the magazine of aviation warriors - river rats · red river valley fighter pilots association issue...

Issue No. 158 FALL 2012RED RIVER VALLEY FIGHTER PILOTS ASSOCIATIONThe Magazine of Aviation Warriors

Inside:

(Cover: from painting by Jack Fellows, High Road to Hanoi, used with permission)

Fall 2012-13 Scholarship Program UpdateRiver Rats in the NewsThe Twelve Days of ChristmasHawgsmoke 2012...and much more

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 ................................................................... 1From the ViCe .................................................................... 2Fall 2012-13 Scholarship Program Update .................... 3-4Story Time ......................................................................... 4River 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 50th Reunion, October 2012 .......... 7Firing Circle ....................................................................... 7Do you know where these lost Rats are? ........................... 8Tactics Conferences ...................................................... 9-10 2012 Western Washington River Rats Annual BBQ .. 9-10

My Two Bits ..................................................................... 10The Twelve Days of Christmas................................... 11-13The Unexpected Good Deal ............................................ 14Hawgsmoke 2012 ....................................................... 15-16Air Warrior Courage Foundation News ...................... 17-18River Rat Donations ........................................................ 17Air Warrior Courage Foundation Donations ................... 19Welcome New River Rats ................................................ 19Rejoining River Rats ....................................................... 19Final Sweep ..................................................................... 20National Board of Directors ............................................ 21Local Force Cinc Roster ............................................. 21-222013 National Reunion ..................................... Back Cover

Greetings 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 first 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 fleeting-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 office 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

From the ViCe

HOOKER DORSETT

Hello 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 fly a T-38 4-ship in the morning and the F-4 4-ship in the afternoon with my presiding officer 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 flights 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 flew 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!

For 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 fields 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 financial 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 financial 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 final 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 UpdateKen Posey, Director Scholarship Program

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-Officio 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 Timea·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 fighting 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 officers 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.

River Rats in the News

On July 13th 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 fifty years of safe operations. Rick actually exceeded the 50-year figure by flying for 53 years without a mishap. This was despite flying 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 flying experiences.

From nose cone to empennage Rick Drury is totally aviation. His last 53 years of flying 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 flying herself is the icing on the cake.

This was a fitting recognition of a brilliant flying career.

Vietnam Fund for Education, Music & InfrastructureOn 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 first pitch. Despite sweating steel peanuts that he would make a flub 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 Coyle4148 Howe Street

Oakland, CA 94611

The 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 88th 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 reflected his appearance during the Korean War where he shot down 10 enemy airplanes. In addition, “Goldie” Goldfein coordinated a project with the 37th TW to repaint the Saber Jet on static display at the museum with the same markings that adorned the F-86 that Ralph flew 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 560th FTS at Randolph AFB. Welcoming remarks were given by Colonel Eric Axelbank, Commander of the 37th TW.

Double Ace Ralph Parr Honored

Inscription on plaque:

Colonel Ralph S. ParrDouble Ace

Distinguished Service CrossAir Force CrossSilver Star3 Legion of Merit Medals10 Distinguished Flying Crosses641 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 37th 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 Officers 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.

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

On June 9th, 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 2nd Lieutenants.

River Rat Joe Crecca was invited by the 895th 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 2nd Louies were going to face and made a special point of telling them that joining the Air Force and getting their commissions as officers was the first big, and best step, they could have taken. Three of the 2nd Lieutenants are going to pilot training.

Induction into Oklahoma Military Hall of FameRiver 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 first Air Force weapon systems officer to become an Ace in Vietnam, after shooting down six MiGs.

8th TFW ReunionFt. Worth, TX

10-14 OCT 2012For further information contact:

Johnnie Eller([email protected] 817-426-5345)

The Nite Owl reunions are for all squadron mates who flew with the 497th TFS during the 9+ years we had flight 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]

CIRCLE

FIRINGI 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 Office 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 first 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 50th Reunion, October 2012

Seeking information regarding classmate Jeff Hornaday.

Jeff 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 flew 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]

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:

SHADOWPO Box 1553Front 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?

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.

