Wing
"FALCON"
v93 FS Command
v303 FG Command
3 Years - Longevity Service Ribbon
BCG Medal
Warlord Medal
Operation Hedge Of Protection Campaign Medal
3
2k MSGs - Contributor Ribbon
Operation Prevailing Liberty Campaign Medal
Investor Medal
Mission Editor Medal
Military Service Medal
Founding Member Medal
Group Command
F-16C Instructor (IP)
303 F-16C Flight Hours
Virtual 93rd Fighter Squadron 'Makos'
Senior Pilot (SP) / Combat Mission Ready (CMR)
Bagram Airfield, Afghanistan Oct. 19, 2014 after completing a six month deployment in support of Operation Enduring Freedom. The 303 EFS was responsible for close air support operations throughout Afghanistan and was deployed from the 442nd Fighter Wing at Whiteman Air Force Base, Mo. The 303 EFS was succeeded by the 163rd Expeditionary Fighter Squadron.
Date: July 14, 2014
Location: Sangin Valley, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan
Unit: 303rd Fighter Squadron, "KC Hawgs," 442nd Fighter Wing
Aircraft: A-10C Thunderbolt II, Tail Number 79-0187
"It was 0200 hours, and the Sangin Valley lay shrouded in darkness under a moonless sky. I was strapped into the cockpit of my A-10C Thunderbolt II, callsign Hawg 3-1, with the 303rd Fighter Squadron, the KC Hawgs, deployed from Whiteman AFB. Maintenance at Kandahar Airfield had prepped my jet, tail number 79-0187, with a full loadout: 1,174 rounds of 30mm high-explosive incendiary (HEI) for the GAU-8 Avenger, two AGM-65D Maverick missiles, four 500-pound GBU-38 JDAMs, and a pod of 2.75-inch Hydra 70 rockets with white phosphorus warheads for marking. My wingman, Hawg 3-2, flew a sister ship, tail number 80-0246, similarly armed.
The alert hit during a late-night brief in the ops tent, the air heavy with jet fuel fumes and the ever-present Afghan dust. A joint U.S. Army-Afghan National Army patrol, callsign Dingo 2-6, had been ambushed in a dry wadi 3 kilometers southwest of Forward Operating Base Inkerman. Taliban fighters had them pinned with sustained PKM machine gun fire and RPG salvos, exploiting elevated positions on the valley’s north and east ridges. The JTAC, a seasoned Air Force TACP embedded with Dingo 2-6, painted a grim scene over the radio: three WIA, one critical, with the patrol taking cover behind a crumbling mud wall and a low berm. Insurgents were massing for a flanking maneuver from the east. Our task was to deliver immediate close air support to neutralize the threats and buy time for Dingo 2-6 to stabilize their wounded and exfil.
We launched at 0230, the A-10’s twin TF34-GE-100 engines rattling the tarmac as we climbed to 15,000 feet (AGL). The cockpit glowed with the dim green of instrument lighting, my MFDs streaming navigation and targeting data. The AN/AAQ-28 LITENING pod was slaved to the JTAC’s coordinates, and my NVGs turned the rugged terrain below into a grainy green mosaic. The wadi snaked through the valley like a scar, flanked by jagged ridges.
The JTAC’s voice crackled over the secure UHF radio, steady but taut: “Hawg 3-1, Dingo 2-6 JTAC, troops in contact, request immediate CAS. 9-line follows.” He rattled off the 9-line brief with precision:
“Hawg 3-1, cleared to mark,” the JTAC called. I rolled the A-10 into a shallow 20-degree dive, aligning the HUD’s pipper with the grid. At 2 miles, I fired a single Hydra 70 rocket. The white phosphorus bloomed into a glowing cloud, illuminating the rock formation and silhouetting the insurgents’ positions. “Mark on target,” the JTAC confirmed. “Cleared hot, primary target, 30mm, danger close.”
I steepened the dive to 35 degrees, the A-10’s airframe creaking under the G-load. The GAU-8’s targeting reticle locked onto the glowing WP mark. At 5,000 feet, I squeezed the trigger, and the cockpit shuddered as the 30mm cannon unleashed a 2.5-second burst—175 rounds of HEI slamming into the rock formation. The impacts sparked like a welder’s torch, pulverizing the nest and kicking up a storm of dust and debris. The JTAC’s voice broke through: “Good hits, primary is down, no movement.”
