Episode Summary

Mitchell Institute’s Aerospace Advantage takes you to the flight line and beyond in Episode 10 Hanging out with Unexploded Ordnance, Saddam’s Bunkers and Me: Experiences of a Fighter Pilot. When we think about military pilots, we almost always envision them in the cockpit. However, whether helping establish requirements for new aircraft, designing fresh operational concepts, or developing attack plans, the Air Force needs folks who are first-hand operational experts. Thus, pilots find themselves rotating through the Pentagon and other associated functions in-between their flying assignments. This podcast explores one such experience through the eyes of Brig Gen Craig “Bluto” Baker, currently serving as the Vice Commander of 12th Air Force. A fighter pilot by trade and having just finished a tour as a Weapons School Instructor, General Baker found himself helping to build the Operation Iraqi Freedom air campaign. Subsequently, he was deployed to Iraq and executed after-action inspections at his recently targeted sites. Tune in to hear his stories and how he found himself hanging from the ceiling of one of Saddam Hussein’s palaces next to an unexploded bomb!

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