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  • In The Schmeeze

    So there I was ... in the schmeeze. Actually, it was a standard Korean night -- 2½ miles vis this way and 2½ miles vis that way. I was leading a twoship, nighttime, close air support training mission in an eight-mile patch of sky just south of the demilitarized zone. As always, our training was

  • Reading Between the Transmissions

    It was the beginning of January and my squadron needed to send a C-130 to the Utah Air National Guard to set up for a senior scout mission starting in February. I volunteered for the mission and headed out with an experienced crew to Salt Lake City, Utah.  We met with the 169th Intelligence Squadron

  • There I Was....

    I can only say, "Thank God I was wearing my seat belt." We've all heard the wear-your-seat-belt declarations, but in that one instance when you needed it, and you remembered to put it on, you were glad you did. It was May 17, 2006. I had to be at Eglin AFB, Fla., early to practice for the upcoming

  • It Could Happen to You!

    It was like a dream. I peered again at my rearview mirror to see if what I was seeing was real. The fog seemed to illuminate the rotating police lights which were summoning my vehicle to stop. No! Not me, I thought, as my mind raced for answers. What did I do? Was I going too fast? Didn't I stop for

  • Choosing Between Two Bad Options

    I've been riding motorcycles since I was 8 years old, and will continue to ride them well into the future. I've always had respect for motorcycles and the risk associated with them. In early May 1996, I had an appointment to drop off my 1995 Honda CBR 600 F3 at the dealer. I had owned the bike for

  • The Four Cs

    I had recently been upgraded to aircraft commander during my first assignment. I was still the newest aircraft commander in the 1st Helicopter Squadron at Andrews Air Force Base, Md. It was a great feeling to know leadership now trusted me to maneuver a UH-1N Huey helicopter and command a crew of

  • AGSM or G-LOC—Is the Squeeze Worth the Juice?

    "Check away" and "Fight's on" are the calls; both aircraft then engage each other in a two-circle fight. Nine Gs slam against the pilots' bodies as they attempt to maneuver into an offensive kill position. Both pilots know the time-tested aircraft can survive the twists, turns and rigors placed upon

  • A Hike to the Top

    Never having lived north of my current home in Fayetteville, N.C., my idea of severe weather was surviving triple-digit heat in Del Rio, Texas and Okinawa, Japan. Consequently, the cold-weather experience I had about five years ago caught me a tad ill-prepared. Believe it or not, my cold-weather

  • Preventing Heat Injuries

    Whether deployed to Southwest Asia or operating stateside during the summer heat, many military operations take place under extremely hot conditions. Because of the insidious nature of heat illnesses, heat injuries frequently result because people often don't recognize their symptoms until it's too

  • The Day I Gave My Boss the Finger

    Typical of winter in the Midwest, the base I worked at had just received several inches of heavy, wet snow. Civil engineering snowremoval crews were in full swing and, after clearing the white blanket from the airfield, were busily working on parking lots and sidewalks. Later that morning, the

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