A-10s over Kosovo Read online

  Col Christopher E. Haave

  Col Chris “Kimos” Haave was born on 20 July 1960 and graduated from the USAFA in 1982. After pilot training at Laughlin, he flew the A-10 at RAF Woodbridge, United Kingdom, and the AT-38B at Holloman. He studied as an Olmsted Scholar in Lyon, France, and Boston, Massachusetts; attended the French Joint Defense College; and held staff positions at the Pentagon, the US Mission to NATO in Brussels, and the Supreme Headquarters Allied Powers Europe. He commanded the 81st Fighter Squadron “Panthers” at Spangdahlem from July 1998 to April 2000, and is currently the commander of the 612th Air Operations Group at Davis-Monthan.

  1st Lt Johnny L. Hamilton

  1st Lt Johnny “CBU” Hamilton is from Converse, Texas, and a 1996 graduate of Angelo State University with a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology. He has accumulated almost 800 flying hours in the A-10 at Spangdahlem and Osan. CBU is currently serving a two-year sentence as an air liaison officer at Fort Hood, Texas.

  Lt Col Phil M. Haun

  Lt Col Phil “Goldie” Haun was born on 7 February 1964 and is from Cecilia, Kentucky. He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in environmental engineering from Harvard University and a Master of Arts in economics from Vanderbilt University. Goldie is a weapons-school graduate with more than 2,000 flying hours in the A-10 with assignments at RAF Bentwaters, England; Osan; Spangdahlem; and Eielson. He attended Air Command and Staff College and the School of Advanced Air and Space Studies (SAASS) at Maxwell AFB, Alabama, following OAF. He is currently serving as the operations officer of the 355th Fighter Squadron (FS) at Eielson. Goldie and his wife, Bonnie, have two children—Clayton and Sadie.

  Lt Col Mark E. Koechle

  Lt Col Mark “Coke” Koechle is from Kokomo, Indiana, and is a 1983 graduate of Purdue University with Bachelor of Science degree in aeronautical engineering. He has accumulated more than 3,300 flying hours in the A-10 with assignments at RAF Bentwaters; Nellis; Fort Leavenworth, Kansas; Ramstein AB, Germany; and Spangdahlem. He commanded the 81st Fighter Squadron Panthers prior to his recent departure to attend the National War College, Washington, D.C. Coke is one of the few A-10 pilots to have flown in both OAF and Operation Desert Storm.

  1st Lt Stuart C. Martin

  1st Lt Stu “Co” Martin is a 1995 graduate of the USAFA where he received a Bachelor of Science degree in behavioral science. He accumulated more than 800 hours in the A-10 during his first operational assignment at Spangdahlem. He is continuing to fly the A-10 at Pope while assigned to the 74th FS.

  Capt Francis M. McDonough

  Capt Marty “JD” McDonough is from Orono, Maine, and graduated from the USAFA in 1989. He has accumulated more than 2,500 flying hours in the A-10 and T-38 aircraft with assignments at Columbus, Osan, Pope, and Spangdahlem. Marty is currently the USAFE chief of A/OA-10 standardization and evaluation at headquarters in Ramstein.

  Capt James P. Meger

  Capt James “Meegs” Meger from Lancaster, New York, graduated from the USAFA in 1992 with a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering. Meegs has flown more than 500 hours in the AT-38B and more than 1,500 hours in the A-10 during assignments to Osan and Spangdahlem. He is currently assigned to Langley AFB, Virginia, flying the F-15.

  Capt Michael J. Shenk

  Capt Mike “Hook” Shenk is from Downers Grove, Illinois, and graduated from Southern Illinois University at Carbondale in 1988. He has accumulated more than 2,600 flying hours in the T-38 and A-10 with assignments at Columbus, Spangdahlem, and Willow Grove Joint Reserve Base, Horsham Township, Pennsylvania. Hook is currently the assistant weapons officer for the 103d FS at Willow Grove and a flight officer for United Airlines.

  Capt Ronald F. Stuewe

  Capt Ron “Stu” Stuewe is from Papillion, Nebraska, and is a 1993 graduate from the USAFA. He has accumulated more than 1,500 flying hours in the A-10 with assignments at Shaw AFB, South Carolina; Pope; and Osan. Stu attended weapon school following OAF and is currently an instructor at the USAF Weapons School at Nellis.

