Wake Up Call

[MistWolf]

I have two sons serving in the Air Force. One is a technician. The other a pilot.

Yesterday, out of the blue, I received the following phone call: "Mr. Wolf, this is Sergeant Rios of the Air Force Rescue Coordination center. Your name is listed as the primary emergency contact-" In that moment, my whole world crashed to a halt and went black. "Dear God, no! My son's aircraft went down. Something happened to my son working on jets..." I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think.

Sergeant Rios went on- "You're listed as the emergency contact for aircraft 713. The ELT has been activated." Sergeant Rios waited. Then "Mr. Wolf?"

Forcing myself out of the blackness, I fumbled for paper & pen. 713. ELT. Not my son. Good. Wait- Did 713 go down? Gather facts now. Panic later. "Yes, 713 is one of ours, let me find out what happened. I'll call you back."

Fortunately, the aircraft was safe on the ground and the ELT (Emergency Locator Beacon) was inadvertently set off. But the call put me in shock nonetheless. All I heard was "Air Force" and "You are the primary emergency contact".

I knew what we signed up for when my sons joined the Air Force. Still, it was a stark reminder of how fragile and uncertain life is and it left me badly shaken. I'm grateful it was nothing more than than a false alarm.

[GyroF-16]

Wow- I can only imagine the shock.

So glad it was a false alarm / not what you first thought it was.

[Baldanders]

That's a horrible way to wake up.

Very glad to hear it was a false alarm!

[blues]

Sorry for the alarm, MW, but a false alarm is better than the real thing this time around. Thankful for that.

[okie john]

Sorry for the false alarm but glad your son is safe.


Okie John

[Beat Trash]

My son is a US Marine who, when stateside is stationed in K-Bay, Oahu.

Two years ago(?) when they had the “Nuclear Missile Inbound” fiasco, he was awakened with the alert text of missiles inbound. They figured they had about 20 minutes, and that they would definitely be within the blast zone. He reached out to tell me that WWIII may have just kicked off, and to say goodbye. I tried to convey strength and composure to him. And to say what needed to be said. But that was by far the hardest conversation I’ve ever had.

It turned out being an accidental activation of the alert system. But I didn’t know that for about 30 minutes. That was a very long 30 minutes.

MistWolf, I mention my story with my son only to illustrate that I get how you must have felt. Glad it all worked out for you.

[Stephanie B]

I don't think that they call NOK for casualty notification.

IIRC, the gouge was if the notifier was a senior NCO, the notification is about a WIA. If the notification is a team of an officer and a chaplain... really bad juju.

I don't know if they still do it that way.

[Trigger]

Yes. Serious bad news is always conveyed in person. Commander and chaplain together. In service dress.

[MistWolf]

My son is a US Marine who, when stateside is stationed in K-Bay, Oahu.

Two years ago(?) when they had the “Nuclear Missile Inbound” fiasco, he was awakened with the alert text of missiles inbound. They figured they had about 20 minutes, and that they would definitely be within the blast zone. He reached out to tell me that WWIII may have just kicked off, and to say goodbye. I tried to convey strength and composure to him. And to say what needed to be said. But that was by far the hardest conversation I’ve ever had.

It turned out being an accidental activation of the alert system. But I didn’t know that for about 30 minutes. That was a very long 30 minutes.

MistWolf, I mention my story with my son only to illustrate that I get how you must have felt. Glad it all worked out for you.

You're a good man who raised a good man. I can only imagine how hard that conversation must have been.

[Totem Polar]

@Beat Trash, I remember us discussing that alert here. Crazy.

@MistWolf, that’ll wake you up without coffee. Glad it was a false start.