Following some recent days in the mid-nineties, the Western

Washington River Rats in the Pacific 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-fighter pilot Al Jones, 93, who flew Wellington bombers with the RCAF, then transferred to the

USAAF where he first flew Bristol “Beaufighters.” His motivation to become a night fighter pilot was that he was almost shot down himself by a Luftwaffe night fighter. Later, his unit received the new P-61 “Black Widows.” After shooting down one Stuka with his Beaufighter 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 flank 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 flavor-enhancing preparation of Prik Nahm Pla, a concoction offered by RR Rick Drury consisting of Thai chilies, minced garlic, lime juice and Thai fish sauce. One spoonful of that stuff was enough to set your taste buds aflame. 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 flew 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 raffled off. Al Jones “won” the first 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

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! HếtJoe CreccaWestern 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 five 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

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 ChristmasBy Joe “Lurch” Richardson

On 18 December 1972, Ubon Royal Thai AFB, Thailand, Major

B.V. Johnson, Operations Officer 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 finally gotten serious about taking the fight 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 flown 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 fired at our chaff flights the night we went to Haiphong. Since we had to lay the chaff corridors on precise routes and at specific altitutes, we were unable to apply normal SAM evasive maneuvers. We flew 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 figured 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

chaff flight. 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 flight 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 flight. With their heads down, concentrating on the count and the pickle button, more than one backseater was to ask what the flash 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 find a

hole and hide until the bombs stopped falling. That first 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 fly 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 first wave and I was to be his deputy lead. We were organized into five flights 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 flight 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 configured with CBU canisters and three bags of gas. In order to flounder 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 flight 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 flushed 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 figured 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 fire 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 fly 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

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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 finally 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

postflight refueling. As we turned for home the fireworks 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 finger, pointing their attack axis.

When I watch the annual fireworks display on Labor Day each year here in Cincinnati, it reminds me of that night.

I led four more 20-ship chaff flights over the remainder of the “Twelve Days,” flying 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 fill the sky with flak; they would fire 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 fly, 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 flares, 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 Officer (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

The Unexpected Good DealBy Sean “Scraps” Leyden

It was the spring of 2000 and I was on my sec-ond deployment. I was the most senior JO (ju-

nior officer) 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 flight 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 first Super Hornet squadron—the F/A-18E/F Fleet Replacement Squadron, or RAG.

The Wildcat’s Operations Officer, 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 flight 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 flight 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 flight 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 flight 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 find Wedge scratching his head, trying to figure 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 flying 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 flight 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 flight! 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 fighter pilot at the end of his first 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 flight back around to the ship before we fin-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 flown 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 airfield, we spotted the MiGs sitting on the runway ready for a formation takeoff. They waited until we were over the field 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

fighter pilots do when they see one, I had to fight an itchy trigger finger 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 flight in formation as -3 and 4.

It was a really special flight, 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 flight 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 airfield 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 flight leads have to do sometimes and made a judgment call. I sacri-ficed 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 fixed 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 flight 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 flying-bliss spent in formation with two very real MiG-21s. I was truly the undisputed Good Deal Boy of VFA-131!

Hawgsmoke 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 fighter, 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, firing the AGM-65 “Maverick” missile, and strafing proficiency 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 354th FS the BULLDOGS. Again this year, 17 teams participated, including Spangdahlem and Osan (flying 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, briefings, and a great memorial service at Warrior Park on base (Warrior Park was established in 1984 with significant help from the River Rats). Fallen warrior recognition was held with the reading of the names of all A-10 drivers who died flying the aircraft. After the reading, all A-10 pilots were then led in drinking a shot of Jeremiah Weed by Col Kevin Blanchard, the 355th Wing Commander. They then smashed their shot glasses in a fireplace built for the event.

Thursday had all squadrons flying their competition missions on Gila Bend Gunnery range. The weather cooperated so all the flying was completed on schedule. Thursday night was a wild one at the club.