  Col Alan E. Thompson

  Col Al “Moose” Thompson holds a business degree from the University of Connecticut. He served tours in both the Air and Joint Staff. He served as the 52d FW vice commander and commanded the 40th Expeditionary Operations Group at Gioia del Colle AB, Italy, during OAF. He also has commanded an operational support squadron and the Air Force Warrior Preparation Center at Einsiedlerhof Air Station, Germany. Colonel Thompson is a command pilot and has accumulated more than 3,500 flying hours in singleseat fighter and attack aircraft during his 14 assignments. Those assignments include Columbus; RAF Bentwaters; Davis-Monthan; Kunsan; Spangdahlem; and Misawa AB, Japan. After serving as a professor of air and space studies, and commanding the Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corps (AFROTC) detachment at the University of Pittsburgh, Colonel Thompson was selected to command the AFROTC program nationwide.

  Capt Ripley E. Woodard

  Capt “Rip” Woodard is from Houston/Klein, Texas, and is a 1989 graduate of Texas A&M University. He has accumulated more than 2,700 flying hours in the A-10, AT-38, and T-37 aircraft during assignments at Reese AFB, Texas; Spangdahlem; Randolph; and Williams AFB, Texas. Rip is currently an AT-38 instructor pilot in the Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals course at Randolph.

  CHRONOLOGY

  (Key: an asterisk marks activities and events covered in this book; other political and military activities are listed to provide context.)

  1999

  7 January

  The 81st Fighter Squadron (FS) deploys with six A-10s to Aviano AB, Italy, in support of Joint Forge.*

  15 January

  The Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Kosovo Verification Mission (KVM) reports a serious deterioration of the situation in the area. KVM patrols witness Serb army (VJ) tanks and armored vehicles firing directly into houses near Malopoljce and Petrova, and notes houses burning in Racak.

  16 January

  Returning to Racak, the KVM confirms that Serb security forces had killed 45 Albanian civilians and stated that it had evidence of arbitrary detentions, extrajudicial killings, and the mutilation of unarmed civilians by the security forces of the Former Republic of Yugoslavia (FRY).

  28 January

  Secretary General Javier Solana of NATO issues a statement indicating that NATO fully supports the enhanced status for Kosovo, preservation of the territorial integrity of the FRY, and protection of the rights of all ethnic groups. The statement calls for FRY authorities to immediately bring the force levels, posture, and actions of the Yugoslav army and the Special Police into strict compliance with their commitments to NATO on 25 October 1998 and to end the excessive and disproportionate use of force in accordance with these commitments.

  30 January

  NATO’s primacy focus remains on the peace negotiations in Rambouillet, France; all the while, intelligence reports clearly show a significant buildup of FRY forces in Kosovo. The North Atlantic Council (NAC) gives Secretary General Solana the authority to authorize air strikes against targets on FRY territory.

  7 February

  The 81st FS is extended for 30 days and directed to stand up combat search and rescue (CSAR).*

  1 March

  The 81st FS is extended indefinitely and is authorized 15 A-10s.*

  19 March

  After the Kosovar Albanians sign the proposed agreement, negotiations are suspended, and the Serb delegates leave Paris without signing it. They denounce the Western ultimatum as a violation of international law and the UN charter. The KVM withdraws from Kosovo. Almost onethird of the FRY’s total armed forces, massed in and around Kosovo, commences the systematic expulsion of Kosovo’s ethnic Albanians, codenamed Operation Horseshoe. Many were driven out of their homes and villages. Some victims are summarily executed, hundreds of thousands are displaced, and many lose their homes when Serbs set fire to them.

  21 March

  US Ambassador Richard C. Holbrooke is dispatched to Belgrade to deliver a “final warning”
to Slobodan Milosevic.

  23 March

  Ambassador Holbrooke departs Belgrade, having received no concessions of any kind from Milosevic. Subsequently, Secretary General Solana directs Gen Wesley K. Clark, supreme allied commander Europe (SACEUR) to initiate air operations in the FRY.

  24 March

  Operation Allied Force (OAF) commences with combat operations against Serbian forces.*

  25 March

  The Yugoslav government breaks off diplomatic relations with the United States, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom.

  27 March

  After an F-117 is lost near Belgrade, a successful 81st-led CSAR effort recovers the pilot.*

  30 March

  Combined Air Interdiction of Fielded Forces (CAIFF) begins operations but is limited to 10 miles penetration of Kosovo.*

  1 April

  Serbian forces capture three US soldiers in the FRY of Macedonia.

  3 April

  NATO missiles strike central Belgrade for the first time and destroy the Yugoslav and Serbian interior ministries.

