-Caveat Lector- WJPBR Email News List [EMAIL PROTECTED] Peace at any cost is a Prelude to War! 0060. 'Air-war' starts earlier than most people remember By Staff Sgt. Bob Oldham 314th Airlift Wing Public Affairs LITTLE ROCK AIR FORCE BASE, Ark. (AFPN) -- While Jan. 17 marked the 10-year anniversary of the start of the air war in the Persian Gulf, for airmen in the cargo-airlift community, the "war" perhaps started five months earlier around Aug. 7, 1990. These airmen did not fire missiles at Iraq or drop bombs on members of Saddam Hussein's elite Republican Guard. Instead, they had the laborious task of transporting troops and cargo to Southwest Asia and providing intratheater airlift once the troops and cargo arrived in country. At the core of intratheater airlift was the C-130 Hercules, 16 of which were sent from Little Rock Air Force Base, Ark., to the region. At 12:55 a.m. Aug. 7, officials here received a secure telephone call from 22nd Air Force to form the base's crisis action team, which is where key base leaders, such as group commanders, wing staff chiefs and other mission-critical people meet to "go to war." On Aug. 14, the 16 C-130s and more than 400 people, primarily aircrew and maintenance troops, began departing. On Aug. 21, a civilian Boeing 747 left the base with more than 250 people and support equipment. The majority of which were deployed to Bateen Air Base, which is near Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates, to form the 1620th Tactical Airlift Wing (Provisional). Others were sent to bases throughout the region. Then-Staff Sgt. D.L. Thompson, a flight engineer who is now a technical sergeant assigned to the 314th Operations Support Squadron, was on the first C-130 that left the base. "I remember when we threw on the power on the airplane," he said. "It took it a few minutes to get rolling because it was so heavy, and it was amazing how much runway it took up to get that thing airborne." Two days later, they arrived at Bateen Air Base. "It was a nice long runway. It looked like a desert environment," he said. "The initial shock of where I was at was probably when we opened the crew entrance door, and it was so humid. Arkansas is very humid, but it's nothing compared to Bateen. It is humid as all get out, and in August it was bad." He said there was one gigantic hangar, and everybody was sleeping in it until "hooches" arrived at a later date. Crews were notified around midnight, each night, if they were flying the next day. In some cases, Thompson said, crews didn't receive their full crew rest before being dispatched to fly another mission. He said he also remembers how uncomfortable the country was. "You couldn't put on shorts and a T-shirt without your body just drenching in sweat," he said. Insects were also a problem in the region. "No matter what you did, those flies would just try to get into any opening they could," he said. "Your ears, your nose, your mouth; they were just a nuisance. You couldn't get away from them." And sand was everywhere, he said. Thompson recalls hauling a lot of Meals, Ready to Eat; troops; spare parts and bombs to various points throughout Saudi Arabia to prepare for the Jan. 17 air war and the eventual ground war, which only lasted 100 hours, he said. One memory for Thompson is how servicemembers were creating ways to make MREs more palatable. "Hot sauce became a very popular item," he said. "You didn't have to worry about heating anything up, because all you had to do was put the MRE, like the ham slice, on top of the airplane, and it would be ready in 10 minutes. And I mean it would be boiling; it would be so hot." While the base's C-130s accounted for 10 percent of the total C-130 force in the region, the base's cargo aircraft performed 18 percent of the C-130 airlift used during operations Desert Shield and Desert Storm. Although Thompson had to return home early before the Jan. 17 air war started because of a knee injury, others, like then-2nd Lt. Miles Price, who was newly assigned to Pope AFB, N.C., and is now a major assigned to the 314th OSS, stayed in the region to continue hauling cargo and supplies. Price started his tour in the gulf at Thumrait, Oman. Five months later, the unit he was with moved to Dhahran AB, Saudi Arabia. Dhahran was the site of a scud missile attack, which struck a dormitory killing 28 servicemembers and wounding another 98. "One of the scariest things was listening to the (Patriot anti-missile batteries) go off," Price said. "The first time the Patriots went off, I thought it was the end of the world." There was no mistaking the thunderous