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Posted on 01/04/2004 12:05:50 AM PST by snippy_about_it
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 are acknowledged, affirmed and commemorated.
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 Airmen fight to help end the regime of Saddam Hussein With the help of airmen such as Jennifer Raney, coalition air power will continue its dominance until Operation Iraqi Freedom dispels the regime of Saddam Hussein. As an aerospace ground equipment maintainer, the senior airman is pumped up about serving in the Air Force and fighting a war to support her country. Raney said she plays only a small role in the nonstop air war, but feels deep pride belonging to such a massive undertaking — more than 4,800 sorties during the first five days of the operation. “I’m just very proud to be here, and in my small way to fight for freedom,” she said. “I’m very proud to do my part, every day, no matter how long it takes.”  Members of the 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron, roll out an AGM-130 bomb to deliver to the flight line. The squadron built more than 5,000 during the four weeks before air operations began over Iraq. The war effort won’t be quick or easy, Gen. Richard Myers, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during the first week of the war. President George Bush also warned against expectations of an easy victory. But during a visit to U.S. Central Command headquarters at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla., he pledged: “This war is far from over. We will stay on the path, mile by mile, all the way to Baghdad and all the way to victory. Day by day, Saddam Hussein is losing his grip on Iraq. Day by day, the Iraqi people are closer to freedom.” The war could be long, but it got off to a fast start. Coalition “shock air forces” opened the air campaign with about 2,000 sorties the first night of air operations — 1,000 of which were strike sorties. For the first time in combat, precision-guided munitions were used exclusively to minimize collateral damage while targeting a large number of military sites. During Operation Desert Storm in 1991 less than 10 percent of the munitions used were precision-guided.  Members of the 379th Expeditionary Maintenance Squadron, roll out an AGM-130 bomb to deliver to the flight line. The squadron built more than 5,000 during the four weeks before air operations began over Iraq. Aircraft sorties originated from as far away as Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo., the Indian Ocean and England, plus being flown from 30 locations throughout U.S. Central Command’s area of responsibility and five Navy aircraft carriers. B-2s flew the longest missions, lasting approximately 34 hours. Tanker pilots such as Capt. Richard Peterson at the 321st Air Expeditionary Wing provided the legs for aircraft to reach the fight. The KC-135 Stratotanker pilot said his life has been a nonstop series of “fly, crew rest and time to go again.” The reservist from Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., said missions routinely stretched from seven to nine hours supporting bombers, fighters and surveillance aircraft hungry for fuel.  Combat controllers practice firing movements on the range at a forward-deployed location. Teams are trained to conduct and support special operations under clandestine, covert or low-visibility conditions. The pace is long and hard, but pilots prefer staying busy, said Peterson who also flew the A-10 Thunderbolt II during Operation Allied Force in 1994. “We don’t want to be sitting around,” Peterson said of his fellow Reserve pilots who normally fly for commercial airlines. “As a whole we’re very excited. Everybody is pretty fired up and glad to be doing what we’re doing.”  Crew Chief Airman 1st Class Joy Menguita checks the running engines of a B-52 Stratofortress nicknamed “Iron Butterfly” before a combat mission during the first week of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Menguita and more than 1,000 others at this forward-deployed location support the coalition air campaign. Another critical player who keeps aircraft flying is Airman 1st Class Joshua Brown, a computer systems operator who provides secure and non-secure computer access for the wing. “No comm, no bomb” is the motto communications troops like to quote. The 20-year-old Erie, Pa., native was in junior high school during the first Gulf War where he kept up with daily events because his uncle was fighting with the Army. He knew then he wanted to be a part of the military. Brown was to report for basic training on Sept. 11, 2001. Because of the terrorist attacks, basic training was put on hold for a week. Now Brown’s life is somewhat on hold as he puts in nonstop 12-hour days, seven days a week. But he’s not complaining. He’s learned more in one month downrange than in a year at Minot Air Force Base, N.D. “I’m proud to be over here and defending our nation,” he said.  Maintainers perform last-minute preflight checks on an RQ-1 Predator (above) before takeoff at a forward-deployed location. The Predator is a medium-altitude long-endurance unmanned aerial reconnaissance vehicle flying over coalition troops moving toward Baghdad to provide ground commanders up-to-the-second information on what lies ahead. Maintainers from the 457th Air Expeditionary Squadron, who worked into the early morning to unleash the first wave of B-52 Stratofortress bombers on Iraq, gathered in front of televisions in break areas as the much-anticipated bombing unfolded. “To see the results was unbelievable,” said crew chief Staff Sgt. Randy Simmons. “You’re working hard and training every day to achieve the kind of success we had today. It was an unbelievable feeling.” A day later, operators watched as an Air Force MQ-1 Predator found and destroyed a radar-guided anti-aircraft piece in southern Iraq, making it the first Predator strike of the operation. The unmanned aerial vehicle, remotely piloted from a ground control station, used a Hellfire II missile to strike an Iraqi mobile anti-aircraft artillery gun outside the southern Iraqi town of Al Amarah. Also making an unmanned impact is the RQ-1 Predator that provides ground commanders up-to-the-second information on what lies ahead.  