Episode #113: Strategy and Tactics for the Surge with Joe Katuzeinski
Lessons From The Cockpit
šļø Episode ā Lessons from the Cockpit Welcome to another mission-ready episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit show! Iām your host Lt. Col. Mark Hasara, retired Air Force KC-135 pilot, Weapons School graduate, and aviation fanatic for over 60 years. Strap in for this oneābecause weāre bringing serious airpower experience to the table. Joining me today is one of the smartest Air Force officers Iāve ever worked withāLt. Col. Joe āTAZZā Katuzeinski. He and I go way back to our Weapons and Tactics days at Kadena Air Base in Okinawa in the '90s. Since then, TAZZ has led combat...
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Episode #112: When do you CEASE FIRE?
Lessons From The Cockpit
šļø Episode 112 ā How Do You Know When to Stop the Fight? Welcome back to another airpower-packed episode of Lessons from the Cockpit! Iām your host Lt. Col. Mark Hasara, retired KC-135 Weapons Officer and Joint Specialty Officer. For 60 years, Iāve lived and breathed aviation. Today we are going to talk about a very tough aspect of planning for war! Hereās the question Iāve been getting all week: āMark, how do you know when itās time to stop shooting?ā How does a war end? Who decides when the mission is complete? And what happens if we stop too lateāor too soon? This...
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Episode #111: Operation Rising Lion and US Response Options
Lessons From The Cockpit
šļø Episode 111 ā Operation Rising Lion: Israelās Knockout Blow to Iran! Strap in for the 111th episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit show! Iām Mark Hasara, retired Air Force KC-135 pilot, Weapons School graduate, and the guy whoās been obsessed with aviation for over 60 years. This episode dives into one of the most aggressive and precise modern air campaigns weāve seen in decadesāOperation Rising Lion. The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) just delivered a massive punch to Iranās military command, nuclear program scientists, religious leaders, and ballistic missile...
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Episode #110 ā The Drone Swarm Wake-Up Call: Is the US and our Allies Ready?
Lessons From The Cockpit
šļø Episode 110 ā The Drone Swarm Wake-Up Call: Is the US and our Allies Ready? Welcome to the 110th episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit show! Iām Mark Hasara, former Air Force KC-135 pilot, Weapons School graduate, and author of Tanker Pilot. For 60 years, aviation has been my worldāfrom flying gas station in the sky to mission planning at the highest levels of command. This episode is a battle cry. š„ Ukraine Just Changed the Air Warfare Game Over the weekend, Ukraine launched one of the boldest moves weāve ever seen in modern air warfare: a long-range drone swarm strike...
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Episode #109 ā From MiG-21s to the A-10 Hawg: The Incredible Journey of Major Joszph āBoaratā Jonas
Lessons From The Cockpit
šļø EPISODE 109 ā From MiG-21 to A-10 Hawg: The Incredible Journey of Lt Col Joszph āBoaratā Jonas Welcome back to Lessons from the Cockpit, the show that brings you stories and lessons learned from aviators who've been there, done that, and brought the jet home. Iām Mark HasaraāKC-135 instructor pilot, Air Force Weapons School grad, author of Tanker Pilot, and your host for Episode 109. This oneās going to hit you right between the afterburners. āļø From Opposing Forces to Brothers-in-Arms My guest is Cliff Wilson, an Air Force C-141 Starlifter driver and UPT instructor in...
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Episode #108 ā The Tanker Worldās in Trouble: ARSAG, Anaconda, and Global Tensions on the Nationās DIME.
Lessons From The Cockpit
šļø EPISODE #108 ā The Tanker Worldās in Trouble: ARSAG, Anaconda, and Global Tensions on the Nationās DIME Strap in and listen up, warriors. Welcome to Episode 108 of the Lessons from the Cockpit Show. Iām Lt Col Mark Hasara, USAF (Ret.)āKC-135 pilot, Weapons School grad, Joint Specialty Officer, and your host for this mission. I just got back from Air Refueling Systems Advisory Group or ARSAG 2025 at Planet Hollywood in Vegasāa gathering of the best and sharpest minds in global air refueling planning and operations. Senior leaders from the USAF, Royal Air Force, and RAAF, and...
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Episode #107 ā Hercules to Hawgs: Flying Both Ends of the Fight with Col. Derek āWoodyā Oaks
Lessons From The Cockpit
šļø Episode 107 ā Hercules to Hawgs: Flying at Both Ends of the Fight with Col. Derek āWoodyā Oaks. Welcome aboard the 107th sortie of the Lessons from the Cockpit Show Iām Lt Col Mark Hasara, USAF (Ret.), KC-135 Weapons Officer and your pilot for todayās mission. Iāve flown jets, built war plans, and stayed hopelessly addicted to aviation for over 60 years. This week? You're in for one hell of a ride. After two attempts, we finally locked in this high-value target: Col. Derek āWoodyā Oaks, a pilot who flew both ends of the Air Force spectrumāfrom hauling cargo in the...