sound of a Patriot missile as it screamed through the air to seek out an incoming Scud missile, he said. Dhahran AB is one place where Army troops arrived in country and C-130 crews flew them to airfields near the front lines. "They would march out a whole bunch of troops who were loaded down with so much stuff they could barely walk," Price said. "You'd bring them into the aircraft, and we wouldn't put the seats down or anything. We just walked them in like cattle and shoved in as many as we could, and they'd sit on the floor of the aircraft because we could get more in that way. Then we'd close up the doors." One time, he and his crew had just got the plane loaded with troops when over the radio they learned they were under attack. "I walked down the stairs from the flight deck, and right there by the door was the real young-looking kid," he said. "It was dark and loud, and I'd been up all day; it was night time. I asked him 'How's it going?' He said 'It's going OK, sir.'" We talked for a few seconds, and "you could tell he was just (pale) white, nervous and scared," Price said. The Army troop had just arrived about two hours earlier from California. Price told the young Army troop they were under attack, and he said the troop's eyes "got big as saucers." "'We're under attack? Shouldn't we do something?'" Major Price said the soldier asked. The young lieutenant told him there was not much they could do. If a missile landed anywhere near the ramp, the fuel stored underground would probably have ignited and blown everything up. In some cases, Hercules crews didn't even land on established runways. On the border of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia was a two-lane highway that was converted into a landing strip for C-130s. The Army parked a Humvee at one end, bulldozed out into the sand to create a bypass road for traffic and put another Humvee at the other end to mark the end of the runway. "It was kind of cool," Price said. "The guy in the Humvee is sitting right there with his machine gun, and you're coming in right over his head. Then you take off right over the other Humvee." Crews had about 3 feet on either side of the tires before they would hit sand. "I hope the pilot makes a good landing," Price remembers thinking during these landings. "I think (C-130 crews) are unsung heroes," he said. "The stuff that they moved, the work that they did and the conditions they did it in nobody seems to care about." On Feb. 28 one of the base's C-130s was the third aircraft to land at the newly liberated Kuwait airport in Kuwait City. Aircrew members described that airport as "being almost entirely destroyed." More than 300 wing members redeployed home Mar. 27, 1991, and were greeted by more than 5,000 well-wishers, friends and family. (Tech. Sgt. Devin Driskell, 314th Airlift Wing historian contributed to this article.) 0062. Pounding fists pay off for 11 boxers by Oscar Balladares San Antonio Air Logistics Center Public Affairs KELLY AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) -- Eleven warriors fought their way to titles during the 2001 Air Force Boxing Championships held Jan 12 and 13 at the Bennett Fitness Center here. "Three boxers really impressed me tonight, but especially Bobby DeLeon," said Air Force boxing coach Osmar Alaniz. "He looked terrific." DeLeon, from Kunsan Air Base, Korea, needed all four two-minute rounds to dispatch Albert Villarruel, Cannon Air Force Base, N.M., in the bantamweight division. The southpaw attributed his win to his height and reach advantage. "My one punches weren't doing too well, but when I threw my combinations they were landing," DeLeon said. "That was definitely the difference in the fight ... the combinations." Another boxer that drew Alaniz' attention was James Dubois, Misawa AB, Japan, in the featherweight division. "Dubois was really an outstanding boxer," Alaniz said. "He showed a lot of finesse. That was a very close bout, but it went to Dubois because he had the better style." Dubois and Navy's Jason Fields, from Kelly AFB, locked horns in a real crowd pleaser that saw both fighters unleash a full arsenal of jabs, hooks and combinations. By the third round, blood trickled from Dubois' nose courtesy of Fields' left jabs. Dubois stood his ground, however, connecting with enough crisp combinations and right hooks to Fields' head to win. Defending light heavyweight champion Joseph Pastorello, from Peterson AFB, Colo., retained his title by delivering solid punches to his opponent's body and head for a standing eight count in the third round, and an end to the bout 50 seconds into