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In April 1978, I arrived at Elmendorf AFB, Alaska, as a newly minted F-4E Phantom II pilot. My first order of business at the 43rd Tactical Fighter Squadron was to complete my Mission Ready combat qualifications as an air defense pilot and then later upgrade into the air-to-air mission.
While completing my mission qualification sorties, I was often regaled by the squadron’s senior pilots and weapons system officers (WSOs) with “There I Was” stories—tales where something rather memorable had occurred during a flight. Many of these stories were based on true events but often seemed exaggerated after a cold beer or two.
I remember hearing about the “accidental” jettison of a live missile over a particular mountain range that was later nicknamed “Sparrow Mountain.” Or the one about a high-speed, low-level pass over one of our remote ground radar sites where many of the barracks windows were “blown out.” There was even the story of a crew ejecting from a disabled aircraft after fuel was rapidly depleted due to a separated fuel line. One crew member spent part of the night hanging in a tree by his parachute because he didn’t want to cut himself down without knowing how far the drop was to the ground. Thankfully, he didn’t—because we later learned it was more than a 50-foot drop.
Needless to say, I listened to these stories with great interest, hoping to avoid earning my own “There I Was” story. Well, as any fighter pilot will tell you, most of us eventually accumulate many stories—and this is one of my very first “There I Was” incidents. There have been many more throughout my flying career.
During my tour of duty in Alaska, we would sit air defense alert in the F-4E for a week at a time at three bases: King Salmon AFS, Galena AFS, and Eielson AFB. Most of the time, we read, watched movies, studied for advanced degrees, or completed professional military studies. On rare occasions, we would fly from this alert position—known as “getting scrambled”—to intercept and identify “unknown” aircraft that had penetrated the Alaskan Air Defense Zone.
Often, these were Soviet aircraft testing our response capability as part of our mission to provide “Top Cover for America.” Sometimes they were conducting ice flow reconnaissance for Soviet ships and submarines. Occasionally, it was an Alaska-based civil aircraft that had simply forgotten to file an FAA flight plan.
On this particular occasion, a snowy, gloomy winter day at Galena AFS, the four of us alert crew members were sitting around fat, dumb, and happy, thinking another alert tour was about to end. Without much warning, we went to “BATTLE STATIONS.” We jumped into our flight gear and ran to the aircraft to get ready to fly. Before we were even in the cockpit, we received the “SCRAMBLE” order and had to have our flight of two fully armed F-4Es airborne within five minutes.
To say we were amped up on adrenaline would be an understatement. During the entire flight to the intercept point, we were huffing and puffing, trying to calm down and get past the adrenaline surge. Did I mention that both my WSO and I were young lieutenants with less than 200 hours of combined flight time in the F-4E? Not much experience—and limited air sense gained during training.
Anyway, we successfully intercepted two Soviet Tu-16 Badger aircraft and promptly turned them away from Alaska and back toward the Soviet Union. Pictures were taken, markings recorded, and then we headed back to Galena AFS for landing.
En route, we contacted the alert facility for a weather update and learned that conditions had degraded significantly. The weather was barely above ILS minimums, and the snow- and ice-covered runway required us to engage an arresting cable on landing. Fortunately, Galena had three serviceable arresting cables at the approach end of the runway and a midfield cable located a little less than halfway down the preferred landing runway.
Why was this so important? Because we did not have the fuel to divert to any alternates, and air-refueling tankers were not airborne to assist us. Complicating matters further, the runway was built between bends of the Yukon River. The final approach crossed over a 30-foot dike on both ends of the runway, with minimal overrun between the runway end and the river.
So there I was—on ILS short final with all parameters nailed—when my WSO made a very untimely remark:
“Did you know that on ILS final here at Galena, your wheels are only 35 feet above the dike when you cross over it? So don’t be low!”
Yikes.
The adrenaline kicked in again. I flew high on the ILS final, landed long over the approach-end cable, deployed the drag chute, and watched as my tailhook bounced over the midfield cable. We hit a particularly icy section of runway, anti-skid cycling, and the departure-end cable was rapidly approaching.
We quickly reviewed our ground egress procedures as we crossed the departure-end cable while slowing through 90 knots. We skipped that cable as well, crossed into the short overrun, watched the dike rushing toward us, and finally came to a stop about 10 feet from the ILS antenna in the overrun area.
