Hogs #4:Snake Eaters by DeFelice Jim

Author:DeFelice, Jim
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Black Coyote Inc.
Published: 2013-04-30T22:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 26

APPROACHING AL-JOUF FOA

SAUDI ARABIA

26 JANUARY 1991

1710

Doberman cursed as he heard the controller at Al-Jouf give priority to a battle-stricken Tornado, freezing the landing queue so the British jet could make an emergency landing. While the long stretch of Saudi concrete had been envisioned as a forward operating area for Hogs and Spec Ops troops, the base had quickly become a life raft for battle-damaged Coalition planes. It made for a busy pattern. Besides the Tornado— a two-seat recon type that could use ground-following radar for a quick and hard run over enemy territory— a French Jaguar and an Australian C-130 were slotted between another Hog and an F-16 ahead of Doberman in the aerial traffic jam.

Even less patient than normal, Doberman considered declaring a fuel emergency to get himself pushed to the head of the line. He had plenty of fuel, however, even though he’d goosed the Hog well over four hundred knots all the way back. And he had to give the crew of Special Operations air controllers and support personnel handling Al Jouf their due; they were clearing planes in quicker than O’Hare on Christmas Eve.

Once upon a time, landing had been fraught with anxiety for him. But now it was routine, or as close to routine as he’d allow anything to become, afraid that if he got too used to it he’d take it for granted.

He settled into his seat as he rounded onto the last leg of the approach pattern. The Hog’s indicated air speed plummeted toward double digits. Gear came out. Air brakes deployed. He surveyed the long splash of concrete in his windshield. He pushed his chest forward and head up as the wheels made a whumping sound, nudging against the pavement. He peered out of the cockpit like a kid watching a baseball game over a picket fence.

A fuel truck headed a line six planes deep at the far end of the access ramp; he cursed when he saw that, convinced that he’d be stuck here until nightfall. He turned off the runway onto the ramp, treading past a parked MC-130, a black-painted Hercules used for Special Ops missions, then spotted another Hog off to his right; the dark DS on the tail told him it was A-Bomb’s. He couldn’t see his wingman, but two Delta troopers were standing at full attention near it. That gave him an idea. He pulled on his rudders and wheeled next to the plane, spinning around so his nose was pointed for a quick getaway. He powered down and popped the canopy, whipping off his helmet and restraints.

“Yo, you guys work for Klee, right?” he yelled down to the troopers. Klee was the Delta Force colonel in charge of most of the American Special Operations troops at Al Jouf as well as those working with Apache.

The soldiers couldn’t hear him with all the noise at the base. Doberman was in such a hurry he didn’t bother cranking down the cockpit ladder— he rolled himself right off

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.