Stay ConnectedStrap in the cockpit as we dive into the stories of the men and women who defend the freedoms we love. From the cockpit of military jets to boots on the ground. The Afterburn Podcast dives into their stories, the planes, and the missions.
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Copyright: © John "Rain" Waters former U.S. Air Force Fighter Pilot
Operation Midnight Hammer through the eyes of the F-16 Wild Weasel fighter pilots who flew into Iran. Ghost" Trembly and "Cash" Croghan were the wing and squadron weapons officers for the 55th Fighter Squadron, the F-16 Wild Weasels who flew Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses ahead of the B-2 strike on Iran.
Watch the three-part documentary series on Afterburn Defense:
Part I: https://youtu.be/MgQ_X3Td8a4
Part II: https://youtu.be/GzdL6NMYDso
Part III: https://youtu.be/Xc22-2RaGSY
They planned the F-16 portion of the strike package. In this conversation, they explain why a fourth-generation fighter flew into Iran alongside the B-2s and F-35s, how the squadron reconfigured from the Yemen fight in a matter of hours, and why nobody in the squadron believed the mission was real until it was.
Before Iran, the 55th Fighter Squadron fought over Yemen in Operation Rough Rider, a sustained air campaign against Houthi surface-to-air threats. What they learned there is the reason the F-16 Block 50 and the AGM-88 HARM were part of the strike package on June 21st, 2025.
These interviews were recorded between December 2025 and January 2026 and preserve firsthand accounts from pilots, maintainers, intelligence officers, and logistics airmen who were there.
0:00 Preparing the Squadron for Deployment
5:16 New Equipment: AESA Radar and the F-16 Block 50
8:52 Operation Rough Rider: Counter-UAS Over Yemen
15:31 Mission Planning on a Folding Table
21:14 Five Days Out: Nobody Believed It Was Real
28:49 Reconfiguring the Jets From Rockets to HARMs
31:45 The Night "Glitch" Shot a SAM in 8 Seconds and saved "Cash"
41:21 Why the F-16 Was the Only Jet That Could Do It
46:38 The 15-Minute Brief Before Flying Into Iran
49:47 A 300 Mile Ingress Into Iranian Airspace
1:05:50 Is That a Missile Coming Off the Ground
1:12:41 How Tight the Fuel Really Was
1:20:40 Bunker Diving and Life on the Base
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Operation Midnight Hammer through the eyes of the people who flew it. "Smalls" commanded the 55th Fighter Squadron, and "Scar" was one of the F-16 pilots who helped plan and execute the mission. They are the Wild Weasels who flew Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses ahead of the B-2 strike on Iran.
Watch the three-part documentary series on Afterburn Defense:
Part I: https://youtu.be/MgQ_X3Td8a4
Part II: https://youtu.be/GzdL6NMYDso
Part III: https://youtu.be/Xc22-2RaGSY
This is the full interview.
Both of them flew the mission. In this conversation, they talk about what it means to command a squadron and fly in the same formation, the moment a squadron commander has to let his wingmen push ahead of him, the mechanical failure one of them handled over hostile territory, and what they told their families before they left.
Before Iran, the 55th Fighter Squadron fought over Yemen in Operation Rough Rider, a sustained air campaign against Houthi surface-to-air threats. What they learned there is the reason the F-16 Block 50 and the AGM-88 HARM were part of the strike package on June 21st, 2025.
These interviews were recorded between December 2025 and January 2026 and preserve firsthand accounts from pilots, maintainers, intelligence officers, and logistics airmen who were there.
0:00 Taking Command of the 55th Fighter Squadron
3:25 The Deployment That Became Something Else
8:33 Shooting Rockets at Drones From an F-16
12:12 Commanding a Squadron in Combat
23:16 Realizing the Threat Was Real
29:34 The Weight of Sending People Out
40:04 From Rough Rider to Midnight Hammer
43:45 Letting My Wingmen Go In First
49:55 Learning About the Iran Mission
54:51 The Phone Call That Changed Everything
1:09:25 The Helmet Mix-Up on the Ramp
1:18:26 Tanker Frequencies and Marshal Delays
1:26:13 Employing Over Iranian Airspace
1:34:02 Compressor Stall Over Enemy Territory
1:39:19 Crossing the Line Back
1:42:22 What They Told Their Families
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Operation Midnight Hammer through the eyes of the people who flew it. "Glitch" was one of the youngest F-16 pilots in the formation, flying his first combat deployment with the Wild Weasels who flew Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses ahead of the B-2 strike on Iran.
