Baghdad or Bust
Authors: William Robert Stanek
Baghdad or Bust
AIR WAR #3
THE INCREDIBLE TRUE STORY OF THE COMBAT FLYERS
INCLUDES A SPECIAL FOREWORD
BY THE AUTHOR
William ROBERT STANEK
RP MEDIA
REAGENT PRESS
Baghdad or Bust
AIR WAR #3
This Edition Copyright © 2015 William Robert Stanek.
Original release © 2006 William Robert Stanek
All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or portions thereof in any form. Printed in the United States of America.
RP Media
Cover design & illustration by RP Media
Cover photo licensed from ThinkStock
Stanek, William Robert.
Baghdad or Bust: Air War #3. The Incredible True Story of the Combat Flyers / William Robert Stanek.
p.cm.
1. Persian Gulf War, 1991—Personal narratives, American.
2. United States. United States Air Force.
3. Stanek, William Robert. Title.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: WILLIAM ROBERT STANEK
AFTERNOON, MONDAY, 4 FEBRUARY 1991
MORNING, MONDAY, 11 FEBRUARY 1991
VALENTINE’S DAY, THURSDAY, 14 FEBRUARY 1991
William Robert Stanek
The author proudly served in the Persian Gulf War as a combat crewmember on an EC-130H, an Electronic Warfare aircraft. During the war he flew numerous combat missions and logged over two hundred combat flight hours. Additionally, he has nearly 1000 hours of EC-130H flight time.
In his military career, he has always been at the top of his class—a two-time distinguished graduate, honor graduate, and unit technician of the year. His civilian education includes a B. S. in Computer Science, magna cum laude, and a Master of Science Information Systems with distinction. His distinguished accomplishments during the Gulf War earned him nine medals, including our nation’s highest flying honor, the Air Force Distinguished Flying Cross.
His last station while in the Air Force was at the 324th Intelligence Squadron, Wheeler Army Airfield, Hawaii. His initial training in the intelligence field was as a Russian linguist. His language background also includes Japanese, Korean, German and Spanish. As a writer, he has always preferred book-length fiction and non-fiction. One of his essays on military life won a writing contest, earning him a cash award and the George Washington Honor medal from the Freedom Foundation at Valley Forge.
His experiences in the Persian Gulf War changed his life and helped drive his successful career as a writer and entrepreneur. To date, he has written and had published over 150 books. His books are sold all over the world and have been translated into many languages.
Times and dates are included to provide a sense of chronology and are not absolutes. The notes in my journal had times referenced in Greenwich Mean Time (Zulu), which were converted to local times dependent on location.
The events depicted in the story are taken from real accounts, my personal journal, and various other unclassified sources. Names have been changed to protect the privacy rights of those involved. Some aspects of the story have been dramatized to provide a more complete view of the air war.
Callsign
Aircraft type
Role
Gas Station
KC
Refueler.
Gypsy
AWACS
Airborne warning and control.
Paladin
F-15C Eagle
Air support. CAP. MiG Sweep.
Phantom
RC-135
Reconnaissance.
Shadow
EC-130
EW/Communications jammer.
Nickname
Aircraft type
Role
Buff
B-52
Heavy bomber.
Eagle
F-15C
Air superiority fighter/interceptor.
Falcon
F-16
Air-to-air, air-to-ground fighter.
Raven
EF-111
EW, primary radar jammer, attack.
Strike Eagle
F-15E
Deep interdiction; carries payload.
Thunderbolt
A-10
Ground attack aircraft.
Weasel
F-4G
EW radar jammer, attack, reconnaissance.
Note
: A suffix indicates the aircraft’s number as part of a group. Paladin-1 is the leader (Paladin Leader). Paladin-2 is his wingman. Paladin-3 is the next fighter. Paladin-4 is Paladin-3’s wingman.
Normal crew load is 13 (this can vary)
Front Crew
Nickname
Full Name
AC
Aircraft Commander; the pilot
Co
Copilot
Eng
Engineer
Nav
Navigator
AMT
Air Maintenance Technician
Mission Crew
Nickname
Full Name
MCC
Mission Crew Commander
MCS
(Pos. 5)
Mission Crew Supervisor
Positions
1, 2, 3, 4
Junior operators/ operators
Positions 6, 7
Senior operators
Channel
Description
Flight Crew Hot
For emergencies. When pulled, it activates the headset microphone without having to key it. Also called Ship’s Hot.
