Fab€r, `73, Named JabaraWinner

Fab€r,'73, NamedJabaraWinner
Lt. Gen. Winiield W. Scott, Jr., announced
Superintendeht
the
recentlythat Maj. Larry E. Faber,Classof 1973,wasselected
winner of the 1986JabaraAward for Airmanship.Major Faber
earnedthe award for his heroic actionsin February1985which
resultedin savihga valuableaircraft and his own life. He was
nominatedby StrategicAir Command(SAC).
Maj. Larry Faber
Wing
servingas thechiefof the lTth Reconnaissance
Presently
(SAC) Standardizationand Evaluation Division at Royal Air
Force Alconbu{y, United Kingdom, Major Faberhas sustained
an outstandinglevel of performanceas a TR-l aircraft comto the wing in
manderand instructorpilot. Sincebeingassigned
1983,he has flown more than 40 operationalCreekSpectre4nd
six SeniorLook missions.Thesemissionsare in supportof the
Program which monitors exPeacetimeAeri'al Reconnaissance
geopoliticalareas.
temelysensitiye,
The TR-1'sCreekSpectremissionsare in excessof eighthours
durationand due to the high altitudesflown, the pilot mustwear
a pressuresuit,'in the crampedsingle-seataircraft. The Senior
Look missionis even longer in duration and is performedwith
minimal navigationaids in an extremelyhostileenvironment.
On Feb. 20, i1985,threehoursinto an operationalmissionin
vibrationof inthe TR-1, Major Fabernoticeda low-frequency
intensity.Soonafter,the engineRPM beganto unwind.
creasing
He madean aitempt to keepthe enginerunning by openingthe
bleedair valvesand energizingthe engineigniters.With his dexterity greatlyimpairedby his fully-inflatedpressuresuit brought
and usingonly the mostbasicinaboutby lossof cabinpressure,
strumentsas provided by the battery under emergencypower,
Major Faberrnanagedto navigatetoward RamsteinAir Basein
the FederalRePublicof Cermany.
Sinceflame-putlandingsare neverattemptedexceptas a last
airstartattemptsat lower
resort,he trie(rwo moreunsuccessful
altitudes.Afterl30minutesof unpowereflflight at maximumglide
airspeed,Majoi Faberfound the airfield. With the field in slght'
Major Faber,lbwered the gear manually while increasingthe
airspeedfor one last start attempt.Althoughthe start was successful',he imniediatelyelectedto shut the enginedown because
of severevibrationseventhoughthis meantno marginof error
would,be availablein his flame-outpatternand no coolingair
suit.
availableto his;pressure
His flame-odt approachwas complicatedby the heavy fuel
weight of the airplanerequiringa steeperthan normal pattern'
Realizinga much steeperglidepath wasneeded,Major Faberadjustedhis high key entry to a higherthan normalaltitude.His
judgementwas,,'perfect
and the 360degreepatternresultedin an
excellentlanding 1,000feet past the runway threshold.
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All this was done without benefit of a mobile control officer
who normally givesaltitude calls.for landing, becauseof the poor
cockpit visibility and handling difficulties of the TR-1. Subsequent investigationrevealedthat Major Faber's decisionto land
with the engineshutdown savedthe airplanefrom seriousinternal
damage. Major Faber's excellent aircraft knowledge, superior
judgement, and outstandingairmanshipresultedin savinga highvalue, critical national resourceand preventedpossibleinjury or
death to himself.
The 1986 Jabara Award for Airmanship will be presentedto
'86, at the Jabara Award
Major Faber during Homecoming
Receptionand Banquet on the eveningof Saturday, Sept 27.
The other distinguishedJabara Award nomineesfor 1986are:
'67. of the Air Force
Lt. Col. ROGER T. COLGROVE.
D i s t r i c t o f W a s h i n g t o n ,w h o , i o l l o w i n g t h e s h u t t l e C h a l l e n g e r
disaster,developedand costed a plan to recover Departnrentof
Defensespacelaunch capability which was both approved by the
Office of the Secretaryof Defenseand forwarded to the President
i n m i n i m u m t i m e . H i s p e r f o r m a n c eh a s b e e n p i v o t a l t o t h e
Department of Defensein this overall effort.
