Photos
A working archive from the book — Cold-War alert duty in the Hunsrück, forty-three days over the desert, and the squadron that bracketed both. Click any plate to enlarge.
Hahn Air Base · Germany
Cold-War alert duty in the Hunsrück. Ramp inspections at dawn, four-ships over the Mosel, and weekend escapes to vineyards a half-hour from the wire.
A pair of 10th TFS Vipers over the Hunsrück, tail code HR.
Author with HR-377 in the hangar at Hahn — early winter, 1989.
"Achtung! diesseitiges Ufer Grenze." JD and Mak on the western bank, looking east.
A summer night at the squadron bar — long before anyone said the word "Desert."
Riesling country: terraced slopes above the Mosel, a thirty-minute drive from the flight line.
A 10TFS Viper banking over the Mosel — tail proudly displaying the squadron heraldry.
Desert Storm
Forty-three days of combat operations from Al Minhad. Saudi divert charts in the kneeboard, ordnance loaded and signed, the ramp at sunrise.
Two-ship returning to base after a deep strike — wingman framed in the canopy bow.
"Hey Saddam, feel fortunate. Barney wanted to string you up on the F-86." CBU-87, 27 Feb 91.
CCIP solution captured on gun-camera tape — STPT 8, 13:03:19 local.
Author's working chart of Saudi divert fields — circles in red and blue grease pencil, January 1991.
Eight Sabres post-mission, 22 January 1991 — first long-range package, home in one piece.
Four-ship on the Al Minhad ramp before stepping to the jets.
Cat Canavan, JD Hay, Blake Motlong on the flightline — autographs on a USO program the day after the cease-fire.
The Squadron
Crud in the bar, hooches built from scrap lumber, swords presented in front of plywood shields. The fraternity that flew the missions and remade itself between them.
The 10th Tactical Fighter Squadron in front of HR-267 at Al Minhad, March 1991.
Scrap lumber, two-by-fours, and a desert sky — the squadron building its own quarters at Al Minhad.
Hand-painted street signs — German precision applied to a Saudi tent city.
The squadron bar at Al Minhad — patches on the wall, beer on the table, the cease-fire still warm.
Frenchie in full aloha kit — squadron color, off the clock.
Cat and Dewey getting an autograph on the flightline — USO swing through the Gulf, 1991.
A presentation sword for the outgoing commander — June 1991, back at Hahn.
The Doodle Trophy — black-and-white print of a tradition older than the squadron itself.
Spring 1991 — flight suit, flowers, a Polaroid in someone's hand, and three small arms holding on.
More photographs, flight logs, and squadron memorabilia continue to surface as the book moves toward its release.