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Episode #104: Black Jets and Gucci Birds with Retired Lt Col Mike Ethridge
Lessons From The Cockpit
Welcome to Episode 104 of Lessons from the Cockpit! Iām Mark Hasara, former KC-135 pilot, author of Tanker Pilot: Lessons from the Cockpit, and a lifelong aviation fanatic. For over 60 years, aviation has been my passion, and this show brings you stories from the cockpit, the mission planning room, and beyond. This week, I sit down with Mike Ethridge, a longtime friend and fellow Air Force aviator. We met as cadets at BYUās ROTC Detachment 855, and he went on to fly the KC-10A Extender, KC-135s and every Boeing airframe Delta Airlines has flown around the world. Whatās in This...
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Episode #105: Lessons from Marine Corps Aviation with Colonel Byron āShrekā Sullivan
Lessons From The Cockpit
EPISODE #105 ā Marine Airpower, the Battle of Ramadi, and Flying the Beast: The F-35 and MV-22 Strap in and arm hot, folksāthis oneās a burner. Welcome to Episode 105 of the Lessons from the Cockpit show! Iām your host Mark Hasara, retired KC-135 pilot, author of Tanker Pilot, and a lifelong aviation nut with over 60 years of airpower obsession. This week, I sit down with Colonel Byron āShrekā Sullivan, a retired United States Marine Corps airpower warrior. And trust meāthis is the kind of episode that makes your hair stand up. "Shrek" is a Marineās Marineācombat leader,...
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Episode #106: Lessons from Marine Corps Aviation with Shrek Sullivan and Glibby Gillette
Lessons From The Cockpit
š§ Episode 106 ā Rewriting the Rules of Marine Airpower Welcome back to Lessons from the Cockpit! Iām your host, retired Air Force Lt Col Mark āSluggoā HasaraāKC-135 pilot, Joint Specialty Officer, and full-throttle aviation fanatic for over 60 years. In this episode, we finish a powerful two-part dive into Marine Corps aviation weapons, tactics, techniques, and procedures with my good friend Colonel Byron āShrekā Sullivan. Shrek is a combat-proven pilot with time in both the F/A-18 Hornet and the F-35 Lightning II. And about halfway through the episode, weāre joined by the...
info_outlineWelcome to the sixty-first episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit podcast!
The Defense Department Budget is out and there are a number of aircraft coming into the inventory and a lot going to the Boneyard at Davis Monthan AFB Arizona. Platforms that I refueled from my KC-135 are going to be gone soon, and I voice my concerns about some of the aircraft being cut out of the inventory. My biggest concern is the health of the tanker fleet of course. There are some new aircraft on the horizon also and some of them are cosmic!
This episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit podcast is supported and financed by the book Tanker Pilot: Lessons from the Cockpit available on Amazon in all four formats; hardback, softback, Kindle, and Audible. The softback edition has pictures in black and white, and the hardback, Kindle, and Audible have pictures in color.
Aircraft spoken about in this episode are available from Wall Pilot, custom aviation art for the walls of your home, office, or hanger. These are very detailed profiles of famous aircraft you can peel off and stick to any flat surface. Go take a look at the 128 Ready-to-Print profiles from World War II aircraft to modern aircraft. Wall Pilot can also create a graphic of your favorite aircraft with your name, unit, tail codes, and weapons loadout.
One of my favorite aircraft and fortunately have been able to fly in is the F-15. The 44th Fighter Squadron Vampires were recently deactivated at Kadena Air Base Okinawa and this Eagle jet was one of their jets that deployed to the Middle East with the CHAOS nose art.
This 64th Aggressor Squadron F-16C was named WRAITH because of its black paint scheme. I like this black Darth Vader scheme!
The KC-10 Extender inventory will be reduced by 10 aircraft this year. The KC-10 has been called the "Gucci Bird" because of its nice ride. This is a Gucci Bird from the 60th Air Mobility Wing at Travis AFB California.
The E-3B Airborne Warning and Control System or AWACS aircraft from the 961st Air Control Squadron is based at Kadena Air Base Okinawa. The AWACS will be replaced by some future platform, probably the 737 Wedgetail flown by other Air Forces.
The B-1B Lancer bomber has been a workhorse of the Global War on Terror, nicknamed The Bone. This B-1B is the flagship of the 77th Weapons Squadron, the US Air Force Weapons School Bone division based at Dyess Air Force Base Texas.
Thanks for downloading and listening to my podcast. We are over 15,000 downloads now and I appreciate all of you who listen. This and previous episodes of the Lesson from the Cockpit podcast can be found on my website at markhasara.com