Shaw AFB, SC (WLTX)- During the Vietnam war a tactic was created that is still being used today.
The Air Force created a squadron dubbed the Wild Weasels. The Weasels responsibility was to take to the air to draw enemy fire that would help the allies pin point the enemy's location.
"It makes me so proud that I'm speechless, these guys are doing a wonderful job... I was just the first. What these guys are doing now, we pale in comparison" Allen Lamb was one of the first fighter pilots to be a part of the Wild Weasel mission back in 1965 when it started.
"They said the whole meeting is top secret, you can keep no notes everything has to be verbal" says Lamb. The mission started half a century ago and the legacy is celebrated today at the Shaw Air Force base.
The oldest members of the Wild Weasels were surprised with a printed recognition on the tail of an F-16.
"We the current military members are honoring the guys who came before us. It's a big part of our culture it's to respect our elders and the guy who lay the foundation for what we do today" says Capt. Stephen Cecil an F-16 pilot. He and Allen shared stories that make both of them Wild Weasels.
"I was just showing him all the new weapons that we have, the interesting thing is that a lot of the weapons are the exact same that he used back in Vietnam" says Cecil. Two different generations one same vision.
"What's remained constant is the ethos of the wild weasel which is to get in between the threat and the other good guys, so we're supposed to get in between distract and disrupt" Cecil explains the tactic as a courageous and effective way to protect.
"There's really not a place in the world where you're going to go without seed support from the Wild Weasels mission" Lt. Col. Michael Horlbeck, the commander of the 55th fighter squadron, is a part of the new generation that keeps the legacy strong today.
"These squadrons that you're at right now, are doing the mission that I started and I'm very proud of them" says Lamb.
The Wild Weasels celebration started around noon today and included a viper demo practice, tour of the load barn and a social hour.
