The Ugly Air Force: Though Unattractive, These Military Planes Get ...

The Ugly Air Force: Though Unattractive, These Military Planes Get the
Job Done
https://archives.nbclearn.com/portal/site/k-12/browse/?cuecard=50062
General Information
Source: NBC Nightly News Resource Type: Video News Report
Creator: Tom Brokaw/Mike Copyright: NBCUniversal Media,
Boettcher
LLC.
Event Date: 01/31/1991 Copyright Date: 1991
Air/Publish Date: 01/31/1991 Clip Length 00:02:24
Description
Though unattractive, slow, and have to fly at lower altitudes, many of the aircraft used by the American
military in the Gulf War gets the job done with overwhelming success. NBC's Mike Boettcher takes a
look at the "ugly" Warthogs, Harriers, and Apaches.
Keywords
Gulf War, Persian Gulf, Operation Desert Storm, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Airplanes, Planes, Aircraft,
Aerial Warfare, A-10 Warthogs, Thunderbolts, U.S. Air Force, Flying, Flight, Jets, Anti-Tank, Speed,
Altitude, Allied Forces, U.S. Marine Corps, Pilots, Lt. Col. Dick White, Harrier Jump Jet, Armor-Piercing
, AH-64 Apache Helicopter, Air Superiority, Target, Battle of Khafji
Citation
© 2008-2012 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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MLA
"The Ugly Air Force: Though Unattractive, These Military Planes Get the Job Done." Mike Boettcher,
correspondent. NBC Nightly News. NBCUniversal Media. 31 Jan. 1991. NBC Learn. Web. 5 September
2012
APA
Boettcher, M. (Reporter), & Brokaw, T. (Anchor). 1991, January 31. The Ugly Air Force: Though
Unattractive, These Military Planes Get the Job Done. [Television series episode]. NBC Nightly News.
Retrieved from https://archives.nbclearn.com/portal/site/k-12/browse/?cuecard=50062
CHICAGO MANUAL OF STYLE
"The Ugly Air Force: Though Unattractive, These Military Planes Get the Job Done" NBC Nightly News,
New York, NY: NBC Universal, 01/31/1991. Accessed Wed Sep 5 2012 from NBC Learn:
https://archives.nbclearn.com/portal/site/k-12/browse/?cuecard=50062
Transcript
The Ugly Air Force: Though Unattractive, These Military Planes Get the Job Done
TOM BROKAW, anchor:
And when it comes to fighting this war, one group of aircraft is proving that flying high and flying fast--
that's not everything. Call it the ugly air force. NBC's Mike Boettcher is in Saudi Arabia tonight with
more on this. Mike:
MIKE BOETTCHER, reporting:
Hello, Tom. If the Iraqis are indeed planning another attack inside Saudi Arabia, then allied forces once
more will be counting on a group of airplanes, which won't win any beauty prizes.
Ugly is only skin deep. A soldier don't care that the A-10 warthog is as unattractive as its nickname. A
Marine isn't bothered that it can't even break the sound barrier. What the warthog does is kill tanks. If
you're a soldier under siege by Iraqi armor, the warthog is a thing of great beauty. A-10 pilots have grown
accustomed to the derision that the fighter jockeys have heaped on their aircraft.
Lieutenant Colonel DICK WHITE: Well, it's not the most complicated airplane in the world. I have some
friends that joke about it only having three moving parts, but the A-10, because we are doing such a fine
job, seems to be getting a little more of a sparkle into the general's eyes.
BOETTCHER: Lieutenant Colonel Dick White flies Harriers, almost as slow and ugly as wart hogs. He
doesn't laugh at jokes about his aircraft. His Harrier squadron was never busier and happier than during
the recent ground battles. The Harrier, along with the warthog and a host of other ugly planes, were
needed to repel Iraqi tanks with their armor piercing weapons. They did.
WHITE: It's like someone turned the--the kitchen light on late on night, and the cockroaches started
scurrying. We've finally got them out where we can find them, and we're killing them.
© 2008-2012 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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BOETTCHER: A homely air armada of tank killing aircraft, including Apache helicopters, is the allies’
equalizer in the face of Iraq's numerically superior divisions.
Unidentified Soldier: You squirt the laser. You shoot the missile, and the missile rides in a light beam to
the target area.
Unidentified Reporter: And wham.
Unidentified Soldier: And that's intermission for the bad guys.
BOETTCHER: During Iraq's attack on Khafji, the value of the ugly air corps was proven. But much larger
battle will likely follow, and once again, allied troops will see great beauty in the unattractive.
One Harrier pilot said today that there were so many aircraft in the skies near Khafji looking for targets
that he had to wait in line for 20 minutes before he could attack.
© 2008-2012 NBCUniversal Media, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
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