Nothing but silence from both cockpits.
We shut down the engines, egressed the aircraft, and stood there in amazement at how close we had come to swimming in the Yukon River in an F-4E. When the ground crew arrived and placed ladders at the aircraft, my WSO climbed back up to look into the cockpit.
I asked, “Did you forget something?”
His quick retort: “No—just checking for sphincter bites in the seat. Things were a little tense toward the end of the flight.”
Again, silence.
Lesson learned—and one I followed for the rest of my 53 years flying fighters, corporate, and civilian aircraft:
Keep your unnecessary comments and opinions to yourself during critical phases of flight.
Enough said.
- Unnecessary Comments on Short Final - January 26, 2026
Kid, When and where did you fly Vipers? I first flew them with the 80th ‘Juvats’ at Kunsan in ’85-’86 and then at MacDill first as the Chief of Training and then the commander of the 61st ‘Top Dawgs’ (’86-’89). Your name sounds familiar, but since I retired in ’93, I have only really stayed in touch with those whom I flew OV-10s in SEA (the Nails, 23rd TASS).
Cheers & Check 6!
Boots
Boots,
We were in the Juvats together with Caz, Cannon, Pounds, Frank Bay, Bruno & many more you will remember. I was there May 86 until Mar 87. Got sick with unknown virus, spent 2 weeks in hospital before getting curtailed for medical. Went to Armed Forces Staff college then Pentagon in Joint Staff from 1988 to 1991, then Vipers at Hill AFB, back to Nellis in Aggressors (F-16s) War College, NATO in Naples Italy and finished as 12AF/DO still flying Vipers from Hill. When they offered me the Pentagon again I decided to retire. Spent the last 25 years in corporate aviation and finally retired again on Dec 31, 2025. Still having fun flying the Cessnas and Cherokees.
Great to hear from you, I’ve enjoyed all your articles in Air Facts, it’s what made me decide to write. Cheers, and keep your head on a swivel. Kid
Col. Davee, enjoyed your article and sounds like you had a fantastic AF and Corporate career. I am about 15 or more years ahead of you and flew “Thuds” in Vietnam and Phantoms in the 80th TFS at Yokota and Osan when it was still the “Headhunters”. I am even older than “Boots” but I am still actively flying Stearman’s, gliders and light aircraft. I ain’t quitting yet!
Cal Tax, glad to hear you’re still flying, would love to have flown Stearmans. I did enjoy flying the BD 5J for about four years doing a little contract work. When I got to the 80th TFS we were based at Kunsan AB Korea. I was newly checked out in the F-16A, great flying for a new guy in the Viper. Finally flew a VANS RV-9A a few weeks ago and plan to do more in the future. Keep your head on a swivel and fly safe
You’re blaming him for coming in high and hot?
Not blaming anyone except myself for letting a comment distract me.. As a very young fighter pilot I had not learned how to prioritize as well as I should have. That was a lesson learned that helped me throughout the remainder of my flying career
The blame game? What an amazing story from the F4 jockey. Felt like I was there. It’s accounts like these that make Air Facts great. Thank you!
Similar thing happened to me, short final. A brand new pilot and his very first flight with his best buddy. Not high level military aviation for sure, but a tale in its own right.
The best buddy had gotten new pilot here back into aviation. Best buddy almost had his PPL, but not quite. Now, there they were, flitting about the skies in unabashed freedom having done a glorious mission to nowhere particularly important and coming back into an airport which no longer exists in Tennessee in the rental bird 172. Cleveland Hardwick Field, short final. Here we go.
Time has somewhat blurred the exact transcript from the mind but it was something pretty close to this:
BB: Hey, don’t you think you’re too high?
Me: Ok
BB: You’re too fast.
Me: Ok
BB: You’re too slow.
Me: Grrrrr . . .
BB: You’re low, man.
Me:
BB: You’re too high again.
Me:
Thinking to myself I’m just going to transfer controls to ‘The Ace.’
My command authority finally came out, “I GOT IT.” (Suppressed the ‘Damn it!’ that was roaring to come out) Let me concentrate!”
It was the absolute worst landing I have ever made bar none. The airplane dropped in, bounced, almost did a prop strike, and shook me up.
Turns out, my instructor (our instructor) was on the ramp and keenly watching his new eaglet use his new great skills. To his embarrassment, I’m sure, but he said he doubled over and fell down on the grass laughing his hind end off.
