Bogeys and Bandits by Gandt Robert

Author:Gandt, Robert
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: aircraft carrier, fa18 hornet, hornets nest, rag, hornet fighter, bogeys and bandits, cecil field, tailhook
Publisher: Robert Gandt

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

RICOCHET

Whenever the nuggets wanted to feel better about how they were doing, all they had to do was think about Lieutenant Junior Grade Rodney Shea. In his very brief career as a naval aviator, Shea had achieved legendary status in the RAG.

His official call sign, inevitably, was “Rico,” but that soon gave way to the more convenient appellation “Ricochet.” Shea had been in Class 6-94, several months ahead of the 2-95 nuggets. He had finished strike fighter training and gone to a fleet squadron already. But he had not gotten through the RAG without leaving a legacy. Things happened to Shea.

“Did you hear about Ricochet?”

“Christ, what’s happened to him now?”

“He’s getting a FNAEB at his fleet squadron. Word is, he’s toast. The skipper is so pissed, he wants him gone instantly. Outa here, like now.”

His troubles began back in the RAG. There was the famous occasion, for example, when he sauntered out to the flight line, preflighted his jet in a hurry, manned up and launched. On the way down to Pinecastle target, where his flight was scheduled for a bombing exercise, dash four—the number four pilot in flight—noticed Ricochet’s jet had no bombs on the weapons rack. He was about to suggest to Ricochet that it might be awkward, bombing without bombs.

But then the squadron duty officer came up on the tactical frequency. “Ricochet, this is base. I want you to push the data link button on the up front control panel and check your aircraft number.”

“Roger. It says number 334.”

“Terrific. Now check your briefing card. What aircraft does it say you are supposed to be in?”

Ricochet checked. Hmmm. Aircraft number 331. Wrong jet.

Taking the wrong jet was an error that could have disastrous consequences, especially if the jet had a maintenance problem, the wrong fuel load, the wrong weapons load.

That had been SOD number one for Ricochet.

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A couple weeks later Ricochet was with his class out at Fallon for Strike phase. The final event in strike phase was an exercise wherein the entire class of students jointly planned a coordinated deep air strike on one of the target complexes at Fallon. The targets looked real, with derelict tanks and trucks and fabricated buildings.

The flight of eight Hornets set out for the target area. According to plan, they took different approaches to the target. The F/A-18s converged on the complex. Some were assigned strafing missions, some to drop their weapons in a “lay down” delivery from low altitude. Two, including Shea, were supposed to fly over a designated initial point, pull up steeply, then dive bomb their assigned target. Ricochet’s target was a prefab building, a plywood structure the size of a small hangar.

Things were going okay—until Ricochet was supposed to reach his pull up point, an intersection of two roads. He missed it. So he kept on ripping across the floor of the desert, looking. . . looking for the damned intersection. . .

Eventually he saw a couple of roads that intersected. Sort of.

Up he went. He rolled inverted.

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