MiG Sweep Magazine Fall 2012

Issue No. 158 FALL 2012 RED RIVER VALLEY FIGHTER PILOTS ASSOCIATION
The Magazine of Aviation Warriors
Inside:
(Cover: from painting by Jack Fellows, High Road to Hanoi, used with permission)
Fall 2012-13 Scholarship Program Update
River Rats in the News
The Twelve Days of Christmas
Hawgsmoke 2012
...and much more
Page 1
FROM THE CINC

COPYRIGHT © by RRVA, 2012. All rights reserved.
This newsletter and its contents, unless otherwise credited, are copyrighted by the Red River Valley Association, Inc. (RRVA), d.b.a. the Red River Valley Fighter Pilots Association.
FROM THE CINC ................................................................... 1
FROM THE VICE .................................................................... 2
Fall 2012-13 Scholarship Program Update .................... 3-4
Story Time ......................................................................... 4
River Rats in the News ................................................... 5-7
River Rat Rick Drury Receives Master Pilot Award ....... 5
Vietnam Fund for Education, Music & Infrastructure .... 5
Double Ace Ralph Parr Honored ................................... 6
CWU AFROTC Commencement Address ...................... 7
Induction into Oklahoma Military Hall of Fame ............ 7
USAFA Class of ‘62 50
th
Reunion, October 2012 .......... 7
Firing Circle ....................................................................... 7
Do you know where these lost Rats are? ........................... 8
Tactics Conferences ...................................................... 9-10
2012 Western Washington River Rats Annual BBQ .. 9-10
My Two Bits ..................................................................... 10
The Twelve Days of Christmas................................... 11-13
The Unexpected Good Deal ............................................ 14
Hawgsmoke 2012 ....................................................... 15-16
Air Warrior Courage Foundation News ...................... 17-18
River Rat Donations ........................................................ 17
Air Warrior Courage Foundation Donations ................... 19
Welcome New River Rats ................................................ 19
Rejoining River Rats ....................................................... 19
Final Sweep ..................................................................... 20
National Board of Directors ............................................ 21
Local Force Cinc Roster ............................................. 21-22
2013 National Reunion ..................................... Back Cover
G
reetings from the CinC! I hope everyone is having a great
summer, and while we are between major evolutions, I
thought this was a good time to cover an area I’ve been pondering.
It concerns the length of our leadership track (Vice, CinC, and
EXFish), and some ideas on changes.
Like any aviator, I’m not a fan of change. I fear change. This
means that I have to REALLY think something needs changing
for me to bring it up, and I’m there with the leadership track.
We established the current system after many years of one year
CinCs, and the current Vice-to-CinC-to-EXFish solved the lack
of continuity. However, six years is a stretch to ask an active duty
aviator to serve, and I’m very interested in looking at a change.
Both Teek and I know what we signed up for, but as I talk to our
active duty folks about their interest to serve in the leadership
track, the length of the term consistently comes up as a big
negative. I believe we need to be able to offer shorter terms to be
more attractive.
QUIZMO BROWN
Here are a couple of suggestions. The frst and easiest would
be to eliminate the EXFish position. This would leave the current
two year terms in place for Vice and CinC, giving the Vice the two
years ‘on the wing’ prior to feeting-up to CinC. An issue with this
plan would be the impact on the EXCOM in that an odd number of
members is preferable for tie-breaking purposes. Not a huge deal,
but something to consider.
Another option would entail holding elections for both CinC and
Vice positions, while eliminating the automatic ascension of the
Vice to the CinC. I would recommend three year tours, and this
option would allow for our membership to run for either position
(I’ve talked to several people who wouldn’t mind being the Vice
but have no interest in CinC), but a serving Vice could run for
CinC if they desired. An issue with this option would be the lack
of the time on the wing prior to serving as CinC.
This will be a discussion topic at the mid-year board meeting,
but I wanted to get this in front of our membership prior to our
discussions. If you have an opinion on either of my suggestions,
and particularly if you have a better idea, I really want, and need,
to hear from you. I know there has to be a way to adjust our com-
mand track, whether a little or a lot, to make running for offce
attractive for active duty and full time career Rats. If we have to
make a change, and I believe we do, I want to have a ton of sugges-
tions from our membership to pick from. This will entail a bylaw
change and a vote from the membership, so I’m looking forward
to hearing from you in advance.
-Quiz
Page 2
FROM THE VICE
HOOKER DORSETT
H
ello from the Vice!
Well, I am now Mr. Teek “Hooker” Dorsett. I had a great retirement
and have our local pack to thank for a large portion of my retirement
week. Probably the coolest event of the week was a “Rat Call” in the 43
FS F-22 Squadron “Heritage” room. The Rats showed up in force and
told stories in the bar all night to the young guys to include the TDY 333
FS F-15E Lancers, from Seymour Johnson AFB, who were in town for
DACT support. Thanks to Rats George Peacock, Jumbo Wray, Tracy
Dorsett Jr (My Dad), Panky Pankhurst, Gene McCormack, Mace
Mason, Holy Chitmon, Bluto Blount, Mach Weidner and everyone else
who showed up and told great stories. It was a great last night of being on
active duty. On retirement day, I was fortunate enough to fy a T-38 4-ship
in the morning and the F-4 4-ship in the afternoon with my presiding
offcer Gen “Jobu” McMullen, Rats Holy Chitmon and Thumper
Carson, as well as many other great Americans. Weather held out just
long enough for us to get both fights in and then we had a wild party at the
club. Again, I’d like to thank many River Rats for celebrating this evening
with us (Pooh and Arnie Hedges, Tracy and Linda Dorsett, Tom and
Phyllis Mason, Panky and Teri Pankhurst, Jumbo Wray, Derf Clark,
Lisa Morris, Mike Rogers, Jim and Anna Stumpf, George and Bobbie
Peacock, Clint and Leslie Torres, Shaka and Fuj Fujimoto, Holy and
Ashley Chitmon, Bluto and Donna Blount, Thumpher and Keyna
Carson, Tara Airhart, Bam-Bam Wees, Jeremy Renkin, Merc Frana
and Monte Recker to name a few as I’m sure I’ve forgotten many). The
musical stylings of Tonto Bird, Pinz Koch and their band, Post Stall,
really made the party complete with their brilliant play list. I especially
want to send a big thanks to all the guys who drove down from Eglin and
few in from all over CONUS to give us a great send off.
Enough reminiscing about the good ol’ days in the active duty, now I
must get serious about working. Last MIG SWEEP I mentioned building
a 3-5 year look for the organization. This is actually required by the
bylaws. I am very serious about that endeavor now. You can expect me
to get a more organizational climate survey out and directly email some
of you for candid feedback on the best three things you’ve seen out of
the organization in the last 10 years and the three biggest things you
think could be improved upon from the same period. Additionally, I want
everyone to think seriously about where you want the organization to go
over the next 3-5 years. In the next MIG SWEEP I will have some facts
and statistics to explain where we were 10, 20, 30 years ago along with the
current situation with regards to membership demographics. Hopefully,
after analyzing the data, we can determine where we are headed and
decide if we need any course corrections. Obviously, this statistical data
will only paint a very small picture. The membership’s impressions and
desires can’t be revealed in demographics or data. Please weigh in and
send me an email or leave a message regarding ideas and concepts for
our future ([email protected] / [email protected] or 919-
440-0474)
I cannot begin to express my gratitude to this great organization for
the work you do while on active duty and afterwards. Thanks for your
dedication to country and your steadfast support of our military. Please do
not forget to have fun along the way.
God bless the Rats and God bless this great country,
Respectfully, your Vice – Teek “Hooker” Dorsett
-Hooker
Start Planning for
Pensacola!
Page 3
F
or the 2012-13 academic years, the
Scholarship Committee awarded education
grants of $67,250 to 20 of 20 applicants. The
grant total equals the budget allocated by the
Board of Directors. I would like to personally
thank those individuals, corporations, and
groups that have steadfastly supported the
Scholarship Program.
Scholarship eligibility, per the RRVA By-laws
is as follows:
1) Kinship Requirement: Scholarship grant
recipients must be immediate dependent
(legal son, daughter or spouse) of:
a) A U.S. aircrew member listed as
Killed in Action (KIA) or Missing
in Action (MIA) from any combat
situation involving U.S. military
from August 1964 (Vietnam Era)
through the present; or
b) A military aircrew member killed
as the result of performing aircrew
duties during a non-combat mission;
or
c) A RRVA member who is currently
in good standing or was in good
standing at the time of their death.
2) Kinship Not Required: To provide
assistance in the education of persons in
the felds related to aviation and space
(Kinship to deceased aviator not required)
Our goal was to fully fund as many
undergraduates, then as many graduates based
on fnancial need. The undergraduate funding,
in priority order, was amount of need, loss of
a parent/spouse, amount of loan, legacy (prior
recipient), academic progress, and proximity to
graduation.
Eight of the 20 had suffered the loss of a
parent, one had a parent who was a POW, and
2 applicants were “non-kinship” recipients IAW
Article I of the by-laws.
Financial need for ALL eligible applicants
was $143,856.
The grant breakdown is $18,000 to seven (7)
graduate students and $49,250 to thirteen (13)
undergraduate students. Total amount awarded
to undergraduate students, including the grants,
two endowments, and Founding Fathers
Awards, was 75% of the total grant amount
for this year.
The 2011 Pierre Levy Wild Weasel
selectee is Kathryn Maguire, a Senior at Clark
University who will be awarded $1,000. The
2011 Alexander (‘Ali’) D. Bache Memorial
Scholarship Award goes to Jacie Levens, a
freshman at The University of Alabama, which
also carries a $1000 award. The 3 Founding
Father Award selectees, each of whom will be
awarded $500, are as follows:
Scrappy Johnson Award:
Nathaniel Burgess, Senior, Weber State
Robin Olds Award:
Kathryn Maguire, Senior, Clark University
Larry Pickett Award:
Ali Frolich, Junior, Univ. of South FL
By augmenting, and in some cases fully
funding the student’s fnancial need, we help
them stay in school and avoid taking out large
loans. You are truly making a big difference in
the lives of these young men and women and
can all be extremely proud of what the River
Rats are doing to prepare them for both their
working career and life in general.
Lastly, this will be my fnal MIG SWEEP
article as the Chairman. Pepe Soto, a former “at-
large” committee member has been appointed
by the Board to take the position. During my
6-year tenure, I had the privilege and pleasure
of working alongside Gordy and Cyndi Jones,
Pepe Soto, Fred Wall, Jeff Tice, and Karl Brandt.
These Rats, who represent various military
services, along with our Financial Aid Advisor
Dr. Herm Davis, did all the heavy lifting for the
Scholarship Committee.
The following are the undergraduate and
graduate grant recipients for the 2012-2013
academic year.
Undergraduate Awards
Sarah Bivona:
Sophomore, The College
of St. Scholastica,
Nursing
Nathaniel Burgess:
Senior, Weber St. Univ.
