Combat Edge articles from January 2005

Combat Edge archives from January 2005

Safety involves every airman.(ACCent on Safety)(Editorial)
January 1, 2005... It's been said that "we learn best, what we learn first." When we receive training throughout our careers, it's presented in a building block approach and we learn the basics first. The underlying theme of this month's magazine is "Stick to the...

3 confirmed releases.
January 1, 2005... In the waning days of Strategic Air Command (SAC), just as DESERT STORM had begun, B-52 "H" model Buff units were heavily involved in fighting the Cold War and focused on the nuclear mission. As a new "mission ready" navigator in a nuclear...

Havoc 12, 120 knots Abort!
January 1, 2005... It promised to be an exciting day to fly the BUFF. It was my first sortie out of Andersen AFB, Guam, as the copilot in the number two bomber for a live drop exercise and a low level over the ocean. We had 27, 750-pound M117 bombs in the bomb...

Dangerous diets: the dangers of low carbohydrate diets for fighter crews.
January 1, 2005... Americans spend $40 billion annually on weight-loss programs and devices, special diet foods, diet books, and other related "get skinny" programs. As many of us have experienced, some of the myriad of weight loss plans actually are effective;...

Freezin's the reason!
January 1, 2005... Last January and February we endured minus 20 degrees Fahrenheit almost continuously. If you arrive here from south of the Mason Dixon line in January, it's probable the temperature difference may be as much as 70-100 degrees. You're probably...

You want to go where-CAMPING?!
January 1, 2005... It had been raining for 2 days, the wind had picked up, and a cold front was predicted. A group of young, inexperienced Boy Scouts wanted to go CAMPING! However, this camping trip was planned for the foothills of southern New Mexico in early...

Weapons safety: award of distinction.(MONTHLY AWARD WINNERS)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Several inert munitions assets were delivered to the Conventional Maintenance element for scheduled processing and demilitarization. Upon initial visual inspection, A1C Reich noticed there was a live FMU-139 fuze among the inert munitions items...

Unit safety: award of distinction.(MONTHLY AWARD WINNERS)
January 1, 2005... While performing routine maintenance on T-38 aircraft 64-3206, an egress maintenance team inadvertently fired an M-27 initiator. The M-27 initiator is connected to the forward cockpit internal canopy jettison handle. An investigation conducted...

Aircrew safety: award of distinction.(MONTHLY AWARD WINNERS)(constant speed drive)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... Approximately 90 minutes into a Higher Headquarters Directed sortie as part of RIMPAC 04, the #1 generator of Havoc 21 tripped off, and the autopilot failed. Shortly after resetting the generator, the constant speed drive (CSD) overheat light...

Ground safety: award of distinction.(MONTHLY AWARD WINNERS)(Foreign Object Damage)(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... TSgt Canning developed a plan to control and reduce the Foreign Object Damage (FOD) potential at the engine test facility for both TF34 and F110 turbo fan engines. The previous FOD removal method of water washing was detrimental to the...

Pilot safety: award of distinction.(MONTHLY AWARD WINNERS)
January 1, 2005... Lt Col Fenton was number two of a four-ship of F-15C Eagles on a combat training mission off the East Coast of Virginia. During the first engagement, his flight lead noticed vapor streaming from Col Fenton's aircraft and a "knock-it-off" was...

Crew chief safety: award of distinction.(Brief Article)
January 1, 2005... SrA Sager was tasked to accomplish a Pre-flight/Post-flight/Alert Pre-flight Inspection of an aircraft in preparation for a local training mission. During this inspection, SrA Sager discovered what he believed to be damage to the 4th stage Low...

Weapons safety: award of the quarter.(QUARTERLY AWARD WINNERS)
January 1, 2005... SSgt Grandstaff's initiative, professionalism, and expertise were invaluable while deployed as the sole Air Force weapons safety manager for four bases in the Afghanistan Theater in support of Operation ENDURING FREEDOM. He received kudos from...

Flight Safety: award of the quarter.(QUARTERLY AWARD WINNERS)
January 1, 2005... TSgt Patrick Seeley has distinguished himself as a Flight Safety NCO throughout the period of July - September 2004. During this time, he diligently worked to resolve BASH issues resulting from numerous aircraft strikes involving the Horned...

Ground Safety: award of the quarter.(QUARTERLY AWARD WINNERS)
January 1, 2005... TSgt Bryant has proven, sustained superior performance as a Ground Safety Professional in 12 AF/SEG. He served as 12 AF Chief of Ground Safety in the absence of the Chief of Ground Safety for 2 months. While maintaining day-to-day requirements,...

Mishap statistics scoreboard.
January 1, 2005... Aircraft Notes It is likely ACC will log three Class As in November. First, MQ-1 crashed on final in the AOR on an FCF sortie. The other two were B-1s that sustained extensive damage but were not destroyed. One was landing gear damaged by...