From: bergman@AFPAN.PA.AF.MIL (CMSgt Mike Bergman)
Newsgroups: soc.veterans
Subject: Southern Watch - Fighter Pilots Are Ready
Date: 28 Sep 92 20:27:48 GMT
Organization: Hq Air Force News Agency/SCC

SW7.  Shaw fighters ready
				 &    &    &
				 &    &    &
				 &    &    &
SW7.  Shaw fighters ready
By SSgt. Virginia Cadena
Joint Task Force - Southwest Asia Public Affairs
     ARABIAN GULF REGION - "'We're not here to train anymore, we're here to
fight,' is the phrase that sums it up," said Capt. Brian Bishop, deployed to
the region from Shaw AFB, S.C.
     Pilots from the 19th Fighter Squadron fly their F-16s about three times
per week as part of the 4404th Composite Wing (Provisional) to enforce the
no-fly zone over Iraq south of the 32nd parallel.
     While they fly, the rest of the unit make sure they take off safely,
timely and qualified.
     The entire squadron deployed here in late September, including pilots,
life support personnel, operations specialists, maintenance people, bomb
loaders, crew chiefs, fuel specialists, finance and administrative specialists
-- anyone who makes the squadron run as a cohesive self-sustaining unit.
     As at other locations, the F-16s here have a multi-role tasking to
deliver air-to-ground conventional munitions with a secondary role of air
superiority, said Lt. Col. Rocky Capozzi, commander of the 19th FS.
     "We stand alert in the air defense role, policing the skies over southern
Iraq below the 32nd parallel, as well as sitting combat search-and-rescue
alert to locate any pilots that go down," he said.
     People from the life support section provide pilots with equipment that
can save their lives as well as upgrade their training in survival techniques.
     "Heat creates a whole different (survival) ball game," said A1C Lee Horn,
a life support specialist for the squadron. Because of the heat, pilots are
instructed to remain inactive during the day and move at night.
     "We also have equipment that speeds up search and rescue, which is
essential because of the heat and dehydration factors," Lee said.
     Wearing his survival equipment and knowing what to do if his plane was
downed over enemy lines, Bishop said his first flight over hostile airspace
had his adrenaline pumping.
     "And after I crossed the border coming back, it was almost like an
adrenaline letdown," he explained.  "I was exhausted, even though nothing
really happened on the mission.
     "But your awareness is at a peak and you're continually looking around
just to make sure things aren't happening," he said.
     After his extensive training, the captain said it was nice that on his
first mission everything went without a hitch.  "It was just like we train,"
he said.  "We just went out to do our job and it was like second-nature."
     But pilots know they can't do their job without the maintainers.
     "You can't even get to starting line without them," said Capt. Doug
Blauser, also an F-16 pilot with the 19th FS. "The crew chief is incredibly
important because if anything goes wrong with the airplane, he will know and
be able to fix it.  And in this environment, you don't want to have anything
wrong with your airplane."
     Crew chief TSgt. James Taylor said he agrees with Blauser.  Here during
Desert Storm, Taylor said the pilots knew the jets were always good to go.
     "And they went out, dropped their bombs and did their job," he said.
"When they came back, you knew you had done your job right.
     "There was a lot of emotion involved in that -- knowing your jet came
back," he said, adding that he was glad they didn't lose any airplanes during
the war.
     Although the adrenaline may not be pumping as hard as during the Gulf
War, maintainers are geared up keeping the F-16s flying around the clock.
     "Everyone here is excited about launching jets and fixing them when they
break," Taylor said.
     Temperatures of 120-plus degrees do not slow down the crew chiefs.  As a
matter of fact, "it doesn't stop the sorties or the mission at all," said crew
chief SrA. Ashby Hawse.  "We simply drink a lot of water, try to stay in the
shade and rest when we can."
     Hawse said that in spite of the heat and long hours, he enjoys the
opportunity to use his maintenance training.
     "I've been trained well in the Air Force and now I've got the chance to
use it and put it in effect in this environment, Hawse explained.
     Taylor said maintainers here tend to be extremely cautious because they
know the airplanes fly into hostile territory.  "You want to be sure they've
got the best they can have to do what they have to do," he said.
     Bishop and Blausen agree that they put their lives in the hands of their
crew chief each day.
     "That's an awesome responsibility," Taylor said.


-- 
         
      // \\
    //     \\                    Air Force News Agency 
   |         |               Kelly Air Force Base, Texas, USA
   \\  {*}  //                   bergman@afpan.pa.af.mil  
   \  CMSgt  /      ___________________ /____________________________________
   \  Mike   /   
   \ Bergman /
     \     /