Comments on: The Story Behind the Secret History Part II. Getting B-52s through the Soviet Air Defense System

By: Steve P

Steve P — Mon, 26 Dec 2011 21:01:15 +0000

I was also an EWO, during the crazy SAC years. I am thankful that guys like you were fixing my equipment. I remember one ORI when I fell asleep prior to the point when I was supposed to warmup my equipment. So, I turned on what I could and did the best I could with half the equipment working. I was sure I had done the worst job and caused the squadron to flunk the ORI. On the way back, I opened a few panels and switched the fuses, burning out half the fuses to the EW equipment on purpose. As I walked into the squadron, after the mission, I told the debrief-er that, “It was not my fault, half my equipment was not working.” I was then informed that I had the best scores of the whole squadron. The commander used me as an example for others to follow. Looking back on SAC and those years, there sure were a few absurd situations.

By: The Four Steps to the Epiphany is Now in Russian « Steve Blank

The Four Steps to the Epiphany is Now in Russian « Steve Blank — Wed, 17 Aug 2011 12:32:09 +0000

[...] spent my late teens here and my early 20′s here next to the sharp end of the spear, and this was no videogame. [...]

By: Warren

Warren — Sat, 16 Oct 2010 10:02:38 +0000

Thanks for the memories….I was an instructor at Keeslers 3390th in the mid to late sixties in the EW maintenance & trainer courses, never got to the real USAF as I was “drafted” for instructor duty after graduating BED/EW maintenance. I can still recall specifics from the tech manuals on the ALR-20/ ALR-19 ,ALT-15/16, ALR- 25/26 ,ALT-13/ ALT-6B as well as the QRC jamming pods. That info was so burned into my 23 year old brain I could NEVER forget it as much as I tried…..a shame I had a T prefix stuck on everything service related & could’nt escape ATC regardless of volunteering for SEA or Guam, the old needs of the USAF story. On the advice of a sage E8 who had been in SAC most of his career, I bailed from the USAF & made a career in the telecommunications business .I have never regretted serving but always felt I was cheated out of flight line/operational experience while training others, including old timers who changed career fields to get the proficiency pay offered those over 4 years service in the USAF. I do consider myself privileged to be considered “an old crow” in the order of the raven….we made a difference whether the average person ever realizes it or not. Thanks again for the trip back to a time where we never took our lives or our freedom for granted & the Russians knew it…………AFSC 30153 I remain forever.

By: Don Cook

Don Cook — Fri, 24 Sep 2010 08:34:19 +0000

I also was a ECM troop in the early 80′s. I remeber when the first G model came to Carswell to replace the D’s we had. Someone showed us how to turn on the ALQ-117 and supposebly it nuked the SP’s radar gun as he was checking flightline maintenance trucks for speeding.

By: Ted Lesher

Ted Lesher — Sun, 25 Oct 2009 03:59:57 +0000

I sort of made the reverse journey — grew up in Ann Arbor in the 40s and 50s, joined the Air Force, and spent the 60s and 70s as a B-52 Electronic Warfare Officer. Retired in 1983 with 7500 hours in the B-52, 207 combat missions over Viet Nam (including Arc Light One) between 1965 and 1970.

By: Agile Opportunism – Entrepreneurial DNA « Steve Blank

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[...] the type of training military maintenance people need, and I had done some informal teaching in the Air Force. I made them a pretty good offer – hire me as a training instructor at the salary they were [...]

By: dispatches from TJICistan » Blog Archive » a secret history

dispatches from TJICistan » Blog Archive » a secret history — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 14:25:10 +0000

[...] The invention of electronic warfare, part I and II. [...]

By: The Secret History of Silicon Valley Part V: Happy 100th Birthday Silicon Valley « Steve Blank

Mon, 20 Apr 2009 12:03:12 +0000

[...] heart of the electronic warfare equipment I have worked on; including fighters in Thailand and on B-52 bombers. After 20 years, the story started coming home for [...]

By: Palantir Technologies » The Secret History of Silicon Valley

Palantir Technologies » The Secret History of Silicon Valley — Thu, 16 Apr 2009 10:03:06 +0000

[...] The Story Behind the Secret History Part II. Getting B-52s through the Soviet Air Defense System [...]

By: Story Behind “The Secret History” Part IV: Library Hours at an Undisclosed Location « Steve Blank

Mon, 13 Apr 2009 12:03:08 +0000

[...] The Story Behind the Secret History Part II. Getting B-52s through the Soviet Air Defense Syste… [...]

By: Maurice Karnaugh

Maurice Karnaugh — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 01:09:41 +0000

About halfway through this post I found myself surprised at how beautifully written it is. Congratulations.

By: Ben C.

Ben C. — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 18:48:11 +0000

Funny, the start of your Air Force career was eerily similar to my dad’s. He did maintenance on B52′s in Ubon/Korat, Thailand (met my mother) moved to Michigan, Wurtsmith AFB (had me) and then moved to Seymour Johnson AFB in NC. Now his son is reading your blog about creating a startup. Small world…

By: Calvin Chin

Calvin Chin — Fri, 03 Apr 2009 23:21:58 +0000

Great war stories, Steve. Thanks!

Wondering if, in the years since the Cold War has ended, you ever had a chance to meet one of your Soviet counterparts. Ever talk to someone from the other side who had similar stories of struggling to track and shoot down that 170-ft signature sphere?

Sure the rest of the stories diverge though… can’t really imagine a Soviet counterpart to the Customer Development method.

By: Brian Dunbar

Brian Dunbar — Mon, 30 Mar 2009 14:34:10 +0000

The last picture – that’s you? In the Air Force?

That’s quite the wig they let you guys get away with.