Hawgsmoke 2012Tucson, AZ

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 357th FS (Dragons) from home base Davis-Monthan won the overall event. The 66th 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, AZ2. 66 WPS, Nellis AFB, NV3. 104th FS, Baltimore, MD

Top Attack Pilot:1. Capt Eric “Elmer” Hart, 357th FS2. Capt Sam “Syndrome” Moreland,

357th FS3. Maj Bill “Zuter” Zutell, 104th FS

GPS Out Maverick: 357th FS, Davis-Monthan AFB, AZ

Moving Lieutenant Strafe:1. Maj Curt “Kid” Martin, 163rd FS2. Capt Marcus “Nestle” Flagg, 25th

FS3. Capt Aaron “Geezus” Cavazos,

358th FS

30 High Angle Strafe HARS:1. Lt Col Todd “Hitch” Hitchcock,

CEP: 0 meters, 190th FS2. Lt Col Rob “Sweetness” Sweet,

CEP: 0.8 meters, 76th FS3. Maj Bryan “Stoner” Stone, CEP:

1.15 meters, 303rd FS

30 Dive Bomb:1. Mag Andy “Diggler” Kamataris, 0

meters (tiebreaker: 17pts), 104th FS2. Capt James “PETA” Kappes, CEA 0

meters (tiebreaker: 68pts), 81st FS3. 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 FS2. Capt Ryan “Coppa” Allen, CEA:

2.45 meters, 74th FS3. Maj James “McGruff” Hunt, CEA:

2.75 meters, 45th FS

10 Pop HARS1. Capt Aaron “Boom” Bohn, CEA:

8.75 meters, 76th FS2. Capt Jaret “Jaws” Biggers, CEA:

15.7 meters, 81st FS3. 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 SchankeLocal 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

Air Warrior Courage Foundation NewsBy Dave Brog

This 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 floor. 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 traffic. 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 fibrosis, 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 financial assistance to active duty families whose children need this therapy. We have our own medical adviser, River Rat Dr. Mike Herndon, who certifies that each of our riders has a condition that could benefit 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 5th 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 certificate 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 certificate.

River RatsCombined 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 ...................................................$50.00Howard 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 .........................................$172.55Judith 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 .................................................$30.00Tucson River Rats ........................................$100.00

(In Memory of Lu Hummon)Lewis Weiland ................................................$20.00

AIR WARRIOR COURAGE FOUNDATIONBAMC TROOP SUPPORT PROJECT

(ADMINISTERED BY THE RALPH PARR RIVER RAT PACK)

SummaryMay 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 certificate to the wounded warrior as his wife proudly watches. Observing on the right are Rich Shook, Tom Goffus and Hank Cloutier.

Winter (2013)MIG SWEEPClose dAte:

15 noVember 2012Welcome New River Rats

Lt Col Gordon ‘Gordo’ Amsler (Ret) USAFMaj Del Belanger (Ret) US ArmyCol John ‘JC’ Carter Jr. (Ret) USAFCapt. Matthew ‘BTK’ Clark USAFCDR Phillip ‘Convoy’ Clay USN

Thank you for your generosity

Air WArrior CourAge FoundAtion Donations

(as of August 15, 2012)

Jan Lockhart ...................................................$50.00Seth Nehring ................................................$200.00Lewis Weiland ................................................$30.00Jennifer Kaiser ...............................................$30.00CAPT J.R. Davis ..........................................$200.00Scrappy Johnson .......................................$1,000.00John Page .......................................................$50.00Microsoft Matching Gifts Program ..............$200.00Ron Shepard .................................................$100.00Col. David and Kathryn Snell ......................$100.00RRVA Phoenix Pack .....................................$800.00David Walling ..............................................$100.00Bette King ......................................................$15.00Michael 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 SupportArmy Residence Community Protestant Chapel ..$1,500.00Erin 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 ...............................$50.00Lori Klindera .............................................$1,200.00Mary E. Rocco .............................................$500.00

Christmas HopeGail Huineker ...............................................$200.00Joe and Marie McShane ...............................$250.00Don 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 EttingerTom Halley ...................................................$105.00Billy and Dell Sparks .....................................$25.00Patti and Frosty Sheridan ............................$200.00Glenn Vorres ................................................$100.00Dave and Arnie Hedges ...............................$110.00Edwin and Maggie Baumann .........................$30.00Jack and Anita McEncroe ............................$200.00Bob 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 .............................................$300.00Julie Cummings .............................................$10.00David Cochran .............................................$100.00Charlie and Kristin Finley ............................$200.00Erika Kelly .....................................................$20.00

Bill Grass .......................................................$50.00Seth Curl ........................................................$50.00Tyler Guenzel ...............................................$800.00Connie Whitmore .........................................$100.00Richard Horton .............................................$200.00Patrick Cassidy .............................................$600.00Cynthia Grosvenor .......................................$100.00John and Sunshine Burgess ..........................$453.00John B. Burgess............................................$100.00

Katz Deli ProjectBruce Gerrity ...............................................$100.00Ivan Ivanov ..................................................$100.00Frederick Barrett ............................................$50.00Tracy Flick .....................................................$50.00D. A. Richwine ...............................................$50.00Special Forces Association Chapter XI .........$1,000.00John Sandoz ..............................................$1,000.00Samuel Morthland ........................................$325.00John Craig ......................................................$50.00Floyd Marsteller .............................................$50.00William Moore .............................................$100.00A. James Diehl .............................................$100.00Hoffmasters Marina .....................................$400.00Edward Maloney ..........................................$500.00

White FamilyMichelle Linn ...............................................$100.00

Young FamilyTodd Moore ..................................................$800.00

Ziegler Family(In Memory of Captain Eric Ziegler)

Denise Lahav .................................................$25.00Jan Suttlemeyer ............................................$422.00Hayley Hartstein ............................................$50.00

ONEG

CLUB

Major John ‘Shrek’ Cobb USAF-ANGLt Col John ‘The Dude’ Cole USAFColonel David ‘Knotso’ Cool USAFMr. Jeffrey ‘Wally’ Davidson (Frmr) USAFCapt. Adam R. Desy USMCMajor Rick ‘Magneto’ Erkkila USAFCaptain Adam ‘SWAT’ Erlandson USAFMajor Tara J. Erlandson USAFColonel Leonard R. Fuchs Jr. USMCLt Col Lance ‘Zap’ Glidden USAFColonel Gerald ‘Krusty’ Goodfellow USAF1Lt Andrew R. Griffin USAFMajor Matthew ‘Crater’ Hannon USAF1Lt Lauren C. Hettich USAF1Lt Everett E. Hite USAFMajor Cody ‘Buckle’ Hoagland USAFCapt. Jason ‘Crack’ Holmes USAFMaj Thomas ‘Mikey’ Isenberg USAF-ANG1Lt Meggan ‘Newton’ Jacobsma USAF1Lt Nathan W. Johnson USAFMaj William ‘Quatro’ Johnson USAFLt Col Christopher ‘Fatty’ Jones USAF-ANGLT Ian ‘Slick’ Kemp USNColonel Roger ‘Doc’ Kemp (Ret) USAF-ANGCapt. John ‘Rocket’ Koegel III USAFLt Col Marshall ‘War Dog’ Lefavor (Ret) USMCMs Cathy S. Levins (Surviving Spouse)LCDR Sean ‘Scraps’ Leyden (Frmr) USNLTJG Matthew ‘Matt’ Manship USN1Lt Matthew J. Martinez USAFColonel Terrance ‘Marco’ McCaffrey USAFCapt. Wayne R. Merrill USAFCol John W. Meservey USAF1Lt Thomas D Meyer USAFLt Col Kenneth ‘Murdock’ Murray (Ret) USAF1Lt Andrew K. Olson USAFMSgt Robert ‘Rio’ Owen USAF-ANGLtCdr David ‘Hey Joe’ Parsons USNColonel Jonathan ‘Pigeon’ Payne USAF-ANGCapt. Richard ‘Sheriff’ Peace USAF-ANGMrs. Nadine S. Pearish (Surviving Spouse)1Lt Christopher ‘Walleye’ Pezzini USAF1Lt Eric C. Purkett USAFLt Col Jeffrey ‘Rudy’ Randolph (Ret) USAFRCapt. Anne ‘THEAGS’ Ridlon USAFCapt. Jacob E Rieth USAFMajor Travis ‘Posum’ Ruhl USAFColonel A. ‘Flounder’ Rutherford (Ret) USAFCapt. Steven ‘Smash’ Shallenberger USAFColonel Harry ‘Ron’ Squiers (Ret) USAFColonel William ‘Bill’ Stewart (Ret) USAFCol Kenneth ‘Tot’ Tatum Jr. USAFLt Col John ‘Jet’ Thompson (Ret) USAFLt Col Jeff ‘Mute’ Tidwell USAF-ANGColonel Raymond ‘Buzz’ Toth USAF1Lt Zachary ‘Zach’ Wallace USAF-ANGColonel John H. Wambough Jr. USAFLt Col James C. Warren USAFCapt. Matthew H. Yarrington USAF

Rejoining River RatsCapt. Robert ‘Bob’ Bush (Frmr) USAFLt Col Lawrence ‘Larry’ Devine (Ret) USAFCDR Daniel ‘Grumpy’ Graham (Ret) USNColonel Scott ‘Flex’ Patten USAF-ANGMajor Jeffrey ‘LJ’ Rivers USAFLt Col Brent ‘Spaite’ Vosseller USAFCol Robert ‘Scott’ Weichert USAFRTSgt Rollan ‘Yoke’ Yocum (Ret) USAF

Take unto Thyself, O Lord,the souls of the valiant.

