Bullhunter
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318th FIS Jet Shop 1975-78
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Post by Bullhunter on Sept 22, 2007 8:43:50 GMT 9
Ever wonder what kind of alert air cover our nation has and where it is based? I live in western Washington State and we lost the 318th FIS at McChord AFB years ago. There has been talk about closing the Oregon Air National Guard down at Portland Airport to save money. Both the Governor's of Washington & Oregon have fought against this. The F-15's of the Oregon ANG at Portland Airport are the only fighter protection in the Pacific Northwest. I know they keep at least 2 of thier F-15's on Alert Duty. You would think that McChord being at the fartherest NW corner of the country that there would be fighter jets there to protect the cities of Seattle & Tacoma and their seaports, several naval bases, Boeing, & Hanford, and a big oil refinery. Does not seem logical.
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Post by lindel on Sept 22, 2007 8:53:46 GMT 9
We don't protect the border, why should we protect anything else?
I don't understand the border situation, you'd think after 9-11 it would be entirely different. I guess those in charge would rather give the country away than protect what's ours.
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Post by Diamondback on Sept 23, 2007 18:01:34 GMT 9
And unfortunately, as a fictional character who heavily influenced me once said:
"You can't keep what you can't [or won't--ed.] protect."[/i]--Agent K of the Men in Black
Unless they've deluded themselves into thinking whatever the squids have at Whidbey will be enough... although I think it's more like a case of an R. Lee Ermey quote in real life.
"Sound off like you have a pair! Oh my God, you don't have a pair!"--RLE, The Best of MAIL CALL, Season 1 DVD: specifically, section on Doughboys
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Bullhunter
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318th FIS Jet Shop 1975-78
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Post by Bullhunter on Sept 24, 2007 0:34:16 GMT 9
Whidbey NAS has EA-6B's ECM type aircraft unarmed. So, no protection there. Rumor has it that the Navy will replace the EA-6B's in the future with F/A-18. See that on TV. Likely callen EA-18's. Weather they will be armed or not is a question. When this conversion will happen is another question. If armed will any be put on alert status is another question.
Sure other parts around the nation has simular questions about protection.
Dam good view point , Lindel.
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biendhoa
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Post by biendhoa on Sept 24, 2007 4:59:58 GMT 9
I think but am not sure that when the air force did away with tac,mac sac and realigned their commands they :airforce: assigned what was left of TAC/AD to the AFR and air Guard units. I know the FL air guard is responsiable for the south east area.
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sixerviper
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Post by sixerviper on Sept 24, 2007 12:22:28 GMT 9
Most ANG GP F-16 units have at least some Air Defense tasking, but few have alert facilities like we did back in the Six days. On 9/11 it was the North Dakota ANG flying alert out of Langley AFB that responded to the attack on the Pentagon, and F-15s from The Massachusetts ANG in Cape Cod that responded to the WTC attacks. They were the ONLY alert jets on the east coast at the time! Hell, we used to have four at Minot all the time--with nukes on 'em.
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Bullhunter
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318th FIS Jet Shop 1975-78
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Post by Bullhunter on Sept 24, 2007 13:36:04 GMT 9
The 318th FIS kept 2 on alert at McChord AFB, Tacoma, WA. Two more on alert at Kingsley Field, Klamouth Falls, Oregon. I got a nice T-33 ride from McChord to Kingsley Field and back again to work on an alert F-106. All I was told was to report and get some flight gear and my tool box. It was a Saturday morning and one of the F-106's landed at Kingsley Field and the engine flamed out on the taxi way. Got out to the aircraft with my gear and guess who the pilot was who showed up to fly me? The Squadron Commander. He said that we would have taken our B-model F-106 aircraft but it had just gone into phase dock Friday and all the panels were off of it. Dam, missed a flight in a F-106.! The T-33 flight was nice and long and I got to relax and enjoy the flight and take afew pictures. On the way back we flew past Crater Lake. Also that day was a day where Mt. Rainer was sticking up and very clear.
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Post by Diamondback on Sept 24, 2007 14:46:05 GMT 9
Whidbey NAS has EA-6B's ECM type aircraft unarmed. So, no protection there. Rumor has it that the Navy will replace the EA-6B's in the future with F/A-18. See that on TV. Likely callen EA-18's. Weather they will be armed or not is a question. When this conversion will happen is another question. If armed will any be put on alert status is another question. Actually, the EA-18G "Growler" is already prototyped and in the McDonnell Douglas--[RANT]I refuse to call that abomination from St. Louis/Chicago that devoured our local planebuilder "Boeing", because it no longer is the Big B anymore, it's MD with the Boeing name and property but none of the attributes that earned the title "Planemaker to the World"[/RANT]--catalog.
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