Crew size for C-130

[bobdaley]

Once upon a time in 1972 in Thessaloniki Greece, there was a rote crew from the 37 TAS on an exercise. The nav and load, who will remain nameless, George Simons and Bob Wiseman, who had been vastly overserved the night before, failed to show up at the Air Base. The nameless IP and his two nameless upgrade students, John Simon and Bill Stevens and FE Rufus Bussey decided to take off for Wiesbaden. Unfortunately when they called for take off the tower made them hold and then a really irate Full Colonel ALCE commander pulled his staff car in front of the plane. Out of the back seat of the staff car came the nameless nav and load, who instead of just catching a ride on the next aircraft to Wiesbaden in an hour went storming into ALCE demanding to know where their crew and airplane were. To make matters worse, when the ALCE commander got on the plane the IP was sittiing in the Nav seat wearing his Flight Surgeon name patch which seemed upset the Colonel even more. "Are you the Nav Captain?" "No I'm the Flight Surgeon" "Where is the IP?" "I am the IP too" "Are you all insane" "I think so or else why would we be here in Greece at 5 AM?"

It took lots of fancy footwork back in Wiesbaden to get out of that one. And that was before all the officers on the same crew got in big time trouble at the Rhein Main Club. I heard it was a great rote.

[jmitch]

All rotes were great but that story brings back many memoreys of what was than called the spegety run using Athens as you bace fore a week great years 1971 and 72

[bobdaley]

That exercise was an annual one called Deep Furrow.

Bob

[Dan Wilson]

That exercise was an annual one called Deep Furrow.

Bob

LOL

Boy I sure must have participated in that exercise at least 50 or 60 times in my career