'75,
of Pacific Air Fc.rrces
Capt. JAMES. M. CORRIQAN,
(PACAF), whose work as an F-16 aircraft flight conrmanderand
instructor pilot has contributed significantlyto PACAF's mission
accomplishment.Captain Corrigan earned Squadron Top Cun
honors in everyquarter in 1984,as well as landing a severelycrippled F-16 which earned him a United States Air Force "Well
Done Award."
'68, of the Air ForceElement,
Col. RICHARD O. COVEY,
(NASA), for the
Administration
Aeronautics
and
Space
National
satelliterecoveryoperationsof Shuttle Mission STS 5 I - I . Colonel
Covey developedand verified through simulation the procedures
and techniquesthat would be required to position the Shuttle
Discovery for the salvage and repair of a vital U.S. Navy communicationssatellite.He helped to perform the numerous phasing and altitude adjustments that made Discovery's rendezvous
with the crippled satellitethe most preciseand fuel efficient in the
Space Shuttle program. Colonel Covey's airmanship helped to
make Space Shuttle Mission STS 5l-l the most successfulyet
flown.
'81, of Military Airlift ComCapt. SCOTT A. DINAPOLI,
mand, who demonstrated superior judgement and airmanship
which led to the life-savingrescueof a critically injured Soviet
fisherman. He helped to coordinate the rescueeffort and performed over eight hours of demanding.flight in one day in an
HH-3E helicopterthat included two separaterescueattemptsand
iour air refuelings.His efforts were cornplicatedby low ceilings,
poor visibility and high seas.Captain DiNapoli's quick thinking
and excellentleadershippreventedthe death of a Soviet civilian.
' 7 6 , o f T a c t i c a lA i r C o m m a n d ,
Capt. BYRON C. DODCEN,
rproblems
and a severeelectrical
who experiencedflight control
fire in his RF-4C aircraft. Without any electricalpower in a situation complicatedby weather,Captain Dodgen electedto land his
aircraft on a nearby mountain top civil airfield with a short
5,000-foot runway. He executedan intentional gear-up landing
on the externalfuel tanks that resultedin no injuries and minimal
aircraft damage.
Col. FRANCIS C. GIDEON, JR.,'66, of Air ForceSystems
Command, who distinguishedhimself thfough sustainedsuperior
performanceas the director, Fighter,/AttackSystemProgram Office, Aeronautical SystemsDivision, Wright-PattersonAir Force
Base, Ohio. He designeda program to reduce takeoff roll for tactical aircraft on battle-damaged runways and also formulated a
program to develop a ground collision avoidancesystemfor the
A-10 aircraft.
fu16
(Continued on nexl page.)
JIM CONBOY DAY PLANNEI)
ByEdRosane''rn$!\
When we were fourth classmen we were assignedan essay to
write about our most memorable room. Not too surprisingly,
many members of our class wrote about the athletic training
room. Heading that training room was Jim Conboy, and he's still
the headman today. Jim is the elder statesmanat the Academy'
He went to work ar USAFA in Denver in April 1955.He is one of
the few personsI know who started at the Academy in the initial
cadre and never left.
A group of us attendedthe Air Force - Rice football game this
past fall to honor Brock Strom's induction into the collegefootball Hall of Fame. After the game \Yebecamea little nostalgicat a
local watering hole - Spike's Place - and decidedit was time to
p l a n a " J i m C o n b o y D a y . " J i m h a s t o u c h e da l o t o f l i v e sd u r i n g
his tenureat the Academy and we felt it was tjme to recognizeand
repay our debt to this outstanding person.
The Notre Dame game on Oct. 17, 1987has beenselectedas the
date for the Falconsof old to come home to roosl and honor Jim,
Although this seemslike a long time away, it is not too early to get
started with the planning. We had our initial planning sessionat
Dave Phillip's ('59) housein Laguna Beach,Calif. in April. I was
unanimously elected (appointed) chairman of the Jim Conboy
Day Committee, a job I enthusiasticallyaccepted.My senseis
that this will be a very well-attendedevent. Our tentativeschedule
would go something like this:
- Colf tournament
Friday
-
teamJim wastrainerfor would be an idealconiactiYou may expressyour desireto be involvedby writing or calling me at the
Ed Rosane,12510Elrh Manor, SanAntonio,
followingaddress:
(horne)and (512)690-3000
Texas78230.Phonis: (512) 492-6312
\
(work).
