Episode #119: KC-135 Stratotanker Down in Operation Epic Fury
Lessons From The Cockpit
đď¸ Episode 119 â When Tankers Collide: A Hard Day for the KC-135 Community. Welcome to Episode 119 of the Lessons from the Cockpit podcast. Iâm your host, Mark Hasara â retired Air Force KC-135 pilot, Weapons Officer, and a veteran of four wars. For over 60 years, aviation has been my passion. I spent my career flying the KC-135 Stratotanker around the world, supporting combat missions and doing the job most people never see: Passing gas to airplanes in the middle of the night⌠in the middle of a war. If youâre watching the news about air operations around Iran, what youâre...
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Episode #120: Rob "Z-Man" Zettel, the American MiG Pilot
Lessons From The Cockpit
đ¨ SECRET MiGs tangling in Area 51? This is how we learned to win. Realistic training with incredible results on the battlefield! Welcome to Episode 120 of the Lessons from the Cockpit Show! Iâm your host, Mark Hasaraâretired Air Force KC-135 Weapons Officerâand for over 60 years, Iâve lived and breathed aviation. This episode pulls back the curtain on one of the most top-secret units in Air Force history. Why is the U.S. the 500-pound gorilla in air-to-air combat? Very few nations want to tangle with the buzzsaw created by American air superiority aircraft, their pilots, and...
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Episode #113: Strategy and Tactics for the Surge with Joe Katuzeinski
Lessons From The Cockpit
đď¸ Episode â Lessons from the Cockpit Welcome to another mission-ready episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit show! Iâm 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 oneâbecause weâre bringing serious airpower experience to the table. Joining me today is one of the smartest Air Force officers Iâve ever worked withâLt. Col. Joe âTAZZâ 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
đď¸ Episode 112 â How Do You Know When to Stop the Fight? Welcome back to another airpower-packed episode of Lessons from the Cockpit! Iâm your host Lt. Col. Mark Hasara, retired KC-135 Weapons Officer and Joint Specialty Officer. For 60 years, Iâve lived and breathed aviation. Today we are going to talk about a very tough aspect of planning for war! Hereâs the question Iâve been getting all week: âMark, how do you know when itâs time to stop shooting?â How does a war end? Who decides when the mission is complete? And what happens if we stop too lateâor too soon? This...
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Episode #111: Operation Rising Lion and US Response Options
Lessons From The Cockpit
đď¸ Episode 111 â Operation Rising Lion: Israelâs Knockout Blow to Iran! Strap in for the 111th episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit show! Iâm Mark Hasara, retired Air Force KC-135 pilot, Weapons School graduate, and the guy whoâs been obsessed with aviation for over 60 years. This episode dives into one of the most aggressive and precise modern air campaigns weâve seen in decadesâOperation Rising Lion. The Israeli Defense Force (IDF) just delivered a massive punch to Iranâs military command, nuclear program scientists, religious leaders, and ballistic missile...
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Episode #110 â The Drone Swarm Wake-Up Call: Is the US and our Allies Ready?
Lessons From The Cockpit
đď¸ Episode 110 â 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! Iâm Mark Hasara, former Air Force KC-135 pilot, Weapons School graduate, and author of Tanker Pilot. For 60 years, aviation has been my worldâfrom flying gas station in the sky to mission planning at the highest levels of command. This episode is a battle cry. đĽ Ukraine Just Changed the Air Warfare Game Over the weekend, Ukraine launched one of the boldest moves weâve ever seen in modern air warfare: a long-range drone swarm strike...
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Episode #109 â From MiG-21s to the A-10 Hawg: The Incredible Journey of Major Joszph âBoaratâ Jonas
Lessons From The Cockpit
đď¸ EPISODE 109 â From MiG-21 to A-10 Hawg: The Incredible Journey of Lt Col Joszph âBoaratâ 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. Iâm Mark HasaraâKC-135 instructor pilot, Air Force Weapons School grad, author of Tanker Pilot, and your host for Episode 109. This oneâs going to hit you right between the afterburners. âď¸ 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 â The Tanker Worldâs in Trouble: ARSAG, Anaconda, and Global Tensions on the Nationâs DIME.
Lessons From The Cockpit
đď¸ EPISODE #108 â The Tanker Worldâs in Trouble: ARSAG, Anaconda, and Global Tensions on the Nationâs DIME Strap in and listen up, warriors. Welcome to Episode 108 of the Lessons from the Cockpit Show. Iâm Lt Col Mark Hasara, USAF (Ret.)âKC-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 Vegasâa 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 â Hercules to Hawgs: Flying Both Ends of the Fight with Col. Derek âWoodyâ Oaks
Lessons From The Cockpit
đď¸ Episode 107 â Hercules to Hawgs: Flying at Both Ends of the Fight with Col. Derek âWoodyâ Oaks. Welcome aboard the 107th sortie of the Lessons from the Cockpit Show Iâm Lt Col Mark Hasara, USAF (Ret.), KC-135 Weapons Officer and your pilot for todayâs mission. Iâve 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 âWoodyâ Oaks, a pilot who flew both ends of the Air Force spectrumâfrom 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! Iâm 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 BYUâs 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. Whatâs in This...
info_outlineWelcome back to the Lessons from the Cockpit and the sixty-seventh episode of the podcast!
In preparation for attending the Tailhook 2023 symposium, I felt this was a good time to do an episode on the air refueling shortfalls during the Shock and Awe air campaign in March through April 2003. In my book Tanker Pilot, the chapter Six Weeks in Hell speaks to the issues the Air Refueling Control Team overcame to make the 1003 Victor war plan executable. This is a more in-depth discussion on refueling shortfalls compared to what was accomplished in Desert Storm based on the Gulf War Airpower Survey written after the Desert Storm air campaign ended.
The Lessons from the Cockpit show is supported and financed by the book Tanker Pilot: Lessons from the Cockpit, found in all four formats on Amazon; hardback, softback (black and white photos!), Kindle, and Audible. The Kindle and Audible versions have thirty-two pictures in an extra file when you download the book.
Detailed aircraft profiles of Operation Iraqi Freedom aircraft are available from Wall Pilot, custom aviation art for the walls of your home, office, or hanger. These profiles are printed on vinyl in four, six, and eight-foot-long graphics you can stick to any flat surface.
The KC-10 Extender is called the "Gucci Bird" because of its versatility to refuel Boom or Drogue receivers. The KC-10 is also air refuelable... you can fill it back up. Most of the fighters deploying to the Middle East traveled there behind a KC-10.
The KC-135 Stratotanker has been the air refueling workhorse around the world. I was based at Kadena Air Base for five great years, the best flying job I had during my Air Force career.
The F-15C Eagle was deployed to the Middle East for Operation Iraqi Freedom, but they had a boring war as no Iraqi Air Force fighters flew offensive or defensive combat air patrols. All F-15Cs were sent home about halfway through the war because we needed the gas!
F-15E Strike Eagles were tasked with a range of missions from Close Air Support to Strike Coordination and Reconnaissance (SCAR) missions destroying the Iraqi Republican Guard.
Thanks for downloading and listening to this episode of the Lessons from the Cockpit podcast. This and additional episodes of the Lessons from the Cockpit podcast can be downloaded from my website at markhasara.com.
Next week's episode will be with a former Iranian Air Force Colonel who planned and flew one of the longest strike missions during the Iran-Iraq War of the 1980s.