"Gunz," an F-16 pilot in the 510th Fighter Squadron here, was in upgrade training when U.S. aircraft delivered their first weapons to Iraqi forces, beginning Operation Desert Storm in early 1991.
"I wanted them to accelerate my training so I could be a part of the action," he said. It didn't happen that way, and when his jet carried him into Bosnia for the first time to bomb Serbian military targets Aug. 30, he was thankful for the expert training.
"It's a strange feeling as you fly into harm's way," he said as he described a trip to a Bosnian target and the sight of anti-aircraft artillery fire and surface to air missiles erupting from the ground below his aircraft.
"It was more quiet than I thought it would be -- serene almost -- and there's a sense of heightened awareness -- my senses become more keen than ever before. There's almost no radio traffic, but sounds that you've never heard before in the jet suddenly are apparent. You check, recheck and question the aircraft instruments and panels."
He said it is in that quiet atmosphere, moving toward the target, when the hours of diligent training "kick in" and the aviators find an assuring confidence in the skills they've developed.
"The aircraft's systems are the best in the world, the weapons are sophisticated, but in the end, it all comes down to training. The actions have to be almost instinct when you're going into a target at night, in weather, with guys on the ground shooting at you," he said. "Our training is taking care of us."
The fight that gave Gunz his first combat sortie is one he believes is morally correct and he considers his involvement a humanitarian mission.
"War is ugly, but it's not the ugliest of things. The targeting of innocent people by Serbian terrorists is unacceptable. It's a tough job, but what we're doing is right. We're returning a country to innocent people who've been terrorized," Gunz said.
Operation Deny Flight, and now Operation Deliberate Force, has also brought the fight home. For the first time, Air Force pilots are flying combat missions and returning to their homes and families afterward.
It's nice to be able to be at home with his family, but it can be dangerous, Gunz said. But the look he sees in his wife's eyes when he leaves the house to fly is something he must force from his mind.
"When you deploy to go to war you only have to see one time that look questioning whether she'll ever see you again. In this situation we see it every day."
He said it takes a disciplined personal organization to prevent concerns from clouding the mission at hand.
"You have to keep your life compartmentalized -- I have my flying compartment and my family compartment. It can be dangerous if the two leak together and thoughts of family occupy your mind when you need to be thinking about the mission at hand. Just when you're thinking of the problem at home, up comes Mr. Missile to give you real problems at home." (Courtesy U.S. Air Forces in Europe News Service. Borg is part of USAFE's command information team at Aviano.)
