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Mutual Support by Michael Rondot.
In any conflict, accurate intelligence about the enemy is important, but during the Gulf War it was crucial to the rapid ending of hostilities with minimum Allied casualties. US Air National Guard RF-4C Phantoms, flying deep-penetration photo reconnaissance missions into Iraq and occupied Kuwait, provided much of the vital intelligence which enabled Allied ground forces to outflank and overwhelm Iraqi opposition with such devastation. Their missions were dangerous, taking them into the most heavily defended airspace over Baghdad and The Kuwait of Operations in broad daylight. They were fired on by SAMs and intense AAA barrages, but none were lost in over 300 missions. Michael Rondots painting portrays a classic formation of two RF-4Cs in action over Iraq, flying in company to provide lookout and mutual support in case of attack. On the ground, palls of Sand and smoke drift away from Iraqi artillery positions following an air strike, as the Phantoms accelerate and turn in for their battle-damage assessment photo run. In the next minutes they will come under fire from heat-seeking missiles and flak defenses around the target before escaping South, back to their base at Sheikh Isa AB, Bahrain. In the days following the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on 2 August 1990, RF-4C Phantoms from the 117 TRW, Birmingham, Alabama ANG were among the spearhead of Units deployed to the Persian Gulf as part of Operation Desert Shield. Operating under difficult and dry conditions from Al Dafra AB, UAE, the Birmingham Guardsmen flew border reconnaissance missions using long range oblique cameras until mid-December, when the Nevada Air Guard took over and moved to similarly tense and dry Sheikh Isa AB, Bahrain. The two Phantoms in Mutual Support represent both the Birmingham Guard and the Nevada Guard, the High Rollers. Aircraft 886 flew 54 combat missions during Desert Storm, whilst 056 flew 51 missions in combat before it was lost on 30 March following a catastrophic systems failure over the Persian Gulf. The 192 TRS, Nevada ANG, flew 350 combat and combat support missions during Desert Storm. They did this with just 6 aircraft and 12 crews, supported by a small detachment of technicians and support personnel from their home base in Reno. The Part Timers are now back at their civilian jobs, but their contribution is commemorated marking the twilight of the RF-4C Phantom in service with the Nevada and Alabama ANG. |
