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Sentry crews finish mission, end era

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An E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System sits on the flightline at a forward-deployed location in Southwest Asia. The AWACS mission conducted by the 363rd Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron ended May 28 after 13 years. (Courtesy photo)

OPERATION IRAQI FREEDOM - 5/29/2003
by Tech. Sgt. Christopher Ball 363rd Air Expeditionary Wing Public Affairs
As the big white bird gracefully touched down on the windblown runway at a forward-deployed location May 28, the mission of the 363rd Air Expeditionary Wing in Southwest Asia completed a 13-year, continuous mission.
The aircraft, an E-3 Sentry Airborne Warning and Control System deployed to the 363rd Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron from Tinker Air Force Base, Okla., flew the wing's last operational mission supporting Operation Iraqi Freedom.
"The E-3s actually started in this region in the early-1980s, supporting the European Liaison Force, or ELF-1," said Lt. Col. Joe Rossacci, the 363rd EAACS commander.
The Tinker AWACS flew missions supporting ELF-1 until April 1990. In August 1990, they were again deployed to Southwest Asia for Operation Desert Shield.
"We haven't left since then," Rossacci said. "That's why this last flight is so significant. It marks the end of 13 years of sustained E-3 presence in Southwest Asia."
"This is a pretty big step," said Master Sgt. Doug Massengill, a weapons director on the last flight. "We've been here a long time."
Massengill deployed with the AWACS here four times, but says there are people in his unit that have been back here even more.
"Some of the guys in the unit were here to build the first tent city (in 1996), and they were here again for the building of the second one (in February 2003)," he said.
During that time, the E-3s have been active in the area.
"We've always been heavily involved with enforcing the no-fly zone," said 1st Lt. Sean Higgins, the senior weapons director on the mission. "The mission was pretty benign until last year, when the pace started picking up."
According to Rossacci, the E-3s from Pacific Air Forces started supporting two out of 10 air and space expeditionary forces in 1999 and 2000. Tinker aircraft still covered 80 percent of the mission.
Rossacci said their success during operations Southern Watch and Iraqi Freedom was because of the aircrews, maintainers and support people who came from three different groups at Tinker.
"They are a great group of professionals," he said. "They were combat-focused as soon as they boarded the aircraft at Tinker, knowing they were going to support combat operations. They gelled very quickly into a team, then integrated with the 363rd."
The most recent team arrived in Southwest Asia in February to support OSW and the ensuing OIF. They provided airborne theater battle management for the coalition partners. The unit flew 67 combat support sorties for OSW before the war started on March 19. The 363rd EAACS completed 277 combat sorties during OIF.
"We were in the middle of everything," Rossacci said. "We were providing battle management for fighters, bombers, combat search and rescue, aerial refuelings, recovery and time-sensitive targeting missions."
Along the way, the AWACS crews forged some great partnerships with crews from the other command and control assets, such as the Combined Air Operations Center, the RC-135 Rivet Joint, the E-8C Joint Stars, the British E-3Ds and the Navy's E-2C Hawkeyes, he said.
"The CAOC developed the plans, and we executed them," Rossacci said. "This requires close coordination especially when working time-sensitive targets; the planning must be done quickly and precisely. This massive coalition overpowered the Iraqis in just a few short weeks."
"This is an awesome sense of closure," said Senior Master Sgt. Gary Oldham, 363rd EAACS operations superintendent. "Not many people have a chance to finish what they started."
Oldham was a member of the first crew to deploy in August 1990 for Operation Desert Shield and has deployed back to Southwest Asia several times.
Now, with the final mission complete, the AWACS aircraft, crews and maintenance workers are heading back to Tinker.
"Lots of guys have over 200 days a year away from home," Oldham said. "This will be the first time we've had all the E-3s home in 13 years."
"AWACS has been a road warrior," Rossacci said. "The end of OIF is an opportunity to recover, to put some stability back in people’s lives, train and spend time with loved ones."

Status of Iraq's 55 Most Wanted

Work continues at Osan crash site - 5/30/03
OSAN AIR BASE, South Korea (AFPN) -- Base workers labored throughout the night surveying debris from the F-16 Fighting Falcon that crashed near a gate at approximately 8 p.m. May 29.
A pilot from the 36th Fighter Squadron was taking off on a training mission in the F-16 when the crash occurred. The aircraft was carrying inert bombs and a captive training missile when it crashed. The pilot safely ejected from the aircraft and landed approximately 300 yards from the impact site.

