🎧 Episode 106 – Rewriting the Rules of Marine Airpower
Welcome back to Lessons from the Cockpit! I’m your host, retired Air Force Lt Col Mark “Sluggo” Hasara—KC-135 pilot, Joint Specialty Officer, and full-throttle aviation fanatic for over 60 years.
In this episode, we finish a powerful two-part dive into Marine Corps aviation weapons, tactics, techniques, and procedures with my good friend Colonel Byron “Shrek” Sullivan. Shrek is a combat-proven pilot with time in both the F/A-18 Hornet and the F-35 Lightning II. And about halfway through the episode, we’re joined by the former Commander of Marine Aviation Weapons and Tactics Squadron One—better known as MAWTS-1. These two Marines didn’t just fly jets. They rewrote how the Corps fights from the air. From the deserts of Yuma to forward air bases around the world, they explain how new aircraft like the F-35 and the MV-22 Osprey forced a total rethink of Marine air tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs). It’s a behind-the-scenes look at how real innovation happens in the military—by combat aviators in the fight. If you love the sound of jet engines, joint warfare, or just hearing how the world’s best warfighters sharpen the sword, this episode is for you.
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🎙️ Next Week’s Mission: CAS and CSAR with an A-10 Thunderbolt II or "Hawg Driver" Coming up next, we go deep into Close Air Support and Combat Search and Rescue with Colonel Derek “Woody” Oaks. Woody flew C-130s and C-17s before crossing over into the A-10 Thunderbolt II—the legendary Hawg. He commanded a squadron, ran an Ops Groups, and brings decades of insight into saving troops on the ground.
Don’t miss it.
Until then... remember — Nobody Kicks Ass Without Tanker Gas… NOBODY!