Justwritingthis articlehasgottenme excitedab,outattending
Jim Conboy Day. Jim has been associatedwith ,manycadets,
facultyand staff in additionto the "jocks." This specialday will
be a way for: eachof us to displayour love and rpspectto this
wonderful human being.
{<**{<{<
Luncheonfor spouses
of individualteams,classes,
Eveningget-together
clepartments
Saturday - Air Force - Notre Dame game
- Formal dinner and dance at the Broadmoor
Sunday - Brunch at the O'Club
Coach Ben Martin has agreed to M.C. at the formal dinner on
Saturday evening.Now I need your help.
First, I need to get a feel for the level of interest,which I anticipatewill be high. You can indicateyour interestby sending$10
to: USAFA Athletic Department, USAF Academy, Colo. 80840,
ATTN: Maj. Kevin Garrity. This money will be usedto defray expensesassociatedwith the event - postage,depositto reserveth€
Lallroom at the Broadmo.bi, etc. Since the reservationscould be
oversubscribed,we will log the date and time we ieceive your
check, and attendancewill be on a first-come, first-servedbasis.
Hopefully, everyone who would like to attend can be accommodated.
Second,we are going to needsome help in arrangingthe details
and logisticsfor the weekend.The most urgent detail is gettingthe
word out to those who would like to attend. A member of each
'i
O u t s t a n d i n gY o u n g W o m a n
'80,
of the Academy's Departmenl of
Copt. Holly Emrick Svetz,
Astronautics, hos been selected for inclusion otfong the Outstanding Young Women of .America (OYWA) foy the fdtft time
since 1980. The OYWA honors women belween 2l and 36 years
of age who have distinguished ihemselves by their tledication, service snd leadership. The captoin is also o member'p/ the Associa'
tion ol Graduates Board of Directors. (U.5. Air Force photo by
AtCDorytrK
ul
;
Jabara:(Continuedfrom previouspage.)
' 7 9 ,o f U n i t e dS t a t eA
s ir Forces
C a p t .A R C H I E D . R I P P E T O ,
in Europe (USAFE), whose sustainedsuperiorperformance
resultedin the significantupgradingof his unit's weaponsshop.
He has beena primarycoordinatoron severalJoint Chiefsof
Staff taskingsand the commanderin chief of USAFE selected
pilot.
him as the command'sF-l6 demonstration
Maj. JOHN H. SCHRAMM, '71, of the Air ForceReserve,
by
in thesafelandingof a burningHH-3Ehelicopter
who assisted
holding up an injured crewmemberwho had collapsedonto the
stick,allowingthe copilotto makethe landing.After the aircraft
was on the ground, he assistedin removingthe incapacitated
crewmemberfrom the burningcraft.
The Jabara Award winners are selectedannually by the
Academyand the Associationof Craduateson behalf of the
Jabarafamilyto honora "USAFA graduate'whosi.contributions
as to sel themapartfrom ,lheircontemare of suchsignificance
with an
poraries."Nominees'actionsmust be directlyassociated
vehicleor component.
aerospace
.'.
The awardis namedfor ColonelJamesJabara,America's'first
jet aceand secondleadingacein the KoreanWar. The nominqes
are screened
by a JabaraAward SelectionCommitteecomprised
Their final
of graduatemembersof the Associationof Craduates.
approval.
is forwardedto thesupeiintendent'for
recommendation
committeefor the.1986Jabara
The membersof the selection
'62,
Award for AirmanshipwereCol. KennethH. Flemiirg, chairm a n ;M a j . J o h nR . B r o c k ,J r . , ' 7 1 ;M a j . M a r kS : E w i n g , ' ? 2 ;
'71i and
Maj. Alison L. Piotter, '75; Capt. Mario A. Garza,
I
Capt.ThomasC. Arata, '80.
25