Shifting to the secondary target, I pulled up to 10,000 feet to reset for another run. The RPG team was moving fast, their heat signatures darting across the eastern ridge. The JTAC updated the 9-line with a new grid, Whiskey Bravo 5243 6792, and cleared us for another strafe. Hawg 3-2 took lead, diving from the east to avoid our ingress paths crossing. His GAU-8 roared, a one-second burst sending 70 rounds into the RPG team’s position. He followed with an AGM-65D Maverick, its infrared seeker locking onto a cluster of insurgents. The missile streaked from the rail, detonating in a brilliant flash that lit the valley floor. The JTAC reported: “Direct hit, RPG team neutralized, enemy breaking contact.”
We orbited in a racetrack HOLD for 25 minutes, the LITENING pod scanning for stragglers. The JTAC requested a show of force to scatter remaining insurgents. I dropped to 2,500 feet AGL, pushed the throttles forward, and roared over the valley at 370 knots, the TF34 engines’ scream reverberating off the cliffs. Hawg 3-2 followed, releasing a string of MJU-7/B infrared decoy flares that blazed like a meteor shower. The insurgents vanished into the hills.
Dingo 2-6 stabilized their wounded and moved to a landing zone 1.5 kilometers south for a medevac. We loitered until the UH-60 Black Hawk lifted off at 0410, its rotor wash kicking up dust visible through the NVGs.
With the patrol clear, we returned to base, landing at Kandahar at 0435. The ground crew swarmed the jet, their headlamps revealing three small-caliber hits on the left wing, minor battle scars for the Warthog. I debriefed with the intel officer, my kneeboard scrawled with notes on target effects and fuel burn (2,800 pounds remaining). The 303rd’s patch, with “Thumbs Up, Guns Up,” was stitched to my flight suit, and it felt like we’d lived up to it. Dingo 2-6 made it out, and we’d brought the hawg wrath."
A-10 Pilot Testimony: Hawgs Wrath: A-10 Combat Mission in Afghanistan, 303rd Expeditionary Fighter Squadron
Callsign: Hawg 3-1Date: July 14, 2014
Location: Sangin Valley, Kandahar Province, Afghanistan
Unit: 303rd Fighter Squadron, "KC Hawgs," 442nd Fighter Wing
Aircraft: A-10C Thunderbolt II, Tail Number 79-0187
"It was 0200 hours, and the Sangin Valley lay shrouded in darkness under a moonless sky. I was strapped into the cockpit of my A-10C Thunderbolt II, callsign Hawg 3-1, with the 303rd Fighter Squadron, the KC Hawgs, deployed from Whiteman AFB. Maintenance at Kandahar Airfield had prepped my jet, tail number 79-0187, with a full loadout: 1,174 rounds of 30mm high-explosive incendiary (HEI) for the GAU-8 Avenger, two AGM-65D Maverick missiles, four 500-pound GBU-38 JDAMs, and a pod of 2.75-inch Hydra 70 rockets with white phosphorus warheads for marking. My wingman, Hawg 3-2, flew a sister ship, tail number 80-0246, similarly armed.
The alert hit during a late-night brief in the ops tent, the air heavy with jet fuel fumes and the ever-present Afghan dust. A joint U.S. Army-Afghan National Army patrol, callsign Dingo 2-6, had been ambushed in a dry wadi 3 kilometers southwest of Forward Operating Base Inkerman. Taliban fighters had them pinned with sustained PKM machine gun fire and RPG salvos, exploiting elevated positions on the valley’s north and east ridges. The JTAC, a seasoned Air Force TACP embedded with Dingo 2-6, painted a grim scene over the radio: three WIA, one critical, with the patrol taking cover behind a crumbling mud wall and a low berm. Insurgents were massing for a flanking maneuver from the east. Our task was to deliver immediate close air support to neutralize the threats and buy time for Dingo 2-6 to stabilize their wounded and exfil.
