CS#57: A-10 Fighter Pilot who Survived a Surface to Air Missile Hit | 100+ Combat Missions | DFC | "Killer Chick"
Combat Story
Ryan Fugit
4.8 • 1.3K Ratings
🗓️ 8 January 2022
⏱️ 108 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
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Kim racked up over 1.8K flight hours in the Warthog; 375 of those in combat across more than 100 combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. She also has one of the coolest call signs ever: Killer Chick.
For anyone who’s been on the ground and seen an A-10 on a gun run, you can understand why so many ground pounders love this platform. For Apache pilots, the A-10 is our fixed wing cousin and we feel a very close affinity with this incredible machine. Outside the cockpit, Kim led the Air Force Academy’s Center for Character and Leadership Development and, since retiring, has carried that expertise to the private sector where she provides leadership development training and team engagement.
She’s also a keynote and motivational speaker. Kim, like many fighter pilots, is driven, dedicated, and successful. She’s delivered rounds on target in heated battles and narrowly avoided death, including being hit with a Surface to Air Missile.
I hope you enjoy this insightful Combat Story from the cockpit of THE Killer Chick as much as I did.
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Twitter @kchawg987
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Intro Song: Sport Rock from Audio Jungle
Show Notes
0:00 - Intro
1:01 - Guest introduction (Kim “KC” Campbell)
2:10 - Interview begins
2:46 - Origin of her fighter pilot call sign
7:30 - Early years and what enamored her with flight
12:55 - Why Air Force Academy?
18:18 - Choosing her aircraft
22:14 - Where she was on 911 and how it changed her training
24:43 - Going to Afghanistan immediately after training
27:23 - A quiet first combat mission in Afghanistan
34:48 - Firing from the A-10 for the first time
44:05 - Combat Story #1 - First kinetic operation in Iraq
50:30 - Combat Story #2 - The mission that was a defining moment
1:18:18 - Combat Story #3 - In combat as a flight lead
1:29:47 - Leadership development, team building, and powerful leadership advice
1:40:22 - What did you carry into combat?
1:44:31 - Would you do it all again?
1:46:07 - Listener comments and shout outs
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | And as we got below the weather, I can just remember this scene, this firefight. |
| 0:04.4 | I'd never been so low seeing a firefight, so it was very real. |
| 0:08.8 | I mean, I can see the tracers and the smoke, and you know, I can see bright flashes |
| 0:14.5 | and just this huge firefight happening back and forth across the river. |
| 0:18.8 | And then suddenly, as I'm kind of watching this firefight happening, |
| 0:22.9 | and we're talking about how we're going to set up to do a quick guns pass, |
| 0:27.2 | I suddenly see these puffs of gray and white smoke, and now they're, |
| 0:30.7 | now they're in the air right next to my cockpit, and you know, just bright flashes. |
| 0:34.5 | And so, you know, it's the sudden reality of not only is there a firefight happening |
| 0:38.5 | across the river, but now the enemy is shooting out the best, too. |
| 0:42.0 | Welcome to Combat Story. I'm Ryan Fuggett, and I serve Warzone |
| 0:45.2 | tours as an Army attack helicopter pilot and CIA officer over a 15-year career. |
| 0:50.0 | I'm fascinated by the experiences of the elite in combat. |
| 0:53.5 | On this show, I interview some of the best to understand what combat felt like |
| 0:57.4 | on their front lines. This is Combat Story. |
| 1:00.9 | Today, we hear the combat story of Kim Casey Campbell, a retired Air Force colonel |
| 1:05.3 | and A10 fighter pilot. She racked up over 1,800 flight hours in the warthog, |
| 1:10.4 | 375 of those in combat across more than 100 combat missions in Iraq and Afghanistan. |
| 1:17.4 | She's also got one of the coolest call signs ever, killer chick. |
| 1:21.4 | For anyone who's been on the ground and seen an A10 on a gun run, |
| 1:24.5 | you can understand why so many ground pounders love this platform. |
| 1:28.4 | For Apache pilots like myself, the A10 is our fixed wing cousin, |
... |
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