Coalition troops track an ongoing mission in Southwest Asia at this combined air operations center the week before air operations began in Iraq. The center manages all air component missions. With crews operating around the clock, it plans, monitors and directs joint search and rescue, theater missile defense, time-sensitive targeting, battlefield coordination, special operations support, sortie execution and other mission-critical operations. “We immediately pass on any data we gather to the people on the ground who need it,” said Predator pilot Capt. Traz Trzaskoma. Information is gathered around the clock from altitudes up to 250,000 feet. “We’ve been watching for where the bad guys hide, move or want to hide,” Trzaskoma said. “And if we’re carrying Hellfire missiles, we can take care of a target ourselves.” Predator data even cut the risk to a special forces team. “A special forces team was going into an area, and at the last minute we [told them] their landing zone wasn’t the best,” he said. “We helped change the mission at the last second. Then we helped them find a better place to land.”  Master Sgt. Eric Dannenberg, a heating and ventilation superintendent deployed to the 320th Expeditionary Civil Engineering Squadron, checks the status of an air conditioning unit being assembled while a dining facility is expanded. The facility was increased by 1,160 square feet to make way for continued troop arrivals. Also assisting ground troops were B-1 Lancers from the 405th Air Expeditionary Wing, which came under enemy fire during their first combat missions. According to Capt. Ty Newman, a Lancer weapons systems officer, B-1 crews were challenged on every mission by Iraqi defense forces. “The threat is certainly out there, and on any given mission we take every precaution and use all our tactics to minimize the threat to our aircraft as we go on strikes inside Baghdad,” Newman said.  A Navy MH-53E Sea Dragon is unloaded from a C-5 Galaxy at Sigonella Naval Air Station, Sicily, days before operations began over Iraq. “There isn’t a target within Iraq that’s not at risk when we take off,” said Col. Peter Kippie, the 405th’s vice commander. The Lancer, which can carry 24 2,000-pound bombs, typically takes off with a plan to strike a number of targets and then waits for additional targets of opportunity. The significance of the moment was not lost on Col. Cathy Clothier, 401st Air Expeditionary Operations Group commander, when she prepared to lead a tanker crew from the 401st Air Expeditionary Wing on its first mission. “I briefed all our aircrew about the upcoming operations and told them what we were about to do in the next few days would change history,” Clothier said. “Not a single bomb gets dropped, not a single air-to-air engagement happens, or missile is fired unless tankers make it happen. I’m proud of our people here.”  An F-16 Fighting Falcon pilot deployed to the 410th Air Expeditionary Wing checks his night vision goggles for a flight on day three of air operations. Capt. Chadd Kobielush, also with the 401st, said it’s rewarding helping the people of Iraq as a pilot refueling coalition aircraft. But he also knows what he’s doing extends beyond the boundaries of Iraq. “It motivates you more when you feel like you’re helping out the folks back home. As long as we can neutralize Saddam Hussein that’s a good blow to the enemies of America,” said Kobielush, who is deployed from the 100th Air Refueling Wing, Royal Air Force Mildenhall, England.  A crew chief from the 335th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron prepares an F-15E Strike Eagle from Seymour Johnson Air Force Base, N.C., for a mission the same night. As a boom operator for the 401st, Staff Sgt. Joel Jones said he also feels the pride of being part of Operation Iraqi Freedom as he refuels Air Force, Marine and Navy aircraft. Jones, whose dad was a boom operator, said the hardest part is being away from his family, but he said he’s there for the right cause — “to free Iraq.” Raney agrees. “Now it feels like we came here to get justice for the lives we lost Sept. 11. Every day at home this is what we go to work for. This is ultimately why we’re in the military.”  An F-16 Fighting Falcon from the 52nd Fighter Wing, Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, receives fuel from a KC-135 Stratotanker from McConnell Air Force Base, Kan., in the skies near Iraq the fourth day of air operations. by Master Sgt. Chuck Roberts opening photo by Staff Sgt. Derrick Goode (Contributing to this report: Louis A. Arana-Barradas, Gerry J. Gilmore, Capt. Shane Balken, Master Sgt. Scott Elliott and Staff Sgt. Jim Fisher)      |
That is a misconception about Buffalo, actually Syracuse gets more snow than we do. Also the south town gets most of the snow it just gets reported as Buffalo.
This area gets mostly Lake effect snow till lake erie freezes over. Beleive me we get our share of snow and cause it's been fairly warm up till now that could be bad news for us.
The lake is still wide open and completly unfrozen, if we get a cold snap like they are predicting and a front moves across the lake picking up moisture we could get hit hard.
Sometimes it snows for days on end. I just always pray that the snow bands move to the south. They need it for a good ski season.
Cool!!
bulldog, that son of yours too old (or young) for a hug? Please share one for me from a grateful American.
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