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Day of the Weasels

Waves of F-4G Wild Weasels led the way into Iraqi-held territory for follow-on ground attacks by US Air Force and Navy attack planes at the outset of Desert Storm. "The Weasels keep the SAMs off the guys," said Col. Merrill "Ron" Karp, commander of the 35th TFW, George AFB, Calif., which flew missions out of an undisclosed country in the Persian Gulf region. "The F-15s keep the MiGs off us, and the jamming planes deal with the radars."

Selected to lead the Weasels into combat was Col. George "John Boy" Walton, a veteran whom Colonel Karp selected for the job because Colonel Walton had "respect for the enemy" but was "fearless."
Upon returning from his first mission over Baghdad, a visibly drained Colonel Walton described in detail the antiaircraft firestorm US warplanes dodged over Baghdad. "I saw one of the most fantastic fireworks demonstrations I've seen since years ago," he said. "Baghdad lit up like a Christmas tree."

With his face still creased from his oxygen mask, he sounded a sober note of determination, knowing the kind of antiaircraft fire that awaited his squadron on subsequent missions. "Now we have to buckle down and prepare," Colonel Walton said. "It's not over. We just have to keep the pressure on until the President says, 'Lay off."'"

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