F-16 down in Iraq

AirForceTimes wrote:Too focused on the fight

Determined to take out his target, F-16 pilot ignored cockpit warnings during fatal strafing run, report says

By Bruce Rolfsen - Staff writer - Friday Apr 13, 2007

As he circled in an F-16 high above two pickup trucks Nov. 27, Maj. Troy Gilbert knew he had found the insurgents who, 30 minutes earlier, were firing at U.S. ground troops protecting a downed helicopter.

It was time to strike back.

Related reading
Executive Summary Aircraft Accident Investigation

From 3,400 feet, Gilbert pointed his Fighting Falcon downward at the lead truck and fired the jet’s 20mm gun. As he pulled up 200 feet from the ground, Gilbert knew his bullets found their target.

Gilbert then went after the second truck, this time starting at 2,800 feet. Again, he pointed the jet at the ground and twice fired the gun. But this time, Gilbert was too low. Although he started a 6G climb, the jet slammed into a field northwest of Baghdad, instantly killing the pilot.

[...]

F-16 crash animation
As part of the investigation into the fatal crash of Maj. Troy Gilbert in Iraq on Nov. 27, an Air Force accident investigation board created a computer animation of Gilbert’s final two strafing runs in his F-16 Fighting Falcon.

The board concluded that Gilbert crashed because he tried to pull out of the second strafing run when he was too low and too fast.

The animation was created by using information was recovered from jet’s black box.

* Watch the animation

Source: http://www.airforcetimes.com/news/2007/ ... ash074113/

Luke Air Force Base wrote:Thunderbolts can cross from east to west sides of base without ever leaving gate

by 2nd Lt. Bryan Bouchard
56th Fighter Wing Public Affairs

1/25/2008 - LUKE AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. -- After 14 months of construction, people at Luke can traverse from one side of the base to the other without ever leaving a gate, now that the overpass crossing Litchfield Road is open to traffic.

More than 100 people attended the grand opening today where Brig. Gen. Tom Jones, 56th Fighter Wing commander, presided over the ceremony and dedicated the bridge to Maj. Troy Gilbert, a Luke pilot who was killed in Iraq the same month construction began on the overpass in November 2006.

"Much like this overpass that will make life better for our Luke members, (Major Gilbert's) actions as a husband, father, son and Air Force officer were always undertaken with a desire to make things better," the general said.

The project, which was contracted to the Tempe-based Sundt Construction Inc., cost $7.9 million, and will provide 7,000 people who work on Luke and the more than 100,000 local military retirees easier access to both sides of Luke, according to Lt. Col. Anton Ramage, 56th Civil Engineer Squadron commander.

"The tremendous teamwork between the 56th Fighter Wing, Air Education and Training Command, and countless others made this concept a reality," Colonel Ramage said.

The need for the overpass was realized after the Sept. 11 attacks, when the east side of the base was wide open, while the west side contained several guarded entry control points. Once the attacks took place, the need arose to secure both halves of the installation. Since Luke is split in half by Litchfield Road, people had to drive along Litchfield Road or Glendale Avenue to get to the other side of base.

During the grand opening, the overpass was dedicated to Maj. Troy L. Gilbert, a Luke pilot who was killed Nov. 27, 2006, when his F-16CG crashed while he was providing close air support to special operations forces about 40 miles north of Baghdad. While at Luke, Major Gilbert was the 56th FW flying executive officer and flew with the 309th Fighter Squadron.

"May this bridge be a reminder to all who cross it, the strength of character which (Major Gilbert) embodied," said Lt. Col. Pete Davey, 309th FS commander.

His wife, Ginger Gilbert, who was on-hand at the ceremony, said it was a fitting memorial to her late husband.

"I will never I drive under or over this bridge, without remembering my long and arduous journey after losing Troy," Mrs. Gilbert said, "for his incredible life of dedication and faith, or any of the numerous sacrifices that so many men and women around the globe have made for my freedom."

Source: http://www.luke.af.mil/news/story.asp?id=123083764

"STAFF PICKS: TOP PHOTOS OF 2009"
December 31, 2009

Caption: Ginger Gilbert-Ravella holds her daughter, Aspen, at the dedication of Gilbert Hall, the Officer Training School building at Maxwell Air Force Base. It was named in honor of her late husband, Air Force Maj. Troy L. Gilbert, an F-16 pilot who was killed during Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2006.

This was the case with the dedication of Gilbert Hall, formerly building 1487 in Maxwell Air Force Base's Officers Training School complex. Maj. Troy L. Gilbert, an OTS alumnus, was killed on an F-16 mission in Iraq in 2006. His wife, now remarried, and family attended the ceremony.

[...]