Watch the three-part documentary series on Afterburn Defense:
Part I: https://youtu.be/MgQ_X3Td8a4
Part II: https://youtu.be/GzdL6NMYDso
Part III: https://youtu.be/Xc22-2RaGSY
This is the full interview.
He was woken up at ten at night and told to pack a bag. In this conversation, he talks about the night over Yemen when a surface-to-air missile came off the ground at his formation and he had seconds to respond, why Rough Rider frightened him more than Iran did, the drive out to the jets before the strike, and the call he made to his girlfriend when he could not tell her where he was.
Before Iran, the 55th Fighter Squadron fought over Yemen in Operation Rough Rider, a sustained air campaign against Houthi surface-to-air threats. What they learned there is the reason the F-16 Block 50 and the AGM-88 HARM were part of the strike package on June 21st, 2025.
These interviews were recorded between December 2025 and January 2026 and preserve firsthand accounts from pilots, maintainers, intelligence officers, and logistics airmen who were there.
0:00 Becoming an F-16 Pilot
2:06 Preparing for the Spring Deployment
3:19 A Threat Environment Nobody Trained For
5:18 What the Outgoing Squadron Warned Them About
8:46 Flying the SEAD Mission in Combat
11:01 First Combat Sortie Over Yemen
12:32 A Missile Launch on My Scope
14:09 Watching a SAM Fired at My Formation
17:28 Getting the Call for Operation Midnight Hammer
21:17 Mission Planning for the Iran Strike
24:23 I Can't Tell You Where I Am
26:15 The Drive Out to the Jets
31:41 Why Yemen Scared Me More Than Iran
35:28 Employing Over Iranian Airspace
37:57 How Tight the Fuel Was
Have a story? Program and partnership inquiries: https://theafterburnpodcast.com/contact/
Lowdown Defense Newsletter: https://www.lowdownnews.us/
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Operation Midnight Hammer through the eyes of the people who flew it. "Cuffs" was the deployed Director of Operations for the 55th Fighter Squadron, the Wild Weasels who flew Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses ahead of the B-2 strike on Iran.
Watch the three-part documentary series on Afterburn Defense:
Part I: https://youtu.be/MgQ_X3Td8a4
Part II: https://youtu.be/GzdL6NMYDso
Part III: https://youtu.be/Xc22-2RaGSY
This is the full interview.
He ran the squadron's operations from the main base while the strike launched from somewhere else. In this conversation, he talks about how young the pilots flying this mission actually were, what it took to run a squadron split across two locations, the last handshakes before they stepped, and the wait until he heard they were on their way back.
Before Iran, the 55th Fighter Squadron fought over Yemen in Operation Rough Rider, a sustained air campaign against Houthi surface-to-air threats. What they learned there is the reason the F-16 Block 50 and the AGM-88 HARM were part of the strike package on June 21st, 2025.
These interviews were recorded between December 2025 and January 2026 and preserve firsthand accounts from pilots, maintainers, intelligence officers, and logistics airmen who were there.
0:00 Spinning Up the Squadron for Deployment
1:43 A Threat Environment Unlike the Last 20 Years
4:09 Why the F-16 Still Matters in This Fight
6:28 Getting Out the Door
9:09 Most of These Pilots Were in Their Twenties
12:11 Learning a New Base and New Configurations
16:28 First Combat Sorties Over Yemen
20:24 Thinking About the Risk to Yourself
22:44 Learning About Operation Midnight Hammer
26:27 Trusting the Weapons Officers to Plan It
28:58 Running a Squadron Split Across Two Locations
32:48 The Night It Happened
36:50 The Last Handshakes Before They Stepped
39:38 Watching Them Come Home
Have a story? Program and partnership inquiries: https://theafterburnpodcast.com/contact/
Lowdown Defense Newsletter: https://www.lowdownnews.us/
🛫 Become a Fighter/Bomber/Cargo/Tanker/RPA Pilot 🎯 : http://bogidope.com/?bd=tappodcast 🛫
Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Prep with AFOQT Wingman https://afoqtwingman.com/Code: AFTERBURN for 10% off
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Operation Midnight Hammer through the eyes of the people who flew it. "Glib" was the intelligence officer for the 55th Fighter Squadron, the Wild Weasels who flew Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses ahead of the B-2 strike on Iran.
