The Afterburn Podcast

Col Kevin "Flint" Hicok commanded the 20th Fighter Wing during Operation Midnight Hammer, leading the largest Air Force wing in CENTCOM since Desert Storm.

The three-part documentary series is on Afterburn Defense:

Part I: https://youtu.be/MgQ_X3Td8a4

Part II: https://youtu.be/GzdL6NMYDso

Part III: https://youtu.be/Xc22-2RaGSY

Operation Midnight Hammer through the eyes of the people who flew it. This is the full interview with Col. Kevin Hicok, a career F-16 fighter pilot who commanded the F-16 Wild Weasels that flew Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses ahead of the B-2 strike on Iran.

Before Iran, the wing fought over Yemen in Operation Rough Rider, a sustained air campaign against Houthi surface-to-air threats. What they learned there is the reason the F-16 Block 50 and the AGM-88 HARM were part of the strike package on June 21st, 2025.

These interviews were recorded between December 2025 and January 2026 and preserve firsthand accounts from pilots, maintainers, intelligence officers, and logistics airmen who were there.

0:00 Intro

0:56 Commanding the Largest F-16 Wing in the Air Force

3:49 From a Small Town in Iowa to Fighter Pilot

10:02 Deploying the Whole Wing for the First Time Since Desert Storm

15:23 Operation Rough Rider and the Houthi Drone Threat

17:27 Learning About Operation Midnight Hammer

19:22 Surging 100 More Aircraft and 220 Percent More People

20:20 The Logistics Nobody Sees: Fuel, Water, and 115 Degree Heat

23:17 Sending Airmen Across the Line Into Iran

29:18 When the Last Jet Landed

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Operation Midnight Hammer through the eyes of the F-16 Wild Weasel fighter pilots who flew into Iran. Ghost" Trembly and "Cash" Croghan were the wing and squadron weapons officers for the 55th Fighter Squadron, the F-16 Wild Weasels who flew Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses ahead of the B-2 strike on Iran.

Watch the three-part documentary series on Afterburn Defense:

Part I: https://youtu.be/MgQ_X3Td8a4

Part II: https://youtu.be/GzdL6NMYDso

Part III: https://youtu.be/Xc22-2RaGSY

They planned the F-16 portion of the strike package. In this conversation, they explain why a fourth-generation fighter flew into Iran alongside the B-2s and F-35s, how the squadron reconfigured from the Yemen fight in a matter of hours, and why nobody in the squadron believed the mission was real until it was.

Before Iran, the 55th Fighter Squadron fought over Yemen in Operation Rough Rider, a sustained air campaign against Houthi surface-to-air threats. What they learned there is the reason the F-16 Block 50 and the AGM-88 HARM were part of the strike package on June 21st, 2025.

These interviews were recorded between December 2025 and January 2026 and preserve firsthand accounts from pilots, maintainers, intelligence officers, and logistics airmen who were there.

0:00 Preparing the Squadron for Deployment

5:16 New Equipment: AESA Radar and the F-16 Block 50

8:52 Operation Rough Rider: Counter-UAS Over Yemen

15:31 Mission Planning on a Folding Table

21:14 Five Days Out: Nobody Believed It Was Real

28:49 Reconfiguring the Jets From Rockets to HARMs

31:45 The Night "Glitch" Shot a SAM in 8 Seconds and saved "Cash"

41:21 Why the F-16 Was the Only Jet That Could Do It

46:38 The 15-Minute Brief Before Flying Into Iran

49:47 A 300 Mile Ingress Into Iranian Airspace

1:05:50 Is That a Missile Coming Off the Ground

1:12:41 How Tight the Fuel Really Was

1:20:40 Bunker Diving and Life on the Base

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Operation Midnight Hammer through the eyes of the people who flew it. "Smalls" commanded the 55th Fighter Squadron, and "Scar" was one of the F-16 pilots who helped plan and execute the mission. They are the Wild Weasels who flew Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses ahead of the B-2 strike on Iran.

Watch the three-part documentary series on Afterburn Defense:

Part I: https://youtu.be/MgQ_X3Td8a4

Part II: https://youtu.be/GzdL6NMYDso

Part III: https://youtu.be/Xc22-2RaGSY

This is the full interview.

Both of them flew the mission. In this conversation, they talk about what it means to command a squadron and fly in the same formation, the moment a squadron commander has to let his wingmen push ahead of him, the mechanical failure one of them handled over hostile territory, and what they told their families before they left.

Before Iran, the 55th Fighter Squadron fought over Yemen in Operation Rough Rider, a sustained air campaign against Houthi surface-to-air threats. What they learned there is the reason the F-16 Block 50 and the AGM-88 HARM were part of the strike package on June 21st, 2025.

These interviews were recorded between December 2025 and January 2026 and preserve firsthand accounts from pilots, maintainers, intelligence officers, and logistics airmen who were there.

