crew. I remember taking off out of Plattsburgh with temps in the low teens and landing in Alaska to a balmy 30 degrees (F). We flew non-stop from Plattsburgh AFB, NY (KPBG) to Eielson AFB, AK (PAEI) just outside of Fairbanks. I was still a co-pilot at the time and was just flying around the world anytime I was needed and loving every moment of it. My crew included Captain Andy Byers (AC), Me (Co-P), Lt. Pat "Spike" Owens (NAV), and Sgt Kraig "Bam Bam" Coates (Boom Operator). Kraig might have still been a Sr Airman at the time but was still one of the best boomers to every fly out of Plattsburgh. 
I was still flying the T-37 in an Air Force program named the Accelerated Co-Pilot Enrichment (ACE) program. Strategic Air Command (SAC) used the ACE program to help young AF pilots gain airmanship and flight experience as pilot in command. We flew with other co-pilots and took turns as the pilot in command (PIC) on each sortie. I ended up flying more than 400 hours in the ACE program out of Plattsburgh AFB. I'll tell some of those stories in a future post. The T-37
(Loring AFB, Blytheville/Eaker AFB, Plattsburgh AFB, Griffis AFB, KI Sawyer AFB, Castle AFB, Robins AFB, and many others) and T-38 
(Ellsworth AFB, Beale AFB, Minot AFB, Grand Forks, AFB and many others) were chosen since we had all flown them during pilot training so were easy to regain currency in and were fairly reasonable to maintain and fly. As fuel prices climbed so did the operating costs of these aircraft and after I returned to civilian life I was told that the ACE program was modified initially to turbo-prop aircraft (C-12) and then abandoned completely. I was sad to hear this fact, as I think the ACE program did more to mature me and allow me to grow in my piloting skills than flying the KC-135 as a co-pilot.Well over the 2 months we spent in Alaska that Spring we ended up getting to fly to Hickam AFB, Hawaii (PHIK) on a trip for a few days and then a trip out to Shemya AFB (now called Eareckson Air Station)on one of the farthest away Aleutian Islands. The trip to Shemya required us to fly with an Instructor Pilot (IP) on our first trip to the island. We ended up flying out there on one more trip during our TDY. The island has a lot of history from WWII and we ended up hiking all over the island looking for items that would wash up on shore. I ended up finding a couple of 1945 glass coke bottles. We also had the chance to meet with a King Crab fishing boat to trade them some beer we brought in from the mainland (the guys on Shemya told us to bring beer because a lot of times for a few dollars in beer you could get pounds of crab legs) for a bunch of King Crab legs. We got about 30 lbs of legs and grilled them and had a big dinner of Alaskan King Crabs. If I remember correctly all those crab legs cost us 2 cases of beer (maybe 15 bucks or so).
Eielson AFB had several aircraft stationed there while I was there on temporary duty (TDY) and the OV-10 Bronco
was the one that I really wanted to fly. I visited the 25th TASS squadron and spoke to one of the schedulers who informed me that if I were willing to go through ejection seat training I could fly on any sorties that had an open seat. I jumped at the opportunity and was able to fly a half dozen times or so during my 2 months in Alaska. It was a blast and was the only time in my AF flying days that I got to shoot anything out of an airplane. I flew a couple of sorties with an IP and he let me ride in the front seat where all of the controls for the white phosphorus rockets were located. What a blast (pun intended).One of the more memorable occurrences on this trip happened on one morning when we weren't schedule to fly. My Boomer (BamBam) was a drinker back then and managed to tie one on the night before and was in no real condition to fly. As chance would have it we were tasked with a no-notice strip alert tour. This involved being ready to launch the aircraft if needed on any mission that required air refueling support. Anyway, BamBam was throwing up and laying around complaining about the "apples and chili" he ate the day before to cover for having a serious hang-over. I didn't rat him out and we thankfully never had to launch. Capt Byers just told him to stay away from chili for the rest of the trip...though I'm pretty sure he knew what was up. The trip to Hawaii had it's own story but I'll save that for a later post as well.
The last thing I can remember is that on one strip alert day we launched to provide refueling support for a couple of F-15s that launched to intercept a Russian Bear Bomber
who was playing with our Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ). During the Cold War the Russians would send aircraft straight towards the border and then right before they entered our airspace the aircraft would turn and fly along the border. Each time they did that we would launch alert aircraft to fly out and intercept them. We did the same thing to them along their border as well with our bombers and spy planes. It would probably shock any of us if we knew the actual cost to both nations of the gamnes we played from 1945 until 1990 or so. I guess we still play some of them with Russia and China.Anyway, we met up with the alert F-15s about 1/4 a mile off of the Bear's wing tip and could actually see the pilots in the bomber. We "wove" (Ernest T Bass expression) at them and they "wove" back. BamBam kept threatening to shoot them the bird but the Nav and I held him back/down so he couldn't get to a window. That same flight while we were escorting the bomber we flew far enough North that we entered the Arctic Circle and were awarded a "certificate" that certified our mission and the fact that we had flown into the Arctic Circle. Overall it was a great trip and lots of fun was had by all involved.