Watch the three-part documentary series on Afterburn Defense:
Part I: https://youtu.be/MgQ_X3Td8a4
Part II: https://youtu.be/GzdL6NMYDso
Part III: https://youtu.be/Xc22-2RaGSY
This is the full interview.
His job was to know the threat better than anyone in the squadron. In this conversation, he talks about the night the reporting was bad enough that he told a pilot to be prepared, what it is like to brief men whose wives and children you know, how a squadron built its own targeting picture when the strategic intelligence was not enough, and what he did on the ground while they were over Iran.
Before Iran, the 55th Fighter Squadron fought over Yemen in Operation Rough Rider, a sustained air campaign against Houthi surface-to-air threats. What they learned there is the reason the F-16 Block 50 and the AGM-88 HARM were part of the strike package on June 21st, 2025.
These interviews were recorded between December 2025 and January 2026 and preserve firsthand accounts from pilots, maintainers, intelligence officers, and logistics airmen who were there.
0:00 Building the Threat Picture Before Deployment
2:38 A Contested Environment Again
7:15 The Night I Thought My Pilots Would Die
8:35 Finding Out About Operation Midnight Hammer
14:26 The Night of the Mission
20:21 What the Squadron Did That Nobody Sees
Have a story? Program and partnership inquiries: https://theafterburnpodcast.com/contact/
Lowdown Defense Newsletter: https://www.lowdownnews.us/
🛫 Become a Fighter/Bomber/Cargo/Tanker/RPA Pilot 🎯 : http://bogidope.com/?bd=tappodcast 🛫
Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Prep with AFOQT Wingman https://afoqtwingman.com/Code: AFTERBURN for 10% off
Become a Patron, Support the Show, & Gain Exclusive Benefits: https://www.patreon.com/c/theafterburnpodcast
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Operation Midnight Hammer through the eyes of the people who flew it. MSgt. Edge was the fuels NCOIC responsible for getting gas into every aircraft, supporting the Wild Weasels who flew Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses ahead of the B-2 strike on Iran.
Watch the three-part documentary series on Afterburn Defense:
Part I: https://youtu.be/MgQ_X3Td8a4
Part II: https://youtu.be/GzdL6NMYDso
Part III: https://youtu.be/Xc22-2RaGSY
This is the full interview.
Nothing flies without fuel. In this conversation, he explains how his team pumped 548,000 gallons in a single night, why one three-mile transfer line put a hard ceiling on the entire operation, how a project that normally takes years got done in a matter of days, and what it took to convince a host nation to change an order.
Before Iran, the 55th Fighter Squadron fought over Yemen in Operation Rough Rider, a sustained air campaign against Houthi surface-to-air threats. What they learned there is the reason the F-16 Block 50 and the AGM-88 HARM were part of the strike package on June 21st, 2025.
These interviews were recorded between December 2025 and January 2026 and preserve firsthand accounts from pilots, maintainers, intelligence officers, and logistics airmen who were there.
0:00 A Deployment That Was Supposed to Be Routine
2:20 Planning for a Buildup Nobody Expected
4:03 Twenty-One Days of Work in Three Days
6:21 The Fuel Line That Capped the Whole Operation
12:09 548,000 Gallons on the Night of Midnight Hammer
15:00 Hot Refueling F-35s for the First Time
17:02 Find a Way to Yes
Have a story? Program and partnership inquiries: https://theafterburnpodcast.com/contact/
Lowdown Defense Newsletter: https://www.lowdownnews.us/
🛫 Become a Fighter/Bomber/Cargo/Tanker/RPA Pilot 🎯 : http://bogidope.com/?bd=tappodcast 🛫
Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Prep with AFOQT Wingman https://afoqtwingman.com/Code: AFTERBURN for 10% off
Become a Patron, Support the Show, & Gain Exclusive Benefits: https://www.patreon.com/c/theafterburnpodcast
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Operation Midnight Hammer through the eyes of the people who flew it. Lt Col Tilton commanded the logistics readiness squadron at the deployed location, supplying the base the Wild Weasels flew from when they took Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses ahead of the B-2 strike on Iran.
