About Me

GummiBear's Wild Weasel Site

Getting ready to fly a mission during the Gulf War I (1991)

I was sure younger and lighter back then.

For the most of a twenty year career, I was able to fly JETS. After pilot training, I got to fly F-4Cs in Europe. Then, I flew OV-10s in Texas (it is a Jet too, the jets just turn props). I went back to the F-4 as a Wild Weasel and flew the F-4G. I then had a ground job as the Chief of Satey for Incirlik, Turkey. After Turkey, I flew F-4Gs at Spangdalhem, Germany with the 480th TFS. I finished up my career as a Wild Weasel Instructor Pilot with the 561st Tactical Fighter Squadron. This squadron will always be one of my favorites as I was a member when it deployed during the Gulf War. I was very proud of the young pilots and EWOs who I helped train. They did good.

I am a retired Major from the USAF. I flew the F-4, mostly, the F-4G Wild Weasel. I currently teach Chemistry at Victor Valley Community College. However, I would like a better job.

Thomas L. Gummo

Military History

ASSIGNMENT SUMMARY

Commissioned
- from Air Force Reserve Officer Training Corp.
- at USC on June 10, 1971.
- Distinguished Graduate of AFROTC.
Undergraduate Pilot Training (UPT)
- at Moody AFB, Georgia - Class 73-05.
- Earned the Second Lt. Award.
- Outstanding Graduate of UPT on December 19, 1972.
- Land Survival at Fairchild AFB, Washington.
- Water Survival at Homestead AFB, Florida.
F-4 Replacement Training Unit (RTU)
- at George AFB, California - 4435th TFTS.
- Won Base Wide Turkey Shoot (Bombing Competition).
- Promoted to First Lt. on June 9, 1973
- Graduated on October 15, 1973.
614th Tactical Fighter Squadron (TFS)
- from November 1973 to November 1976.
- at Torrejon AB, Spain - F-4Cs.
- Deployed to Incirlik AB, Turkey for 4 weeks out of every 12.
- Deployed to Aviano AB, Italy for 1 week out of every 12.
- Wing Top Gun Award.
- Squadron Life Support Officer.
- Promoted to Captain on December 9, 1975.
23rd Tactical Air Support Squadron (TASS)
- OV-10 Training
  - from February to May 1976.
  - at Patrick AFB, Florida
- from May 1976 to June 1980.
- at Bergstrom AFB, Texas - OV-10s.
- Wing Life Support Officer.
563rd TFS
- F-4 Requalification and Wild Weasel Training.
  - F-4 Short Course at Homestead AFB, FL.
  - Wild Weasel Training with 562nd TFTS.
- from July 1980 to May 1984.
- at George AFB, CA - F-4Gs.
- Small Computer Officer.
- Squadron Top Gun Award.
- Promoted to Major on November 1, 1983.
39th Tactical Group
- from May 1984 to September 1986.
- at Incirlik AB, Turkey.
- Wing Safety Officer.
480th TFS
- F-4 Short Course at Homestead AFB, again.
- from September 1986 to July 1989.
- at Spangdahlem AB, Germany - F-4Es and F-4Gs.
- Squadron Scheduler - Rated Outstanding during a major inspection.
- Squadron and Wing Top Gun Awards.
561st TFS
- Instructor Pilot Course at 562nd TFTS.
- from July 1989 to February 1992.
- at George AFB, CA - F-4Gs.
- Operation Desert Storm.
  - Deployed to Seymor Johnson AFB, North Carolina -waiting for tanker support.
  - Aborted to Lajes AB, Azores - Wingman had oil problem.
  - Aborted to Riyadh Mil. AB, Saudi Arabia - same problem.
  - Finally arrived in Sheikh Isa AB, Bahrain.
  - Flew Combat Missions over Iraq and Kuwait.
- Instructed F-4G Pilots and EWOs.
- Several Wing and Squadron Top Gun Awards.
- Retired February 1, 1992.

FLYING SUMMARY

TYPE      HOURS
T-41            9.2
T-37          83.1
T-38        104.3
OV-10     490.6
F-4C       480.3
F-4D         63.9
F-4E       213.5
F-4G     1410.8
Total     2855.7

This is the T-41. It is a Cessna 172 converted for military use. It was the first plane flown during pilot training.

The next two pictures are the T-37. It is a twin engine jet trainer.

This picture is of the T-38. It is a supersonic twin engine trainer. It is one of the most fun planes to fly.

In my military career, I also got to fly the OV-10. (O.K. O.K., I was forced out of the F-4 and required to fly this plane.) It was fun to fly but it sure wasn't a FIGHTER. I was very glad to be back to the F-4 after a four year detour.

This is an F-4G. A check of my logbook showed that I had flown this plane eighteen times.

This was the patch for the 614th TFS, Torrejon AB, Madrid Spain. It was my first fighter squadron. The leadership SUCKED BIG TIME but what a great squadron in which to learn to fly the F-4C. I was one of about 6 new pilots, who became Fighter Pilots under the direction of a great group of guys. Most of the squadron members had one or two tours in Vietnam so learning from their experience was great.

F-4G Wild Weasel Instructor Pilot
Major, USAF Retired

This was done for my enjoyment and in no way reflects on the Wild Weasel Society. Please feel free to use any of the images found here but please give credit to the Wild Weasel Society. The downloadable PowerPoint Presentations were created by me and are copyrighted (pending). Again, they are freely downloaded but give credit to the

Wild Weasel Society.