Michael Curry:
Freshman, Coastal
Carolina Univ., Marine
Science
Jonathan Erickson:
Sophomore, Univ. of
California, Neuroscience
Ali Frolich:
Junior, Univ. of South
FL., Criminology
Mary Allison Johnson:
Sophomore, Texas
Women’s University,
Nursing
Jacie Levens:
Freshman, Univ. of
Alabama, Pre-Med
Kathryn Maguire:
Senior, Clark University,
Environmental Science
Natasha Mounsey:
Senior, California State
University, Graphic
Design
Melissa O’Sullivan:
Freshman, Columbia
University, Engineering
Samantha Parks:
Freshman, Embry
Riddle, Aerospace
Engineering
Fall 2012-13 Scholarship Program Update
Ken Posey, Director Scholarship Program
Page 4
Brian Warsaw:
Freshman, Florida
Institute of Tech., Aero
Science
Connor Welch:
Freshman, Marquette
University,
Communications
Graduate Students
James Bivona:
Univ. of Southern
Illinois, Pharmacy
Jessica Bush:
Med. University
of South Carolina,
Medicine
McKenzie Butler:
Johns Hopkins, Nursing
Liesl Drew:
Uppsala Univ. of
Sweden, Cultural
Anthropology
Christina Harduvel:
Univ. of South Florida
Joshua Lancaster:
Temple University,
Medicine
Dawn Nophsker:
Texas Women’s
University, Physical
Therapy
No Photo
Provided
CALL FOR NOMINATIONS:
Nominations are now open for the
positions of National Vice President &
General Secretary
For more information, please contact Ex-Offcio
Swede Seagren at:
[email protected] or 570-451-4854
Deadline: 21 January 2013
Nominations may be submitted
by letter, fax, or email to:
RRVA Executive Director
P.O. Box 1553
Front Royal, VA, 22630
FAX: (540)636-9776
Email [email protected]
Story Time
a·poc·ry·pha [uh-pok-ruh-fuh] - noun ( often used with a singular verb );
writings, statements, etc., of doubtful authorship or authenticity.
“Bitching Betty”
Entering a classroom at MCAS Yuma a female Marine captain
encountered a clearly apathetic audience. She was selected to provide
a full hour’s instruction in Iranian electronic warfare capabilities to 150
Marine aviators who showed by their body language deep skepticism
about her ability to teach war fghting skills to an all-male class.
She began by noting that her voice had just been tested to see if it was
suitable for some new cockpit recorder messages for Marine aircraft.
Unfortunately she had not been selected to be the new “Bitching Betty.”
She thought it was only fair to warn the audience that an analysis of
her voice pattern revealed her particular voice had a tendency to lull to
sleep any male homosexual within earshot.
The assembled offcers shot upright in their chairs. 150 sets of eyes
were wide open and locked on her and stayed that way for the rest of
the period.
Page 5
River Rats in the News
O
n July 13
th
at the annual Arlington Air
Show in Washington State, River Rat
Rick Drury received the FAA’s Wright
Brothers Master Pilot Award. This honor
is reserved for those select few aviators
who have distinguished themselves during
their careers as pilots. The criterion for this
award is a minimum of ffty years of safe
operations. Rick actually exceeded the 50-
year fgure by fying for 53 years without
a mishap. This was despite fying many
combat sorties as “Sandy 01”, the on scene
SAR commander in his A-1 Skyraider.
Rick’s beautiful wife Carol was there to
watch him receive the Master Pilot Award.
Also in attendance were Evan “Peewee”
Reese, an A-6 pilot who Rick rescued
along with his B/N Don Fraser on February
7, 1970. Western Washington Local Force
CinC Joe Crecca was also in attendance.
Rick is the author of many books
including, My Secret War, which was
followed by three more, all dealing with
low altitude close-in air combat. Another
is Flightlines, an interesting, inspiring, and
philosophical collection of short stories
about his myriad of fying experiences.
From nose cone to empennage Rick
Drury is totally aviation. His last 53 years
of fying in Skyraiders, F/A-18s, C-130s,
bi-planes, 747s and MD-11s with all of
its challenges, extreme risks and rewards
was topped off by Rick’s meeting his wife
River Rat Rick Drury Receives
Master Pilot Award
Carol whose devotion to Rick and love of
fying herself is the icing on the cake.
This was a ftting recognition of a
brilliant fying career.
Vietnam Fund for Education, Music & Infrastructure
O
n Friday, July 27th, the
Association of the 173rd Airborne
Brigade held a fundraiser for the
Vietnamese Children’s Library Project.
In attendance were two Western
Washington River Rats and their wives:
Mike & Judy Canorro and Joe &
Joan Crecca. Steve Konek, his wife
Song and his 173rd volunteers along
with Thai Phan, Vietnamese Special
Forces Ranger who served along side
Steve in Vietnam, were able to reach
half their goal for their fourth library
installation.
Joe threw the frst pitch. Despite
sweating steel peanuts that he would
make a fub the ball landed in the
catcher’s mitt over the plate. Phew!
It was inspiring for us to see what
these brave soldiers, who faced
such harrowing conditions in SEA,
are doing for the Vietnamese and
Montagnard children. If you would be
interested in helping in this cause, even
a small donation would help Steve and
his volunteers to achieve their very
worthwhile goal.
Thank you.
Joe Crecca
L-R Mike Cannoro, Joe & Joan
Crecca, and Judy Cannoro
L-R Steve Konek, Joe Crecca, Jerry
?? & Thai Phan
Donation information:
Please visit the VFEMI website:
<http://www.vietnamemifund.org>
Checks should be made out to:
VFEMI Fund Note: Library Project
Mail Directly to:
Vietnam Fund for Education,
Music & Infrastructure
ATTN: Jayne Coyle
4148 Howe Street
Oakland, CA 94611
Page 6
T
he San Antonio Ralph Parr Pack
teamed with the 37 Training Wing
at Lackland AFB and the 12 Flight
Training Wing at Randolph AFB for a
special tribute to Colonel (ret) Ralph
S. Parr. Ralph recently celebrated his
88
th
birthday. The tribute took place
on 3 August at the Airmen Heritage
Museum located at Lackland. Retired
Navy Captain and Parr Pack River Rat
James “Doctor D” Duncan worked for
months on a sculpture of Ralph Parr
that refected his appearance during the
Korean War where he shot down 10
enemy airplanes. In addition, “Goldie”
Goldfein coordinated a project with the
37
th
TW to repaint the Saber Jet on static
display at the museum with the same
markings that adorned the F-86 that
Ralph few in Korea.
A crowd of over a hundred people
including Ralph’s wife Margaret and
his children Sheryl McLaughlin, Paul
McLaughlin, and Linda Capps attended
the ceremony. The master of ceremony
was Major Dan “Moose” Johnson for the
560
th
FTS at Randolph AFB. Welcoming
remarks were given by Colonel Eric
Axelbank, Commander of the 37
th
TW.
Double Ace Ralph Parr Honored
Inscription on plaque:
Colonel Ralph S. Parr
Double Ace
Distinguished Service Cross
Air Force Cross
Silver Star
3 Legion of Merit Medals
10 Distinguished Flying Crosses
641 Combat Missions
Sculptor: Doctor James Duncan
Captain, USN (Ret)
Ralph Parr in front of an F-86 with
the paint scheme of his Korean War
Sabre.
Colonel Gerald Goodfellow, Commander
of the 12 FTW, his wife Kristine, and
many other dignitaries were in attendance.
Following a recap of Ralph’s illustrious
list of decorations for valor, his bronze
sculpture was unveiled by “Doctor D” and
Colonel Axelbank. The event was capped
by a reception in the Heritage Museum
hosted by the 37
th
TW where Ralph took
great pleasure in greeting his many friends
and admirers
Funds to complete this project were
donated by 37 Ralph Parr River Rats.
The Ralph Parr bronze is being mounted
on a mahogany pedestal and will go on
permanent display in the lobby of the
Ralph Parr Offcers Club at Randolph
in early September.
Doctor James “Doctor D” Duncan
stands by the sculpture he made
honoring Ralph Parr
Ralph Parr here surrounded by members of his namesake Pack.
Page 7
When you send in your
articles don’t forget to
include photos, preferably the
originals, and PLEASE turn
off your camera’s date stamp.
CWU AFROTC
Commencement
Address
O
n June 9
th
, 2012 a select few
graduating seniors of Central
Washington University in Ellensburg,
Washington received more than just
their diplomas. Ten of the graduates
completed their Air Science courses in
USAF ROTC and were awarded their
commissions as 2
nd
Lieutenants.
River Rat Joe Crecca was invited
by the 895
th
AFROTC Detachment
Commander, Lt. Colonel Jason A.
Densley, to address those gathered
at Peterson Hall on the CWU
campus for their commencement and
commissioning ceremony.
Joe’s delivery focused on the
challenges each of the new 2
nd
Louies
were going to face and made a special
point of telling them that joining the Air
Force and getting their commissions as
offcers was the frst big, and best step,
they could have taken. Three of the 2
nd

Lieutenants are going to pilot training.
Induction into
Oklahoma
Military Hall of
Fame
River Rat Colonel Charles B.
DeBellevue, USAF (Ret), will
be inducted into the Oklahoma
Military Hall of Fame at a ceremony
on November 9, 2012. Each year
the Oklahoma Military Heritage
Foundation selects 10 Oklahomans to
be inducted. He was the frst Air Force
weapon systems offcer to become an
Ace in Vietnam, after shooting down
six MiGs.
8th TFW Reunion
Ft. Worth, TX
10-14 OCT 2012
For further information contact:
Johnnie Eller
([email protected] 817-426-5345)
The Nite Owl reunions are for all
squadron mates who few with the
497th TFS during the 9+ years
we had fight ops in Ubon RTAB,
December 1965 - July 1974.
Preliminary plans are already
made for the next reunion to be at
the Pensacola Grand Hotel with
the River Rats, April 3-7, 2013.
If you haven’t already, please
check in with Gordie Tushek at
[email protected]
C
I
R
C
L
E
F
I
R
IN
G
I
am not
g e t t i n g
e n o u g h
s u p p o r t
from mem-
bers main-
t a i n i n g
their per-
sonal information in the database.
Each Mig Sweep can cost over $3
when it is returned to me because of
a bad address. Issues that can be for-
warded, are fowarded, but the Post
Offce charges the Rats up to $1
for the forwarding info. Please help
the Rat budget by maintaining your
own portion of the database.
Basically, you log in using your
email address and password (PW).
If you gave me two email addresses,
I tried to list the personal address as
the login address. The frst time you
log in, you should use redriver1
as a PW. It will then require you
to change your PW. When you
make that change, remember that
redriver1 is your old address. The
former Name/ZIP system from the
OLD members only section has
NOTHING to do with this database.
USAFA Class of ‘62 50
th

Reunion, October 2012
Seeking information regarding
classmate Jeff Hornaday.
J
eff Hornaday was killed at Korat
in 1968, believed to be a takeoff
abort situation. Jeff’s AFA Class
(1962) is having its 50th reunion in
Oct. Jeff’s daughter, who was three
when he died, is attending and would
like to meet anyone who few with
her dad. Can anyone help me out—
particularly if you are a classmate and
will be attending the reunion?
