Gentlemen,
I have had the pleasure of flying with the Pigs and even hanging on their vox a few times in the MA. Make no mistake, we will be in for a heck of a fight this Tuesday. They operate with the utmost efficiency and ruthlessness. Very much like a well oiled machine. (steamroller maybe?)
One episode that sticks out in my mind was a particular Port assault. The port had an airfield, town and a CV sitting in the front yard. We flew nearly 2 sectors to make the strike. First went the CV, followed by the town. A cap was then placed over the field, while GV's rolled for the maproom. What ensued was a knock down dragout fight where the defenders fought tooth and nail to thwart the advance. (No hangars were dropped as I recall.)
I should note here that there were several uppers when we arrived, as the attack was not NOE. As Pigs went down, they had to fly through heavy ack-ack (from the CV remnants) and aircons to reach the target again.
What saved the day for this mission was the excellent communication within the squad, as well as the superb gunnery of the tankers. At one point some fellow started singing.....I laughed my arse off. Then, some nice lady brought in the troops and it was game over.
I offer this story as a cautionary tale. Be prepared Men of the AVAR. While most pigs are smelly, dirty, and stupid, this bunch seems to be of the Arnold variety.
<S> Melvin