FINAL SWEEPRUSSELL BARTLETT

USAF Colonel (Ret)6/27/12

ROBERT ‘IRISH’ CASEYUSAF Colonel (Ret)

7/24/12

NEVIN HEISERUSAF Major (Ret)

6/24/12

ROBERT HOLTUSN CAPT (Ret)

6/30/12

JAMES LIGHTUSAF Lt Gen (Ret)

6/6/12

Russ Bartlett

Colonel Russell Henry ‘Russ’ Bartlett, USAF re-tired, flew 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 Officer training at James Connally AFB, TX he was assigned to Hamilton AFB, CA where he flew 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 flew 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 Officer. While at Ubon, Russ was awarded his fifth 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 flew the F-15A/B.

Russ was an avid fisherman 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 flew 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.; five 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-field, PA, June 22, 1935, in the upstairs of the family farmhouse to George and Thelma Heiser. He was the third of five 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 flew 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 flying. 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 flew 222 missions in an F-4. Six airplanes in his squadron were shot down and Nevin was the Escort Officer 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 flew corporate for 18 years. He and his family later moved to Farmington, UT. He flew airplanes for 41 years and even flew helicopters for some time.

Nevin enjoyed fishing, hunting and playing crib-bage.

Robert Holt

CAPT Robert Edwin Holt, US Navy Retired, 82, passed away on June 30, 2012, after a long fight 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 flying combat missions in Vietnam; as the first 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.

Local Force Cinc Roster

National Board of DirectorsPresident

Craig “Quizmo” Brown7664 Bex Hill Court

Gainesville, VA, 20155 [email protected]

(571) 261-1722

Vice PresidentTeek “Hooker” Dorsett

3521 Rosewood CircleLynn Haven, FL, 32444 [email protected]

(919) 440-0474

General SecretaryKen Schanke

7821 N Eunice St. Tucson, AZ 85741

[email protected] (520) 744-4852

TreasurerDon Totten7 Ashley Rd.

Asheville, NC [email protected]

(828) 298-9075

Ex-OfficioSwede Seagren

1711Hemlock Dr. P.O. Box 324

Pocono Summit, PA, 18346 [email protected]

(570) 851-4854

General CounselRon Lamb900 47th St

Sacramento, CA [email protected]

(916) 454-0212

Secretary - Navy AffairsTom “Natty” Clark17313 Cimarron Ln

Bellingham, WA [email protected]

(757) 515-9051

Secretary - Marine AffairsBenjamin “Bono” Hinz10655 Wexford St., Unit 2

San Diego, CA [email protected]

(858) 414-6729

Secretary - Air Force AffairsGreg “Hoser” Craven

104 Thomick PlGoldsboro, NC [email protected]

(919) 735-1257

HistorianDr. Gary “Moe” Lester

1005 Rocky Point Ct NEAlbuquerque, NM [email protected]

(505) 323-4245

Country StoreShawn “Fritter” Fritz

142 Broadleaf DriveMacon, GA 31210

H: 478-477-7766; C: 478-731-9827www. av8rstuff.com/rrva1.html

VISIT THE RIVER RATSON OUR HOME PAGE:

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www.airwarriorcourage.org

Editor: MIG SWEEP & Rat NetJoe “Lurch” Richardson

10174 Hamlet CourtUnion, KY 41091-7181

(859) [email protected]

Director - Scholarship ProgramKen Posey

82 Glentrace CircleThe Woodlands, TX [email protected]

(703) 863-1417

Chairman - Recruiting & Retention Committee

Terry Stine108 Corsica Dr.