Full story and pictures

MILITARY RELATED NEWS and LINKS FROM THE PAST WEEK
(and a little more since we didn't post news last Monday)
*IN CASE YOU MISSED IT*

5/22/03

S. Korea : Experts Reading U.S. Military Exercises (sending messages to N. Korea!) 5/22/03

5/24/03

[Gov Jeb] Bush signs military bills for Memorial Day (AP) 5/24/03

Bush Sends Good News to Retirees: Combat Disabilities will NOW be Compensated! Concurrent Receipt. 5/24/03

5/25/03

U.S. to send 20,000 additional troops to stabilize Iraq 5/25/2003

Military Record May Gain Role in 2004 Presidential Race (Blairifying Clinton and the military) 5/25/03

5/26/03

GOP, Democrats Battle for Veterans' Votes 5/26/03

U.S. seizes gold bars in Iraq 5/26/2003

5/27/03

The Hog That Saves the Grunts ...... A-10 Warthogs to be retired. 5/27/03

Strykers' mobility surprises enemy in Polk's urban battle 5/27/03

Pentagon Prepares to Scatter Soldiers in Remote Corners 5/27/03

Digital technology transforms logistics in Iraqi Freedom 5/27/03

Institute for Soldier Nanotechnologies opens 5/28/03

Missing Navy Crewmembers' Remains Found And Identified 5/27/2003- link to above story

Fallujah Firefight Kills 2 U.S. Soldiers 5/27/03

5/28/03

U.S. Troops Seize Palestinian Diplomat in Baghdad 5/28/2003 Kodiak rescue swimmer to receive Distinguished Flying Cross 5/28/03
Awards ceremony for helicopter crew May 29 at Kodiak Air Station

Iran seeks nukes, White House says 5/28/03

5/29/03

Army partially lifts Stop-Loss order 5/29/03

U.S. will use reward, posters in effort to find downed Navy pilot--Scott Speicher 5/29/03

Special compensation starting for certain disabled military retirees 5/29/03

Rumsfeld Denies 'False Pretext' for Iraq War 5/29/03

Pentagon Eyes Massive Covert Attack on Iran - ABC News Investigative Unit 5/29/03

Iraqis almost "decapitated" US land forces HQ during war! 5/29/03

Assessment clears Edwards AFB of health hazards 5/29/03

5/30/03

Wolfowitz says Saudi troop withdrawal was 'huge' reason for war with Iraq 5/30/2003

Relief for U.S. troops lacking 5/30/03

5/31/03

What Wolfowitz Really Said: The truth behind the Vanity Fair "scoop." 5/31/2003

IRAQ: Powell Defends Information He Used to Justify Iraq War 5/31/03

2nd ACR calls on stealth during perilous patrols in Iraqi capital 5/31/03

3rd ID troops ordered to stay in Iraq 5/31/03

M1-A1 Abrams: tough to kill, but not invulnerable 5/31/03

6/01/03

Iraqis can keep their assault rifles 6/01/03

Wolfowitz Says U.S. Troops Must Adapt in Korea 6/01/03

Aviators from carrier USS Constellation return home from war in Iraq

Not new but Cool Link
- Operation Enduring Freedom: The Opening Chapter — streaming video

High-speed broadband connection

via dial-up

'Be Strong and of Good Courage' Comforts Grieving Father Story

Military Vets Motorcycle to Arlington Cemetery - Story

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Computer still behaving?

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Good Morning snippy, my goodness you are up early!!
Busy day ahead for you??

lol. Good morning bentfeather.

I should have a rooster as my alarm clock.

Everyday is a busy day!

Good morning SAM!!

