There are some great TOPGUN stories out there where pilots overcome really tremendous odds. Rarely does the public hear about the FLOPGUN stories… when pilots aren’t quite at their movie theater best.
An F-16 pilot on a mission saw a bunch of enemy vehicles in a field during the Spring 1999 Kosovo air campaign, prime targets for a steely-eyed Fighting Falcon driver.
Receiving permission to drop on the vehicles from MAGIC the Air Battle Manager and overcoming some protests from his wingman on what the vehicles might really be, the pilot released two five-hundred-pound laser-guided bombs. Just before the bombs hit, their collective heads all turned toward the sound of their impending doom. The vehicles were COWS and the two GBUs fused perfectly. The mission became known as “The Great Buzzard Bovine BBQ.” The pilot’s new callsign…? BOVINE!
We all make mistakes because we’re human. Learn from them… take responsibility and even laugh at them. Then move on to your next target!
Have a great Day!
Sluggo Sends!
P.S. — If you’re reading my book Tanker Pilot: Lessons from the Cockpit, I’d really love to hear your thoughts in a review on Amazon here, I read them all.