Contact:
Butch Viccellio
[email protected]
Page 8
I have lost comms with the following Rat members.
If you can provide me any update on the status or
communications with any of these members, please
contact me:
SHADOW
PO Box 1553
Front Royal, VA 22630-0033
[email protected]
(866) 401-7287
Robert ‘Bob’ Abbott, Colonel USAF
Richard ‘Dick’ Abel, Brig Gen USAF
Jonathan ‘Capone’ Airhart, Capt USAF
Ralph ‘Ralph’ Albright, Lt Col USAF
Jose ‘Jose’ Astorga
Allen ‘Al’ Brady, CAPT USN
Donald ‘KD’ Bringle, CDR USN
Margarite Burns, Mrs
Timothy ‘Tim’ Butler, CWO USA
Peter Carrow, Capt USAF
Erik ‘Frodo’ Cobbs, Capt. USAF
Dayer Commun, CAPT USN
Thomas Curtis, Colonel USAF
D.C. David, RADM USN
William ‘Bill’ Davis, Colonel USAF
J. Dennison
Gale Despiegler, Lt Col USAF
Leonard ‘Len’ Eastman, CDR USN
Rick ‘Magneto’ Erkkila, Major USAF
David Everett, LT USN
Fred Everett
Frederick Frizzell, Major USAF
Edwin Hawley, USAF
Peter Hebert, Capt USAF
Nathan ‘Nat’ Henry, SSG USA
Dewey Holt, E-4 USA
Erik ‘BamBam’ Hutchins, Major USAF
Dick Kavanough
Kay Kenworthy, Lt Col USAF
Melvin ‘Mel’ Matsui
George McSwain, LCDR USN
William McVey, CAPT USN
James ‘Jim’ Meyers, Major USAF
Roger Miller
Melvin Mueller, Capt USAF
Thomas Omera, Capt USAF
Norris Overly, Colonel USAF
Ann Penney, Mrs
W Larry Pigg, MD USAF
Sally Prather, Mrs
Jim ‘JIMBO’ Preston, Capt. USAF
John Randle Jr, Capt USAF
Frank Sailes, LT USN
Raymond ‘Ray’ Sanders, Lt Col USAF
Roni Sawhill, Mrs.
Raymond ‘Ray’ Schrump, LTC USA
Martin ‘Slip’ Slapikas, Major USAF
S. ‘Michael’ Smith, LT USN
Richard Springman USA
H. Streeper, CAPT USN
William ‘Bill’ Stroud, Lt Col USAF
Francis ‘Frank’ Sugrue, Colonel USAF
Russ Thornwell, USN
Gordon Walcott, Lt Col USAF
James ‘Jim’ Walsh, Capt USMC
Ronald Wolfe, LCDR USN
Scott ‘Zobe’ Zobrist, Colonel USAF
Do you know where these lost Rats are?
Page 9
Tactics Conferences (TCs)
It was a tactics conference that started the River Rats and it’s a TC
whenever two or more River Rats gather. So, when you have a TC send
in your pictures and a write-up and we’ll publish it here.
F
ollowing some recent days in
the mid-nineties, the Western
Washington River Rats in the Pacifc
Northwest enjoyed their annual
BBQ by the Snoqualmie River on a
sunny but cooler day.
We were delighted to have
a special guest, WWII night-
fghter pilot Al Jones, 93, who
few Wellington bombers with
the RCAF, then transferred to the
USAAF where he frst few Bristol
“Beaufghters.” His motivation to
become a night fghter pilot was that
he was almost shot down himself by
a Luftwaffe night fghter. Later, his
unit received the new P-61 “Black
Widows.” After shooting down one
Stuka with his Beaufghter Al went
on to shoot down a JU-88 and an
ME-110 with his P-61.
Al Jones enjoyed himself so much
he requested an application to join
the River Rats. He made it a point
to make sure I put him on the list
for the next WW RR social event.
Credit for suggesting Al as a WWII
guest for our BBQ came from close
friend Greg Pierce, Boeing engineer
and frequent emcee at the Boeing
Field Museum of Flight.
This year’s event was the sixth
annual River Rat BBQ hosted, as
before, at the home of Joe & Joan
Crecca in North Bend. This year the
grill offerings consisted of garlic-
soy fank steaks and lemon-garlic
marinated chicken.
The appetizers, salads, side dishes
& desserts also demonstrated that
the WW RRs not only like to eat
& drink, they know how to cook!
Of special note was the favor-
enhancing preparation of Prik
Nahm Pla, a concoction offered by
RR Rick Drury consisting of Thai
chilies, minced garlic, lime juice
and Thai fsh sauce. One spoonful
of that stuff was enough to set your
taste buds afame. Happily, this
called for lots of beer, ale and wine
to cool things down and soothe the
nerve endings. After the feast we
enjoyed Bill Wilson’s homemade
ice cream and other delights.
There were 15 RRs attending
this year’s BBQ: 13 USAF: 6 F-4,
2 F-105, 2 B-52, 1 F-111, 1 A-1
& 1 USAAF P-61. US Army: 2
chopper jocks. Representing the
US Navy was Christine “Peach”
Lerseth widow of the late Roger
Lerseth, former “Blue Two” who
started our gatherings and few west
in 2004. Also, sorely missed, was
Al Siebecke, “The Dancing Bear,”
who passed away earlier this year.
Peach also donated six RR polos to
be raffed off. Al Jones “won” the
frst polo shirt.
We also continued a tradition
begun last year; everyone answered
Joan’s request to donate food items
for those less fortunate. They were
2012 Western Washington River
Rats Annual BBQ
Page 10
gratefully received the next day
when Joe brought everything over
to the local food bank.
God willing, our next social event
will be in late January or early
February 2013 when we celebrate
the Vietnamese Lunar New Year,
Tết Nguyên Đán, The Year of the
Snake, Quý Tỵ
God bless our brave service men
& women; comfort the families
of those who have perished in
defending the USA and God Bless
America!
cảm ơn lắm!
Hết
Joe Crecca
Western Washington LFC
L-R Greg Pierce, Rick Drury, Al Jones & Bill Wilson
L-R Bill Wilson, Peach Lerseth, and Joe Crecca
My Two Bits
I
want to thank those of you who take
the time to submit articles and stories
for the MIG SWEEP. It’s tough enough
to put this puzzle together every quarter,
but it would be impossible without
content. I’m sorry I can’t always get
whatever you’ve sent into the next
issue. Some issues are already packed
with or are dedicated to something else.
But I keep what you’ve submitted and
try to plug it in a subsequent issue.
There is a method to my madness. I
try to match the content to River Rat
history or to our current activities. Thus,
the Fall issue has the annual Scholarship
report and list of scholarship recipients.
The Winter issue contains the National
Reunion information and registration
form. The Spring issue has information
regarding voting issues such as ByLaw
changes and Board elections. The
Summer issue contains stories and
photographs from the National Reunion
and features the River Rat of the Year
and the AWCF Humanitarian of the
Year. All of the issues have both River
Rat and AWCF donations. Because you
all are a generous bunch, those lists
generally take up several pages—in
very small type. Because of year end
tax advantages, the lists in the Spring
issue can cover four or fve pages. So,
some of the issues start full of required
content and are easy to work, while
others don’t.
This issue fell in the latter category
and it was a bear! So I want to express
my heartfelt thanks to: Gary Baber,
Joe Crecca, “Scraps” Leyden, and
Ken Schanke. Thanks for saving my
bacon.
-Lurch
Page 11
war stories & Fairy Tales
TINS:
They say the difference between
is, a fairy tale starts, “Once upon a time...” while a war story begins,
“This is no sh...”
Forty years ago this fall Linebacker I came to a close on 23 October 1972. A few days
later, Henry Kissinger declared, “Peace is at hand.” As I strapped on my F-4 the
night of the announcement I hoped I wouldn’t be the last casualty of the war. Both of
us had it wrong. The last great battle of the Vietnam War was yet to come…
The Twelve Days of Christmas
By Joe “Lurch” Richardson
O
n 18 December 1972, Ubon Royal
Thai AFB, Thailand, Major
B.V. Johnson, Operations Offcer of
the 497 TFS “Nite Owls,” shook me
awake. There were two things odd in
that: B.V. wasn’t one to play human
alarm clock and it was only 2 PM in
the afternoon. Considering I hadn’t
been up before 5 PM in almost a year,
this was disturbing. Even worse, he
wouldn’t tell me why. He just hustled
me out to his little Japanese pickup and
headed for Wing Headquarters.
It was there he told me we would be
laying a chaff corridor to downtown
Hanoi in support of B-52 strikes.
It would seem someone had fnally
gotten serious about taking the fght
to the enemy. Unfortunately it seemed
the same planners were at work—the
B-52s were to come in three waves,
four hours apart, using the same route
each time. If you wanted to give the
enemy an edge and a chance to reload,
that was the way to do it.
With a little over a month left on
my tour I can’t say I was tickled at the
prospect of participating. After all, the
Nite Owls had some experience laying
chaff for Buffs (slang for the B-52, it
stood for big ugly fat fellow—or worse).
Several times during Linebacker I we
had fown such missions to Thanh
Hoa, Vinh, and Haiphong. They were
damned scary missions. It was nothing
to take 20 or more Surface-to-Air
Missiles (SAMs) in the target area.
As a matter of fact, the Strategic Air
Command (SAC) counted more than
200 SAMs fred at our chaff fights
the night we went to Haiphong. Since
we had to lay the chaff corridors on
precise routes and at specifc altitutes,
we were unable to apply normal SAM
evasive maneuvers. We few in 1,500
foot spread formation, trusting in our
electronic jamming pods, and God, to
get us through. There’s not one of us
who hadn’t seen a SAM up close and
personal. I’d even seen a few pass
between me and my wingman while in
pod formation. The North Vietnamese
hadn’t fgured out that tin foil wasn’t
going to hurt nearly as much as high
explosive. On the other hand, it seemed
a good deal for SAC since the enemy
had few SAMs left after targeting the
B.V. Johnson in the Owl’s Nest after
his sawadi party
Page 12
chaff fight. But for us, laying chaff was
the sort of mission that caused your
sphincter muscle to eat seat cushions.
To compound having to play sitting
duck in the SAM shooting gallery, we
only had a few ALE-38 chaff dispensers.
They were streamlined to be low in drag
and could be programmed to dispense
the chaff precisely as required. I think
we had three on base; not enough to
lay a proper chaff corridor. They gave
them to the fight leads as well as chaff
bombs. In order to do the job we had to
load CBU canisters with chaff and drop
those (one at a time) 6 seconds apart.
The backseaters would have to keep
the count as the lead cycled through
his load, then number two would pick
up the drop with his chaff bombs,
then number three, and so on through
the fight. With their heads down,
concentrating on the count and the
pickle button, more than one backseater
was to ask what the fash was that lit up
their cockpit when a SAM detonated
close above us.
