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Desert Lightning News May 6, 2016 17

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Brunt said. “All of us worked together, the mechanics and the pilots. We had one the ground, banked sharply and instead of disengaging, went directly for the Iraqi

goal in mind: get qualified.” tanks. Olson’s aircraft took critical damage.

From 1987 to 1990, Staff Sgt. Brunt and the 23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron “He was hit with (anti-aircraft artillery), they disabled his rudder and elevator,” said

trained day in and day out, traveling throughout the country. They were also tasked Brunt. He was told to bailout… but he said ‘No, I’m going to land this thing.’”
with providing heavily armed airborne FAC to support the Army’s renowned and Because of the damage sustained by the aircraft, as he was preparing to land, the
battle-tested 82nd and the 101st Airborne Divisions.
gear in his wing broke through the skin, the plane slide sideways, flipped over and
After two years of intense training, the Davis-Monthan AFB OA-10 unit was burst into flames.
called upon to support Operation Desert Storm. The unit would formally usher
in the new era of close air-support and give rise to a new term – “tank-plinking.” “I took it very hard,” explained Brunt, “When the expediter pulled me
aside and told me that Oly wouldn’t be coming back, I burst into tears; it
The sight of the group’s hard work and preparation finally being utilized dur- was hard for me to process.”
ing Desert Storm is as vivid for Brunt as if it were yesterday. He calls it the fondest
memory of his career. The war ended the next day.
After an emotionally charged six months in Saudi Arabia, Brunt spent the
“I remember the night we caught the (Iraqi) Republican Guard moving next five years traveling the world with the A-10, supporting multiple opera-
south along the Highway of Death (Highway 80, which runs from Kuwait tions. Then, in 1996, after 17 years and 10 months in the service, Brunt was the
City to Basra, Iraq),” Brunt said. “The first group of A-10s I launched came subject of the Air Force’s reduction in force efforts; he retired as a technical
back and the pilots were all pumped up. They had spotted a whole convoy sergeant with full benefits.
that spanned many miles. Following retirement, Brunt looked for ways to stay with the A-10. It
wasn’t until 2002, after six years of working multiple jobs in aviation, that
“That night, we launched nearly 600 jets. Our pilots did a typical tactical at- he was finally reunited with the aircraft.
tack; they knocked out the front, then knocked out the back, boxing them in. Each “For years I had been trying to get back to the plane that I knew the best, the one
jet carried 1,150 pounds of (high-explosive incendiary), the 30 millimeter cannon, I spent 11 years with,” Brunt explained. “The wait had been too long.”
four bombs, and two to four air-to-ground missiles … each one came back empty. While the Thunderbolts were the same, Brunt’s new involvement with
It was a great day.” them was exactly the opposite of what it used to be. Instead of repairing
them, he was tearing them apart.
Although missions like that night were filled with adrenaline and affir- “It’s a shame going through the save list and striping them down,” Brunt said. “It’s
mation, those moments were always short-lived. Most days were filled with hard to imagine that the very aircraft that took me to all ends of the world would
nonstop sortie generation, harsh conditions and constant angst from the soon be crushed up, salvaged and probably turned into beer cans.
surrounding dangers. “At least for now, the A-10 will live on for a few more years and the parts I pull
will keep the aircraft flying and save the tax-payers millions of dollars. When the
Still, it was never just a job for Brunt, it was a sense of pride; it was never A-10 is finally taken out of commission, it will not be forgotten. It has given me
just his name on the side of the plane that connected him to the machine, some of the greatest moments of my life. For that I owe it a great deal of gratitude.”
it was much deeper. For those traveling to Davis-Monthan that get a chance to tour the boneyard,
look for Brunt. You’ll find him hard at work, carefully stripping down the birds he
“Every day, multiple times a day, that was my plane heading into danger, my pilot once repaired. Ask him about his time with the A-10 and you’ll see a subtle grin
relying on my machine to respond accurately and protect his life,” Brunt said. and a sparkle in his eye…he’ll begin to point out his favorites starting with the NF
(Nail FAC) Desert Storm aircraft.
Unfortunately, one of the most defining moments in Brunt’s love affair with the In 2010, Brunt organized the 23rd Consolidated Aircraft Maintenance
A-10 was the loss of a dear friend and colleague.

“His name was Lt. Patrick Olson,” Brunt said. “We called him Oly. He was a great
officer. I was his crew chief; it was our names on the side of aircraft 77-197.

“I remember it clear as day. There was a light drizzle and as we prepared
for launch; Oly was talking about how he heard the war may end really
soon. I got him in the plane, buckled him up and he took off up north to-

ward the Republican Guard.” Squadron Reunion Group. Each year more than 40 people join their an-

That day, Feb. 27, 1991, Olson was directing fire toward Iraqi tanks when he nual gathering. They joke about the good times, drink to the bad times, and

was spotted and immediately engaged. He quickly yanked the A-10’s vertical to commemorate the loss of their fallen comrades.

From TRAGEDY, Page 13 This story – though heart wrench- in one another’s lives overseas, and I also know that I’d have a host of
ing – was an incredible testimony to we’ve walked side by side through military family ready to drop any-
had rallied the help of her unit. They me of my sweet friend’s faith, and also other life events, happy and sad, thing and help me, too, if my family
put her and her family of five up in the of how fortunate they were to have from a distance. I happened to be needed it. There are people halfway
temporary lodging facility on base. such a community ready to help at a near her when her twins were born around the world from all branches of
Her friend with kids her kids’ ages moment’s notice. Her tone humbled prematurely nearly two years ago service who would give of themselves
gave her several outfits, including me as I thought of my likely demean- because my husband was tempo- without question if I were in a tough
diapers and shoes for her son. USAA or and response if I were in her situa- rarily stationed where she now spot. There are patriotic Americans
– through whom they had their solid tion. And most of all, it reminded me teaches at a joint technical school. who don’t know her but do know and
renters’ insurance plan – had already that the military is an organization Once again, the Air Force had love ME who are offering to help her
fronted some money for incidentals that is about so much more than war brought us together during that because they know she’s my sister-in-
they’d need immediately. And – most fighting. emergent time in her life. arms and that she’s sacrificed for her
amazingly – her first sergeant had country, and that’s all they need to
collected gift cards for the Base Ex- The military is a brotherhood. These experiences have formed know. Send us an address and we’ll
change, telling her not to spend any of It’s a family, forged (often) in blood. a friendship unlike any other, and I send what she needs, they’ve told me.
her own money on things they’d need I met Nichelle when she and I were know for a fact that every other per-
until they can find a new place to live. deployed together in 2010, and son whose life she has touched felt What an amazing thing it is to be
we’ve been close ever since. We the same way I felt when they heard loved this way and to have military
“We’re just really fortunate we went through a lot of tough times about what happened. We’d do any- family who come through in times
are in the military,” she said. Her when we were physically present thing for her. Anything. of tragedy.
neighbors weren’t so fortunate.