On this Day In History

Birthdates which occurred on June 02:
1491 Henry VIII King of England (1509-47)
1740 Marquis de Sade 1st known sadist, writer (Justine)
1821 Ion Bratianu (Lib), premier of Romania (1876-88)
1835 St Pius X 257th Roman Catholic pope (1903-14)
1840 Thomas Hardy England, poet/novelist (Mayor of Casterbridge)
1857 Edward Elgar Broadheath, England, composer (Pomp & Circumstance)
1857 Karl Gjellerup Denmark, poet/novelist (Nobel 1917)
1863 Felix Weingartner Germany, conductor (Zara, Dalmatia)
1890 Hedda Hopper gossip columnist (From Under My Hat)
1894 Erich R”mer Germany, ice hockey player (Olympic-bronze-1932)
1901 Michael Todd producer (Around the World in 80 Days)
1904 John Weissmuller actor (Tarzan)/100m swimmer (Olympic-gold-1924, 28)
1913 Barbara Pym romantic author (Very Private Eye)
1913 Bert Farber Bkln NY, orch leader (Arthur Gudfrey, Vic Damone)
1917 Max Showalter Caldwell Ks, actor/composer (Stockard Channing Show)
1926 Milo O'Shea actor (Barbarella, Romeo & Juliet)
1927 Phillip Burton historian (Vanishing Eagles)
1930 Charles Pete Conrad Jr Phila, USN/astro (Gem 5 11, Ap 12, Skylab 2)
1932 Sammy Turner Patterson, NJ, singer (Lavender Blue Moods)
1933 Bob Rozario Shanghai China, orch leader (Tony Orlando, Marie)
1936 Sally Kellerman Long Beach Cal, actress (M*A*S*H, Back to School)
1936 Vladimir Golubnichy USSR, 20K walker (Olympic-gold-1960, 68)
1940 Constantine II deposed king of Greece (-1967)
1941 Charlie Watts drummer (Rolling Stones-Brown Sugar)
1941 Stacy Keach Savannah Ga, actor (Mickey Spillane's Mike Hammer)
1941 William Guest Atlanta Ga, singer (Gladys Knight Show)
1943 Charles Haid SF Ca, actor (Andy Renko-Hill St Blues, Altered States)
1944 Garo Yepremian NFL place kicker (Miami Dolphins)
1944 Marvin Hamlisch US, composer/pianist (The Sting, Chorus Line)
1944 Poul Jensen Denmark, yachting (Olympic-gold-1976, 80)
1948 Albert Innaurato Phila, playwright/director (Age in Soho)
1948 Jerry Mathers Sioux City Iowa, actor (Beaver-Leave It To Beaver)
1950 Joanna Gleason Toronto Canada, actress (Morgan-Hello Larry)
1953 Craig Stadler San Diego Calif, PGA golfer (Masters 1982)
1955 Dana Carvey comedian (Sat Night Live-Church Lady/George Bush)
1955 Garry Grimes SF, actor (Summer of '42, Class of '44)
1960 Tony Hadley rocker (Spandau Ballet-True)
1976 Adrian Carlos Olivares Mexico City, singer (Menudo-Cannonball)

Deaths which occurred on June 02:
1882 Guiseppi Garibaldi Italian rebel leader, dies at 74
1941 Lou Gehrig Yankee great, dies at 37 of ALS in Riverdale NY
1943 Leslie Howard actor killed, when Nazis shot down his plane
1961 George S Kaufman playwright/dir/pulitzer prize winner, dies at 72
1967 Zamah Cunningham actress (Menosha the Magnificent), dies at 74
1976 Alan Dewitt actor (Mr Tyler-It's About Time), dies at 52
1977 Forrest Lewis actor (Great Gildersleeve, Ichabod & Me), dies at 77
1979 Jim Hutton actor (Ellery Queen), dies at 45
1987 Andr‚s Segovia Spanish guitarist, dies at 94
1987 Sammy Kaye orch leader (Sammy Kaye Show), dies at 77
1988 Horace A Hildreth (Gov-Maine, 1945-49), dies at 85
1990 Frederick Mellinger founder of Fredericks of Hollywood, dies at 76
1990 Rex Harrison actor (My Fair Lady), dies at 82 of cancer
1990 Robert Noyce co-inventor (semi-conductor)/founded Intel, dies

Reported: MISSING in ACTION

1965 AMSPACHER WILLIAM H. CANOGA PARK CA.
[CRASHED AND BURN REMAINS RETURNED 07/88]
1965 CHRISTIAN DAVID M. LANE KS.
[WRECK FOUND NO SIGN SUBJ, 04/10/86 REM RET ID QUESTIONED]
1965 MC KAMEY JOHN B. FILLMORE IN.
[02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE AND WELL 98]
1965 MC MICAN M.D. TOPPENISH WA.
[CRASHED AND BURN - REMAINS RETURNED 04/88 ID 11/88
1965 PLANTS THOMAS L. MEDINA OH.
[CRASHED AND BURN REMAINS IDENTIFIED 29 APRIL 91]
1965 ROMANO GERALD M. NEW YORK NY.
["CRASHED AND BURN, REMAINS RETURNED 07/88" ID 11/88]
1966 ROSATO JOSEPH FRANK HUDSON OH.
1967 CARRIER DANIEL L. SAN DIEGO CA.
[REMAINS RETURNED ID 11/20/89]
1967 ROCKETT ALTON C. JR. BIRMINGHAM AL.
[NO CHUTE OR BEEP]
1967 SMITH DEWEY LEE LOUISVILLE KY.
[03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV, ALIVE IN 98]
1967 WOOD REX S. MOULTON IA.