So I wasn’t looking forward to
this mission for starters, but then we
had the mission brief and I felt less
inclined to participate. We learned the
Paris peace talks had broken down...
something about the shape of a table?...
and Nixon was about to give the
North Vietnamese a lesson in applied
diplomacy. The offensive was to go on
for three days. There would be no SAR
(Search and Rescue) for three days. If
you were shot down you were to fnd a
hole and hide until the bombs stopped
falling. That frst night, SAC was to put
more than a hundred Buffs over Hanoi
in three waves. They were ordered to
do that whether they had chaff support
or not. We were told we would fy chaff
support, period. If we lost an engine
enroute to target, we were to go on
anyway. Things were real serious.
B.V. was to lead the 20-ship gaggle
of chaffers for the frst wave and I
was to be his deputy lead. We were
organized into fve fights of four. B.V.
was leading Outfox with Pete Peterson
in his back seat. Carol Davis (CD) was
in number two, I was number three,
and John Doere was number four. The
second fight was Fenway, but I don’t
recall the call signs of any of the others,
nor do I remember any other crew
members. We were to lay a corridor
coming from the west into Hanoi, do
a tight 135-degree left turn over the
city and exit westbound. We were to
lay the chaff at 35,000 feet altitude,
a mere 8,000 feet above the combat
ceiling of the F-4s confgured with
CBU canisters and three bags of gas. In
order to founder around at that altitude
we were going to have to be in at least
stage one or two burner. So much for
hiding from the MiGs under the cloak
of darkness. The route of fight called
for us to head north from Ubon, refuel
east of Vientiene on the White Anchor,
continue north to the Barrel Roll, in
northern Laos, and then turn 90 degrees
right and head downtown.
Things went well through the
refueling; everyone got on, got their
fuel, and got off without incident. It was
a beautiful clear night with a full moon.
The cloud tops were at about 10,000
feet, brightly lit and with an eerie tinge
of turquoise. As we began our climb
to 35,000 after departing the tanker,
Red Crown, the Navy’s ship-based
GCI (ground-controlled interception),
began calling a Blue Bandit (MiG-21)
on a vector to intercept us. We saw him
pass us on a parallel course, high and
to our right. We saw his single-engine
burner light as he began his attack, but
just about then we turned right to go
downtown. He was unable to convert
his attack and was fushed out by our
turn. One of the Udorn MiG CAP birds
kept him busy after that. I don’t think
he tagged him but I’m sure the gomer’s
laundress had to spend extra time on
the stain.
We fgured the fun was just about to
begin as we passed into North Vietnam
and expected to see many of the 35-
foot long telephone poles with fre on
one end coming up to greet us. We were
all surprised when they didn’t. B.V.
even commented to Pete Peterson, his
backseater, that it was looking like a
milk run. I’ll take 85 and 100mm Anti-
Aircraft Artillery (AAA) and MiGs
over a sky full of SAMs.
Although it didn’t look like we were
going to be bothered by SAMS, we
had two more MiGs heading our way.
One began his attack just as we started
our 135-degree left turn over Hanoi.
Unfortunately, we had to fy a track set
by SAC (the 135-degree turn was their
standard nuclear escape maneuver),
and to make the turn tight enough to
follow that track we needed 45 degrees
of bank. We were already hanging on
min-burner on one engine. That meant
Pete Peterson
Carol “CD” Davis
Continued on page 13
Page 13
Do you have a story to tell? Submit them to the MIG SWEEP Editor:
[email protected]
four and I had to plug both engines in
burner to stay in position on the outside
of the turn. It makes one feel exposed at
night with a MiG on the attack to have
one’s butt lit up like that. But again we
got lucky. He got spit out and lost us
while Hobo, our air-to-air cover, wound
up chasing him off. Red Crown called
the Blue Bandit returning to Phuc Yen,
a base northwest of Hanoi. I’ve always
hoped he was in the de-arm area when
the bombs began to rain.
When we were about 40 miles
west of Hanoi they fnally started
shooting SAMs. We took three in
quick succession and got our collective
heart-rates pumped. Still, three SAMs
was FAR fewer than we’d expected. It
looked like we were going to waltz out
of this one unscathed. Then we came
nose to nose with the Buffs.
The Buffs were totally blacked out
and trying to enter Indian territory
cloaked in chaff. We were pulling
the cloak. John Doere came within
inches of becoming a hood ornament
on a Buff. He said afterward he felt his
aircraft pushed out of the way by the
slipstream over the Buff.
We had enough fuel to forego
postfight refueling. As we turned
for home the freworks over North
Vietnam began in earnest. I watched a
Buff get hit and break in two. As the
two sections were falling, what I took
to be the nose-section was hit by two
more SAMs. The gomers had broken
the code. They had waited for the real
threat, the Buffs, before unleashing
their defensive might. It wasn’t until
years later, after reading Marshall
L. Michael’s book, The 11 Days of
Christmas, that I learned the chaff
corridor we’d laid had been blown out
of position. The forecast winds we’d
used to plot our course were wrong.
Instead of being a cloak it had been a
fnger, pointing their attack axis.
When I watch the annual freworks
display on Labor Day each year here in
Cincinnati, it reminds me of that night.
I led four more 20-ship chaff fights
over the remainder of the “Twelve
Days,” fying a total of 6 missions during
the operation. Three days had turned
into 12—some say 11 since we took
Christmas day off. Each of the missions
was similar. The MiGs would come up
to play with us and the big AAA guns
would fll the sky with fak; they would
fre a few SAMs, but they held
back most of the SAMs for the
Buffs. The Buff drivers were
having to pay their dues and
it was making them anxious.
You couldn’t blame them,
the Buff makes a VERY big
target. I wouldn’t have traded
places with them. There was a
rumor that a couple of the Buff
aircrew members had turned
in their wings and refused to
fy, but, even if true, that can’t
take away from the rest, who
saddled-up each night and
went “downtown.” However,
you could tell they were on the
ragged edge.
Coming back from one of the later
missions, after crossing the Thai border
and in friendly territory, my backseater
was able to break out airborne targets
ahead of us. Given the scope had
been all but useless with the heavy
jamming from the Buffs, EB-66s, and
other sundry jamming devices, I was
surprised to see targets let alone see one
locked up complete with a full attack
display. I almost shit when the Atolls
launched. They turned out to be fares,
but the hooch laundress would still
require extra care with my shorts. Then
the range gate on the attack display
slammed hard left, then right, and
broke lock. Before I could say anything
other than, “SHIT!,” my backseater
tried another lock. The same thing
happened, but was followed by the
scope blooming like the sun, shrinking
to a dot, and then shutting down all
together. The Buff Electronic Warfare
Offcer (EWO) was in no mood to mess
around and had given us all the power
he had. It occurred to me I had been
rendered sterile, but four boys born to
me after the war disproved that.
John Doere suiting up in PE
L-R Lurch Richardson & Mac McBride air-
crew of the month of October. AF Photograph
Continued on page 13
Page 14
The Unexpected Good Deal
By Sean “Scraps” Leyden
I
t was the spring of 2000 and I was on my sec-
ond deployment. I was the most senior JO (ju-
nior offcer) in VFA-131, The Wildcats—AIR-
LANT’s First and Finest—F/A-18 squadron. We
were on station in the Adriatic embarked aboard
the U.S.S Dwight D. Eisenhower (CVN-69) con-
ducting fight operations in support of Operation
Allied Force into Kosovo.
I was getting short; soon I would roll to my
shore duty while the rest of the Wildcats re-
mained on deployment. I had received orders
to join the Flying Eagles of VFA-122, the U.S.
Navy’s frst Super Hornet squadron—the F/A-
18E/F Fleet Replacement Squadron, or RAG.
The Wildcat’s Operations Offcer, LCDR
“Wedge” Wallace, had made it clear that I would
receive no more good deals. He told me that I
was way ahead of everyone else in the number of
good deals I had snapped up and he considered
it his personal mission to redress this injustice
in the few days that remained in my time with
VFA-131.
True to his word, I was assigned every mun-
dane training mission that found its way on the
fight schedule. Meanwhile, everyone else got to
go feet dry to do their part in the fragged ATO
missions over Kosovo... that was until an unex-
pected mission popped up on Wedge’s assign-
ments for the squadron the next day.
When the schedule showed up at my state-
room after MIDRATS (midnight rations for
those of you have never had the pleasure of life
aboard an aircraft carrier) the mystery mission
showed up as a single-ship taking off late morn-
ing and acting as fight lead for a jet from our
sister squadron: VFA-136, The Nighthawks. As
I tried not to wake my roommate, I squinted to
read the fight schedule in the red light used to il-
luminate the inside of the ship at night. I couldn’t
believe my eyes—the notes said something like
“MiG-21 Low Level!” Where you would nor-
mally see the assigned pilot’s name, the letters
TBD were there instead.
Depressed that my name didn’t make the fight
schedule, and despondent that I would obviously
have to miss out on this EXTRA Good Deal
MiG-21 hop because of the Ops O’s vendetta
against me, I retired for the night. The next morn-
ing I found my way to the ready room to fnd
Wedge scratching his head, trying to fgure out
who he was going to get to lead the mission to
join two MiG-21s on a low level around Croatia.
The mission was a part of an initiative to im-
prove coordination between U.S. and Croatian
military forces. The objective was to start out
by fying simple training missions together. This
would be coupled with exchange visits of Croa-
tian Air Force pilots to the IKE and U.S. Navy
pilots to their base in Pula, Croatia.
Wedge had a problem; all of his fight leads
had been assigned to ATO missions over the
beach aside from me. He had done everything
possible to avoid it, but he had no other option.
He had to make me the lead of the MiG-21 fight!
He looked up at me from his Ready Room chair
and told me, incredulously, and with a hint of
despair, that I would get yet another good deal...
and perhaps the best one of all for a JO strike
fghter pilot at the end of his frst sea tour!
I got busy; I called in a marker with the S-3
Viking bubbas and got them to agree to slip my
wingie and me a sly 2000 lbs of gas each at the
start of the mission. Without this squirt of gas,
there was a high chance that I would have to turn
the fight back around to the ship before we fn-
ished the low level.
I leveraged my relationship with the Mainte-
nance Master Chief to make sure I was assigned
412, the jet with my name on the side. I planned
out every detail and carefully briefed my wing-
man on the many steps we would take to ensure
mission success. Success on this mission would
be achieved by making it safely back to the ship
on time, with photos to prove for all time that we
had fown next to MiG-21s!
Start, launch and rendezvous went as briefed.
We got our promised give from the S-3 as he
drug us north toward Pula Croatia.
As we approached Pula and got on tower fre-
quency for the MiG-21’s airfeld, we spotted the
MiGs sitting on the runway ready for a formation
takeoff. They waited until we were over the feld
to start up their engines because they would be
essentially fuel critical from takeoff.
I have to admit, having been trained on a daily
basis to recognize threat aircraft, and to do what
fghter pilots do when they see one, I had to fght
an itchy trigger fnger and an urge to reverse my
turn and pull lead for a shot as the MiGs joined
on us after their take-off (note the live AIM-9Ms
and AIM-120 loaded on my aircraft in the pic-
tures). Instead, however, I allowed the MiGs to
join and then passed them the lead and set my
two-ship fight in formation as -3 and 4.
