My name is Paul H. Krumrei, Sr. I am 36 years of age and I was born in Grand Rapids, Minnesota.
I have had a passion for airplanes since I was about 4 years old, when a friend of mine and
I decided to walk from the house ( about 2 miles )and watch the airplanes taking off from the Grand Rapids/Itasca County Airport.
Let's just say that every cop in town was looking for me all day, as my mother lost her mind looking for me.
She found me 6 hours later, still at the airport watching them darn planes taking off and landing all day long!
Well, my grandfather, H. Bruce Hoch of Anoka, purchased and restored a BT-13 Vultee in the late 60's and flew the plane up until his death in 1989.
I loved that airplane and flew in it often with him. I still see the aircraft once in awhile at air shows, as it is now owned by a wonderful woman, Janet. You can visit her site at
www.vulteeexpress.com.
The BT-13 has and war birds have always fascinated me and I always dreamed of owning one myself. (I don't but still have that dream)
I joined the United States Air Force in 1989, hoping to get into the new technology of aircraft and just be around airplanes for a living. I was stationed in Omaha, Nebraska at Offutt Air Force Base, the middle of cornhusker country!
I was assigned to the 55th SRW or 55th Strategic Reconnaissance Wing.
This wing was the backbone to the Strategic Air Command (SAC), then in 1992 was converted to the now known Air Combat Command (ACC)
Offutt Airforce base had the rarely known RC-135(below picture), EC-135 and E-4B aircraft. (
www.Offutt.af.mil) I was then deployed to Desert Storm in 1990-1992.
Coming back from the Desert Storm Tour of duty, I was returned to Offutt where I was assigned to the E-4B National Emergency Airborne Command Post (NEACP). Pronounced (Knee-Cap) or known as NightWatch, this was basically a Boeing 747-200 aircraft with classified communications equipment.
We had 4 of them stationed at Offutt. (
http://www.af.mil/factsheets/factsheet.asp?fsID=99)
I supported these 4 aircraft along with the 1st ACCS Squadron (Airborne Command and Control Squadron) working along side the Boeing Aerospace Company.
The aircraft is the airborne command post for the President of the United States in the event of a nuclear or national emergency, along with the JCS or Joint Chiefs of Staff that report directly to the Predident of the United States of America.
Most people think that Air Force One is the airborne command post, but this is true only in peace time.
The E-4B, which follows the President of the United States of America in the event of a national emergency could command all U.S. military forces from her.
This was a special treat to work with a Joint Chiefs of Staff Aircraft and with the Boeing Company, along with supporting the President of the United States of America and other High Priority Staff members of the United States of America.
The picture above is of an E-4B in flight. Notice the "hump" on the top?
This "hump" is an SHF antenna (Super High Frequency) used to link up communications to the
aircraft and ground forces via satellite communications.
The E-4B has mid-air refueling capability giving it unlimited range, based on crew stamina. This is a -200 747 which is the smaller than those 747-400's you normally see at civilian airports.
In 1993 I was assigned to support the RC-135U "Combat Sent" aircraft 849 at Royal Air Force base Mildenhall United Kingdom (England). The official comments on this aircraft are that it provides strategic electronic reconnaissance information to the president, secretary of defense, Department of Defense leaders and theater commanders. (
http://www2.acc.af.mil/library/factsheets/rc-135u.html)
We also worked close with the support teams from Suda Bay in Crete and folks still in Saudi Arabia when at Mildenhall. This allowed operations to continue non-stop, around the globe.
Pictured below is an RC-135 Tail # 133 Support aircraft landing at Mildenhall that would visit our team at Mildenahll from Offutt.
Mildenhall was our deployed base of operations for Combat Sent. The motto for the 55th is "The sun never sets on the fightin' fifty-fifth" denoting that we had aircraft deployed all over the globe.
It was always good to see Tail #133 and Tail# 514
(supply aircraft with re-supply items)come to Mildenhall,
as it had parts and other items on it from Offutt.
Can't really tell much about Mildenhall, other than we drank
like typical Englishman and had a great time there!
The Bird in Hand tavern was always a local treat to play darts
with the "blokes" there!
The Galaxy Club on base was a nightly pit stop for us after hours as well!
After getting back from England, I then decided that I had enough of the Air Force Active duty and turned down my re-enlistment after serving 8 1/2 years of active duty. But before I served my
last few months of duty, I was selected to team up with what is know as the "Top Gun" of the Air Force, "Red Flag"
This duty was at Nellis AFB, Las Vegas Nevada home of the Thunderbirds, USAF demonstration squadron.
Red Flag (the 414th Combat Training Squadron) conducts war exercises (Red Flags) so that combat aircrews can train in the most realistic simulated war environment possible. Red Flags are not competitions between flying units, nor competitions between pilots.
Exercise participants come from flying units around the Air Force. Sometimes the Navy, Marines, Army and allied forces take part too. Every Red Flag exercise is made of 1, 2 or 3 periods. Each period is 2 weeks long.
At the end of each period, a whole new group of flying units arrives, and the last one leaves. Each period, they receive enough participants and aircraft to compose an AEF size flying wing.
I supported the entire 5 months of duty there in the fall of 1993, which our unit was award the Air Forces Outstanding Unit award for the participation of the simulated combat war game at Nellis AFB. ( imagine that, we just returned from war only two years prior to the mock war!)
I did however join the Nebraska Air National Guard, because I just could not get it out of my blood!
I signed up for a 2 year deal with the Air National Guard in Lincoln Nebraska. The 155th Air Refueling Wing.
This wing consisted of KC-135R model aircraft, which if you never seen a mid-air refueling up close and personal, it is an experience that you will never forget seeing two planes that close together live!
I currently moved back to Minnesota as of 2003 and live in Albertville Minnesota as a Software Developer.
I run warbird-central.com and bt-13.com, I have 5 Children and a wonderful wife Dionne, who keeps me in-line!