Bill Kirk was a longtime fighter pilot, who is probably best known for his part in Operation Bolo: In 1967 the F-4s from Ubon tricked the North Vietnamese air force into thinking they were attacking F-105s. The F-4 wolf pack used the 105 call signs, and for the first time carried ECM pods and used radio discipline (something they were not noted for). Since the F-4s were the only friendly aircraft north of the Red River, they were allowed to use AIM-7 missiles beyond visual range, with just a radar lock on the target. As a result, they got face shots on MiG-21s out of the North Vietnamese base at Phuc Yen and shot a number of the North Vietnamese fighters before they could attack the force they thought was bomb-laden. The result was that the North Vietnamese MiG-21 force had to stand down for six months while they worked out what happened. It was a brilliantly planned event. Kirk eventually retired with four stars—after some trials and tribulations getting the first one.

20

SAC is today called STRATCOM and it remains in the ICBM missile silos and missile subs, but it has lost its onetime clout. Though there is still a CINCSTRATCOM to execute the SIOP, no one believes the Russians and Americans will destroy the world. Meanwhile, the SAC forces were merged with TAC forces into a command called Air Combat Command, or ACC. Today, the ACC headquarters is located at Langley AFB, Virginia, where the TAC headquarters was once located, and is mostly commanded by former TAC personnel. The ICBMs themselves later came under the Commander, Air Force Space Command, since ICBM technology and space launcher technology are the same, while the strategic MFP-1 forces (nuclear missiles, boomer subs, and, when on alert, bombers) are now under the operational command of CINCSTRAT. The MFP-1 air defense forces are all now in the Air National Guard and come under CINCNORAD (one of Chuck Horner’s last jobs on active duty) when on alert.

21

Suter died in 1997, but not before he was told that the Red Flag Complex at Nellis would be named in his honor.

22

Called “The Grr,” and the father of “Little Grr,” Horner’s aide in 1990 when he was himself Ninth Air Force Commander.

23

The following discussion very closely follows Bill Creech’s analysis in his excellent book, The Five Pillars of TQM: How to Make Total Quality Management Work for You, Truman Talley Books/Dutton, 1994, pp. 126-138.

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