It was a really special fight, and the weather
was perfect. The MiGs led us around a local low-
level while we snapped shots of each other in
formation. I then took the lead and led the fight
while the MiG pilots took shots of us. It was all
over so quickly; the MiGs were out of gas, and
we were out of time to get back to the ship. I
kissed them off over their airfeld and my wingie
and I headed for Mom.
We were in a tough situation that can happen
sometimes in carrier-based operations—we were
low on gas and low on time to get home for our
recovery window. I did what fight leads have to
do sometimes and made a judgment call. I sacri-
fced fuel, and went fast to make it home before
our recovery window closed. I cut every corner
and came scorching into the break with perfect
interval on the last fxed wing aircraft to recover,
an EA-6B Prowler. This wasn’t a great result, but
at least the carrier didn’t have to wait for us. We
landed with enough fuel to keep my wingman
from getting nervous. Mission Accomplished!
My Ops O, Wedge, read me the riot act for
bringing my fight back so late that I landed after
the Prowler, but I happily took his verbal lashing
in stride as I mentally reviewed the 30 minutes
of sheer fying-bliss spent in formation with two
very real MiG-21s. I was truly the undisputed
Good Deal Boy of VFA-131!
Page 15
H
awgsmoke is a biennial
worldwide A-10 bombing,
missile, and tactical gunnery
competition. Hosted by the winners
of the previous competition,
Hawgsmoke is an intense
competition and an opportunity
to share in the camaraderie and
fellowship of the world’s premier
Close Air Support fghter, as well as
the legacy of its pilots and support
crews.
Hawgsmoke History
Hawgsmoke traces its heritage
back to the now discontinued
“Gunsmoke” event. Gunsmoke was
the USAF’s air-to-ground gunnery
and bombing competition with
multiple airframes held at Nellis
AFB. The last Gunsmoke event was
held in 1995.
The inaugural Hawgsmoke was
in 2000 at the Alpena Combat
Readiness Training Center in
Michigan. It was hosted by the
Michigan ANG’s 172nd Fighter
Squadron from Battle Creek. Top
Team honors went to the Connecticut
ANG and they in turn hosted the
next event, Hawgsmoke 2002, at
the Fort Drum Forward Operating
Location in New York State. There,
17 teams and 62 aircraft competed,
with the overall winner was the four
member team from the 47th Fighter
Squadron at Barksdale AFB,
Louisianna. Hawgsmoke 2002
focused on accurately dropping
BDU-33s practice bombs, fring the
AGM-65 “Maverick” missile, and
strafng profciency with the 30 mm
Gatling gun. Much emphasis was
placed on target acquisition as well.
The third event, 2004
Hawgsmoke, was hosted by the
47th FS “Dogpatchers” and held
at England Air Park, formerly
England AFB, in central Louisiana.
Unfortunately, the competition was
undone by forces of Mother Nature
and the bad weather resulted in
Hawgsmoke 2004 becoming known
as Hawgwash 2004. Nevertheless,
it was declared a success for the
opportunity of the Hog community
to get together, share experiences
and party like rock stars. With no
winner from “Hawgwash”, the
355th Fighter Wing picked up the
slack. Hawgsmoke 2006 was held
at Davis-Monthan AFB in Tucson,
Arizona. Adding to the luster of
Hawgsmoke, the 2006 installment
marked the 30th Anniversary of the
A-10 and served as a homecoming
for all Hawgdrivers since initial
A-10 training is carried out at DM.
With over 140 aircraft on the ramp,
the event went off without a hitch.
After the scores had been tallied,
the 303d Fighter Squadron from
Whiteman AFB, Missouri emerged
the winner.
The Boys from Boise took the
title at the 4th event, so they hosted
an outstanding event in 2010.
Practicing at their home range for
months on end, they were able to
walk away victorious yet again,
but not without the 354th Bulldogs
hot on their heels. By regulation
11-202 vol 69, the hosting team is
not allowed to host twice in a row,
therefore this year’s event was held
at Davis-Monthan hosted by the
354
th
FS the BULLDOGS. Again
this year, 17 teams participated,
including Spangdahlem and Osan
(fying borrowed aircraft). Since
2012 Hawgsmoke lacked a major
sponsor, the RRVA stepped in and
agreed to cover the cost of the
trophies awarded to the winning
individuals and teams.
Wednesday was arrival day,
briefngs, and a great memorial
service at Warrior Park on base
(Warrior Park was established in
1984 with signifcant help from
the River Rats). Fallen warrior
recognition was held with the
reading of the names of all A-10
drivers who died fying the
aircraft. After the reading, all A-10
pilots were then led in drinking
a shot of Jeremiah Weed by Col
Kevin Blanchard, the 355
th
Wing
Commander. They then smashed
their shot glasses in a freplace built
for the event.
Thursday had all squadrons fying
their competition missions on Gila
Bend Gunnery range. The weather
cooperated so all the fying was
completed on schedule. Thursday
night was a wild one at the club.
Hawgsmoke 2012
Tucson, AZ
Page 16
The Crud tournament was complete
by around 2230, but as I heard
the last revelers didn’t depart till
almost 0500 the next morning. It
didn’t help the turnout for the golf
tournament scheduled for 0830 on
Friday morning.
Friday evening were the awards
presentations and roasts of errors
committed during the event. When
all was said and done, the 357
th
FS
(Dragons) from home base Davis-
Monthan won the overall event.
The 66
th
FWS from Nellis was a
close second. This means that the
Hawgsmoke 2012 Mission Complete!
Results are as follows:
Top Attack Team:
1. 357th FS, Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ
2. 66 WPS, Nellis AFB, NV
3. 104th FS, Baltimore, MD
Top Attack Pilot:
1. Capt Eric “Elmer” Hart, 357th FS
2. Capt Sam “Syndrome” Moreland,
357th FS
3. Maj Bill “Zuter” Zutell, 104th FS
GPS Out Maverick:
357th FS, Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ
Moving Lieutenant Strafe:
1. Maj Curt “Kid” Martin, 163rd FS
2. Capt Marcus “Nestle” Flagg, 25th
FS
3. Capt Aaron “Geezus” Cavazos,
358th FS
30 High Angle Strafe HARS:
1. Lt Col Todd “Hitch” Hitchcock,
CEP: 0 meters, 190th FS
2. Lt Col Rob “Sweetness” Sweet,
CEP: 0.8 meters, 76th FS
3. Maj Bryan “Stoner” Stone, CEP:
1.15 meters, 303rd FS
30 Dive Bomb:
1. Mag Andy “Diggler” Kamataris, 0
meters (tiebreaker: 17pts), 104th FS
2. Capt James “PETA” Kappes, CEA 0
meters (tiebreaker: 68pts), 81st FS
3. Maj James “McGruff” Hunt, CEA:
1.4 meters, 45th FS
20 Low-Angle Low Drag:
1. Capt Jeff “Sweaty” Negrette, CEA:
2.0 meters, 47th FS
2. Capt Ryan “Coppa” Allen, CEA:
2.45 meters, 74th FS
3. Maj James “McGruff” Hunt, CEA:
2.75 meters, 45th FS
10 Pop HARS
1. Capt Aaron “Boom” Bohn, CEA:
8.75 meters, 76th FS
2. Capt Jaret “Jaws” Biggers, CEA:
15.7 meters, 81st FS
3. Capt David “Fife” Nagle, CEA:
18.75 meters, 357th FS
Gross Baffoonery:
75th FS Tiger Sharks, Moody AFB, GA
Crud Tournament:
107th FS, Selfridge ANG Base, MI
Golf Tournament:
355th Ops Group, Davis-Monthan AFB,
AZ
next Hawgsmoke will take place at
Nellis in 2014.
For us it was a great recruiting
opportunity with about 30 new
members signing up—not just from
Davis-Monthan, but from squadrons
worldwide. We challenged all
the new members to work hard to
recruit many more new members
from their respective squadrons.
For all the new members, welcome
to the River Rats.
Ken Schanke
Local Tucson CinC
L-R Half of the winning team: 357th FS, Davis-Monthon, Major
Matt Lackey, Capt David Nagle, and Wing Commander Col Kevin
Blanchard
The last place team trophy for
Gross Baffoonery: 75th FS,
Moody AFB
Thursday evening Crud
Tournement
Page 17
Air Warrior Courage Foundation News
By Dave Brog
T
his has been a swift turn around since
the last SWEEP, but the AWCF has
not been idle. Our major effort has been
to secure a free place on the upcoming 17-
19 September 2012 Air Force Association
(AFA) convention exposition foor. We
have received approval for a joint AWCF/
RRVA booth as we did last year. This year
it will be booth number 1313. Friends at the
AFA have assured us that it is an ideal spot.
It is in an area where there are a couple of
big AFA sponsors. This assures us of being
close to where the food and refreshments
are served and thus, heavy traffc. We plan
to staff the booth with DC Area River Rats.
However, if any of you are in the DC area
during 16-19 September this year, feel free
to come by and join us.
We are also proud to report the continuing
success of our programs whereby we “care
for our own.” In particular, our programs to
help children of active duty service families
and our Wounded Warrior Troop Support.
The Therapeutic
Riding Program
is our longest
running major
family program. We
promote therapeutic
horseback riding as
a valuable program
to help children of
active duty military families who have
certain mental, physical or developmental
challenges. These include problems such as
autism, cerebral palsy, cystic fbrosis, and
other physical and learning disabilities. The
Therapeutic Riding Program has enabled
those children to more ably adapt to society
and the environment in which they live.
Therapeutic Riding is not covered under
TRICARE. Therefore, the AWCF provides
fnancial assistance to active duty families
whose children need this therapy. We have
our own medical adviser, River Rat Dr.
Mike Herndon, who certifes that each of
our riders has a condition that could beneft
from therapeutic riding. We either pay a
portion of the cost of this therapy or, for
stables/programs that do not charge, we
make a donation to them to help defray
their costs. Over the years, since 1993,
we have spent $472,865 in helping 755
riders in riding stables/programs all over
the country. This has been a great outreach
to military families, including children of
some River Rats.
Another of our programs, the largest
of our Wounded Warrior Troop Support
programs, has been continuing in San
Antonio. The troops, at what was called
Brook Army Medical Center (BAMC) and
now called San Antonio Military Medical
Center (SAMMC), are the recipients of this
support. This chart, on page 18, shows the
support that has been given there since we
began in 2005.
Finally, I reported in the last SWEEP that
on 23 June, we hosted our 5
th
annual Katz’s
Deli lunch at Walter Reed Bathesda (WRB).
This is an event run by Gene Russell, one of
our locals, that serves around 400 Wounded
Warriors and their families. Katz’s Deli
sends down its tasty delicatessen spread
from New York City and our locals serve
it up. It is always a great success. Here are
a few pictures from that lunch in which we
presented canes to the Wounded Warriors.
Again, thanks for your support of the
AWCF. We in the DC Area will look
forward to seeing any/all of you at the AFA
and at our booth.
Check 6,
Dave
L - R standing: Hank Cloutier, Dave Brog, Rich Shook, Sheila Mulhern and
Tom Goffus (Seated in front is an unknown carver)
Bob Worley presents a cane to
wounded warrior Mike as Rich
Shook observes while Bob Ranck
reads the certifcate accompanying
the cane.
