Brigadier General Sirous Baheri (2008)

Col. Seyyed Hassan Hosseini

Also, I can mention to Capt. Iraj Osareh, Capt. Nasser Rezaei, Capt. Mohammed Ateeghechi, Capt. Mohammed Rahimpour Farzaneh, Capt. Mahmoud Ghadiri and First Lt. Bahman Soleimani, First Lt. Mansoor Elahi, First Lt. Mohammad Javanmardi, First Lt. Naser Bagheri, First Lt. Mohammad Reza Khaleghi, and... .

Col. Mahmoud Ghadiri (Captain) and Col. Mohammad Reza Khaleghi (2006)

Base commander, who leads the group, arrives and welcomes them warmly. Then, he informs them about the generality of mission. Major Baratpour, the sub leader[2], is justified absolutely in private about the important details. According to the lesson to be learned from previous mission, a secondary mission is defined for pilots in planning the new attack; so that, if they unable to continue for any reason, bomb another location which predetermined, and then return to insider base.

Some amount of Iraqi dinar and US dollar is given to each pilot, so, if an unforeseen circumstance happened and the pilot left the aircraft – of course if not captured - can provide their basic needs for a few days and find a way for exiting the enemy’s territory.

Shortly before the sun rises, all acts is done before the flight and pilots go to equipment rooms to pick up their flight caps, gravity suits (or G suit) and other supplies they need, and go to the location of aircraft parking. Some are happy that they will give a great shock to Ba’athist Iraqi in a few hours. Due to approaching the Nowruz, some think that if something occurs, what their families will do. They know that their wives have woken up from the moment they have left their houses and moment by moment look forward them. Anxiety and fear is spotted in few faces, which is natural in such missions. Sometimes, for strengthening the spirit of companions, one or two guys who are humorous, utter some jokes to cause laughter their friends, although coldly.

The wife of one of the same group pilots narrates:

“Combat flights of my husband usually were done early morning. Although being one of authorities, but he was very interested in participating all risky and important missions. For this reason, often around three of the morning, he woke up gently by alarm clock and while would try not to waken me as far as possible, leave the house to go to his office. I always would pretend to sleep when he was going to leave, so not to worry him. Perhaps a few minutes after his leaving I was being involved with myself, perhaps to suggest that there is nothing to be worry about and like before days, he will come for lunch! But the sleeping bird had flew and been replaced by demon of annoying thinking and fancies. I would try to busy myself by whispering prayers, but then I would remember the other families of my husband’s colleagues who had been captured or martyred and their families would live in difficult conditions. One might not believe that for spending hours and busying myself at that hour of night, I would gather some clothes and throw them into washing-machine and sit beside it, so that the noise of machine don’t let me to think. Close to the morning call to pray, I would busy myself by hanging laundry at that cold air at dawn. After, I myself would laugh to my work and say if somebody sees me, must think that I am crazy! Minutes and hours would elapse very slowly, as if the wheel of world was spinning slowly. When I would think my husband must be returned from a mission, I wouldn’t dare to call. Always I would scare to hear the news that makes me to jump out of my skin. Anxiously I would walk around the room and do everything to bear the moments. Finally, I would take the plunge and phone to my husband’s office at noon. He had returned and busied with next plans ... When I would protest him why not inform me after your backing, so at least I calm down a little. ‘I think you’ve forgotten that you are a pilot’s wife!’ he would say, ‘you should ready for enduring very hard conditions and not to be worry if I was late!’ it is an answer that I have not able to deal with until today.”

Four tankers Boeing 707 piloted by Capt. Hassan Bani-Adam and Parviz Varzandi in the first aircraft [3], Capt. Luther Yadegari (one of our Christian countryman) and Capt. Gholam Hossein Esfahani in the second aircraft, Major Behzad Moezi and Capt. Asghar Motlagh in the third tanker, and Capt. Parviz Freidounzadeh and Mahdi Pakbonyan in the fourth aircraft - two of them for the first stage of delivering fuel and two for returning of Phantoms, respectively - take off from Mehrabad and head to their holding position. Tankers must also provide fuel for F-14 fighter, so that they can do well air cover of around the area.