Supporting freedom
on the night shift

By WND Staff

Editor’s note: Maj. Larry is an Air Force Reserve pilot who currently is serving in Operation: Enduring Freedom. He wrote this first-person account of his experience overseas. Larry has over 8,000 hours of flight time, including over 5,900 hours for the Air Force. He has been honored with several medals for accomplishments in previous military operations. For security reasons, Larry’s full name cannot be disclosed.

It is night. Americans back home are just finishing up their day, whether it be driving home from work or preparing for their children’s arrival from school. In a few hours, Americans will be turning on their TVs to watch the latest news or going to their favorite website to get the latest on the war against terrorism. Many are not even aware of just who is defending their country or where they are. My location is classified, so the news teams have yet to know just where we are. I am just one of many U.S. Air Force Reserve crewmembers that is volunteering his time while not being activated. We have a choice, and we all chose this duty. There are many of us, and hopefully this small story will bring you closer to why some of us are here.

I guess you can say that my family is a volunteer family. My father is a retired AF fighter pilot who did his time in Vietnam. My wife’s family also served in the military. But it was my 10-year-old daughter who was the first in our family to volunteer.

The Sept. 11 terrorist act was most difficult on her. Many times she had gone with her mother to visit NYC, and her favorite stop was the Twin Towers. What she remembers most is not the surroundings or the beautiful buildings, but the homeless person that helped her mother on directions to the nearest subway. She often wonders where that person is now. Everyone has a way of helping to heal the pain. Hers was to ask about a bake sale fund-raiser to raise money for the Red Cross. She has such a big heart for such a little girl. Her endeavors raised over $6,000. Local establishments along with large individual donations allowed a miracle to occur in a small school in New Jersey. I especially enjoyed seeing an individual write a $500 check for one cake. That’s what makes us Americans. When the question came to me about going, there was no second thought. It was the right thing to do! So here I am, late at night, preparing my KC-10 Aerial Refueler for another long and stressful flight.

I finally take our aircraft airborne and raise the gear. My thoughts do not take me to the tragedy of NYC, but to the Khobar Towers in Saudi Arabia, the embassies of Africa and the USS Cole. If only we had done something earlier, maybe the Sept. 11 tragedy would not have occurred. We will not let this happen again!

An hour and a half later, we are preparing for our first aerial refueling. We check in with our controller and are cleared into our assigned area. There are few lights, if any, over this country. The few flights during the day can see the desolation. I start to think about my family and how they are sacrificing the most. Who takes care of all the problems that occur at home every day? My wife is a single mother at this time and is holding the flag close to her heart. She is the one that has to put out all those small fires at home. I think about her often and how proud I am of her. She is scared, I know. The few times I can talk to her she does not let on how tough it can be at times. How I am blessed to have her on my side.

I missed my daughter’s first basketball game and her getting an “A” on her Science test. I especially miss those hugs, kisses and the quiet time together. I missed my 9-year-old son getting his braces, his first chess club match and his first drum lesson. I miss his large hugs and the way he glows when I return from work or after being gone for several days while flying with Northwest Airlines. I always remind myself that this is the right thing to do. We will not let it happen again!

Flying an aircraft to within 20 feet of a 500,000 pound aircraft is inherently dangerous. Combine the demanding art of aerial refueling with very low moon illumination along with less than the normal exterior lighting of the tanker aircraft due to combat operations and the aerial ballet becomes three times as difficult. Before I know it, our F-15 fighter jets are on our wing ready to begin the aerial refueling process. I notice that these “Strike Eagles” are fully loaded with armament. My thoughts take me to what this night has to offer the terrorists on the ground.


In-air fighter jet refueling

Our offload of fuel to our fighter aircraft goes without a hitch. This challenging maneuver proves once again that we have the world’s best fighter pilots on our side. We talk to our controller and he has a change for us. We are now the receiver and are cleared to our new area to receive fuel from another KC-10 tanker. This will increase our fuel load for another mission. The plan is always changing. This is war and nothing ever goes as planned. We find the tanker and tell ourselves, “It’s our turn to go to work.” Now we have two 500,000 pound aircraft flying to within 20 feet of each other while receiving our required on-load of fuel. Fifteen minutes later, we have completed our on-load and are ready for our next tasking. It does not take long; we are again cleared to another area and begin our trek.

Off in the distance we can spot what appears to be our fighter “going to work.” While it is a distance away, there is no doubt what they are doing. As I look to the surrounding area I notice that there are still no lights on the ground. The sky is clear with unrestricted visibility – a perfect night for our Air Force and Navy to perform their required flight duties. I also begin to think of all our troops humping it on the ground and what they must be going through. I’m glad they are on our side. We, without a doubt, have the best Army and Marines in the world. They will find this criminal and bring him to justice!

We arrive at our new area with no complications and begin to wait patiently. One hour later, we get our new orders to head to another location; our receiver is en route. We arrive, and five minutes later our B-1 bomber arrives. Our offload is complete in only 20 minutes. Another tanker arrives and we take on more fuel. Once complete, we wait again. Time seems to fly in this environment. We have been airborne for eight hours now. Our fighters return and we offload again. We do notice that they are light on their ordnance. I hope they were successful. We begin to calculate our fuel and determine that we have an hour of extra fuel available. We wait again. Another tanker is dispatched to our area and we offload all remaining available fuel to it. We have reached our minimum fuel level and are finally cleared home. I notice the time counter: 10 hours, 5 minutes. We still have over two hours of flight time to get to our home away from home. The sun is now beginning to rise and we can see one of our Navy aircraft carriers down below preparing for the day’s operations. I have no doubt that we have the best Navy in the world.

We finally arrive with our minimum fuel required, and it is the other pilot’s turn to land. As we roll out and prepare for our taxi, I notice the time counter: 12 hrs, 3 minutes. As we finally set the brakes and begin our post-flight checklist, I think to myself, “I sure hope that all Americans are sleeping well tonight.”


Readers wishing to communicate with Maj. Larry can send an e-mail to WND Vice President Rebecca Hagelin, who will forward them to him.