Hey all,
Checking-in from northern Iraq. Finally got a couple hours of down time and an available computer together to allow me a little time to post here.
First off, the whole care-pack operation: Can't give enough thanks for everyone's contribution; it's more appreciated than any of you will ever know. Not fun being away from home over the holidays, and your thoughts, thanks, and kind offerings definately went far and above anything anyone's done so far for us here. Hope each and every one of you had a good holiday time, and are looking forward to the new year.
The flying here is interesting. WX-wise, Kirkuk AB temp and dew point seemingly hover close to each other all the time. Hence, one second, it'll be better than 5K/5, then 10 minutes later, be less than 100-1/4. Really makes one who's done most of their IFR time in AZ have to work. Higher-level WX makes tanking a pain in the butt at times, with thunderstorms prevelant and more St Elmo's fire than I've ever seen before....even more concerning when seeing it while tanking. Combine that with low-illum lately from a lack of moon, and NVG-ops become a challenge. Have had to go missed on PARs here, something I've yet had to do in my career, especially when PARs go lower on mins than ILS, generally speaking. Is nice, though, to be able to shoot a missed, climb to the nearby tanker track, fill up, and be able to do it all over again, less the one time when the tanker had a sour boom.....
Mission here is primarily to support ongoing ground operations in theatre. Anything from convoy escort to CAS on demand is what we do, along with some of the other assets in and around theatre. Often goes from boring as heck, to fast and furious in no time....back and forth. Key is simply being ready for all contingencies and being able to retain maximum flexibility; qualities necessary when showing up to a ground battle in progress, frequencies jammed with comm, and needing to quickly un-• the situation at hand, figure out who is who on the ground, who's shooting where, and take care of the necessary business, while avoiding getting your own a$$ shot off.
Again all, more thanks than I, and everyone else here, can ever give for making our lives here a little easier. If anyone wants to get some time in the A-10 sim at DM, or otherwise get a tour of the jet, I'm more than game for doing that for my remaining time there.
Regards,
MikeD
Checking-in from northern Iraq. Finally got a couple hours of down time and an available computer together to allow me a little time to post here.
First off, the whole care-pack operation: Can't give enough thanks for everyone's contribution; it's more appreciated than any of you will ever know. Not fun being away from home over the holidays, and your thoughts, thanks, and kind offerings definately went far and above anything anyone's done so far for us here. Hope each and every one of you had a good holiday time, and are looking forward to the new year.
The flying here is interesting. WX-wise, Kirkuk AB temp and dew point seemingly hover close to each other all the time. Hence, one second, it'll be better than 5K/5, then 10 minutes later, be less than 100-1/4. Really makes one who's done most of their IFR time in AZ have to work. Higher-level WX makes tanking a pain in the butt at times, with thunderstorms prevelant and more St Elmo's fire than I've ever seen before....even more concerning when seeing it while tanking. Combine that with low-illum lately from a lack of moon, and NVG-ops become a challenge. Have had to go missed on PARs here, something I've yet had to do in my career, especially when PARs go lower on mins than ILS, generally speaking. Is nice, though, to be able to shoot a missed, climb to the nearby tanker track, fill up, and be able to do it all over again, less the one time when the tanker had a sour boom.....
Mission here is primarily to support ongoing ground operations in theatre. Anything from convoy escort to CAS on demand is what we do, along with some of the other assets in and around theatre. Often goes from boring as heck, to fast and furious in no time....back and forth. Key is simply being ready for all contingencies and being able to retain maximum flexibility; qualities necessary when showing up to a ground battle in progress, frequencies jammed with comm, and needing to quickly un-• the situation at hand, figure out who is who on the ground, who's shooting where, and take care of the necessary business, while avoiding getting your own a$$ shot off.
Again all, more thanks than I, and everyone else here, can ever give for making our lives here a little easier. If anyone wants to get some time in the A-10 sim at DM, or otherwise get a tour of the jet, I'm more than game for doing that for my remaining time there.
Regards,
MikeD