Free Republic 4th Qtr 2025 Fundraising Target: $81,000 Receipts & Pledges to-date: $69,091
85%  
Woo hoo!! And now only $569 to reach 86%!! Thank you all very much!! God bless.

Keyword: hancockfield

Brevity: Headers | « Text »
  • Fearing New Threats, Drone Crews Go Top Secret (Wing Cdr. Cites Domestic Terrorists, Code Pink)

    12/18/2009 11:50:36 AM PST · by kristinn · 11 replies · 761+ views
    The Post-Standard ^ | Friday, December 18, 2009 | Dave Tobin
    In Syracuse, the new top guns are under cover. Commanders of the Air National Guard crews operating unmanned Reaper drones over Afghanistan from Hancock Field are insisting that pilots not be publicly identified. The policy is an about-face for the 174th Air Wing of the Air National Guard, which once identified its pilots and trumpeted their endeavors. During the 1992 Persian Gulf war, Syracuse-based pilots prominently displayed their names on the fuselages of their F-16 fighter jets. Pilots and family members spoke openly about the pressures, sacrifices and triumphs of deployment. The change of policy reflects what the unit commander...