Watch the three-part documentary series on Afterburn Defense:
Part I: https://youtu.be/MgQ_X3Td8a4
Part II: https://youtu.be/GzdL6NMYDso
Part III: https://youtu.be/Xc22-2RaGSY
This is the full interview.
Everything the mission needed had to arrive first. In this conversation, he explains why the base ran out of food more than once, what it took to run a second fuel line through a wall and under roads in the two weeks before the strike, how the fleet grew from a few dozen vehicles to hundreds, and the plan for what happens to loaded aircraft if the base goes to alarm red.
Before Iran, the 55th Fighter Squadron fought over Yemen in Operation Rough Rider, a sustained air campaign against Houthi surface-to-air threats. What they learned there is the reason the F-16 Block 50 and the AGM-88 HARM were part of the strike package on June 21st, 2025.
These interviews were recorded between December 2025 and January 2026 and preserve firsthand accounts from pilots, maintainers, intelligence officers, and logistics airmen who were there.
0:00 Getting a Fighter Wing Out the Door
2:14 The Air Force Isn't Built for Agile Deployment
8:37 Running a Squadron With Half the Leadership Gone
10:52 A Ramp That Kept Shrinking as Jets Arrived
14:32 The Fuel Trucks That Kept Breaking
19:04 When the Base Ran Out of Food
23:27 Running a Second Fuel Line Before the Strike
32:15 What Happens When the Base Goes to Alarm Red
Have a story? Program and partnership inquiries: https://theafterburnpodcast.com/contact/
Lowdown Defense Newsletter: https://www.lowdownnews.us/
🛫 Become a Fighter/Bomber/Cargo/Tanker/RPA Pilot 🎯 : http://bogidope.com/?bd=tappodcast 🛫
Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Prep with AFOQT Wingman https://afoqtwingman.com/Code: AFTERBURN for 10% off
Become a Patron, Support the Show, & Gain Exclusive Benefits: https://www.patreon.com/c/theafterburnpodcast
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Operation Midnight Hammer through the eyes of the people who flew it. SrA Michalenko was an avionics journeyman for the 55th Fighter Squadron, working the computer and threat warning systems on the F-16s that flew Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses ahead of the B-2 strike on Iran.
Watch the three-part documentary series on Afterburn Defense:
Part I: https://youtu.be/MgQ_X3Td8a4
Part II: https://youtu.be/GzdL6NMYDso
Part III: https://youtu.be/Xc22-2RaGSY
This is the full interview.
It was his first deployment. He was given four hours to pack a bag and told to watch the news. In this conversation he talks about the call to a girlfriend he could tell nothing to, arriving somewhere he could not name, and launching a fighter jet on his own for the first time in his career on the night of the Iran strike.
Before Iran, the 55th Fighter Squadron fought over Yemen in Operation Rough Rider, a sustained air campaign against Houthi surface-to-air threats. What they learned there is the reason the F-16 Block 50 and the AGM-88 HARM were part of the strike package on June 21st, 2025.
These interviews were recorded between December 2025 and January 2026 and preserve firsthand accounts from pilots, maintainers, intelligence officers, and logistics airmen who were there.
0:00 What an Avionics Technician Works On
2:18 Bamboo Eagle and the First Deployment
5:16 Working Inside a Cockpit in Desert Heat
9:08 Four Hours to Pack a Bag
10:46 The Call I Couldn't Explain
13:10 Launching a Jet for the First Time
18:12 Waiting to See If They Came Back
20:25 A Big Ball of Fear
Have a story? Program and partnership inquiries: https://theafterburnpodcast.com/contact/
Lowdown Defense Newsletter: https://www.lowdownnews.us/
🛫 Become a Fighter/Bomber/Cargo/Tanker/RPA Pilot 🎯 : http://bogidope.com/?bd=tappodcast 🛫
Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Prep with AFOQT Wingman https://afoqtwingman.com/Code: AFTERBURN for 10% off
Become a Patron, Support the Show, & Gain Exclusive Benefits: https://www.patreon.com/c/theafterburnpodcast
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Operation Midnight Hammer through the eyes of the people who flew it. CMSgt. Hilliard was the senior enlisted leader for maintenance in the 55th Fighter Squadron, the Wild Weasels who flew Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses ahead of the B-2 strike on Iran.