Cibolo, TX [email protected]

(210) 269-8243

Secretary - Army AffairsMike Sloniker

3909 Creek Bank RoadEdmond, OK [email protected]

(405) 509-6784

Executive DirectorJohn “SHADOW” Hope

P.O. Box 1553Front Royal, VA 22630-0033

[email protected] Phone (540) 636-9798FAX (540) 636-9776

AK – Kevin “Showtime” Sutterfield, 8731 Sonora Cir, Eagle River, AK 99577 (907) 854-6120, [email protected] – Ed “Hertz” Vaughan, 3126 Southview Ave, Montgomery, AL 36106, (334) 303-9997, [email protected] - Phoenix - Lee Alton, 23651 N 112th Place, Scottsdale, AZ 85255, (480) 585-2487, [email protected] 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] - Ken Schanke, 7821 N Eunice St, Tucson, AZ 85741, (520) 744-4852, [email protected] - Fresno – John “JC” Cotter, 1441 N Clovis # 49, Fresno, CA 93727, (559) 355-0396, [email protected]/Grass Valley - Mike Thompson, 17028 Oscar Dr, Grass Valley, CA 95949, (530) 274-8862, [email protected] – Colorado Springs – Rollan Yocum, 6640 Park Ridge Ct, CO Springs, CO 80915, (719) 439-3259, [email protected] - Eglin/Hurlburt Fld - Al Borchik, 31 Pebble Beach Dr, Shalimar, FL 32579, (850) 651-2435, [email protected] Pensacola – VacantOrlando - Stan Goldstein, 403 Mossy Stone Ct, Longwood, FL 32779, (407) 790-7163, [email protected] AFB/Melbourne – Tank Sherman, 2210 Clairmont Dr, Cocoa, FL 32922, (321) 631-3439, [email protected] - Bob Flynn, 4024 Teal Way, Pensacola, FL 32507, (850) 492-1287Tyndall AFB/Panama City – Tom Mason, 2661 Island View Dr, Panama City, FL 32405, (850) 769-7024, [email protected] - Peachtree City - Gordie Tushek, 605 Embassy Ct, Peachtree City, GA 30269, (770) 842-4615 [email protected] AFB/ Valdosta – Tim “Nabber” Oliver, 5632 Cypress Lake Trl, Lake Park, GA 31636, 229 561-5251(c), [email protected] Robbins – “Smoka” Dubee, 1144 Thornblade Dr, Warner Robins, GA 31088, (478) 225-4758, [email protected] - Putt Richards, 59-427 Kawowo Place, Haleiwa, HI 96712, (808)-635-0288, [email protected] – 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] - McConnell/KS, Jim Bell, 14011 W Cavit St, Wichita, KS 67235, (316) 239-1492, [email protected] - Harmon Dungan, 4110 Wellington Blvd, Alexandria, LA 71303, (318) 443-3363, [email protected] - John Harris, 107 James Cir, Mashpee, MA 02649, (508) 477-9841 [email protected] - Ace Acree, 15 Linstead Rd, Severna Park, MD 21146, (410) 812-9803, [email protected] – Denny Sevakis, 1716 Bewllwood Ct, Bloomfield, MI 48302, (248) 851-0795, [email protected] - Bob Jasperson, 76 Garden Drive, Burnsville, MN 55337, (952) 432-7722, [email protected] - Jim Stanley, 3940 Eastwood Dr, Jackson, MS 39211, (601) 362-0040, [email protected] - Bob Cranston, 967 Aspennetter View Dr, Wright City, MO 63390, (636) 745-3220, [email protected] - Arch Lorentzen, 406 Blaine Lakeshore Dr, Kalispell, MT 59901, (406) 755-1132, [email protected] - Seymour Johnson AFB, Steven Bofferding, 406 Adler Ln, Goldsboro, NC 27530, (919) 648-2626, [email protected] - Mike Cooper, 246 S Hillcrest Dr, Goldsboro, NC 27534, (919) 736-4116, [email protected] - Richard “Saskwatch” Horton, 404 S. Cottonwood Dr., Goldsboro, NC 27530, (919) 734-3512, [email protected] AFB - Screech Craib, 408 Shawcroft Rd, Fayetteville, NC 28311, (910) 482-3830, [email protected] - Bill Milcarek, 78 Essex Street, Jersey City, NJ 07302, (646) 251-3624, [email protected] - Albuquerque – John Wiebner, PO Box 3485, Edgewood, NM 87015, (505) 980-7069, [email protected] - Las Vegas/Nellis AFB - Jack Redmond, 3497 La Paloma Ave, Las Vegas, NV 89121, (702) 458-3277, [email protected]

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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 Office

PO Box 1553Front Royal, VA 22630-0033

Dues & Donations may be madeby credit card by contacting the

National Office.