the fourth. Alaniz expressed his delight for Pastorello's performance. "He's mentally ready and the confidence he's showing is really terrific," said Alaniz. "I also like what he did switching from left to right. That was good." Alaniz expressed his disappointment over the lightweight division bout, saying he anticipated a better performance than was provided by one of his more seasoned veterans. "[Ellis] Johnson, for having the experience he has, should have shown more than what he did," said Alaniz. Johnson, Andrews AFB, Md., defeated Michael Mead, Offutt AFB, Neb., in a lackluster performance. Alaniz was also disappointed with the middleweight bout. "The middleweight bout consisted of just too much running around," said Alaniz. "I didn't like that. Losing time ... that's all it was. Kevin Leggett, from Goodfellow AFB, Texas, defeated Shane Cronley, Yokota AB, Japan, for the middleweight crown. Other finals results included: Flyweight -- Alexis Ramos, Kelly Boxing Club, def. Brian Nidoy, Nellis AFB, Nev. Light Welterweight -- Robert Luna, Kelly Boxing Club, def. Antonio Tamayo, Kelly AFB. Welterweight -- John Askew, Dover AFB, Del., def. Duane Vandross, Hurlburt Field, Fla. Light Middleweight -- Jorge Hernandez, Buckley AFB, Colo., def. James Goodman, Hurlburt Field. Heavyweight -- Sammy Curbelo, Holloman AFB, N.M., def. Derrick Grant, Altus AFB, Okla. Super Heavyweight -- Richard Cheek, Ellsworth AFB, S.D., def. Tom Jones, Kelly Boxing Club. Air Force boxers will continue training in preparation for the Golden Gloves competition in McKinney, Texas, Jan. 20. Next is the Armed Forces Championships in Fort Huachuca, Ariz., Feb. 3 to 9, and the National Championships in Colorado Springs, Colo., March 8 to 17. 0061. Air Force works to improve communication with delayed enlistees RANDOLPH AIR FORCE BASE, Texas (AFPN) -- In an effort to reduce the number of people who enter the Air Force Delayed Entry Program and later change their minds, the Air Force Recruiting Service has initiated several programs aimed at improving communication and increasing involvement between the Air Force and members of the DEP. One initiative has already begun. A special version of the Air Force's flagship publication, Airman magazine, is winging its way to the homes of the service's newest recruits as part of this AFRS effort. "We've got an incredible employee magazine in the Air Force," said Brig. Gen. Duane Deal, Air Force Recruiting Service commander. "Every month we tell the stories of what our people are doing in missions around the globe. Our hope is that members of the DEP will get the same energy and excitement we do from the stories and pictures in Airman." The magazine, dubbed New Airman, has a slightly different cover and contains eight additional pages of news specific to the people waiting to attend basic training, Deal said. "These pages contain news about the Air Force that's a bit more trendy and hip for a readership unfamiliar with the military," said Maj. Terry Bowman, chief of public affairs for Air Force Recruiting Service. "Our hope is to reach out to 13,000 new recruits in the DEP each month and say, 'Welcome to the family. You've made one heck of an exciting decision by joining us.'" January's almanac issue of the magazine contains a basic training preparation guide and is being given to every person joining the Air Force, Bowman said. Beginning in February, recruits will get the magazine at home until they head to Lackland Air Force Base, Texas. The average time in the DEP is only three months, but some people can remain in the program for up to a year. Traditionally, the longer the wait, the higher the chance the person will change his or her mind about a career in the service. In fiscal 1999, nearly 3,000 of the people who signed up for the Air Force changed their mind before heading to basic training. The Air Force has opportunities in nearly 200 career fields, with special emphasis this year in mechanical and technical career fields, as well as officer opportunities. People interested in finding out more about Air Force opportunities and enlistment bonuses should contact their local Air Force recruiter or go online at www.airforce.com. *COPYRIGHT NOTICE** In accordance with Title 17 U. S. C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for nonprofit research and educational purposes only.[Ref. http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml ] Want to be on our lists? Write at [EMAIL PROTECTED] for a menu of our lists! <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! 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