European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - February 4, 1993, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Thursday february 4, 1993 military the stars and stripes Page 11 double ugly has High flying history by Kevin Dougherty Kaiserslautern Bureau Span Dahlem a Germany a those who Best know the f-4g phantom ii Knock the fighter Jet for the Way it looks. But its performance is another matter. Quot if you Are going to fight you done to necessarily want to go to with a pretty air plane a said Brig. Gen. Rudolf f. Peksens who was the ranking f-4g Pilot during the persian Gulf War. Quot you want to go into combat with a mean and threatening and ugly  the aircraft that Crews and pilots Call a double ugly and Quot Rhino is scheduled to bid Europe Adieu this Spring. The 18 jets now assigned to Spang Dahlum a Germany arc destined for Nellis Quot fab Nev. Those fighters constitute the last remaining phantom ii Squadron in the . Air forces in Europe. The fighters also Are the last version of the f-4, which during the 1960$ and �?T70s went nose to nose with soviet made Mig fighters in Vietnam and  to the phantom is 28-year run in Europe most of the remaining aircraft Are spending their final weeks on the front line instead of in the hangar. The fact that the aircraft is needed to deter and punish iraqi Leader Saddam Hussein is As much a testimony to its performance As it is to its durability Peksens said. Quot it is the most capable Sam surface to air missile killing system in the world a said Peksens the former commander at Sana Dahlem. Peksens a j a a q a. Now Heads the 410th Shelor bomb Wing at . Sawyer fab Mich. Before assuming the commanders Job at Spang Dahlum Peksens commanded a Wing that flew Rf-4s, a version of the phantom ii modified for recon Naissance work out of Wei Brincken a Germany. F-4gs Are used to locate and disable radar systems that support enemy anti aircraft artillery and surface to air missile Sites. The role is known As the wild weasel Mission and is performed by a Pilot and weapon systems operator who Fly in tandem. Twelve of the 18 f-4gs assigned to Span Dahlem arc in the persian Gulf Region in support of operation provide Comfort in support of the no Fly zone North of the 36th parallel in Iraq and operation Southern watch in support of the no Fly zone South of the 32nd parallel in Iraq. The remaining aircraft Are at Spang Dahlum. In fact the latest standoff Between Saddam and coalition forces and the tangled mess in what was once Yugoslavia has delayed at feast for the moment the Transfer of aircraft from Span Dahlem to Nellis. The four that were scheduled to depart Jan. 21 never left. Quot they May not go Back to the states quite As rapidly As we had planned a said it. Col. Dan Shelor commander of the f-4g Squadron the 81st fighter so at Span Dahlem. When the f-4gs do depart the curtain will fall on a fighter class that has pitched and rolled above the european stage for nearly three decades. The first fighter version of the phantom ii assigned to Safe arrived on a Bright Day on oct. 4, 1965, at Raf Ben Waters England. At the controls was col. Dewitt r. Searles a world War ii Veteran with 269 combat missions in the South Pacific. The fighter aircraft was designated As an f-4c Model. Quot its role has changed through the years a Safe annual leadership award goes to air defense officer Schwet Zingen Germany a amps a this years Gen. Douglas Macarthur leadership award for the . Army Europe and 7th army went to capt. Joseph m. Fischetti assistant operations officer for the 1st in 7th air defense arty regt. A Fischettie a selection was announced tuesday at the Heidelberg officers and civilians club. Gen. David m. Maddox . Army Europe commander presented the award to Fischetti s parents. Fischetti was unable to attend the ceremony because his child is ill. His regiment belongs to the 94ta air defense brigade of the 32nd army air defense come. The award is Given to a Captain or lieutenant who demonstrates outstanding military performance leadership and achievement. A a t so ass Kovlan Dougherty some Call it ugly but the f-4g phantom ii has proven itself to be deadly when it attacks enemy radar Sites. Spokesman Doug Moore said of the b-4s. Quot once upon a time it was our primary  by 1969, the f-4 Fleet in Europe which included two updated versions totalled 237. In december of that year six modified versions of the f-4c arrived at Hahn a