchased forty-eight new Block 52 F-16s in 2003. Polish pilots will be trained by airmen from the Air National Guard's 162nd Fighter Wing at Tucson International Airport in Arizona. Maintainers will also train with 162nd FW airmen, as well as with specialists from Lockheed Martin.
Beginning in October 2004, Poland is sending twelve pilots to the United States for two years. Six of these pilots will become instructor pilots and return to their country to train others to fly and fight in the F-16. Lt. Col. Dariusz Molinowski, the Commander of 10th Tactical Squadron, is one of the first six chosen to train in the United States. "Training in America will be a big challenge," he says. "I won't see my family for about six months. After I complete the language course, my wife and two children will join me. My twelve-year-old daughter already wants to be an F-16 pilot, too. She has a good start since her English is much better than mine."
Language is one of the more intricate challenges for these transitioning pilots. "We have a difficult enough time understanding air military air controllers, who speak Polish," notes Molinowski, "so understanding these commands in English will be even more difficult. At the same time, our radios have a lot of noise. Listening to the radio in our aircraft is not like listening to the television in our living rooms. Further complicating the language challenge is that someone can speak English very well, but still not know how to make radio calls. Meanwhile, all of the procedures and acronyms take time to learn."
"The Polish pilots are eager and intelligent," adds Mitchell. "Most of the initial pilots selected are fairly young and willing to adapt. They are listening closely to how we brief and direct a flight, and they are ready to work hard. They'll do just fine."
"I have been extremely impressed with the squadron commanders," notes Presley. "They know what needs to be done to transition to the F-16, and they are not afraid to do it. The F-16 will allow their leadership to expect more from their pilots. I think the future of the Polish Air Force is very promising."
"This is the first time that F-16s have been to Lask," Molinowski adds. "My young pilots are getting their first opportunity to take part in such an exercise. They get to observe how US pilots prepare for and brief missions. This is their first opportunity to speak English in radio transmissions. The pilots are eager to fly in an F-16. Actually seeing, touching, and, in some cases, flying in an F-16 here at Lask will motivate them even more. I am confident that our pilots will succeed."
Lask Air Base Opens Its Gates
Photos By Lans Stout
Lask Air Base, located southwest of Warsaw near Lodz, opened its gates to the public for its first-ever air show on the last weekend of the Texas Air National Guard deployment. Tens of thousands of Poles clogged the small roads leading to the base to get a glimpse of their country's past, present, and future fighter aircraft.
A Catholic Mass preceded speeches by Polish officials in front of one of the MiG-21s formerly flown by the 10th Tactical Air Squadron. The operations group commander of the 149th, Col. John Presley, introduced by his call sign "Elvis," thanked Poland for the warm reception and praised the professionalism and capabilities of the Polish Air Force. He and other members of the 149th signed posters and responded to questions about their F-16s. Their answers were translated to the crowds and television crews by Polish military leaders. Polish pilots and maintainers posed for photos with their families in front of the F-16s from Texas.
Men and women dressed in traditional Polish attire circulated through the crowds. Local beauty queens were introduced to the 182nd's traveling mascot — a stuffed armadillo named J. Dillo. Poles who could not make the show got to see coverage on national news stations that night and in newspapers the next day.
Eric Hehs is the editor of Code One.