Four members of the wounded
warrior’s family along with Rich
Shook & Bob Worley stand by
as he shows off his new cane and
certifcate.
Page 18
River Rats
Combined Federal
Campaign #10510
AIR WARRIOR COURAGE
FOUNDATION
CFC #11450
RIVER RAT Donations
(as of 8/15/2012)
William Arcuri .............................................$100.00
(In Memory of Capts Warren Spencer & Craig Paul, and SSGt
Roy Madden)
Carolyn Chandler (Brown) ............................$50.00
(In Memory of Col David L. Brown, USAF-Ret)
Brad Chesson .................................................$50.00
(In Memory of Roger T. Chesson, Jr.)
Paul Guzowski ...............................................$50.00
(In Memory of Major Daniel F. Guzowski, USAF-Ret)
Alan Iverson ...................................................$50.00
Howard Johnson ........................................$1,000.00
(In Honor of Scrappy’s book sales)
Robert Jones .................................................$850.00
(In Honor of Severts Family (Scholarship))
Sandra Joy ......................................................$50.00
(In Honor of my brother’s birthday - Ken Posey)
Bob Lackner ...................................................$25.00
(In Memory of Fred ‘GrafFred’Lackner. In memory of my Dad
on his birthday.)
Phillip Murphy .............................................$500.00
(In Memory of Eugene R. (Fud) Fudala, Lt Col USAF (Ret.))
Phoenix Rats ................................................$600.00
(Scholarship Fund)
Randall Robinson .........................................$172.55
Judith Smyth ................................................$250.00
(In Memory of Chuck Smyth)
Bernard Talley ................................................$50.00
(In Memory of Bob Purcell)
Bernard Talley ................................................$50.00
(In Memory of Bob ‘Irish’Casey)
David Temple .................................................$30.00
Tucson River Rats ........................................$100.00
(In Memory of Lu Hummon)
Lewis Weiland ................................................$20.00
AIR WARRIOR COURAGE FOUNDATION
BAMC TROOP SUPPORT PROJECT
(ADMINISTERED BY THE RALPH PARR RIVER RAT PACK)
Summary
May 2005 through June 30, 2012
1. BILLETING BILLS
• 379 CASES
• $65,854 EXPENDED
2. MEDICAL/DENTAL EMERGENCIES
• 76 CASES
• $29,893 EXPENDED
3. BASE EXCHANGE GIFT CARDS
• 1590 $50 GIFT CARDS
• $79,500 EXPENDED
4. EMERGENCY CASH GRANTS
• 371 CASES
• $269,017 EXPENDED
5. CHRISTMAS GRANTS
• 260 FAMILIES
• 553 CHILDREN
• $147,000 EXPENDED
6. LAWN SERVICE
• FOR THE SEVERLY WOUNDED
• 565 LAWN CUTS
• $19,769 EXPENDED
7. SCUBA TRAINING
• 255 WOUNDED WARRIORS OPEN WATER CERTIFIED
• $137,906 EXPENDED
8. ARCHERY TRAINING
• RECREATION and COMPETITION LEVEL TRAINING
• EQUIPMENT AND TOURNAMENT TRAVEL EXPENSES
• TWO WARRIORS NOW ON US PARAOLYMPICS TEAM
• $46,752 EXPENDED
9. MORALE AND RECREATION TRAVEL
• 39 EVENTS
• $94,981 EXPENDED
• SKIING, SURFING, FISHING, SPORTING EVENTS, ETC
10. OTHER BAMC PROJECTS
• 45 PROJECTS
• PLAYGROUND PAD, FISHER HOUSE PAINT, FAMILY
READINESS GROUP SUPPORT, FISHER HOUSE
FUNDRAISER, ETC
• $48,746 EXPENDED
TOTAL AWCF EXPENDITURES ON BAMC WOUNDED WARRIORS
$939,498
Bob Ranck (left). Bob Worley
presents the cane and certifcate
to the wounded warrior as his wife
proudly watches. Observing on the
right are Rich Shook, Tom Goffus
and Hank Cloutier.
Page 19
WINTER (2013)
MIG SWEEP
CLOSE DATE:
15 NOVEMBER 2012
Welcome New River Rats
Lt Col Gordon ‘Gordo’ Amsler (Ret) USAF
Maj Del Belanger (Ret) US Army
Col John ‘JC’ Carter Jr. (Ret) USAF
Capt. Matthew ‘BTK’ Clark USAF
CDR Phillip ‘Convoy’ Clay USN
Thank you for your generosity
AIR WARRIOR COURAGE
FOUNDATION Donations
(as of August 15, 2012)
Jan Lockhart ...................................................$50.00
Seth Nehring ................................................$200.00
Lewis Weiland ................................................$30.00
Jennifer Kaiser ...............................................$30.00
CAPT J.R. Davis ..........................................$200.00
Scrappy Johnson .......................................$1,000.00
John Page .......................................................$50.00
Microsoft Matching Gifts Program ..............$200.00
Ron Shepard .................................................$100.00
Col. David and Kathryn Snell ......................$100.00
RRVA Phoenix Pack .....................................$800.00
David Walling ..............................................$100.00
Bette King ......................................................$15.00
Michael Terry O’Neil ...................................$100.00
(In Honor of Marriage of John and Shaina Rogers)
James Horton ...............................................$100.00
(In Honor of Marriage of John and Shaina Rogers)
L/C William Martin ......................................$600.00
(In Honor of Lt. Col. Charles Martin)
Robert Graham .............................................$100.00
(In Memory of William Douglass)
Alley Family
(In Memory of John Alley)
Craig Good .....................................................$10.00
BAMC Troop Support
Army Residence Community Protestant Chapel ..$1,500.00
Erin Detwiler ..................................................$50.00
Brodeur Family
(In Memory of Major David Brodeur)
Travis Board ................................................$300.00
Bryant Family
(In Memory of L/C Frank Bryant)
James and Barbara Sitton ...............................$50.00
Lori Klindera .............................................$1,200.00
Mary E. Rocco .............................................$500.00
Christmas Hope
Gail Huineker ...............................................$200.00
Joe and Marie McShane ...............................$250.00
Don Taylor ...................................................$131.00
(In Honor of Maria van Dalen)
Nancy Gregor .................................................$30.00
(In Honor of Maria van Dalen)
Robert Pashby ..............................................$100.00
(In Honor of Maria van Dalen)
Christina Tobin ...............................................$25.00
(In Honor of Maria van Dalen)
Mrs. Robert Morford ....................................$100.00
(In Honor of Maria van Dalen)
Martha Ettinger
Tom Halley ...................................................$105.00
Billy and Dell Sparks .....................................$25.00
Patti and Frosty Sheridan ............................$200.00
Glenn Vorres ................................................$100.00
Dave and Arnie Hedges ...............................$110.00
Edwin and Maggie Baumann .........................$30.00
Jack and Anita McEncroe ............................$200.00
Bob and Sunny Gadd .....................................$50.00
Haney Family
(In Memory of Captain Jeff Haney)
Bryan Dick .....................................................$20.00
Imlay Family
(In Memory of Captain Francis Imlay)
Gina Radovich .............................................$300.00
Julie Cummings .............................................$10.00
David Cochran .............................................$100.00
Charlie and Kristin Finley ............................$200.00
Erika Kelly .....................................................$20.00
Bill Grass .......................................................$50.00
Seth Curl ........................................................$50.00
Tyler Guenzel ...............................................$800.00
Connie Whitmore .........................................$100.00
Richard Horton .............................................$200.00
Patrick Cassidy .............................................$600.00
Cynthia Grosvenor .......................................$100.00
John and Sunshine Burgess ..........................$453.00
John B. Burgess............................................$100.00
Katz Deli Project
Bruce Gerrity ...............................................$100.00
Ivan Ivanov ..................................................$100.00
Frederick Barrett ............................................$50.00
Tracy Flick .....................................................$50.00
D. A. Richwine ...............................................$50.00
Special Forces Association Chapter XI .........$1,000.00
John Sandoz ..............................................$1,000.00
Samuel Morthland ........................................$325.00
John Craig ......................................................$50.00
Floyd Marsteller .............................................$50.00
William Moore .............................................$100.00
A. James Diehl .............................................$100.00
Hoffmasters Marina .....................................$400.00
Edward Maloney ..........................................$500.00
White Family
Michelle Linn ...............................................$100.00
Young Family
Todd Moore ..................................................$800.00
Ziegler Family
(In Memory of Captain Eric Ziegler)
Denise Lahav .................................................$25.00
Jan Suttlemeyer ............................................$422.00
Hayley Hartstein ............................................$50.00
ONE
G
CLUB
Major John ‘Shrek’ Cobb USAF-ANG
Lt Col John ‘The Dude’ Cole USAF
Colonel David ‘Knotso’ Cool USAF
Mr. Jeffrey ‘Wally’ Davidson (Frmr) USAF
Capt. Adam R. Desy USMC
Major Rick ‘Magneto’ Erkkila USAF
Captain Adam ‘SWAT’ Erlandson USAF
Major Tara J. Erlandson USAF
Colonel Leonard R. Fuchs Jr. USMC
Lt Col Lance ‘Zap’ Glidden USAF
Colonel Gerald ‘Krusty’ Goodfellow USAF
1Lt Andrew R. Griffn USAF
Major Matthew ‘Crater’ Hannon USAF
1Lt Lauren C. Hettich USAF
1Lt Everett E. Hite USAF
Major Cody ‘Buckle’ Hoagland USAF
Capt. Jason ‘Crack’ Holmes USAF
Maj Thomas ‘Mikey’ Isenberg USAF-ANG
1Lt Meggan ‘Newton’ Jacobsma USAF
1Lt Nathan W. Johnson USAF
Maj William ‘Quatro’ Johnson USAF
Lt Col Christopher ‘Fatty’ Jones USAF-ANG
LT Ian ‘Slick’ Kemp USN
Colonel Roger ‘Doc’ Kemp (Ret) USAF-ANG
Capt. John ‘Rocket’ Koegel III USAF
Lt Col Marshall ‘War Dog’ Lefavor (Ret) USMC
Ms Cathy S. Levins (Surviving Spouse)
LCDR Sean ‘Scraps’ Leyden (Frmr) USN
LTJG Matthew ‘Matt’ Manship USN
1Lt Matthew J. Martinez USAF
Colonel Terrance ‘Marco’ McCaffrey USAF
Capt. Wayne R. Merrill USAF
Col John W. Meservey USAF
1Lt Thomas D Meyer USAF
Lt Col Kenneth ‘Murdock’ Murray (Ret) USAF
1Lt Andrew K. Olson USAF
MSgt Robert ‘Rio’ Owen USAF-ANG
LtCdr David ‘Hey Joe’ Parsons USN
Colonel Jonathan ‘Pigeon’ Payne USAF-ANG
Capt. Richard ‘Sheriff’ Peace USAF-ANG
Mrs. Nadine S. Pearish (Surviving Spouse)
1Lt Christopher ‘Walleye’ Pezzini USAF
1Lt Eric C. Purkett USAF
Lt Col Jeffrey ‘Rudy’ Randolph (Ret) USAFR
Capt. Anne ‘THEAGS’ Ridlon USAF
Capt. Jacob E Rieth USAF
Major Travis ‘Posum’ Ruhl USAF
Colonel A. ‘Flounder’ Rutherford (Ret) USAF
Capt. Steven ‘Smash’ Shallenberger USAF
Colonel Harry ‘Ron’ Squiers (Ret) USAF
Colonel William ‘Bill’ Stewart (Ret) USAF
Col Kenneth ‘Tot’ Tatum Jr. USAF
Lt Col John ‘Jet’ Thompson (Ret) USAF
Lt Col Jeff ‘Mute’ Tidwell USAF-ANG
Colonel Raymond ‘Buzz’ Toth USAF
1Lt Zachary ‘Zach’ Wallace USAF-ANG
Colonel John H. Wambough Jr. USAF
Lt Col James C. Warren USAF
Capt. Matthew H. Yarrington USAF
Rejoining River Rats
Capt. Robert ‘Bob’ Bush (Frmr) USAF
Lt Col Lawrence ‘Larry’ Devine (Ret) USAF
CDR Daniel ‘Grumpy’ Graham (Ret) USN
Colonel Scott ‘Flex’ Patten USAF-ANG
Major Jeffrey ‘LJ’ Rivers USAF
Lt Col Brent ‘Spaite’ Vosseller USAF
Col Robert ‘Scott’ Weichert USAFR
TSgt Rollan ‘Yoke’ Yocum (Ret) USAF
Page 20
Take unto Thyself, O Lord,
the souls of the valiant.
