CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- One of two 16th Special Operations Squadron AC-130H Spectre AC-130H gunships taxis onto the flightline May 19. The 16 SOS formerly transfers from the 1st Special Operations Wing at (U.S. Air Force photo/Airman 1st Class James Bell)
CANNON AIR FORCE BASE, N.M. -- Each of the two AC-130H Spectre gunships assigned to Cannon will sport a unique symbol. The Spectre has been the symbol of the 16th Special Operations Squadron and the AC-130 gunship since inception in the late 1960s. The Spectre represents the unit's special operations mission, usually carried out at night, where they attack quickly and precisely and then vanish, much like the phantoms of folklore do. The unit's motto, "Spectre," represents the nickname of the aircraft the squadron has flown since the From today’s Air Force Association Daily Report:
Cannon Gets First Gunships: The first two of eight AC-130H Spectre gunships destined for the new Air Force Special Operations Command force at Cannon AFB, N.M., arrived last week. The remaining aircraft are slated to arrive later this summer, according to the Cannon photo release. The AC-130 gunships are part of the 16th Special Operations Squadron that is shifting from Hurlburt Field,
More… much more… on the AC-130H here. So… things are gonna get a lil bit noisy out on the range pretty soon. That 105mm howitzer sticking out of the left side of the aircraft (right side of photo) in the pic above has a pretty good boom to it. I've heard 'em practicing on the range while I was down in the Florida Panhandle years ago... from a distance of at least ten miles, perhaps more. It makes one glad to NOT be on the receiving end of greetings the Spectres deliver. Watch this and see if you don't agree:
Yowza.
(USAF Photos as captioned here.)
Oh, how very cool is that!!!!
ReplyDeleteLooking forward to seeing those flying overhead more often! I do enjoy seeing and hearing the noise we get off the bombing range here. Just so long they don't cause any out of control grass fires again. LOL!
ReplyDeleteI do love these planes!!!
ReplyDeleteGuess they didn't want to wait til the official ceremony tomorrow. They are bombing tonight. I was yelling at the kids to quit kicking the walls for 30 minutes before I realized that it wasn't them. Can't see much going on at the ol' Melrose range, but I sure can hear it, the bombs and the planes. Now that I know it's not the kids, it sounds real nice.
ReplyDeleteMoogie and Cynthia: The most certainly are awesome... in the fullest sense of the word... aircraft.
ReplyDeleteJenny: I laughed at your "kicking the walls" comment. All's quiet here in P-Ville, as I knew it would be. I envy your ability to hear those guys playing at Melrose. As I've said many times before, I'd just LOVE to watch some night...
"Spectre... Arriving." Navy lingo you picked up from SN2, right? Means some kick-ass warrior just crossed your quarterdeck. Yes indeedy.
ReplyDeleteBob: Actually... I learned that bit from Lex. I read him more than I talk about squidly things with SN2. But the conversations with SN2 tend to be much deeper, of course!
ReplyDeleteCool. The "California arriving," (the sentence I heard so many times) has a deeper meaning than I convey.
ReplyDelete"Cape Cod arriving."
"DESRON Six departing."
Wonder how it's worded (could look it up) when a POTUS lands on a CVN. That would've been neat to hear as a youngster.
Bob: When you say "California arriving," are you talking about returning to home port?
ReplyDeleteOops, sorry, that was misleading (not in the Pelosi sense).
ReplyDeleteI was a crewmember on the USS California (CGN-36) and the USS Cape Cod (AD-43). When the CO comes or goes, he is honored as the near embodiment of the ship, but not quite. Kind of like how Napolean Bonaparte WAS France. I'm sure your son or Captain Lex could explain this better as it is a Naval officer thing, steeped in tradition.
"[Ship name] arriving/" means the CO is boarding the ship by whatever means. True also for other commands. For instance if the CO of California visits the Contsellation for a battle group meeting, the Constellation will ring bells and say "CALIFORNIA ARRIVING" meaning the CO of the California-- the near embodiment of that ship just landed by helicopter on the CV.
True also for other commands. The admiral in charge of a squadron of destroyers/cruisers would be announced the same way: "DESRON SIX ARRIVING." Same for Lex. As I understand it, he was CO of a gaggle of planes embarked on a CV. So whenever he left (or came aboard) his host ship, they'd ring bells and say, I don't know, either "VFA-94 DEPARTING" or "Mighty Shrikes ARRIVING."
Same again for the civilian part of the chain of command. I know they say "NAVY ARRIVING" for the Secretary of the Navy (or is that for the Navy guy on the JCS?). My question is what they heard on the Lincoln when GW Bush did the famous landing. Was it "AMERICA ARRIVING" or "UNITED STATES OF AMERICA ARRIVING" or "COMMANDER IN CHIEF ARRIVING?"
You can imagine, I hope, how often these announcements were made over the 1MC (shipwide PA), that they become burned in your brain.
On the in-port or out of port angle, any mooring or anchorage got bells telling the ship that it was underway or not, and to shift the flag (ensign) from the mast or fantail as appropriate: "UNDERWAY. SHIFT COLORS." Home port had no special announcement.
Ah. Thanks for the explanation, Bob. I still have a ways to go before I get this stuff down, if ever.
ReplyDeleteHistorical Note:
ReplyDelete"Spectre" was originally simply a call-sign, like "Spooky" was for AC-47s and "Shadow" for AC-119s.
Cool VX. You're a regular Lex type guy. Do you know what they say when POTUS lands on a CV/CVN?
ReplyDeleteBob: Virgil is an ol' USAF F-4 driver. Which isn't to say he wouldn't know, coz he might. But I'm thinking the chances ain't good.
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