One-Year Renewal ($30): _______________

Three-Year Renewal ($70): ______________

Life Membership (Contact National Office)

Scholarship Fund: _____________________

General Fund: ________________________

1G Fund: ____________________________

In memory of: ________________________

In honor of: __________________________

Contact numbers for the National Office of the River Rats are:Phone:

Toll Free:Fax:

Email:

(540) 636-9798(866) 401-RATS(540) [email protected]

Nellis AFB – “LJ” Rivers, 221 Coral Mist Pl, N. Las Vegas, NV 89084, (702) 497-8697, [email protected] - Jerry Kochman, 290 Harned Rd, Commack, NY 11725, (631) 864-3064, [email protected] - Wright Patterson AFB/Dayton - Chuck Rouhier, 716 Oakview Dr, Kettering OH 45429, (937) 293-7626, [email protected] – Tulsa -- Mike Michael, 2937 E 77th St, Tulsa, OK 74136, (918) 494-0797, [email protected] AFB – Lt Col Darin “Bulldog” Booth, 5602 Pheasant Run Drive, Enid, OK 73703, (580) 478-7016, [email protected] – Portland - Alphabet Szymkowicz, 20750 NW Highland Ct, Portland, OR 97229, (503) 645-3917, [email protected] Falls – Wes French, 4306 El Cerrito Way, Klamath Falls OR 97603, (541) 892-7784, [email protected] - Swede Seagren, PO Box 324 Pocono Summit PA 18346, (570) 839-8192, [email protected] - Shaw AFB/Sumter - Bob Connelly, 5844 Fish Rd, Dalzell, SC 29040, (803) 499-2732, [email protected] - J.C. Jones, 1015 Edgewater Cir, Gallatin, TN 37066, (615) 206-9083, [email protected] - Lubbock/West TX - Ken Hite, 3701 75th St, Lubbock, TX 79423, (806) 799-3660, [email protected]/Fort Worth – Todd (Toad) Almand, 513 Ironwood Dr, Keller, TX 76248, (817) 379-7912, [email protected] -Andy Olman, 7602 Parkview Cir, Austin, TX 78731, (512) 345-9157, [email protected] Antonio - Gary Baber, 8531 Phoenix Ave, Selma, TX 78154, (210) 659-4240, [email protected] – SLC/Hill AFB - Bob Brickey, 2314 S 2200 E, Salt Lake City, UT 84109, (801) 484-7308, [email protected]/DC - Dave Brog, PO Box 877, Silver Spring, MD 20918, (301) 588-1592, [email protected]/DC Active Duty – “Juice” Bowen, 529 N Alfred St, Alexandria, VA 22314, (703) 347-3798, [email protected] - Seattle Joe Crecca, PO Box 2296, North Bend, WA 98045, (425) 888-2212, [email protected] - R.J. Smith, 3547 S Croydon Ct, Spokane, WA 99203, (509) 747-4070, [email protected] - Lakenheath, James “Trace” Hayward, PSC 41 Box 5612, APO, AE 09464, [email protected] – Ramstein, Mark “Harpo” Hayes, PSC 2 Box 12181, APO, AE 09012, [email protected] – Seoul, Chris “Cliff” Ridlon, PSC 303 Box 27, APO, AP 96204, [email protected] Air Lines – Jeff “Tico” Tice, 8263 E Knollwood Ter, Tucson, AZ, 85750, 520 886-0811, [email protected]/Tanks – Ed Wildeboor, 17714 162nd Ave, Renton, WA 98058, (425) 271-8154, [email protected] Air Lines - Steve Miller, 623 W 250 S, Hebron, IN 46341, [email protected] – 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 ASSOCIATIONPO Box 1553Front Royal, VA 22630-0033

ADDRESS SERVICE REQUESTED

NONPROFIT ORG.

U.S. Postage

PAIDSan Antonio, TX

Permit No. 1773

2013 National Reunion3-7 Apr 2013Pensacola, 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 FLCall 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!

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