FINAL SWEEP
RUSSELL BARTLETT
USAF Colonel (Ret)
6/27/12
ROBERT ‘IRISH’ CASEY
USAF Colonel (Ret)
7/24/12
NEVIN HEISER
USAF Major (Ret)
6/24/12
ROBERT HOLT
USN CAPT (Ret)
6/30/12
JAMES LIGHT
USAF Lt Gen (Ret)
6/6/12
Russ Bartlett
Colonel Russell Henry
‘Russ’ Bartlett, USAF re-
tired, few west on Wednes-
day, June 27, 2012, at his
home in Hanover, NH, with
his loving wife and family
in attendance.
Russ was born December
2, 1936 in Bellows Falls,
VT. He enlisted in the Air
Force on February 12, 1957
and was commissioned a second lieutenant on May
6, 1958 upon graduating in Navigator training class
58-08C at Harlingen AFB, TX. After Radar Intercept
Offcer training at James Connally AFB, TX he was
assigned to Hamilton AFB, CA where he few the F-
89J and later upgraded to the F-101B. While stationed
at Hamilton, Russ went TDY to Florida and became a
member of the ‘Caterpillar Club’ after ejecting from
his F-101B into the Gulf of Mexico. He then served
a tour in Iceland which was cut short when he was
selected to attend pilot training.
After graduating from pilot training at Moody
AFB, GA as a Distinguished Graduate, he went to
the 557th TFS at MacDill AFB, FL where he few
the F-4C and quickly upgraded to the front cockpit.
In November 1965, his squadron deployed with the
12th TFW to Cam Rahn AB, South Vietnam for about
six months before being reassigned to the 555th TFS
at Ubon RTAFB, Thailand. Russ then served as the
Chief of Stan-Eval at Homestead AFB, FL before be-
ing selected for Air Command and Staff. He then at-
tended F-105D training at McConnell AFB, KS before
being assigned to the 355th TFS at Tahkli, Thailand in
June 1970. When the F-105’s were withdrawn from
combat, he was assigned to the 8th TFW at Ubon
RTAFB, Thailand as the Wing Weapons and Tactics
Offcer. While at Ubon, Russ was awarded his ffth
Distinguished Flying Cross. He was then assigned as
Special Assistant for Operations, Logistics and Per-
sonnel at Headquarters TAC and from there to Air War
College at Maxwell AFB, AL. In September 1976,
after getting his B.A. from Troy State University, he
became the Squadron Commander of the 563rd TFS
at George AFB, CA, which trained all of the F-105G
‘Wild Weasel’ crews. After bringing the F-4G on-line,
he was promoted to Colonel and became the Assistant
Director of Operations for the F-4 training squadrons
at George AFB. After a tour as Group and Air Base
Commander at Tyndall AFB, FL, he was assigned to
Langley AFB, VA as the Director of Assignments.
His last duty assignment was Vice Commander of the
49th TFW at Holloman AFB, NM where he few the
F-15A/B.
Russ was an avid fsherman and hunter and enjoyed
the beauty of New England. He was also a voracious
reader with a particular interest in biographies, poli-
tics, and Civil War history.
Russ was cremated and his remains will be strewn
on Blood Mountain in NH, one of his favorite hunting
grounds, following a gathering in celebration of his
life on September 29th in Hanover, NH.
Bob ‘Irish’ Casey
Robert James Casey, 70,
died Tuesday, July 24, 2012.
Mr. Casey was born in
Madison, Wis., and moved
to The Villages, FL, from
Atlanta, Ga., in 2007. He
was a member of St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church,
Rotary Club of The Villages-Evening; Red River Val-
ley Fighter Pilots Association; Knights of Columbus;
and the Jazz Lovers Club. He served on the board of
directors at Cornerstone Hospice; enjoyed golf, danc-
ing and traveling; was a decorated Air Force veteran
who few the F-102, F-4, F-105 and F-15.
Survivors include his wife, Mary Frank; sons Rob-
ert J. Jr., Morgantown, W.Va., and Quinn, Phoenix,
Ariz.; fve brothers and sisters; and two grandchildren.
Nebin Heiser
Nevin Dean Heiser passed
away peacefully while
playing Cribbage with a
friend on April 24, 2012.
Nevin was born in Win-
feld, PA, June 22, 1935, in
the upstairs of the family
farmhouse to George and
Thelma Heiser. He was
the third of fve boys. The
family owned 18 acres in
the country where they raised two cows, two horses,
chickens and pigs.
In 1956, he joined the United States Air Force.
Nevin was an aviation cadet and went to navigation
school in Harlington, TX. He spent four years in the
backseat of an F-94, F-89, and F-101. He was then
stationed and few backseat in the F-89 and F-101 at
Malmstrom AFB in Great Falls, MT.
He and his wife Opal were married December 15,
1962. After the honeymoon, they learned Nevin had
been accepted to pilot training school in Oklahoma.
He later graduated top in his class in fying. From
1968 - 1971 he was stationed in Goldsboro, NC. In
1971 he was sent to Phu Cat, Vietnam for nearly a
year. During that time he helped turn the base back
over to the Vietnamese. He few 222 missions in an
F-4. Six airplanes in his squadron were shot down and
Nevin was the Escort Offcer for one of the prisoners
in China. From there Nevin, Opal, and their daugh-
ter Janice, went to Clark Air Base in the Philippines.
From 1974 - 1979 Nevin was an F-4 instructor in the
310th Squadron at Luke AFB in Phoenix.
Nevin retired from the Air Force in 1979. After re-
tirement, the family moved back to Great Falls where
Nevin few corporate for 18 years. He and his family
later moved to Farmington, UT. He few airplanes for
41 years and even few helicopters for some time.
Nevin enjoyed fshing, hunting and playing crib-
bage.
Robert Holt
CAPT Robert Edwin Holt,
US Navy Retired, 82, passed
away on June 30, 2012, after
a long fght with cancer.
He is survived by his
ever faithful and loving wife
of 61 years, Peggy L. Holt,
of Virginia Beach; daughter
Marilyn Holt of Vicksburg,
MS; daughter Connie L. An-
derson (husband Brian) of Virginia Beach; son Edwin
W. Holt of Valhalla, NY; and granddaughter Caitlin
V. Holt of Zephyrhills, FL, daughter of deceased son
David W. Holt (Viveca).
CAPT Holt served his country with honor and pride
for 35 years earning many medals and honors from the
time he enlisted as a 17-year-old Marine until his re-
tirement as a respected Navy Captain in 1981. Receiv-
ing his wings in 1951, he went on to serve in several
capacities including being CO of VA-55 fying combat
missions in Vietnam; as the frst CAG of Reserve Air
Wing 20; serving on the staff of COMNAVAIRLANT;
then as CO of the oiler USS Mississinewa; and end-
ing his career as Chief of Staff for COMOPTEVFOR.
His greatest joy was serving his Lord studying and
teaching God’s word and living his faith, serving as a
deacon and a very outspoken member of several com-
mittees at Thalia Lynn Baptist Church. He was loved
and respected by many and will be missed for his
knowledge and unique sense of humor.
James Light
Lt. Gen. James E. Light Jr.,
USAF Retired, a Shalimar,
Fla., resident since 1988
died June 6, 2012.
He was born Sept. 25,
1927, in Anderson, Ind., and
grew up in Lansing, Mich.
He served 38 years of active
duty in the U.S. Air Force
and was awarded three
Silver Stars, seven Distinguished Flying Crosses, a
Bronze Star and 19 Air Medals.
Page 21
Local Force Cinc Roster
National Board of Directors
President
Craig “Quizmo” Brown
7664 Bex Hill Court
Gainesville, VA, 20155
[email protected]
(571) 261-1722
Vice President
Teek “Hooker” Dorsett
3521 Rosewood Circle
Lynn Haven, FL, 32444
[email protected]
(919) 440-0474
General Secretary
Ken Schanke
7821 N Eunice St.
Tucson, AZ 85741
[email protected]
(520) 744-4852
Treasurer
Don Totten
7 Ashley Rd.
Asheville, NC 28805
[email protected]
(828) 298-9075
Ex-Officio
Swede Seagren
1711Hemlock Dr.
