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Lt Col Joe Bouley
to remember
Bouley, Thomas A., Lt Col.
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Narrative:
On 30 July 2008, F-15D serial number 85-0131 of the 65th Aggressor Squadron, 57th Wing at Nellis Air Force Base, departed controlled flight and entered into a spin while executing a planned manoeuvre during exercise Red Flag 08-3.
The aircraft was destroyed after impacting the ground 20 miles northwest of Rachel, Nevada in an uninhabited area on the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR) belonging to the Bureau of Land Management.
The back seat observer pilot - an exchange pilot from the Royal Air Force (whose name was never made public) - sustained minor injuries after ejecting at 744 feet, and was rescued; the front seat pilot (Lt. Col. Thomas "Moses" Bouley) hit the ground before his parachute fully deployed and died upon ground impact. There were no civilian casualties or additional damage. but the official accident report put the cost of the crash at $38,003,021 USD (at 2008 prices)
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Lieutenant Colonel Thomas A. Bouley is the Commander, 65th Aggressor Squadron,
57th Adversary Group, 57th Wing, Nellis AFB,Nevada.
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Lt Col Bouley was born in Châteauroux, France. He was commissioned in 1988 from
the United States Air Force Academy.
He has served as an Instructor Pilot in theT-38A, F-15C, and Tornado F3 aircraft and has served four overseas operational tourswith both the U.S. Air Force and United Kingdom Royal Air Force. He is a Command Pilot with over 4,200 total flying hours, including 265 combat hours in the F-15C and Tornado F3 during Operations Northern Watch, Southern Watch, and Iraqi Freedom.
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EDUCATION:
1988 Bachelor of Science in History, U. S. Air Force Academy, Co. Springs, CO
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1994 Squadron Officer School, Maxwell AFB, AL.
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2001 Air Command and Staff College, Maxwell AFB, AL by correspondence.
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2007 Air War College, Maxwell AFB, AL, by correspondence
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ASSIGNMENTS:
1. August 1988 â?? August 1989, Student, Undergraduate Pilot Training, 47th Student Squadron, 47th Flying Training Wing, Laughlin AFB, TX.
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2. September 1989 â?? March 1990, Student, Pilot Instructor Training, 560th Flying Training Squadron, 12th Flying Training Wing, Randolph AFB, TX.
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3. March 1990 â?? May 1994, Assistant Flight Commander and T-38A Instructor Pilot,
87th Flying Training Squadron, 47th Flying Training Wing, Laughlin AFB, TX
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4. June 1994 â?? July 1994, Student, Introduction to Fighter Fundamentals, 560th FlyingTraining Squadron, 12th Flying Training Wing, Randolph AFB, TX
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5. July 1994 â?? February 1995, Student, F-15C Initial Qualification Training, 2d FighterSquadron, 325th Fighter Wing, Tyndall AFB, FL.
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6. March 1995 â?? March 1998, Flight Commander and F-15C Flight Lead, 19th FighterSquadron, 3d Wing, Elmendorf AFB, AK.
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7. April 1998â??July 2000, Assistant Operations Officer and F-15C Instructor Pilot, 12thFighter Squadron, then Chief of Wing Weapons and Tactics, 18th Operational SupportSquadron, 18th Wing, Kadena Air Base, Japan.
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8. August 2000â??August 2003, ExchangeOfficer, Air Force Element Personnel Exchange Program, Ramstein Air Base, Germany, assigned as Tornado F3 Instructor Pilot and Weapons and Tactics Instructor, 43(Fighter) Squadron, Royal Air ForceLeuchars, United Kingdom.
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9. September 2003â??September 2006,Aircraft Commander, then Director and Assistant Director of Operations, 493rd Fighter Squadron, then Chief of Standardization and Evaluations, 48th Operations Group, then Special Assistant to the 48th Fighter Wing Commander, Lakenheath Air Base, UK
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10.October 2006â??February 2008, Deputy Commander, 414th Combat Training Squadron (Red Flag), Nellis Air Force Base, NV.
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11. February 2008 â?? July 2008, Commander, 65th Aggressor Squadron, Nellis Air ForceBase, NV.
Lt Col Bouley's father was CMsgt Wilfrid A. Bouley.
Operation Northern Watch (Iraq)
From Month/Year
January / 1997
To Month/Year
March / 2003
Description Operation Northern Watch (ONW), the successor to Operation Provide Comfort, was a Combined Task Force (CTF) charged with enforcing its own no-fly zone above the 36th parallel in Iraq. Its mission began on 1 January 1997.
The coalition partners of the United States, United Kingdom, and Turkey provided approximately 45 aircraft and more than 1,400 personnel to support Operation Northern Watch. The joint U.S. forces of some 1,100 U.S. personnel, included airmen, sailors, soldiers, as well as aircraft from every arm of the United States Armed Forces.
The original mandate from the Turkish government allowed the operation to continue for six months. Turkey subsequently approved two 6-month extensions, but indicated that it would not become a permanent mission.
For the first year of the mission, northern Iraq was quiet, with no combat between Coalition aircraft and Iraqi forces.
Operation Northern Watch forces did not take part in Operation Desert Fox in December 1998. After Desert Fox, Iraq announced they would no longer recognize the no-fly zones and urged their troops to attack Coalition aircraft. On December 28, 1998 Iraq fired SA-3 surface to air missiles against coalition aircraft patrolling the northern no-fly zone. In response, U.S. Air Force (USAF) F-15Es, F-16Js, and U.S. Marine Corps (USMC) EA-6Bs launched anti-radiation missiles and dropped precision guided munitions (PGMs) on the SA-3 ground-based missile site that fired on the ONW aircraft, and destroyed it. From December 1998 to March 1999, U.S. aircraft over northern Iraq came under almost daily fire from Iraqi surface-to-air missile sites and anti-aircraft guns. U.S. aircraft responded by bombing Iraqi air-defense sites, using laser-guided bombs as well as AGM-88 HARM missiles and AGM-130 long range air-to-surface missiles. The first combat use of the AGM-130 was conducted during ONW.
Coalition aircraft flew patrols on an average of 18 days per month, and were usually fired upon. The most common threat was from anti-aircraft guns. Despite Saddam Hussein offering a $14,000 reward for downing a Coalition aircraft, no warplanes were shot down.
Low level conflict continued up until the invasion of Iraq in 2003, although the number of response incidents declined dramatically after 1999. The final combat air patrol occurred on 17 March 2003 (from the Incirlik Air Base). Six weeks later the operation concluded with an official stand down on 1 May 2003.
A grand total of 36,000 sorties were flown during Operation Northern Watch, and 40,000 personnel had been deployed at some point during the operation. Operation Northern Watch was the longest combat operation in the history of the European Command.
 
