Assuming that they were downed by a MANPAD, why were they so low, i.e., below 10,000 AGL? decades, while we practiced low level penetrations, but now most of strike profiles kept the airplane above
10,000 feet AGL to neutralize the MANPAD, and 37, 57mm AAA threat. Do we know how many missiles were fired at them? What kind of decoys were used? All of this will come out eventually.
BTW, I trust NBC/CBS/ABC news about as much as I would trust a rabid skunk. Sorry, but one of those networks leaked the fact that we were still searching for one of the crewmembers which clued the
Iranians that we didn’t get both in the pick-up of the pilot. That made our CSAR task significantly more difficult.
Also, what a wing or squadron CO is cleared for is a lot less than if he were on the CENTCOM ACC staff. I’ve been on CAG, fleet and theater commander staffs and the classified material/programs
that one sees at the squadron and CAG level is exponentially less than one sees at the numbered fleet or theater commander.
From:
Mike Brattland <mgbrattland@gerlecreek.com>
Date: Monday, April 6, 2026 at 11:22 PM
To: 'Stephen Bury' <sbury@erols.com>, 'Kevin Black' <kblack1967@gmail.com>
Cc: "helobubbas@helobubbas.com" <helobubbas@helobubbas.com>
Subject: [Helobubbas] Re: WSO was a Colonel
My general thought reading about the WSO was if he was as suggested the Squadron CO/XO and by tradition, CO/XOs tend to be crewed with the least experienced junior officer in the squadron for good reasons. All of us know this from own
experiences. If he was a bird Colonel than he would probably be flying with a much more experienced pilot as a Wing Commander, but as a Skipper probably not that experienced. Considering the post mishap discussion and even the President indicated they were
downed by a should fired weapon, if he was a newer pilot that lack of experience may have played role in not being able to avoid the missile. mgb
From: Stephen Bury <sbury@erols.com>
Sent: Monday, April 6, 2026 2:20 PM
To: Kevin Black <kblack1967@gmail.com>
Cc: helobubbas@helobubbas.com
Subject: [Helobubbas] Re: WSO was a Colonel
My guess is the WSO is most likely the current Squadron Commander who is a lieutenant colonel and who was highly decorated last year . It's not uncommon for the Skipper
to be referred to as Colonel in that position... Just my thoughts... And purposely not naming the name.
On Apr 6, 2026 4:24 PM, Kevin Black <kblack1967@gmail.com> wrote: