The 122nd Fighter Squadron is stationed at NAS New Orleans, Louisiana. The
122nd was the first ANG unit to receive the F-15A/B's in August of 1985 the
"Coonass Militia" started replacing the F-4C's. The F-15A's came from the
405th TTW from Luke AFB. The 122nd TFS was to be
the proving ground for F-15 usage within the ANG. The F-15's deliverd to the
122nd TFS were "old" and some in bad shape. Furture more the squadron
experienced fuel corosion problems due to the usage of JP-5 fuel, were the
F-15As were customed to the JP-4 type. In 1991 al of the "Coonass Militia"
jets were replaced with FY77 model F-15A's from the 49th Fighter Wing
out of Holloman AFB.
(I am looking
for more information of the 122 FS, like squadron
rituals, history, personal stories related to the 122 FS etc) Any
information that you would like to donate can be sent to
eagle@skytrailer.com
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(U.S. Air
Force photo)
Louisiana Air National Guard Pilots Intercept And Assist In Recovery Of
Plane Flown By Marcus Schrenker
by Capt Beverly G. Couto
159th Fighter Wing, LA ANG
4/30/2009 - January 13, 2009 -- BELLE CHASSE, La. - Two Louisiana Air
National Guard pilots intercepted the airplane used by Marcus Schrenker in
what is now being called an attempt to fake his death. Major Matt Rippen and
Captain Josh Fogle were manning their alert mission in Belle Chasse, La when
they got the call.
"This is just one aspect of our mission which includes homeland defense,"
said Major Rippen. "We have conducted many intercepts with the situation
usually being one of someone accidentally flying off course or perhaps being
on the wrong frequency." At no time were they expecting that there wasn't a
pilot in the airplane at all.
Sunday evening the two pilots were missioned to go and find the airplane
that had previously made a distress call to the FAA and then went silent.
When they arrived the airplane was still in the air on a course headed
towards the Gulf of Mexico. With Major Rippen flying above and Capt Fogle
flying next to it they "shadowed "the plane until it impacted the ground.
Capt Fogle at that point was able to direct local authorities to the crash
site to recover the plane and try to locate the pilot.
After finding out that the pilot was not in the aircraft in a plot to fake
his death Capt Fogle said "It a little bit frustrating to me" talking about
Schrenker's lack of concern about the houses and people that the unmanned
airplane could have potentially crashed into.
The 159th Fighter Wing is tasked to provide air superiority over Louisiana
and the Gulf Coast while supporting the North American Aerospace Defense
Command. To complete this mission requires air defense alert 24 hours a day,
365 days a year.
Maj Rippen joined the ANG in Aug 05, has been assigned as a Flight
Commander, Alert Operations Officer, and is now the 159FW Safety Officer. He
has flown F-15s for 12 years and has over 1100 hours in the F-15.
Capt Fogle is an Active Duty pilot assigned to the 159th Fighter Wing, and
has been a member of the unit since Aug 2007. He has flown F-15's for 6
years and has over 700 hours
