[jessefan]

An item from the Minerva site. Minerva has some really incredible things on their discussion board.

http://h-net.msu.edu/cgi-bin/logbrowse.pl?...jL/lA&user=&pw=

Editor's Subject: Female weapons release officer (Afghanistan)
Author's Subject: Female weapons release officer (Afghanistan)
Date Written: Mon, 24 Mar 2003 11:14:21 -0500
Date Posted: Mon, 24 Mar 2003 11:14:21 -0500


From: Bob Gross ReconParty@aol.com
Subject: Female weapons release officer (Afghanistan)

From Bob Gross
Subject: Female weapons release officer

In Robin Moore's new book _The Hunt for Bin Laden, Task Force Dagger, on
the ground with the Special Forces in Afghanistan_ he briefly mentions a US
Air Force Captain, a female AC-130 Spectre gunship's "weapons release
officer."
While talking about an engagement with Taliban ground troops she is
quoted as saying, "...they would scatter only to group up again in another
spot. So after a few minutes, we would just hold fire and wait until they
grouped up again. That saved on ammunition, and we wanted every shot to
count."

General Abdul Rashid Dostum, a Northern Alliance warlord "was utterly
amazed when he heard of" [the female Captain]. "He immediately called his
Taliban foes on the appropriate frequency, and then asked for" [the female
Captain] "to speak on the U.S. radio. Dostum first announced in Dari to the
Taliban leader that 'the United States has so little respect for you that
they are using their women to fight you!' Then Dostum held his handset up
and" [the female Captain] "would talk over the frequency, announcing that she
had heard how badly the Taliban treated women, and she was here to give them
a little payback. The extreme gravity of the insult to the Islamic
fundamentalist 'holy warrior' cannot be translated."

During another mission, "When the bird came overhead, Tiger 01 would
announce to the Taliban in Dari and Arabic that the 'Angel of Death' had
arrived and she had something to give them." [The female Captain] "would
then follow on the Taliban's command frequency, speaking in her soft,
sensuous voice in English, calmly explaining to the enemy that she knew how
they treated women, so it was only fair that she get an opportunity to repay
their kindness." Then she stopped talking and the Spectre engaged the
Taliban. (The Spectre is one of the meanest killing machines in the U.S.
inventory.)

During the fall of Kunduz, Dostum heard an AC-130 overhead and the sound
of [the female Captain's] voice. "He brought over Mohammed Fazal, the
Taliban chief of staff. Fazal was desperately trying to delay the surrender
while his forces attempted to recapture Mazar-e-Sharif. Dostum held up the
radio for Fazal and let him listen in to" [the female Captain's] "voice for a
short time. He then explained to the Taliban leader that not only did he
possess the Death Ray, he now had the Angel of Death overhead." Within
minutes the Taliban surrendered. (The Death Ray being slang for laser
guidance.)

Moore's book is, of course, about the U.S. Army Special Forces men who
operated in Afghanistan, some of whom "..got a woody listening to" [the
female Captain's] "sultry description of the havoc that was about to be
unleashed." The AC-130 Spectre gunships are part of the air assets they have
available as fire support.

Bob Gross

[Soprano84]

A 20mm Vulcan rotary cannon trained on you from high above....serious OUCH!!