I've had a recent, and quite nasty bout of Blepharitis (eye infection) and as such, have been unable to carry out the vast majority of my duties, (as an RAF pilot, Harrier GR9s). With all the free time, I have decided to write a first person account of my experiences on Deci.
Decimommanu is where the Western world's fighter pilots gather to joust to the death - except that the bullets and missles aren't real. Like Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada and Miramar in California, home to the US Air Force and Navy's two world famous fighter weapon schools, it's a place where the talk and the bullshit end and where real reputations are forged. It's a wide, arid expanse of nothing, nestling beneath the mountains that form the backbone of Sardinia.
To tourists, the countryside and coastline around Deci are little pieces of paradise in an out of the way corner of the Med. To pilots, the island is heaven and hell rolled into one.
It's always exciting to touch down on Deci, because it feels like you've arrived at the finals of osme great international sporting event. There are different varieties of aircarft all over the place and the markings on their polished metal skins identify the competitors. As I taxied in with the other five jets, I saw Italion F-104 Starfighters, Turkish F-4 Phantoms, some US Air Force F-16s and a couple of Portugese A-6s.
The problem with Deci is that it's a dump. The earth is brown all year round and there's next to no vegitation to break up the barren view. Such greenery as does exist isn't green at all, but clumpy, parched stuff that looks like grass, only it'll cut the clothes off your skin should you happen to brush up against it.
The heart of Deci's war gaming system is the ACMI: Air Combat Manoeuvring and Instrumetation system. ACMII is a giant electronic grid covering the airspace off the north-west coast of the island. Every aircraft that takes off to participate in Deci's war gaming activites is fitted with an ACMI pod under one of its wings. This device relays all the aircraft's pertinent data - its speed, position, height, heading etc. - to a telemetry terminal on the base which, with the help of a powerful processor, computes and displays everything you need to know about every individual aircraft on a set of gaint screens in an ops centre in the middle of the base.
The ops centree gives those watching the battle a top down view over the proceedings. It allows pilots to fly against each other in the most realistic combat conditions and automatically validates the kill criteria so that there's no doubt over who's been shot down and who hasn't. As a prelude to our tours, it couldn't have been a better way to get up to speed on our tactics.
The base is Italian owned, but several countries maintain permanent facilities at Deci, the Brits among them. I eased the Harrier over to the British engineering section and shut down the engine in the shade of its large hanger. It was late afternoon and the Sun was already dipping towards the mountains when I slid back the canopy and sniffed appreciatively at the warm Mediterranean air. After spending much of the day in the cramped confines of a cockpit, it was good to stretch my legs on terra firma.
The British accomodation block is around 2 miles from the engineering section, so I was glad to note that there were cars and minivans there to greet us. As we journeyed over to the other side of the base, I kept my eyes peeled for a sight of the Luftwaffe's MiG-29s. The MiG-29 made its first public appearance in the West in 1988, but 20 years on, it was still a rarae sight and I felt a ripple of anticipation in my veins when it dawned on me how close I was to seeing the aircraft in the flesh again.
We reached the British accomodation block without catching sight of them; probably, our RAF driver told us, because the Germans were still out of range, sharpening the tactics they were going to use against us. Whether he was kidding or not I didn't know, but I already got the sense that we weren't the only ones at Deci who were keen to find out how we'd fare against the Fulcrums. Word of the impending showdown had obviously gotten around. --------------------------------------------------------------------
That's part 1 typed up. I have about 30 pages more, but that will do for now. Enjoy.
Actually I got the test results back a few days ago, and it's MRSA, so I'll be out of action for a fair while. Still, I have lots of other duties to attend to, so I won't be updating it all too often, although, expect something within the next few days is all I can say. I'll update later tonight if I have the time/can be bothered.
I think we got to 47. You may not notice it, but in pretty much every other scene they are in the changing room tensing their abs and looking sweaty. Good times all round.
that sounds.... spectacular? O_O good thing I will not watch it...
*runs to (a free movie streaming site) to watch it*
Actually I got the test results back a few days ago, and it's MRSA, so I'll be out of action for a fair while. Still, I have lots of other duties to attend to, so I won't be updating it all too often, although, expect something within the next few days is all I can say. I'll update later tonight if I have the time/can be bothered.
Glad to hear that. I'm doing military training in three years time. Compulsory in my country. Ah well, good way to keep fit.
that sounds.... spectacular? O_O good thing I will not watch it...
Aside from the epic homoeroticness and the innacuracies it's actually a pretty entertaining movie, if you don't mind how incredibly 80s it is.
Glad to hear that. I'm doing military training in three years time. Compulsory in my country. Ah well, good way to keep fit.
Which you going into? Navy, Army or Airforce? My older brother has joint Greek-British citizenship and so did National Service for Greece and got to choose which branch.
Which you going into? Navy, Army or Airforce? My older brother has joint Greek-British citizenship and so did National Service for Greece and got to choose which branch.
Hmm...we can't choose actually. Just your run of the mill recruit. Most of us will be posted to the army after the basic training. Thus Singapore has 360,000 soldiers. Mass conscription. Stroke of a genius, who would think of that?
Costs a hell of a lot to run though. Funds that could be better spent no doubt. How long is the period? It's 12 months in Greece, although it can vary.