  5 April

  Maj Devo Gross flies his first combat sortie with Capt Lester Less.*

  6 April

  The first successful A-10 attack occurs during OAF. Weather finally permits an AFAC to locate and destroy a Serb truck park.*

  Lt Col Kimos Haave controls an 18-ship package against military vehicles and petroleum, oils, and lubricants (POL) targets.*

  7 April

  CAIFF operations changes its name to Serb army (VJ)–Serb Interior Ministry police (MUP) Engagement Zone (VMEZ); included all of Kosovo.*

  Maj Dirt Fluhr transmits on the radio: “Hey, they’re shooting at us!”*

  8 April

  Capt JD McDonough destroys fuel trucks.*

  9 April

  Capt Rip Woodard successfully recovers his A-10 after experiencing a dual-engine flameout in the weather at flight level (FL) 300.*

  10 April

  The NAC approves the concept of operations and the operations plan for Allied Harbor, the NATO humanitarian effort in Albania.

  11 April

  The 81st FS moves to Gioia del Colle.*

  Col Al Thompson stands up the 40th Expeditionary Operations Group (EOG).*

  14 April

  Bear 31 (an F-16 AFAC) leads an attack on a column of approximately 100 vehicles. Many are destroyed, and 64 noncombatants are killed before Cub 31 (Capt JD McDonough) identifies the convoy as civilian. Bear 31 then terminates the F-16 and French Jaguar attacks.*

  15 April

  This is the first day that Macedonian airspace can be used to fly attack missions.*

  The VMEZ changes to the Kosovo engagement zone (KEZ).*

  Five 74th FS aircraft, nine pilots, and 65 support personnel arrive from Pope AFB and are integrated into 81st EFS.*

  21 April

  All European Union countries agree to stop oil-product deliveries by or through member states to the FRY. NATO missiles hit the Belgrade headquarters of Milosevic’s Serbian Socialist Party and his private residence; the allies believed that both could command and control VJ/MUP forces.

  22 April

  Alliance nations reaffirm the conditions that will bring an end to the air campaign and announce an intensification of that campaign.

  Maj Devo Gross and Capt Boo Bullard destroy a group of 20–30 military trucks near U-Town and six tanks in a river bed.*

  1 May

  Four 40th EOG Sandys lead the rescue of Hammer 34, an F-16 pilot shot down in northern Serbia.*

  Maj Corn Mays, Maj Devo Gross, Capt Meegs Meger, and Lt Scud Curley dodge multiple surface-to-air missiles (SAM) and attack a troop concentration.*

  Col Al Thompson, Lt Col Kimos Haave, and others discuss ROE and Apache helicopter options with Lt Gen Mike Short and Lt Gen John Hendrix, USA, at Tirana, Albania.*

  Three captured US soldiers are released into the custody of US civil rights leader Jesse Jackson.

  2 May

  Maj Goldie Haun kills a self-propelled artillery piece and strafes two tanks, is hit by an SA-14 missile, and recovers to Skopje, Macedonia.*

  4 May

  Great Flat Face–Giraffe Hunt begins.*

  5 May

  The ROEs change. The “within 10 nautical miles (NM) of the border” sanctuary is replaced by three zones: 0–2, 2–5, and 5–10 NM of border, with progressively increasing likelihood of target approval.*

  7 May

  NATO planes accidentally bomb the Chinese Embassy in Belgrade, killing three and wounding 20. NATO describes the bombing as a “tragic mistake” caused by “faulty information.” The United States and NATO say that the intended target was a Yugoslav building with military use, but US maps used in the planning of the operation were old and had the embassy located at a previous address.

  11 May

  An A-10 AFAC is hit beneath the cockpit by a shoulder-fired missile. The warhead does not detonate, and the pilot is able to recover the aircraft to Gioia.*

  A Predator UAV operator provides Lt Col Coke Koechle’s flight with real-time target coordinates of a Serb army command post and hidden armored vehicles. The Serb command post and armor targets are destroyed.*

  Lt Col Surgeon Dahl flies the last flight of his tour (fini-flight) with wingman Lt Hummer Cerone on his first combat sortie; several military vehicles are destroyed with secondary explosions.*

  14 May

  At least 79 people are killed and 58 wounded when NATO missiles hit Korisa, a village in southern Kosovo.

  Capt Hook Shenk flies a mission check-ride; Capt Scrape Johnson evaluates while flying as Hook’s wingman. They attack targets and dodge a SAM.*

  19 May

  Russia says mediation efforts with the West are deadlocked. A NATO bomb kills 10 inmates in a Pristina jail.

  The 104th EOG arrives at Trapani AB, Sicily.

  22 May

  A UN humanitarian mission visits Kosovo, as NATO admits its mistake in bombing Kosovo Liberation Army positions at Kosare, near the border with Albania. Sources close to the KLA say seven guerillas were killed and 15 injured.

