Whenever we overflew France on our way south from the Netherlands, it was radio silence. French ATC wouldn’t speak to us. Only acknowledgement of our presence were the contrails of Mirages trying (and failing) to intercept us up at FL500. BTW the big one was a nuke bomber. #eaglebot #sierrahotel

Not mine. Reminds me of a guy I flew with at Kadena who, as flight lead, would brief the exact opposite of squadron standards (altitude blocks for red/blue air, radar sorting order, etc) just to be contrary. #bigseiko #airminded #sierrahotel

The touches of orange on my watch o' the day remind me of the oranges on a unit patch I once proudly wore. #BigSeiko #SierraHotel #EagleBot

Aerobraking is an effective way of slowing the F-15 Eagle after landing, but you have to watch your pitch or you'll scrape the tailcones. In this case, in front of witnesses. #EagleBot #SierraHotel

Wood model of the F-15C I flew at Kadena in the early 1990s. Had it made in Angeles City, Philippines, as a gift to my father, then inherited it on his passing. #EagleBot #SierraHotel

Interesting old photo; no idea who took it. Might have been taken on the Nellis range in Nevada, or possibly near Edwards AFB in SoCal. Love the '58 Ford ... we had one as our family car in my high school days; might even have taken my future bride on a date in it. #SierraHotel #BongoFiveTwo

Happy Independence Day! California ANG F-15C Eagle (photo: Staff Sgt. Steven Lewis, 2023). #eaglebot #sierrahotel

Came across this old photo of F-15 Eagles flying formation with F-106 Delta Darts, once the premier interceptor of the USAF. When the Delta Dart began phasing out in the 1980s, many of its pilots cross-trained into the Eagle. We called our new squadron mates Coneheads, which was hardly fair given that a big part of our mission set was intercepting unknown/hostile aircraft, just as they did. The F-106, like the F-15, was a fast (Mach 2+) jet, and very pretty to look at. #EagleBot #SierraHotel

Kids were going through boxes of old photos and found a few from my "top cover" days in Alaska. Couple of me from April 1985, intercepting some Russian bros in a Tu-95 Bear G, the nuclear air-to-surface missile variant, 150NM north of Pt. Barrow, taken by my wingman. There's also a Tu-16 Badger F I photographed over the Bering Strait in October 1984. #sierrahotel #eaglebot #milair

Remembering my 15 minutes of fame. Oh, and today's watch (or at least the one I'm wearing while the accursed smartwatch is charging). #sierrahotel #f15eagle #bigseiko