Watch the three-part documentary series on Afterburn Defense:
Part I: https://youtu.be/MgQ_X3Td8a4
Part II: https://youtu.be/GzdL6NMYDso
Part III: https://youtu.be/Xc22-2RaGSY
This is the full interview.
No jet flies without the people who fix it. In this conversation he talks about how the squadron decided which specific aircraft would fly the Iran mission, what it takes to generate a sortie that most people never think about, running a maintenance unit where many of the airmen had never deployed before, and the eighteen hours he waited after the jets taxied out.
Before Iran, the 55th Fighter Squadron fought over Yemen in Operation Rough Rider, a sustained air campaign against Houthi surface-to-air threats. What they learned there is the reason the F-16 Block 50 and the AGM-88 HARM were part of the strike package on June 21st, 2025.
These interviews were recorded between December 2025 and January 2026 and preserve firsthand accounts from pilots, maintainers, intelligence officers, and logistics airmen who were there.
0:00 From a One-Stoplight Town to the Viper
5:18 What It Actually Takes to Launch One Sortie
8:16 Spinning Up a Maintenance Unit for Combat
11:42 Leading Airmen Who Had Never Deployed
17:22 Flying With Fewer Jets Than You Need
21:16 A Week Out From Operation Midnight Hammer
23:27 Eighteen Hours of Waiting
26:06 A Different Kind of Battlefield
33:59 The Empty Break Rooms
39:05 How We Chose Which Jets Would Go
Have a story? Program and partnership inquiries: https://theafterburnpodcast.com/contact/
Lowdown Defense Newsletter: https://www.lowdownnews.us/
🛫 Become a Fighter/Bomber/Cargo/Tanker/RPA Pilot 🎯 : http://bogidope.com/?bd=tappodcast 🛫
Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Prep with AFOQT Wingman https://afoqtwingman.com/Code: AFTERBURN for 10% off
Become a Patron, Support the Show, & Gain Exclusive Benefits: https://www.patreon.com/c/theafterburnpodcast
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
Operation Midnight Hammer through the eyes of the people who flew it. SSgt Dray was a weapons technician responsible for the munitions and countermeasure systems on the F-16s, arming the Wild Weasels who flew Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses ahead of the B-2 strike on Iran.
Watch the three-part documentary series on Afterburn Defense:
Part I: https://youtu.be/MgQ_X3Td8a4
Part II: https://youtu.be/GzdL6NMYDso
Part III: https://youtu.be/Xc22-2RaGSY
This is the full interview.
He is one of the airmen who put the weapons on the jets. In this conversation he explains what it actually takes to reconfigure a fleet of F-16s from one mission to another, the failure he chased down that nobody could explain, what changed for him when he realized this was not training, and the night the loading told him something was about to happen.
Before Iran, the 55th Fighter Squadron fought over Yemen in Operation Rough Rider, a sustained air campaign against Houthi surface-to-air threats. What they learned there is the reason the F-16 Block 50 and the AGM-88 HARM were part of the strike package on June 21st, 2025.
These interviews were recorded between December 2025 and January 2026 and preserve firsthand accounts from pilots, maintainers, intelligence officers, and logistics airmen who were there.
0:00 What a Weapons Technician Actually Does
2:10 Spinning Up Before the Deployment
8:30 Reconfiguring a Fleet of F-16s
12:35 Arriving in Theater During Rough Rider
14:42 The Failure Nobody Could Explain
19:24 This Wasn't Training Anymore
20:48 The Night Something Was About to Happen
Have a story? Program and partnership inquiries: https://theafterburnpodcast.com/contact/
Lowdown Defense Newsletter: https://www.lowdownnews.us/
🛫 Become a Fighter/Bomber/Cargo/Tanker/RPA Pilot 🎯 : http://bogidope.com/?bd=tappodcast 🛫
Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Prep with AFOQT Wingman https://afoqtwingman.com/Code: AFTERBURN for 10% off
Become a Patron, Support the Show, & Gain Exclusive Benefits: https://www.patreon.com/c/theafterburnpodcast
Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.
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