Who was to blame? Well, little ole’ me of course. But the commentaries, oh not just one comment – but the entire storied litany – were distractions. No doubt. No matter what I did, it did not seem to fit Best Buddy’s view. Yet, I listened and gave each one validity. Each one came with a set of thoughts and counter thoughts. Isn’t a Captain supposed to listen to his FO? But one wondered, after the fact (and during) that had I followed my own intuition, however inartful the plan may have been, would the result likely have been at least a wee bit better. Maybe even ‘good.’
As Patton used to say, ‘a good plan, violently executed, is better than a perfect plan delayed.’ May not make sense here to some of you but it came to my mind and I just like to say this quote. : )
By the way, Best Buddy never did get his license to fly.
Sad but true. In later years he quite flying with me altogether. Always an excuse not to get in a light aircraft. No matter what it was, twin or single. Missed out on a lot of amazement. Lots.
Believe that alot of us have been there in a similar situation on short final. ‘Helpful’ comments from a good friend, or new friend, that amazingly, completely, totally precisely, and dangerously distract. Distraction that comes in like an unseen torpedo and destroys your thought in an instant, not to be retrieved. Funny how it works, isn’t it? If I only knew how to avoid it.
Question: Should all communication be stifled? That’s the rule isn’t it? Sterile cockpit during landing. But aren’t there are those times as we all know when the Captain truly needs a “Watch out!”
So, talk to me until I don’t want you to. Help me until I tell you to shut it.
You can apply that concept to anything. Hmmm. Still, I have questions about when to speak up. In aviation, the pro’s have it down to a science I’m sure, but the PIC has to exercise that authority continuously. “Distraction Manager.”
So, I was a new pilot. But aren’t we all held to the high standard of a professional? Never have seen an exception in the FARs.
When you said the “ejectee” didn’t cut loose from the tree “—because we later learned it was more than a 50-foot drop” I had to chuckle because, if he was flying in the interior, there wouldn’t have been a tree that tall anywhere around!
I was a target pilot flying the T-33 out of Eielson during 1974-76 and flown into and out of Galena many times and so am very familiar with the dikes and barrier cables. I recall one especially cold, gloomy morning where the ground crew had a Herman Nelson with an octopus adapter on the big hose to split into four smaller hoses. Two of the hot air hoses were placed by the wheel brakes, one in the engine plenum chamber, and one in the cockpit. The crew chief also placed my helmet on the exhaust stack of the heater cart. It smelled bad but was nice and warm! After we strapped in, it took both pilots pulling on the canopy lock levers, a ground crewman pulling on the external locking handle, and one of them sitting on top of the canopy before we could squish the canopy seal to get it locked. After all that, the flight was routine.
Thanks for a great story!
Dan, we missed each other in AK by a few years. I was there 1978 – 1981. I enjoyed flying against the T-33 guys out of Elmendorf AFB, learned a lot of techniques from them. I even had a few back seat rides, but the aileron boost took a little getting used to. Oh, and the relief tube, never was dumb enough to fall for that one. Anyway, great group of guys and great flying. I got a lot of days of flying out of Galena or pulling an alert
Hi Dave
Great story! I’d love to get in touch with you, as I have a couple of questions about F-4E ops at Elmendorf. Don’t know if the forum allows it or not, but feel free to email me at the jrheilig01 at gmail dot com
Thanks!
Butch
Sorry, John! Your last name threw me :)
B
I recall a very old story where a transport crew we talkin about family issues on taxi it
Out. A sat a critical time one said cheer up. Which was heard as hear up. It did. Zftwmerca medsyvaccident report a standardized phrase gear clear was adopted. Cockpit chatter.
Awwww The thrill of flying in Alaska … Galena and King Salmon in particular …
But cables and barriers ….. As Dan Marotta… probly could have told ya … real men … braving
minus 20 degrees before a 110 knot contributing windchill used to land at Galena …. in the
trustee relic of the USAF …. open the canopy under low RCR conditions … the best airbrake
of its day … and … while he mentioned getting ready to fly in the icy climes of Alaska … there was a
blessed blast of hot air from the heater unit … thoughtfully provided by the ground crew to release
the mask that froze to your face from the sudden wind chill on landing
great memories …. Thanks and greetings to all the 5041 TOS, 43rd TFS ,and 18 TFS folks of that period