Most of the prep for the program involved learning what would happen if you ever spoke about it at the bar. Glad it was declassified. I flew the F-111D at Cannon at the time and we grabbed the opportunity when we deployed to Nellis for Red Flag. We spent a week with these guys.

We set up two four-ships of F-111s and ran two tactical missions and one performance profile with these guys. Eye-popping stuff. We planned the first mission at 480 knots—too slow to pass a check ride at Cannon, but it allowed the MIGs to find and attack us. I wanted to see them turn the corners behind us. I knew it would make a permanent impression, and it did. For the PP, I remember flying fascinating approaches at Tonopah on the wings of 21s and 27s. Unbelieveable! Also, lighting burners on the wing of a Flogger, watching him rocket away a quarter mile, then (eventually) blowing past him at about 1.1 Mach.

The second four-ship (led by Rob O'Connell) did not have as much fun. They flew the same slow profile, and their MIG pilot--an overweight major--debriefed them in nasty terms. "Fish," he called them. "Pussies." On the second flight, they used internal fuses on the bombs, so they were not speed-limited. They ingressed at 720 Knots Ground Speed and came out at 840. MIGs didn't see them. Interdiction missions were normally no-comm, but they used unacknowledged codewords for peacetime considerations, usually colors that meant, "arm weapons", "go tactical formation", "off target, no hung bombs" etc. For that second mission, the code words were "obese", "fat boy", "porky", etc--just to tell their MIG buddy they were thinking about him.

The MIG guy was humble in debrief. He became their best friend. When they asked him how he got the job, he gave them a specific description of the efficacy of oral sex. "Doesn't taste so bad," he said. Very funny stuff.

Jim Roper