POW / MIA Data & Bios supplied by
the P.O.W. NETWORK. Skidmore, MO. USA.

On this day...
455 Gaiseric & the Vandals sack Rome
575 Benedict I begins his reign as Catholic Pope
657 St Eugene I ends his reign as Catholic Pope
1797 1st ascent of "Great Mountain" (4,622') in Adirondack NY (C Broadhead)
1834 5th national black convention meet (NYC)
1835 P.T. Barnum & his circus begin 1st tour of US
1851 1st US alcohol prohibition law enacted (Maine)
1857 James Gibbs, Va., patents chain-stitch single-thread sewing machine
1858 Donati Comet 1st seen named after it's discoverer
1862 Gen Robert E Lee takes command of the Confederate armies of E VA & NC
1864 Battle of Cold Harbour, Day 2
1865 At Galveston, Kirby-Smith surrenders the Trans-Mississippi Dept
1866 Renegade Irish Fenians surrender to US forces
1873 Ground broken on Clay St (SF) for world's 1st cable railroad
1883 1st night baseball under lights, Ft Wayne Indiana
1883 Chicago's "El" opens to traffic
1886 Grover Cleveland is 1st to wed during presidency (Frances Folsom)
1899 Black Americans observed day of fasting to protest lynchings
1902 2nd statewide initiative & referendum law adopted, in Oregon
1903 Pirates win a triple header from the Dodgers
1910 1st roundtrip flight over the English Channel (C.S. Rolls, England)
1910 Pygmies discovered in Dutch New Guinea
1913 1st strike settlement mediated by US Dep't of Labor-RR clerks
1914 Glenn Curtiss flies his Langley Aerodrome
1922 Suffy McInnis (1st base) ends an errorless string of 1,700 chances
1924 US citizenship granted to all American Indians
1925 NY Yankee Lou Gehrig begins his 2,130 consecutive game streak
1930 1st baby born on a vessel passing through Panama Canal
1930 Sarah Dickson becomes 1st woman Presbyterian elder in US, Cincinnati
1933 WNJ-AM in Newark NJ goes off the air
1936 Gen Anastasio Somoza takes over as dictator of Nicaragua
1943 99th Pursuit Squadron flies 1st combat mission (over Italy)
1946 Italian plebiscite chooses republic over monarchy (National Day)
1949 Transjordan renamed Jordan
1953 Coronation of Queen Elizabeth II in Westminster Abbey
1959 Allen Ginsberg writes his poem "Lysergic Acid," SF
1964 Rolling Stones 1st US concert tour debuts in Lynn, Mass
1965 2nd of 2 cyclones in less than a month kills 35,000 (Ganges R India)
1966 US Surveyor 1 lands in Oceanus Procellarum; 1st lunar soft-landing
1967 Race riots in Roxbury section of Boston
1969 Australian aircraft carrier "Melbourne" slices US destroyer
"Frank E Evans" in half, killing 74. (South Vietnam)
1972 Dion & the Belmonts reunion concert at Madison Square Garden
1975 James A Healy, 1st black Roman Catholic bishop, consecrated (Maine)
1977 NJ allows casino gambling in Atlantic City
1979 John Paul II becomes 1st pope to visit a communist country (Poland)
1979 NASA launches space vehicle S-198
1981 Barbara Walters asks Katharine Hepburn what kind of tree she would be
1983 Toilet catches fire on Air Canada's DC-9, 23 die at Cincinatti
1984 Actress Jill Ireland has a radical masectomy
1984 B A Skiff discovers asteroid #3617
1984 Flight readiness firing of Discovery's main engines
1985 Nancy Lopez wins the LPGA tournament
1986 NYC transit system issues a new brass with steel bullseye token
1986 Regular TV coverage of US Senate sessions begins
1989 14 year old Scott Isaacs spells spoliator to win 1989 Spelling Bee
1989 Cincinatti Red Eric Davis hits for the cycle
1989 Rolling Stones Bill Wyman marries Mandy Smith
1989 10,000 Chinese soldiers are blocked by 100,000 citizens protecting students demonstrating for democracy in Tiananmen Square, Beijing

