Predator: The Remote-Control Air War over Iraq and Afghanistan: A Pilot's Story

329 Pages·2010·2.28 MB·English

by  Matt J. Martin

Predator

Predator
The Remote-Control Air War
over Iraq and Afghanistan:
A Pilot’s Story
Lt. Col. Matt J. Martin
with
Charles W. Sasser
First published in 2010 by Zenith Press, an imprint of MBI Publishing
Company, 400 First Avenue North, Suite 300, Minneapolis, MN 55401 USA
Copyright © 2010 by Matt J. Martin with Charles W. Sasser
All rights reserved. With the exception of quoting brief passages for the
purposes of review, no part of this publication may be reproduced without
prior written permission from the Publisher. The information in this book
is true and complete to the best of our knowledge.
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Digital edition: 978-1-61673-986-7
Hardcover edition: 978-0-7603-3896-4
Designer: Helena Shimizu
Cover designer: Rob Johnson, Johnson Design, Inc.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Martin, Matt J., 1972–
Predator : the remote-control air war over Iraq and Afghanistan : a pilot’s
story / Matt J. Martin with Charles W. Sasser.
p. cm.
ISBN 978-0-7603-3896-4 (hb w/ jkt)
1. Martin, Matt J., 1972- 2. Iraq War, 2003---Personal narratives,
American. 3. Iraq War, 2003---Aerial operations, American. 4. Afghan
War, 2001---Personal narratives, American. 5. Afghan War, 2001---Aerial
operations, American. 6. Predator (Drone aircraft) 7. Drone aircraft
pilots--United States--Biography. 8. United States. Air Force--Officers--
Biography. I. Sasser, Charles W. II. Title.
DS79.766.M37A3 2010
956.7044’348--dc22
2010021367
On the cover: USAF photos
On the back cover: A U.S. Air Force Predator prepares for landing at Balad
Air Base, Iraq, June 9, 2007, after a fifteen-hour combat mission in support
of Operation Iraqi Freedom. USAF photo by Tech. Sgt. Beth Holliker
Printed in the United States of America

To the men and women of the United States Air Force:
unblinking, persistent, and always on target
Contents
Author’s Note........................................................................ix
Prologue...................................................................................1
PART I: NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, NEVADA
Chapter 1: Tonight We Fly.................................................7
Chapter 2: Feel the Plane..................................................17
Chapter 3: First Mission...................................................29
Chapter 4: The Green Toyota..........................................39
Chapter 5: Rocket Man.....................................................49
Chapter 6: Fighting for Millennia.................................61
Chapter 7: Big Man in Fallujah......................................71
Chapter 8: Are We There Yet?.........................................81
Chapter 9: Never Enough................................................91
Chapter 10: Red Bulldozers..........................................103
Chapter 11: Elections Afghani Style..........................113
Chapter 12: Operation Phantom Fury.....................125
Chapter 13: Leaving Nellis............................................135
PART II: ALIAIR BASE, IRAQ
Chapter 14: Getting Real...............................................147
Chapter 15: In Its Own Time.......................................155
Chapter 16: Elections Iraqi Style................................163
Chapter 17: Sunnis and Shiites....................................171
PART III: BALAD AIR BASE, IRAQ
Chapter 18: Back to the Sandbox...............................185
Chapter 19: Johnny Rico...............................................195
Chapter 20: Wish You Were Here.............................205
Chapter 21: Out of the Loop........................................215
Chapter 22: Neighborhood Watch.............................225
Chapter 23: This Changes Everything......................235
Chapter 24: Pogo..............................................................243
Chapter 25: Leaving Balad............................................251
PART IV: NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, NEVADA
Chapter 26: On the Hunt..............................................263
Chapter 27: Hanging Saddam.....................................271
Chapter 28: Under the Whole Sky.............................279
Chapter 29: Until the Job Is Done..............................289
Chapter 30: Back in Sadr City.....................................297
Epilogue..............................................................................307
Author’s Note
THIS IS A PERSONALnarrative of remotely piloted aircraft
(RPA) combat in Iraq and Afghanistan. In it I have endeav-
ored to render the truth as accurately and vividly as possible. This
book is an expanded version of notes I kept while actively flying
MQ-1 combat missions over Iraq and Afghanistan.
While this is my story, it is also the story of others who played
major or minor roles in the events narrated. Actual names are
used throughout except in those instances where names could
not be recalled or where public identification and exposure
would serve no useful purpose and could prove uncomfortable
to persons involved.
Dialogue and events are reported to the best of my
recollection; some scenes and dialogue have, by necessity, been
re-created. Where these occur, I have tried to match personalities
with the situation and action while maintaining factual content.
While the content is accurate, I cannot be certain every quote is
entirely accurate word for word as my interpretation of events may
not be exactly the same as someone else’s. Time has a tendency to
erode memory in some areas and selectively enhance it (or exag-
gerate it) in others. Where errors in recollection occur, the author
accepts full responsibility and asks to be forgiven.
I must also emphasize that although I am an active-duty
Air Force officer, the accounts in this book and the occasional
opinions I express are my own personal views and do not neces-
sarily represent the views of the U.S. Air Force, the Department of
Defense, or the United States government.
ix