Listen
For listening to Flight Crew Hot comms.
PA
The ship’s loudspeaker; only the front-end can talk on PA.
Private A
The mission crew commander’s channel, used to pass targeted signals to the MCC.
Private B
The mission crew’s channel, and for comms to the mission crew supervisor.
Select
Patch directly to other positions, like a dial-in telephone switching bank for general chatter.
Ship’s Interphone
Cockpit comms and comms to the front-end.
May, 2015
My accomplishments during my 11-year military career earned me 29 commendations. When I left the military, I was one of the most highly decorated in the command.
My commander and supervisor loved it when I put on my dress blues and participated in the various parades and celebrations on base, especially Memorial Day, Veteran’s Day, and the 4th of July. I met a few presidents, including George W. Bush and Bill Clinton, and a few generals, including Colin Powell and H. Norman Schwarzkopf, that way. And let me tell you, it was truly great to have presidents and generals shake my hand and meant it.
With what’s happening in the world right now, it’s a good time to look back and reflect. I served my country in foreign lands and during several tours of duty in combat zones, including two combat tours in Iraq. During the tour of duty I write about in this book, I flew on 32 combat missions from the opening days of the war to its end. In that time, there was never a day I didn’t look death in the face. Never a day I didn’t face AAA, SAMs and more as we flew our missions.
Because of that service, I will always know that when the darkest of hours arrives I will not hesitate. When asked, I answered. When called, I went. When death stared up from the void, I did not fear. I gave because it was my duty and because I felt it was the right thing to do.
I write about some of my experiences in this book, which was featured in a full-page review in the Journal of Electronic Defense and on NPR. Though a memoir, the book is largely a tribute to the men and woman I served with.
As you read, I hope the book opens a window for you as big as the original experiences did for me. After combat, the world never seemed quite the same. The return to normalcy was a strange experience, never quite accomplished. I don’t, in fact, think I ever slowed down or ever quite touched the earth after those experiences. For it was afterward that everything in this world changed—that everything in this world became so clear. And afterward that I set my sights on the future and never looked back.
Terrible experiences can change a person for better or worse. I’d like to think the terrible experiences recounted herein changed me for the better and opened my eyes to the wider world. As you read my story and that of those I served with, remember that I wrote this book as I lived it, when I was a much younger man than I am today.
The mission of the previous day had gone well. We supported a full mission package with one significant change. We also supported a group of fighters whose payload was hundreds of thousands of psy-ops leaflets. Baghdad radio was running a propaganda campaign to the Iraqi people and the neighboring states; the Allies were countering with their own.
The leaflets were dispersed over Iraqi troop concentrations. Winds scattered them far and near. The ultimate aim of the leaflets was to inform Iraqi soldiers that if they would surrender they would be treated fairly and given food, water, and medical treatment.
We had one other surprise on the flight. Gentleman Bob was our AC. He even shared crew beers with us in Tennessee Jim’s quarters after the flight.
At a little after 20:00, our crew was alerted, and I received great news. A C-5 transport had come in from Sembach. I went to ops expecting a letter; I was elated to find a package. Inside I found civvies. Finally civvies. My old blue jeans, not the ones with the holes in the knees, but a pair that would do just as well. Sweat shirts, t-shirts, a jogging outfit.
Yes, Katie made me a tape too. Her voice sounded so sweet. Underneath it all was a loaf of homemade, mouth watering, banana-nut bread. I shared some with the guys; the rest I put away.
One last thing—we had a brand new grill sitting next to the picnic table. I remembered those conversations with Big John about a thick, juicy steak. He was probably home eating one right then. I was still dreaming about it and hoping I wouldn’t have to dream much longer. So many good things happening in one day made me wonder what was lurking around the corner that I just couldn’t see.
Shortly after midnight, I was clinging to the right side paratroop door looking out the portal when the wing dipped and left me staring straight down into the grim desert floor. Anti-aircraft artillery was so clear in my night-vision goggles it looked as if it could reach out and touch me—us. We were just finishing a very long communication jamming sortie. There in the background, far out to my right, the last of the secondary explosions caused by the Buffs’ heavy bombing raid was lighting up Mosul airfield. It was both the most spectacular thing I’d ever seen and the most spine-chilling. A familiar voice was tweaking in my ears, mixing in with Gypsy’s airborne warning. For a brief moment I tuned in.