From Air Amistad 2008: Hog Pilots Keep it Close to the Ground

May 11, 2008
By Stacy S. Jensen
Special to LIVE!

Capt. Paul "Harb" Brown knows Laughlin Air Force Base. The A-10 West Coast Demonstration Team pilot was stationed at Laughlin from January 2000 to May 2001.

At "Thunder Over the Amistad," Brown wanted to show the crowd the versatility of the A-10, which supports ground troops. "They see what their taxpayer money does," he said.

It also gives the pilot an opportunity to show off the A-10. "It's an underappreciated airplane," he said for many, unless they are on the ground. "It's the most appreciated aircraft in the military," Brown said, because it supports ground troops. "I've been 90 meters away from friendly troops," he said of combat missions. "It's a much closer type of support."

A-10 pilots have saved lives. Brown said troops saved by their skills would often stop by camp with vehicles looking like Swiss cheese from all the bullets. "The guy wants to shake your hand," Brown said.

A-10 pilots see the support in other ways too. Brown said they rarely, if ever, have to buy their own beer. Soldiers want to say thank you.

The A-10's nickname is the "warthog," or just simply “the hog.” Brown said it's because it's ugly with looks "only a mother would love."

The plane was designed around its gun with its seven barrels. The plane carries 2,000 pounds of bullets before bombs and everything else are added.

The A-10 West Coast team based at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base in Tucson, Ariz. includes two pilots and four crew chiefs. Brown said they often talk to schoolchildren and community groups during shows. The team performs in around 30 shows between February and November.

Staff Sgt. Bobby Williams and A1C Thomas Cannon were at the show selling items for the team. Williams said proceeds support the team.

Flying family

Brown comes from a flying family. His mom is an airline pilot. His dad taught her to fly. Both his grandfathers were pilots. "That's just what we did," he said of flying.

Brown recalls a family ski trip that included a stop at the Air Force Academy in Colorado Springs, Colorado when he was eight-years-old and he saw the cadets marching to lunch. "Dad said, 'This is where you need to go."

His Air Force career began in 1995 at the Air Force Academy. He was commissioned as a second lieutenant in 1999. He has served two tours in Afghanistan.

Today, he's an instructor teaching the new guys how to fly the A-10.

Brown's two younger brothers also went to the Air Force Academy and they fly F-16s in Korea.

Brown said there is a big difference between becoming a pilot and becoming a military pilot. Experience isn't necessary, but having a four-year college degree is, he said.

Pilots join the ranks through a variety of avenues including officer candidate school, ROTC programs in high school and college and he describes going to a service academy as "the most painful route."

Following Brown's demonstration of the A-10, he did a heritage flyby with a Curtis P-40 Warhawk. "It's really a treat," he said.