We launched at 0230, the A-10’s twin TF34-GE-100 engines rattling the tarmac as we climbed to 15,000 feet (AGL). The cockpit glowed with the dim green of instrument lighting, my MFDs streaming navigation and targeting data. The AN/AAQ-28 LITENING pod was slaved to the JTAC’s coordinates, and my NVGs turned the rugged terrain below into a grainy green mosaic. The wadi snaked through the valley like a scar, flanked by jagged ridges.
The JTAC’s voice crackled over the secure UHF radio, steady but taut: “Hawg 3-1, Dingo 2-6 JTAC, troops in contact, request immediate CAS. 9-line follows.” He rattled off the 9-line brief with precision:
- Line 1: IP – Bronco, 5 nautical miles south of target.
- Line 2: Heading – 350 degrees, offset left.
- Line 3: Distance – 4.5 nautical miles from IP to target.
- Line 4: Target Elevation – 3,200 feet MSL.
- Line 5: Target Description – Primary: PKM machine gun nest in rock formation, 4-5 personnel. Secondary: RPG team, 6 personnel, moving east.
- Line 6: Target Location – Grid Whiskey Bravo 5241 6789 (primary), Whiskey Bravo 5243 6792 (secondary).
- Line 7: Mark – IR strobe on friendly position, WP rocket requested for target mark.
- Line 8: Friendlies – 200 meters south of primary target, behind berm.
- Line 9: Egress – South, climb to 12,000 feet.
“Hawg 3-1, cleared to mark,” the JTAC called. I rolled the A-10 into a shallow 20-degree dive, aligning the HUD’s pipper with the grid. At 2 miles, I fired a single Hydra 70 rocket. The white phosphorus bloomed into a glowing cloud, illuminating the rock formation and silhouetting the insurgents’ positions. “Mark on target,” the JTAC confirmed. “Cleared hot, primary target, 30mm, danger close.”
I steepened the dive to 35 degrees, the A-10’s airframe creaking under the G-load. The GAU-8’s targeting reticle locked onto the glowing WP mark. At 5,000 feet, I squeezed the trigger, and the cockpit shuddered as the 30mm cannon unleashed a 2.5-second burst—175 rounds of HEI slamming into the rock formation. The impacts sparked like a welder’s torch, pulverizing the nest and kicking up a storm of dust and debris. The JTAC’s voice broke through: “Good hits, primary is down, no movement.”
Shifting to the secondary target, I pulled up to 10,000 feet to reset for another run. The RPG team was moving fast, their heat signatures darting across the eastern ridge. The JTAC updated the 9-line with a new grid, Whiskey Bravo 5243 6792, and cleared us for another strafe. Hawg 3-2 took lead, diving from the east to avoid our ingress paths crossing. His GAU-8 roared, a one-second burst sending 70 rounds into the RPG team’s position. He followed with an AGM-65D Maverick, its infrared seeker locking onto a cluster of insurgents. The missile streaked from the rail, detonating in a brilliant flash that lit the valley floor. The JTAC reported: “Direct hit, RPG team neutralized, enemy breaking contact.”
We orbited in a racetrack HOLD for 25 minutes, the LITENING pod scanning for stragglers. The JTAC requested a show of force to scatter remaining insurgents. I dropped to 2,500 feet AGL, pushed the throttles forward, and roared over the valley at 370 knots, the TF34 engines’ scream reverberating off the cliffs. Hawg 3-2 followed, releasing a string of MJU-7/B infrared decoy flares that blazed like a meteor shower. The insurgents vanished into the hills.
Dingo 2-6 stabilized their wounded and moved to a landing zone 1.5 kilometers south for a medevac. We loitered until the UH-60 Black Hawk lifted off at 0410, its rotor wash kicking up dust visible through the NVGs.
With the patrol clear, we returned to base, landing at Kandahar at 0435. The ground crew swarmed the jet, their headlamps revealing three small-caliber hits on the left wing, minor battle scars for the Warthog. I debriefed with the intel officer, my kneeboard scrawled with notes on target effects and fuel burn (2,800 pounds remaining). The 303rd’s patch, with “Thumbs Up, Guns Up,” was stitched to my flight suit, and it felt like we’d lived up to it. Dingo 2-6 made it out, and we’d brought the hawg wrath."