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View Full Version : Pilot finds Afghanistan missions an endurance test



Shaffer
09-27-02, 10:37 AM
MANAS, Kyrgyzstan — As he roamed the night skies in his F/A-18 Hornet, pilot Lt. Col. Michael Parkyn's radio squawked for help: Coalition troops wanted a bombing run on an Afghan hilltop where hostile forces were feared to be lurking.
The call, on the night before the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, was one the few times that Parkyn, of Marietta, Calif., has dropped bombs since he started flying out of this Central Asian base in April.

Parkyn's mission here has been drastically different from when he flew over Iraq 11 years ago during the Gulf War, unleashing thousands of pounds of bombs on Saddam Hussein's forces.

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