Germany. The aircraft were equipped to perform the wild weasels Job of air defense suppression. The f-4 Fleet reached its maximum strength in 1975, when there were 292 aircraft in Europe. The first two f-4gs arrived in Europe to replace the f-4c wild weasel on March 28, 1979. Both were assigned to the 81st at Span Dahlem. The unit completed its conversion four months later. As a modified version of the f-4e Model the f-4g is designed to kill enemy radar Sites thus rendering missile Sites All but Blind and paving the Way for other aircraft. The modification was made in part by removing the f-4e�?Ts gun and replacing it with avionics equipment. Once the f-4g�?Ts electronic equipment detects and identifies enemy radar it can a Isabll the site with harm or Maverick missiles. A the missile actually comes off the air plane looking for that particular site a said Shelor the current commander of the 81st. He logged 23 combat missions in the Gulf. T t another Way to Knock out a radar site is the Quot Hunter killer method a sort of tag team match with the f-4g joining forces with an f-16c fighting Falcon for example. The former plays the part of the Hunter by searching and locating its prey while the latter finishes the Job. The air Force has yet to decide How to fill the void once it removes the f-4g from its inventory. The f-4g aircraft that Peksens and Shelor flew during operation desert storm were built in 1969. Quot Etc arc looking at several options one of which is upgrading the fi6,�?� said capt. Monica Aloisio an air Force spokeswoman in Washington. Officials had planned to retire the aircraft sometime last year but the Gulf War gave the f-4g a reprieve by allowing it to show its handlers and the world just what it can do for an air Force. The 18 f-4gs now assigned to Spang Dahlum arc expected to reside at Nellis at least through j995. Quot its a big ugly impressive threatening air plane a Peksens said. Quot. We need to keep it around in my View until we have a system around to do that  Peksens referred to the aircraft As a Mack truck saying it requires brute strength to Fly. A a it a a handful a Peksens said. Besides that the f-4g requires a lot of maintenance time. Senior master set. Horace Sanders has worked on f-4 models for nearly All of his 18 years lie said a six hour Check of an f-16 or f-15 Eagle is comparable to a 14-hour Day on an f-4g. Quot with the aircraft coming out today Quot Sanders said Quot the trouble shooting is done with computers As opposed to trouble shooting by the technician alone on an -4g.�?� and yet the aircraft has managed to withstand bather time. Somehow someway the Bird is always ready to go. Quot certainly someday it will have to be retired a Peksens said. Quot you can to Fly an air plane  probably so but that a what Many continue to say about the venerable b-52 bomber. Wii commemoration Flag to be displayed in Stuttgart Stuttgart Germany a amps a . Army Gen. John m. Shalikashvil has accepted an official defense department world War ii commemoration Flag for display at . European come Headquarters in Stuttgart. Shalikashvil commander of . Forces in Europe received the Flag tuesday afternoon in a Patch Barracks ceremony said air Force maj. Darrell d. Jones of the commands world War ii commemoration office. It will hang in the Eisenhower building near the office of the Deputy commander in chief air Force Gen. Charles g. Boyd. The Flag bears the design of the War Era . Forces discharge pin a circled Eagle nicknamed the a ruptured  its background is deep Blue and the design and lettering colors Are red White and Gold. The defense department will Send copies of the Flag to communities organizations and governments that have a role in anniversary observances Between now and nov. 11, 1995. Current applicants for that status Are diverse and include Melbourne Australia Raf Welford England and Alaska Hawaii and new York state. The european Comdr a seven member War commemoration staff plans several events for the next three years. This year the command will participate in a May 12 ceremony in Tunisia marking the end of the North Africa Campaign and in another on memorial Day at the Nettuno american cemetery in Italy. The biggest event will be a three Day june 1994 Observance of the 50th anniversary of the allies invasion of France Jones said. The command expects up to 10,000 veterans and family members and 3,000 Active duty  military personnel to participate