  Milosevic and four other Serbian leaders are indicted by the UN International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia (ICTY) for crimes against humanity. The indictment is amended and expanded on 29 June 2001.

  23 May

  NATO begins a bombing campaign against the Yugoslav electricity grid, creating a major disruption of power that affects many militaryrelated activities and water supplies.

  The 104th EOG begins to fly missions out of Trapani AB, Sicily.

  31 May

  1st Lt Hummer Cerone and 1st Lt Co Martin pass their flight-lead check rides and pin on captain bars.

  8 June

  The West and Russia reach a landmark agreement on a draft UN resolution at the annual meeting of the heads of state of the eight major industrial democracies (G8) in Cologne, France. NATO calls on Milosevic to resume military talks on troop withdrawal at once.Talks between senior NATO and FRY officers on a Serb pullout from Kosovo resume in Macedonia and continue into the night.

  9 June

  This is the last day authorized for NATO forces to expend ordnance.

  Slobodan Milosevic capitulates and agrees to withdraw forces from Kosovo.*

  Maj James “Jimbo” MacCauley and 1st Lt Scud Curley are shot at by mobile SAMs, return the attack, and score a probable SAM kill.*

  Col Al Thompson attacks armored personnel carriers (APC) near Mount Osljak.*

  Military talks continue with senior NATO and FRY officers. Late in the day, the two parties sign the Military Technical Agreement.

  10 June

  Secretary General Solana calls for a suspension of NATO air strikes after receiving definite evidence that Serb forces are withdrawing from northern Kosovo. The UN Security Council adopts Resolution 1244 on Kosovo. In Cologne, G8 ministers draft a plan to anchor the Balkans to Western Europe and rebuild Kosovo.

  11 June

  Col Al Thompson passes com
mand of the 40th EOG to Col Gregg Sanders and returns to Spangdahlem.*

  20 June

  In accordance with the 9 June Military Technical Agreement, Serb forces completely withdraw from Kosovo, leading Secretary General Solana to officially end NATO’s bombing campaign in the Former Republic of Yugoslavia.

  30 June

  A-10s cease CSAR and close air support (CAS) alert as NATO occupation forces enter the KEZ.*

  2000

  6 October

  Milosevic concedes defeat in the presidential election to Vlajislav Kostunica. Milosevic gives up power after widespread protests and Russian urging.

  2001

  29 June

  Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic of Serbia invokes Yugoslavia’s obligations under international law to support the transfer of Milosevic to the UN war crimes tribunal at The Hague. Milosevic is charged with committing crimes against humanity in Kosovo and Croatia. In November 2001, the charge of genocide is added, stemming from his alleged activity during the 1992–95 Bosnian war.

  2002

  12 February

  Milosevic’s trial begins in The Hague with Milosevic acting as his own defense lawyer. He is the first head of state to face an international warcrimes court.

  Chapter 1

  THE A-10, ITS MISSIONS, AND THE HOG UNITS THAT FLEW IN OPERATION ALLIED FORCE

  Lt Col Chris “Kimos” Haave

  Introduction

  The A-10 Thunderbolt II is the last in a long line of fighter and attack aircraft named “Thunder,” which were built by the Fairchild Republic Aircraft Company of Farmingdale, New York. Its notable ascendants include its namesake the P-47 Thunderbolt, the F-84 Thunderjet, the F-84F Thunderstreak, and the storied F-105 Thunderchief, whose name was familiarly abbreviated to “Thud.” The Thunderbolt II was developed to provide close air support (CAS) and improve on the Air Force’s experience with the reliable Vietnam War–era Douglas A-1E “Skyraiders.” The A-1E was a rugged and versatile ground-attack fighter that could loiter for extended periods in the target area and effectively employ a wide variety of air-to-ground weaponry. These attributes well served the CAS and combat search and rescue (CSAR) mission needs; pilots flying the A-1E on CSAR missions were first to use the “Sandy” call sign. To provide similar capabilities, the A-10 was designed as a straight-wing, subsonic attack aircraft uniquely equipped with an internal seven-barrel GAU-8 30 millimeter (mm) Gatling gun. It can also employ a large variety of weapons—including AGM-65 Maverick missiles—and can defend itself with air intercept missiles (AIM). Early in its history, the A-10’s appearance earned it the beloved nickname “Warthog,” which is often shortened to “Hog.” Many A-10 units have unofficial patches or coffee mugs with the motto “Go Ugly Early”—a testimony to its unique allure and the affection felt by those associated with it.