P.O. Box 324
Pocono Summit, PA, 18346
[email protected]
(570) 851-4854
General Counsel
Ron Lamb
900 47th St
Sacramento, CA 95819
[email protected]
(916) 454-0212
Secretary - Navy Affairs
Tom “Natty” Clark
17313 Cimarron Ln
Bellingham, WA 98229
[email protected]
(757) 515-9051
Secretary - Marine Affairs
Benjamin “Bono” Hinz
10655 Wexford St., Unit 2
San Diego, CA 92131
[email protected]
(858) 414-6729
Secretary - Air Force Affairs
Greg “Hoser” Craven
104 Thomick Pl
Goldsboro, NC 27530
[email protected]
(919) 735-1257
Historian
Dr. Gary “Moe” Lester
1005 Rocky Point Ct NE
Albuquerque, NM 87123
[email protected]
(505) 323-4245
Country Store
Shawn “Fritter” Fritz
142 Broadleaf Drive
Macon, GA 31210
H: 478-477-7766; C: 478-731-9827
www. av8rstuff.com/rrva1.html
VISIT THE RIVER RATS
ON OUR HOME PAGE:
www.river-rats.org
AIR WARRIOR COURAGE
FOUNDATION
www.airwarriorcourage.org
Editor: MIG SWEEP & Rat Net
Joe “Lurch” Richardson
10174 Hamlet Court
Union, KY 41091-7181
(859) 817-1941
[email protected]
Director - Scholarship Program
Ken Posey
82 Glentrace Circle
The Woodlands, TX 77382
[email protected]
(703) 863-1417
Chairman - Recruiting &
Retention Committee
Terry Stine
108 Corsica Dr.
Cibolo, TX 78108
[email protected]
(210) 269-8243
Secretary - Army Affairs
Mike Sloniker
3909 Creek Bank Road
Edmond, OK 73003
[email protected]
(405) 509-6784
Executive Director
John “SHADOW” Hope
P.O. Box 1553
Front Royal, VA 22630-0033
[email protected]
Phone (540) 636-9798
FAX (540) 636-9776
AK – Kevin “Showtime” Sutterfeld, 8731 Sonora Cir, Eagle River, AK 99577 (907) 854-6120, [email protected]
AL – Ed “Hertz” Vaughan, 3126 Southview Ave, Montgomery, AL 36106, (334) 303-9997, [email protected]
AZ - Phoenix - Lee Alton, 23651 N 112th Place, Scottsdale, AZ 85255, (480) 585-2487, [email protected]
Luke AFB – Capt Patrick “Phats” Kennedy, Attn: 309FS/Weapons, 309th FS, 14392 W Spad St Bldg 905, Luke AFB, AZ 85309, (702) 241-1769, [email protected]
Tucson - Ken Schanke, 7821 N Eunice St, Tucson, AZ 85741, (520) 744-4852, [email protected]
CA - Fresno – John “JC” Cotter, 1441 N Clovis # 49, Fresno, CA 93727, (559) 355-0396, [email protected]
Sacramento/Grass Valley - Mike Thompson, 17028 Oscar Dr, Grass Valley, CA 95949, (530) 274-8862, [email protected]
CO – Colorado Springs – Rollan Yocum, 6640 Park Ridge Ct, CO Springs, CO 80915, (719) 439-3259, [email protected]
FL - Eglin/Hurlburt Fld - Al Borchik, 31 Pebble Beach Dr, Shalimar, FL 32579, (850) 651-2435, [email protected]
NAS Pensacola – Vacant
Orlando - Stan Goldstein, 403 Mossy Stone Ct, Longwood, FL 32779, (407) 790-7163, [email protected]
Patrick AFB/Melbourne – Tank Sherman, 2210 Clairmont Dr, Cocoa, FL 32922, (321) 631-3439, [email protected]
Pensacola - Bob Flynn, 4024 Teal Way, Pensacola, FL 32507, (850) 492-1287
Tyndall AFB/Panama City – Tom Mason, 2661 Island View Dr, Panama City, FL 32405, (850) 769-7024, [email protected]
GA - Peachtree City - Gordie Tushek, 605 Embassy Ct, Peachtree City, GA 30269, (770) 842-4615 [email protected]
Moody AFB/ Valdosta – Tim “Nabber” Oliver, 5632 Cypress Lake Trl, Lake Park, GA 31636, 229 561-5251(c), [email protected]
Warner Robbins – “Smoka” Dubee, 1144 Thornblade Dr, Warner Robins, GA 31088, (478) 225-4758, [email protected]
HI - Putt Richards, 59-427 Kawowo Place, Haleiwa, HI 96712, (808)-635-0288, [email protected]
ID – Fitz & Pamela Fitzsimmons, 2100 Wapiti Ln, Mountain Home, ID 83647, (208) 590-0650, [email protected]
IL - Richard McDowell, 57 Selden St, Galesburg, IL 61401, (309) 344-7747, [email protected]
KS - McConnell/KS, Jim Bell, 14011 W Cavit St, Wichita, KS 67235, (316) 239-1492, [email protected]
LA - Harmon Dungan, 4110 Wellington Blvd, Alexandria, LA 71303, (318) 443-3363, [email protected]
MA - John Harris, 107 James Cir, Mashpee, MA 02649, (508) 477-9841 [email protected]
MD - Ace Acree, 15 Linstead Rd, Severna Park, MD 21146, (410) 812-9803, [email protected]
MI – Denny Sevakis, 1716 Bewllwood Ct, Bloomfeld, MI 48302, (248) 851-0795, [email protected]
MN - Bob Jasperson, 76 Garden Drive, Burnsville, MN 55337, (952) 432-7722, [email protected]
MS - Jim Stanley, 3940 Eastwood Dr, Jackson, MS 39211, (601) 362-0040, [email protected]
MO - Bob Cranston, 967 Aspennetter View Dr, Wright City, MO 63390, (636) 745-3220, [email protected]
MT - Arch Lorentzen, 406 Blaine Lakeshore Dr, Kalispell, MT 59901, (406) 755-1132, [email protected]
NC - Seymour Johnson AFB, Steven Bofferding, 406 Adler Ln, Goldsboro, NC 27530, (919) 648-2626, [email protected]
Goldsboro - Mike Cooper, 246 S Hillcrest Dr, Goldsboro, NC 27534, (919) 736-4116, [email protected]
Goldsboro - Richard “Saskwatch” Horton, 404 S. Cottonwood Dr., Goldsboro, NC 27530, (919) 734-3512, [email protected]
Pope AFB - Screech Craib, 408 Shawcroft Rd, Fayetteville, NC 28311, (910) 482-3830, [email protected]
NJ - Bill Milcarek, 78 Essex Street, Jersey City, NJ 07302, (646) 251-3624, [email protected]
NM - Albuquerque – John Wiebner, PO Box 3485, Edgewood, NM 87015, (505) 980-7069, [email protected]
NV - Las Vegas/Nellis AFB - Jack Redmond, 3497 La Paloma Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89121, (702) 458-3277, [email protected]
Page 22
Local Force Cinc Roster (Con’t)
RIVER RAT DUES O DONATIONS O CHANGE OF ADDRESS
FOR NEW MEMBER AND REJOIN FORMS CONTACT THE NATIONAL OFFICE
Name: Branch of Service: Active Duty: Guard:
Rank: DoB: Reserve: Retired:
Present Occupation/Company:
Address:
Tel(s) Res: Work: Fax:
E-Mail:
Donations
Change of Address
Dues
Mail To:
RRVA National Offce
PO Box 1553
Front Royal, VA 22630-0033
Dues & Donations may be made
by credit card by contacting the
National Offce.
One-Year Renewal ($30): _______________
Three-Year Renewal ($70): ______________
Life Membership (Contact National Offce)
Scholarship Fund: _____________________
General Fund: ________________________
1G Fund: ____________________________
In memory of: ________________________
In honor of: __________________________
Contact numbers for the National Offce of the River Rats are:
Phone:
Toll Free:
Fax:
Email:
(540) 636-9798
(866) 401-RATS
(540) 636-9776
[email protected]
Nellis AFB – “LJ” Rivers, 221 Coral Mist Pl, N. Las Vegas, NV 89084, (702) 497-8697, [email protected]
NY - Jerry Kochman, 290 Harned Rd, Commack, NY 11725, (631) 864-3064, [email protected]
OH - Wright Patterson AFB/Dayton - Chuck Rouhier, 716 Oakview Dr, Kettering OH 45429, (937) 293-7626, [email protected]
OK – Tulsa -- Mike Michael, 2937 E 77th St, Tulsa, OK 74136, (918) 494-0797, [email protected]
Vance AFB – Lt Col Darin “Bulldog” Booth, 5602 Pheasant Run Drive, Enid, OK 73703, (580) 478-7016, [email protected]
OR – Portland - Alphabet Szymkowicz, 20750 NW Highland Ct, Portland, OR 97229, (503) 645-3917, [email protected]
Klamath Falls – Wes French, 4306 El Cerrito Way, Klamath Falls OR 97603, (541) 892-7784, [email protected]
PA - Swede Seagren, PO Box 324 Pocono Summit PA 18346, (570) 839-8192, [email protected]
SC - Shaw AFB/Sumter - Bob Connelly, 5844 Fish Rd, Dalzell, SC 29040, (803) 499-2732, [email protected]
TN - J.C. Jones, 1015 Edgewater Cir, Gallatin, TN 37066, (615) 206-9083, [email protected]
TX - Lubbock/West TX - Ken Hite, 3701 75th St, Lubbock, TX 79423, (806) 799-3660, [email protected]
Dallas/Fort Worth – Todd (Toad) Almand, 513 Ironwood Dr, Keller, TX 76248, (817) 379-7912, [email protected]
Austin -Andy Olman, 7602 Parkview Cir, Austin, TX 78731, (512) 345-9157, [email protected]
San Antonio - Gary Baber, 8531 Phoenix Ave, Selma, TX 78154, (210) 659-4240, [email protected]
UT – SLC/Hill AFB - Bob Brickey, 2314 S 2200 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84109, (801) 484-7308, [email protected]
VA/DC - Dave Brog, PO Box 877, Silver Spring, MD 20918, (301) 588-1592, [email protected]
Pentagon/DC Active Duty – “Juice” Bowen, 529 N Alfred St, Alexandria, VA 22314, (703) 347-3798, [email protected]
WA - Seattle Joe Crecca, PO Box 2296, North Bend, WA 98045, (425) 888-2212, [email protected]
Spokane - R.J. Smith, 3547 S Croydon Ct, Spokane, WA 99203, (509) 747-4070, [email protected]
England - Lakenheath, James “Trace” Hayward, PSC 41 Box 5612, APO, AE 09464, [email protected]
Germany – Ramstein, Mark “Harpo” Hayes, PSC 2 Box 12181, APO, AE 09012, [email protected]
Korea – Seoul, Chris “Cliff” Ridlon, PSC 303 Box 27, APO, AP 96204, [email protected]
American Air Lines – Jeff “Tico” Tice, 8263 E Knollwood Ter, Tucson, AZ, 85750, 520 886-0811, [email protected]
Buffs/Tanks – Ed Wildeboor, 17714 162
nd
Ave, Renton, WA 98058, (425) 271-8154, [email protected]
Southwest Air Lines - Steve Miller, 623 W 250 S, Hebron, IN 46341, [email protected]
JetBlue – Lefty Leatham, 304 Tonya Dr, Goldsboro, NC 27534, (919) 751-1940, [email protected]
RED RIVER VALLEY ASSOCIATION, INC.
TM
RIVER RATS - RED RIVER VALLEY FIGHTER PILOTS ASSOCIATION
PO Box 1553
Front Royal, VA 22630-0033
ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED
NONPROFIT ORG.
U.S. Postage
PAID
San Antonio, TX
Permit No. 1773
2013 National Reunion
3-7 Apr 2013
Pensacola, FL
This is end of the Spring Break timeframe and lodging will be
tight. We have 185 rooms reserved and they are guaranteed
through February 15th but don’t wait until the last minute.
MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS
NOW!
Crowne Plaza Hotel, 200 E Gregory St, Pensacola FL
Call the hotel directly at: (850) 433-3336
Room rates start at $135/night for single or double occupancy.
Ask for the “Red River Valley Association” rate.
Watch the home page <http://www.river-rats.org/> for
the 2013 Reunion link on the menu bar for the latest
instructions and information.
See you all there!