Jack Roberts
Moderator - Deceased
Like it's Vietnam predecessor, "Puff the Magic Dragon," the Spectre is
easily described by Special Forces troops on the ground as "raining death."
With Chain guns, and autoloading 105mm cannon, a 25mm Gatling gun and a
Bofors 40mm cannon, the Spectre can cover a battlefield with more rounds per
squarefoot than any other combat platform in the world, and the USAF Spectre
crews live up to their motto - "Death Waits in the Dark."
The Spectre circles the batlefield in varying orbits that elude enemy
antiaircraft fire. Spectre's crews quickly observed that enemy antiaircraft
weapons were not a problem. The Taliban and AQ (al Queda) did not have the
night-vision devices needed to spot the elusive, low-flying weapons
platform. "You could see the Taliban down below as we would fly over them,"
one of the Spectre's crew recalled, "but they would just shoot at the sounds
of our engine, which makes a low droning sound that's hard to place. You
could see through their body movements that they had no idea where the
ammunition was coming from. When we would open up on them, the would just
scatter like ants in every direction."
The Spectre's weapons release officer was a woman, a stunning USAF captain
named Allison. "Ally"'s voice on the plane's intercom and over the radio, as
she coordinated the deadly 105mm and 40mm explosive rounds, seemed to flow
like poetry as the Taliban bodies stacked up, resulting in her being
nicknamed "the Angel of Death."
Ally and the rest of her crew would watch the taliban fighters on the ground
through the Spectre's thermal optics, and after a bit of studying, felt they
could predict their movements. "The Taliban would be all grouped up in, say,
the corner of a filed, and we'd open fire, and they would scatter, only to
group up again in another spot. So after a few minutes, we would just hold
our fire and wait until they grouped up again. That saved on ammunition, and
we wanted every shot to count," she recalled. Allison, originally from New
York, was proud that she was able to "bring some justice" to the people who
were responsible for striking out at the United States on September 11.
General Dostum (the Afghan commander) was utterly amazed when he heard of
Ally. He immediately called his Taliban foes on the appropriate frequency,
and then asked for Allison to speak on the U.S. radio. Dostum first
announced in Dari to the Taliban leader that "the United States has so
little respect for you that they are using their WOMEN to fight you!" Then
Dostum held his handset up and Allison would talk over the frequency,
announcing that she had heard how badly the Taliban treated women, and she
was here to give them a little payback. This was also translated to the
enemy over their frequencies. The extreme gravity of the insult to an
Islamic fundamentalist "holy warrior" cannot be translated.
(From pg. 99 in another part of Afghanistan) Dabbling in psychological
operations, the (Special Forces) team asked TASK FORCE DAGGER to give them
an AC-130 gunship for a few nights. Once again, the weapons release officer
was the efficient and attractive Air Force captain named Allison. When the
bird came overhead, TIGER 01 would announce to the Taliban in Dari and
Arabic that the "Angel of Death" had arrived and she had something to give
them. Ally would then follow on the Taliban's command frequency, speaking
with her soft, sensuous voice in English, calmly explaining to the enemy
that she knew how they treated women, so it was only fair that she get an
opportunity to repay their kindness. More than a few SF operators got a
woody listening to her sultry description of the havoc that was about to be
unleashed. Then, Ally voice would abruptly disappear as the Spectre's 105mm
cannons and mini-guns would let loose, wreaking death and destruction of
biblical proportions on the Taliban's trench lines.
easily described by Special Forces troops on the ground as "raining death."
With Chain guns, and autoloading 105mm cannon, a 25mm Gatling gun and a
Bofors 40mm cannon, the Spectre can cover a battlefield with more rounds per
squarefoot than any other combat platform in the world, and the USAF Spectre
crews live up to their motto - "Death Waits in the Dark."
The Spectre circles the batlefield in varying orbits that elude enemy
antiaircraft fire. Spectre's crews quickly observed that enemy antiaircraft
weapons were not a problem. The Taliban and AQ (al Queda) did not have the
night-vision devices needed to spot the elusive, low-flying weapons
platform. "You could see the Taliban down below as we would fly over them,"
one of the Spectre's crew recalled, "but they would just shoot at the sounds
of our engine, which makes a low droning sound that's hard to place. You
could see through their body movements that they had no idea where the
ammunition was coming from. When we would open up on them, the would just
scatter like ants in every direction."
The Spectre's weapons release officer was a woman, a stunning USAF captain
named Allison. "Ally"'s voice on the plane's intercom and over the radio, as
she coordinated the deadly 105mm and 40mm explosive rounds, seemed to flow
like poetry as the Taliban bodies stacked up, resulting in her being
nicknamed "the Angel of Death."
Ally and the rest of her crew would watch the taliban fighters on the ground
through the Spectre's thermal optics, and after a bit of studying, felt they
could predict their movements. "The Taliban would be all grouped up in, say,
the corner of a filed, and we'd open fire, and they would scatter, only to
group up again in another spot. So after a few minutes, we would just hold
our fire and wait until they grouped up again. That saved on ammunition, and
we wanted every shot to count," she recalled. Allison, originally from New
York, was proud that she was able to "bring some justice" to the people who
were responsible for striking out at the United States on September 11.
General Dostum (the Afghan commander) was utterly amazed when he heard of
Ally. He immediately called his Taliban foes on the appropriate frequency,
and then asked for Allison to speak on the U.S. radio. Dostum first
announced in Dari to the Taliban leader that "the United States has so
little respect for you that they are using their WOMEN to fight you!" Then
Dostum held his handset up and Allison would talk over the frequency,
announcing that she had heard how badly the Taliban treated women, and she
was here to give them a little payback. This was also translated to the
enemy over their frequencies. The extreme gravity of the insult to an
Islamic fundamentalist "holy warrior" cannot be translated.
(From pg. 99 in another part of Afghanistan) Dabbling in psychological
operations, the (Special Forces) team asked TASK FORCE DAGGER to give them
an AC-130 gunship for a few nights. Once again, the weapons release officer
was the efficient and attractive Air Force captain named Allison. When the
bird came overhead, TIGER 01 would announce to the Taliban in Dari and
Arabic that the "Angel of Death" had arrived and she had something to give
them. Ally would then follow on the Taliban's command frequency, speaking
with her soft, sensuous voice in English, calmly explaining to the enemy
that she knew how they treated women, so it was only fair that she get an
opportunity to repay their kindness. More than a few SF operators got a
woody listening to her sultry description of the havoc that was about to be
unleashed. Then, Ally voice would abruptly disappear as the Spectre's 105mm
cannons and mini-guns would let loose, wreaking death and destruction of
biblical proportions on the Taliban's trench lines.
