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

Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.