Holidays
Note: Some Holidays are only applicable on a given "day of the week"

Bhutan : Coronation Day
Iceland : Seaman's Day
Italy-1946, West Germany : Republic (Constitution) Day
Tunisia : Youth Day
Massachusetts : Teachers' Day - - - - - ( Sunday )
Ireland : Bank Day - - - - - ( Monday )
Bahamas : Labour Day - - - - - ( Friday )
New Zealand : Queen's Birthday - - - - - ( Monday )
Western Australia : Foundation Day (1838) - - - - - ( Monday )

Religious Observances
Ang : Commemoration of the martyrs of Lyons
RC : Commemoration of St Erasmus (Elmo), martyr, patron of sailors
RC : Memorial of St Peter, martyrs (opt)
RC : Memorial of St Marcellinus, martyrs (opt)

Religious History
0553 The Second Council of Constantinople closed. Led by Eutychius, Patriarch of Constantinople, the council condemned the Nestorian writings of Theodore of Mopsuestia, Theodoret of Cyprus and Ibas of Edessa.
0597 Augustine, missionary to England and first archbishop of Canterbury, baptized Saxon king Ethelbert. Afterward, the Christian faith spread rapidly among the Angles and Saxons.
1738 Writing of his contemporary, English revivalist George Whitefield penned in his journal: 'The good which John Wesley has done in America, under God, is inexpressible. His name is very precious among the people; and he has laid such a foundation that I hope neither man nor devils will ever be able to shake.'
1875 James A. Healy was consecrated bishop over the Diocese of Maine, making him the first African- American bishop in the history of American Catholicism.

Source: William D. Blake. ALMANAC OF THE CHRISTIAN CHURCH. Minneapolis: Bethany House, 1987.

Thought for the day :
"Nobody can give you freedom. Nobody can give you equality or justice or anything. If you're a man, you take it."

Today's classic warship, USS Harvard (SP-209)

Eleanor class yacht
Displacement. 804 t.
Lenght. 243'
Beam. 32'
Draft. 12'6"
Speed. 12 k.
Armament. 4 3-pdr.

The USS Harvard, a steel yacht, was built as Eleanor by Bath Iron Works, Bath, Maine, in 1904 and leased as Wacouta by the Navy from G. F. Baker, New York, N.Y., 23 April 1917. Wacouta was renamed Harvard and commissioned 10 May 1917 at New York, Lt. A. G. Sterling in command.

After being fitted out for overseas service, Harvard departed New York 9 June 1917 with a convoy, and arrived at Brest, France, 4 July. She then engaged in patrol duties out of Brest, and on 16 July picked up 59 survivors from the ill-fated British steamship Trelissick. Trelissick had been torpedoed and sunk 15 July, after having rescued some 30 men from another torpedoed British ship, Exford, the day before. Harvard returned the survivors from both ships safely to Brest.

Continuing her duties around Brest, Harvard performed as a harbor patrol and coastal convoy ship. She assisted the torpedoed merchantman Texas 29 November 1917 and searched for survivors of the sinking of Hundaago, a Norwegian steamship, 4 August 1918.

Harvard departed for England 21 November 1918 and remained there until June 1919, when she returned to New York via Bermuda. The yacht was decommissioned and turned over to her owner 26 July 1919.

Good Morning Snippy. Lots to sit back a read today.

The "God's crying too" remark by the 4 year old gets right to you doesn't it?

Great job putting all the news together.

Good Moorning Feather

455 Gaiseric & the Vandals sack Rome

Gaiseric & the Vandals - What a name for a punk rock group!

1943 Leslie Howard actor killed, when Nazis shot down his plane

:(

I had forgot about him when we discussed Hollywood types and the military earlier in the week.

Good moorning aomagrat.

I noticed that a some of the older Classic Ships were leased by the Navy. Does that still happen? (Not counting Cargo ships)

Seems she did a good job in her short service.

Thank you.

Knowing you are a man of very few words, let me say I hope things are going well in your new position.

:)

Thank you SAM and Good Morning.

Yes, God is crying too.

Sadly there were many names also to add to the DoD casualty identification list since we last met here for news.