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Tuesday, July 26, 2005
It's a good story anyhow...
It's a good story anyhow...
I'm a grunt, never really played with the air wing, but was told this story during a night of drunken revelry with two other Marine vets who said they were there:
Seems that a Marine Harrier squadron was invited to participate in one of the "Red Flag" exercises at Nellis Air Force Base.
In keeping with the Corps expeditionary nature, the Marines had their birds prepped and ready to go with the same equipment they used in the field, while the Air Force birds (on the opposite side of the flight line) pulled out all manner of rear echelon type APUs and other such equipment to start their birds up. So it looked to onlookers like the pilots simply walked up to their aircraft, kicked the tires, turned the key, and lit the fires. This seemed to offend the Air Force folks, and they began to cut loose with the usual "You jarheads are nothing more than grunts that know how to fly..." (Ain't it true?)
Anyway, the squadron commander and his First Sergeant decided to make the most of it...
Did ya know that there's apparently a pitot tube that sticks out of the forward end of an AV-8? Did ya know that it's apparently the size of the barrel ring of a bayonet? One of the crew chiefs came up with the idea of welding a "bayonet lug" on those screw type hose clamps. These were affixed to said pitot tube in the wee hours of the morning.
By the dawn's early light, the Air Force types watched as the Marine pilots marched, in column, to their posts in front of their planes. The squadron commander gave the command, "Fix Bayonets!", and each pilot proceeded to attach a bayonet to these "bayonet lugs". They then got in their Harriers, and lifted off into the wild blue, with bayonets still fixed.
Dunno if it's true, but never let the truth get in the way of a good story. Semper Fi
I'm a grunt, never really played with the air wing, but was told this story during a night of drunken revelry with two other Marine vets who said they were there:
Seems that a Marine Harrier squadron was invited to participate in one of the "Red Flag" exercises at Nellis Air Force Base.
In keeping with the Corps expeditionary nature, the Marines had their birds prepped and ready to go with the same equipment they used in the field, while the Air Force birds (on the opposite side of the flight line) pulled out all manner of rear echelon type APUs and other such equipment to start their birds up. So it looked to onlookers like the pilots simply walked up to their aircraft, kicked the tires, turned the key, and lit the fires. This seemed to offend the Air Force folks, and they began to cut loose with the usual "You jarheads are nothing more than grunts that know how to fly..." (Ain't it true?)
Anyway, the squadron commander and his First Sergeant decided to make the most of it...
Did ya know that there's apparently a pitot tube that sticks out of the forward end of an AV-8? Did ya know that it's apparently the size of the barrel ring of a bayonet? One of the crew chiefs came up with the idea of welding a "bayonet lug" on those screw type hose clamps. These were affixed to said pitot tube in the wee hours of the morning.
By the dawn's early light, the Air Force types watched as the Marine pilots marched, in column, to their posts in front of their planes. The squadron commander gave the command, "Fix Bayonets!", and each pilot proceeded to attach a bayonet to these "bayonet lugs". They then got in their Harriers, and lifted off into the wild blue, with bayonets still fixed.
Dunno if it's true, but never let the truth get in the way of a good story. Semper Fi
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