Memories of WWIII: Destination Bitburg Part III

Lieutenant Colonel Franklin Andrew Baker, USAF (Ret.)- “The next morning, Drool (Major Ed Leahy, 27fth TFS operations officer) and I hit the ground running. By first light Drool was busy working out air plans with the Bitburg wing staff and contemporaries from our sister squadrons there. For most of the morning on 5 July, I …

Memories of WWIII: Destination Bitburg Part I

Lieutenant Colonel Franklin Andrew Baker, USAF (Ret.)- “Around 2000 on July 3, 1987 I received a call at home from my squadron CO. He ordered me to pack a bag and in front of the wing headquarters building at 2100. Fortunately, packing a bag was no big deal. I already had one ready to go …

Memories Of World War III: The Road To War Part III

Lieutenant Colonel Franklin Andrew Baker, USAF (Ret.)-  “When the coup went down in Moscow my squadron was out at Nellis and about to start the second half of a Red Flag rotation. The matter wasn’t talked about much since we had our hands full with the exercise. But in the last couple of days the …

Memories Of World War III: The Road To War Part I

In the eyes of most prominent military historians, the road to the Third World War was a one-way thoroughfare opened to traffic on 28 April,1987 with the coup in Moscow. Grigory Romanov’s hypersonic ascent to power left the world stunned and numb with shock. In the blink of an eye, the warming relationship between the …

USAFE Stands Up D-3 (6 July, 1987) Part 1 **

6 July, 1987 was a day the US Air Force had spent years preparing for. At least one Rapid Reactor exercise was held annually to simulate the swift movement of stateside squadrons to their designated wartime airbases in Western Europe. Data from the exercises was analyzed, contingency plans updated, and training revised to help squadrons …