Remote Assignment?
 

Shemya? I'm guessing some of you old Cobra Ball guys might know at thing or two about his place.

http://maps.google.com/?ie=UTF8&ll=5...&t=k&z=13&om=1

I hope you're married....

It's remote, alright.



Why would he want to put a bride through that? :eek:





.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=e...&t=k&z=13&om=1

I think Wake Island has it beat in the "more runway/less island" department, but I'm sure the weather is worse at Shemya, at least outside of Typhoon season.

I've never been stationed at Wake but I've flown over it many times. It's got to be one of the most remote places on the earth.

http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&hl=e...&t=k&z=13&om=1

I just went here for a Medevac. I talked to a girl who had been there for 7 years!!!!!!

http://www.un.org/av/photo/subjects/images/esd798.jpg

Most remote location I was ever based at. 30 days on, then R&R in the Canary Islands.



Picture of the Freedom Bird that would take us to Algeria.

http://www.un.org/av/photo/subjects/images/esd794.jpg

Picture of the bird that would take us from Algeria to Grand Canary.

http://www.un.org/av/photo/subjects/images/esd795.jpg

Halfway to Guam
 

Had a few TDYs there; 30 days was about the longest before they would replace you. One mission (Pony Express) had periods of alert duty, with AFTAC covering the same event out of Midway. Administration of the island shifted around some, with MAC and even the FAA running it at various times. Great for snorkelers and wreck divers -- one guy salvaged a Japanese altimeter. There were actually a few civilian families on base. Kwajalein, a couple hours to the south, was a much nicer station, but like Midway, lacked the runway length we needed.

Shemya is not so bad. They feed you pretty well; some of the freshest veggies in AK. Not sure I would want to stay there more than a few days, though.

Wake was essentially leveled by Super Typhoon Ioke in August '06. Last I heard it the facilities were in "caretaker" status. I have never been there but friends say it was a good place to deploy out of.

What were you flying that Kwaj and Wake didn't have the runway length you needed?

Staged in C-141s at Wake back in 1965/1966. Lived on Kwajalein for nine years (after USAF retirement). Been at Shemya with 50 MPH ice fog. All are interesting places.

Islands
 

EC- and NKC-135s, with the old "water wagon" engines and a high ZFW due to onboard equipment. Wake had enough runway, but Kwaj and Midway were for emergencies only. Guam was best operationally -- huge SAC runways and available maintenance -- but for a while they were full of BUFFs doing Vietnam strikes, so we used Wake (mainly to stage for missile tests aimed at the Kwajalein lagoon).

Flew out of Shemya 81-83 - RC135S Cobra Ball - we were TDY from Eielson AFB - stayed out on the "Rock" for 3-4 weeks at a time - lots of great flying in 25 knots direct crosswind at mins because of the fog - and actually got to see the "wind sock" move - it was really a huge log on a heavy chain - but wouldn't trade that time for anything

Shemya wasn't so bad for a night. Flew in one day on vis only (1/2mi) and it went down to 100 and 1/4 on apph. We found the runway but the taxi way was a little bit harder. Anyway we stayed the night and almost took a scruffy home the next day (walked right up the ramp). The foxes left by the Russians are so mutated from the lack of branches on their family tree I wonder how they survive there.:D

T-1