|
| 
Welcome
to my site! |
|
|
Who Am I? |
|
Ok, now that
you visited my site on all the Aircraft stuff, I wanted to
let you know who I am and why did I build my website on the
War birds. |
|
|
My name is
Paul H. Krumrei, Sr. I was born in Grand Rapids,
Minnesota.
I have had a passion for airplanes since I was
about 4 years old, when a friend of mine and
I decided to
walk from the house ( about 2 miles )and watch the airplanes
taking off from the
Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport.
Let's just say that every cop in town was looking for me all
day, as my mother lost her mind looking for me.
She found
me 6 hours later, still at the airport watching them darn
planes taking off and landing all day long!
Well, my grandfather, H. Bruce Hoch of Anoka, purchased and
restored a BT-13 Vultee in the late
60's and flew the plane
up until his death in 1989.
I loved
that airplane and flew in it often with him. I still see
the aircraft once in awhile at air shows, as it
is now owned
by a wonderful woman, Janet. You can visit her site at
www.vulteeexpress.com.
The BT-13 has and war birds have always fascinated me and I always dreamed
of owning one myself.
(I don't but still have that dream)
I joined the
United States Air Force in 1989, hoping to get into the new
technology of aircraft and just be around
airplanes for a
living. I was stationed in Omaha, Nebraska at Offutt Air
Force Base, the middle of cornhusker
country!
I was assigned to the 55th SRW or
55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing.
This wing was the backbone to the Strategic Air Command (SAC), then in 1992 was
converted
to the now known
Air Combat Command (ACC) |
|
 
  |
Offutt
Airforce base had
the rarely known RC-135(below picture), EC-135 and E-4B aircraft. (www.Offutt.af.mil)
I was then deployed to Desert Storm in 1990-1992.
|
|
 
 
 |
Coming back from the Desert Storm Tour of duty, I was
returned to Offutt where I was assigned to the
E-4B
National Emergency Airborne Command Post (NEACP). Pronounced
(Knee-Cap) or known as
NightWatch, this was basically a Boeing 747-200
aircraft with classified communications equipment.
We had 4
of them stationed at Offutt. (http://www.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?fsID=99)
I
supported these 4 aircraft along with the 1st ACCS Squadron
(Airborne Command and Control Squadron)
working along side the Boeing Aerospace Company. |
 
 
The
aircraft is the airborne command post for the President of
the United States in the event of a nuclear or
national emergency, along with the JCS or Joint Chiefs of
Staff that report directly to the Predident of the United
States of America.
Most people think that Air Force One is the airborne command post,
but this is true
only in peace time.
The E-4B, which follows the President of
the United States of America in the event of a national
emergency
could command all U.S. military forces from her.
This was a special treat to work with a Joint Chiefs of
Staff Aircraft and with the Boeing Company,
along with supporting the President of the United States of
America and other High Priority Staff
members of the United States of America
|
The picture
above is of an E-4B in flight. Notice the "hump" on the top?
This "hump" is an SHF antenna (Super High Frequency) used to
link up communications to the
aircraft and ground forces via satellite communications.
The E-4B has mid-air refueling capability giving it
unlimited range, based on crew stamina.
This is a -200 747
which is the smaller than those 747-400's you normally see
at civilian airports. |
In 1993 I was assigned to support the RC-135U "Combat Sent"
aircraft 849 at Royal Air Force base
Mildenhall United Kingdom
(England). The official comments on this aircraft are that
it provides strategic
electronic reconnaissance information
to the president, secretary of defense, Department of
Defense leaders
and theater commanders. (http://www2.acc.af.mil/library/factsheets/rc-135u.html) |
We also worked
close with the support teams from Suda Bay in Crete and
folks still in Saudi Arabia when at Mildenhall.
This allowed operations to continue non-stop, around the
globe.
Pictured below is an RC-135 Tail # 133 Support aircraft
landing at Mildenhall that would visit our team at
Mildenahll from Offutt.
Mildenhall was our deployed
base of operations for Combat Sent. The motto for
the 55th is
"The sun never sets on the fightin'
fifty-fifth" denoting that we had aircraft
deployed all over the globe.
It
was always good to see Tail #133 and Tail# 514
(supply
aircraft with re-supply items)come to Mildenhall,
as it had parts and other items on it from Offutt.
Can't
really tell much about Mildenhall, other than we
drank
like typical Englishman and had a great time
there!
The
Bird in Hand tavern was always a local treat to play
darts
with the "blokes" there!
The
Galaxy Club on base was a nightly pit stop for us after
hours as well! |
After
getting back from England, I then decided that I had
enough of the Air Force Active duty and turned down
my re-enlistment after serving 8 1/2 years of active
duty.
But before I served my
last few months of duty, I was selected to team up
with what is know as the "Top Gun" of the Air Force.
This duty was at Nellis AFB, Las Vegas Nevada home
of the Thunderbirds, USAF demonstration squadron.
Red Flag (the 414th
Combat Training Squadron) conducts war exercises
(Red Flags) so that combat aircrews
can train in the most realistic simulated war
environment possible. Red Flags are not
competitions between
flying units, nor competitions between pilots.
Exercise
participants come from flying units around the Air
Force. Sometimes the Navy, Marines, Army
and allied forces take part too. Every Red Flag
exercise is made of 1, 2 or 3 periods. Each period
is 2 weeks long.
At the end of each
period, a whole new group of flying units arrives,
and the last one leaves.
Each period, they receive enough participants and
aircraft to compose an AEF size flying wing.
I supported the entire 2 months of duty there in the
fall of 1993, which our unit was award the
Air Forces Outstanding Unit award for the
participation of the simulated combat war game at
Nellis AFB.
( imagine that, we just returned from war only two
years prior to the mock war!)
I
did however join the Nebraska Air National Guard,
because I just could not get it out of my blood!
I
signed up for a 2 year deal with the Air National
Guard in Lincoln Nebraska. The 155th Air Refueling
Wing.
This wing consisted of KC-135R model aircraft,
which if you never seen a mid-air refueling up close
and personal,
it is an experience that you will
never forget seeing two planes that close
together live!
 |
More to come soon! |
|
| |
| |
|