0:00 Taking Command of the 55th Fighter Squadron

3:25 The Deployment That Became Something Else

8:33 Shooting Rockets at Drones From an F-16

12:12 Commanding a Squadron in Combat

23:16 Realizing the Threat Was Real

29:34 The Weight of Sending People Out

40:04 From Rough Rider to Midnight Hammer

43:45 Letting My Wingmen Go In First

49:55 Learning About the Iran Mission

54:51 The Phone Call That Changed Everything

1:09:25 The Helmet Mix-Up on the Ramp

1:18:26 Tanker Frequencies and Marshal Delays

1:26:13 Employing Over Iranian Airspace

1:34:02 Compressor Stall Over Enemy Territory

1:39:19 Crossing the Line Back

1:42:22 What They Told Their Families

Have a story? Want to Connect? Advertise? https://theafterburnpodcast.com/contact/
🛫 Become a Fighter/Bomber/Cargo/Tanker/RPA Pilot 🎯 : http://bogidope.com/?bd=tappodcast 🛫
Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Prep with AFOQT Wingman https://afoqtwingman.com/Code: AFTERBURN for 10% off
🔺 Aviation & Defense Newsletter - https://bit.ly/AfterburnNewsletter 🔺
Become a Patron, Support the Show, & Gain Exclusive Benefits: https://www.patreon.com/c/theafterburnpodcast



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Operation Midnight Hammer through the eyes of the people who flew it. "Glitch" was one of the youngest F-16 pilots in the formation, flying his first combat deployment with the Wild Weasels who flew Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses ahead of the B-2 strike on Iran.

Watch the three-part documentary series on Afterburn Defense:

Part I: https://youtu.be/MgQ_X3Td8a4

Part II: https://youtu.be/GzdL6NMYDso

Part III: https://youtu.be/Xc22-2RaGSY

This is the full interview.

He was woken up at ten at night and told to pack a bag. In this conversation, he talks about the night over Yemen when a surface-to-air missile came off the ground at his formation and he had seconds to respond, why Rough Rider frightened him more than Iran did, the drive out to the jets before the strike, and the call he made to his girlfriend when he could not tell her where he was.

Before Iran, the 55th Fighter Squadron fought over Yemen in Operation Rough Rider, a sustained air campaign against Houthi surface-to-air threats. What they learned there is the reason the F-16 Block 50 and the AGM-88 HARM were part of the strike package on June 21st, 2025.

These interviews were recorded between December 2025 and January 2026 and preserve firsthand accounts from pilots, maintainers, intelligence officers, and logistics airmen who were there.

0:00 Becoming an F-16 Pilot

2:06 Preparing for the Spring Deployment

3:19 A Threat Environment Nobody Trained For

5:18 What the Outgoing Squadron Warned Them About

8:46 Flying the SEAD Mission in Combat

11:01 First Combat Sortie Over Yemen

12:32 A Missile Launch on My Scope

14:09 Watching a SAM Fired at My Formation

17:28 Getting the Call for Operation Midnight Hammer

21:17 Mission Planning for the Iran Strike

24:23 I Can't Tell You Where I Am

26:15 The Drive Out to the Jets

31:41 Why Yemen Scared Me More Than Iran

35:28 Employing Over Iranian Airspace

37:57 How Tight the Fuel Was

Have a story? Want to Connect? Advertise? https://theafterburnpodcast.com/contact/
🛫 Become a Fighter/Bomber/Cargo/Tanker/RPA Pilot 🎯 : http://bogidope.com/?bd=tappodcast 🛫
Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Prep with AFOQT Wingman https://afoqtwingman.com/Code: AFTERBURN for 10% off
🔺 Aviation & Defense Newsletter - https://bit.ly/AfterburnNewsletter 🔺
Become a Patron, Support the Show, & Gain Exclusive Benefits: https://www.patreon.com/c/theafterburnpodcast



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Operation Midnight Hammer through the eyes of the people who flew it. "Cuffs" was the deployed Director of Operations for the 55th Fighter Squadron, the Wild Weasels who flew Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses ahead of the B-2 strike on Iran.

Watch the three-part documentary series on Afterburn Defense:

Part I: https://youtu.be/MgQ_X3Td8a4

Part II: https://youtu.be/GzdL6NMYDso

Part III: https://youtu.be/Xc22-2RaGSY

This is the full interview.

He ran the squadron's operations from the main base while the strike launched from somewhere else. In this conversation, he talks about how young the pilots flying this mission actually were, what it took to run a squadron split across two locations, the last handshakes before they stepped, and the wait until he heard they were on their way back.

Before Iran, the 55th Fighter Squadron fought over Yemen in Operation Rough Rider, a sustained air campaign against Houthi surface-to-air threats. What they learned there is the reason the F-16 Block 50 and the AGM-88 HARM were part of the strike package on June 21st, 2025.

These interviews were recorded between December 2025 and January 2026 and preserve firsthand accounts from pilots, maintainers, intelligence officers, and logistics airmen who were there.

0:00 Spinning Up the Squadron for Deployment

1:43 A Threat Environment Unlike the Last 20 Years

4:09 Why the F-16 Still Matters in This Fight

6:28 Getting Out the Door

9:09 Most of These Pilots Were in Their Twenties

12:11 Learning a New Base and New Configurations

16:28 First Combat Sorties Over Yemen

20:24 Thinking About the Risk to Yourself

22:44 Learning About Operation Midnight Hammer

26:27 Trusting the Weapons Officers to Plan It

28:58 Running a Squadron Split Across Two Locations

32:48 The Night It Happened

36:50 The Last Handshakes Before They Stepped

39:38 Watching Them Come Home

Have a story? Want to Connect? Advertise? https://theafterburnpodcast.com/contact/
🛫 Become a Fighter/Bomber/Cargo/Tanker/RPA Pilot 🎯 : http://bogidope.com/?bd=tappodcast 🛫
Air Force Officer Qualifying Test (AFOQT) Prep with AFOQT Wingman https://afoqtwingman.com/Code: AFTERBURN for 10% off
🔺 Aviation & Defense Newsletter - https://bit.ly/AfterburnNewsletter 🔺
Become a Patron, Support the Show, & Gain Exclusive Benefits: https://www.patreon.com/c/theafterburnpodcast



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