Source: http://www.montgomeryadvertiser.com/art ... OS+OF+2009

Our opinion: Honoring one of our own
Posted December 26, 2009 Times Record News

There’s the Gilbert Memorial Bridge near Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, where Gilbert served as the 56th Fighter Wing flying executive officer and flew with the 309th Fighter Squadron. Troy’s Place at Joint Base Balad, Iraq, where Gilbert was deployed, is a place where military members can relax during their down time.

His high school near Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, where Gilbert graduated in 1989, dedicated the front entrance to him, hanging a plaque in his memory along with quotes from those who knew and served with him. The Gilbert Memorial Chapel sits in Baghdad.

Building 1487 of the Officer Training School Complex at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, was renamed as Gilbert Hall.

[...]

Source: http://www.timesrecordnews.com/news/200 ... f-our-own/

Sons of killed pilot featured in film Documentary to be shown Tuesday at Cinemark 14
Posted May 16, 2010 at 12:01 a.m.
By Lana Sweeten-Shults

Memories will fade if you let them. Ronnie Gilbert won't let them. Not when they're of his son, Troy Gilbert.

Troy died Nov. 26, 2006, when his F-16 Fighting Falcon crashed 30 miles southwest of Balad Air Base in Iraq. His sacrifice meant others might live. A crew of 22 Delta Force members credit him with saving them. That heroism is just one of the things about their son that Ronnie and his wife, Kaye, are proud of.

[...]

Source: http://www.timesrecordnews.com/news/201 ... d-in-film/

Gamera wrote:All right, my dumb question of the day: what "silver side stick"?

Additional remains of Air Force pilot found
Published November 20, 2013

Additional remains of an Air Force pilot who died in combat in 2006 in Iraq have been found, service officials announced Nov. 19.

Maj. Troy Gilbert was killed when his F-16C Fighting Falcon crashed 20 miles northwest of Baghdad, Iraq Nov. 27, 2006, while engaged in support of coalition ground combat operations.

Partial remains were recovered and buried with full honors at a funeral Dec. 11, 2006 at Arlington National Cemetery.

"We have prayed for this for almost seven years, and we've never given up hope nor will we ever give up hope," said Ginger Gilbert-Ravella, former wife of Maj. Gilbert. "We have always known finding Troy's remains would be akin to finding a needle in a haystack or a grain of sand at the beach. Though our deepest desire is that his entire body would be returned to the U.S., we are grateful for this."

At the family's request, the Air Force requested a search for additional remains be re-opened, which was approved by the undersecretary of defense. This cleared the way for the Defense Prisoner of War/Missing Personnel Office, or DPMO, to continue searching in cooperation with the Iraqi government.

"I am grateful to the tireless efforts of our nation's military and its leaders as they have continued to make Troy's case a priority," Gilbert-Ravella said. "We are thankful to those who did the right thing in turning his remains over to the U.S. and ultimately our family. We are thankful to the men and women who have lost life and limb in pursuit of helping the country of Iraq seek democracy and order. I believe we can see the fruits of those sacrifices today."

Then Secretary of Air Force Michael Donley said, "We honor the ultimate sacrifice Major Gilbert made for our nation. His family deserves nothing less than our best effort to recover his remains and return them to his loved ones."

Additional remains were recovered by DPMO and the Air Force received them in September 2012. They were positively identified by the Armed Forces Medical Examiner as Gilbert's remains. Those remains will be interred at Arlington National Cemetery along with the remains originally recovered in 2006.

According to the Air Force Mortuary Affairs Operations Commander Col. John M. Devillier, notification was delayed regarding the remains found in 2012 in hopes that additional remains would be recovered.

When it was determined that additional remains may not be forthcoming, the family was notified, he said. That notification took place on Nov. 15.

According to a vignette in the Air Force's Portraits in Courage, Gilbert, a 12-year Air Force veteran, had already completed 21 combat sorties in the F-16 supporting ground forces under enemy fire. On one mission, he found and identified anti-Iraqi forces, then passed critical targeting information to Coalition forces, who attacked and eliminated the threat. In another time-sensitive mission, he killed 10 insurgents concealed in a palm grove with the pinpoint delivery of a laser-guided weapon.

"Major Gilbert was a guardian of freedom and justice, who made the ultimate sacrifice in the defense of our great nation and the Iraqi people," said Acting Secretary of the Air Force Eric Fanning. "Continuing the search for our fallen comrade demonstrates our promise to never leave an Airman behind."

Gilbert, who was posthumously awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross with Valor, deployed in September 2006 from Luke Air Force Base, Ariz., to the 332nd Air Expeditionary Wing, Balad Air Base, Iraq. He was assigned as the 332nd Expeditionary Operations Group chief of standardization and evaluation. On the day of the accident, he was flying with the 524th Expeditionary Fighter Squadron.

"We are confident the U.S. military will continue the task at hand to fully recover Troy's remains," Gilbert-Ravella said. "But today is a day to celebrate and remember the promise that was made to leave no one behind on the field of battle."

Source: http://www.af.mil/News/ArticleDisplay/t ... found.aspx