Surviving a Surface to Air Missile (SAM) Strike | DFC | A-10 Aviator | Kim "Killer Chick" Campbell

Combat Story

Ryan Fugit

History

4.8 • 1.3K Ratings

🗓️ 20 September 2025

⏱️ 34 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

✈️ A-10 Fighter Pilot Combat Story – Kim "Killer Chick" Campbell

In this episode, we sit down with Col. Kim "KC" Campbell (USAF, Ret.), a decorated A-10 Warthog pilot and true combat veteran. Known by her legendary call sign "Killer Chick," Kim shares her incredible story of surviving a surface-to-air missile strike over Baghdad and pulling off a harrowing emergency landing that few pilots could ever attempt. This is a raw, inspiring deep dive into leadership, resilience, and what it takes to fly and fight in one of the most iconic aircraft in U.S. Air Force history.

🎥 Deep Dive with Kim "Killer Chick" Campbell

This episode features none other than Col. Kim "KC" Campbell (USAF, Ret.), who has one of the coolest call signs imaginable. A decorated A-10 Warthog pilot, she survived a surface-to-air missile strike and pulled off a landing few pilots have ever faced in real life.

📞 Support Veterans Help Group

Go to: http://www.veteranshelpgroup.com

Or call: 855-233-6144 and tell them your buddies Ryan and AJ from Combat Story sent you.

🔥 Find Kim "Killer Chick" Campbell Online

Twitter (X): https://twitter.com/kchawg987
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kchawg987
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kimkc-campbell
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KC-Campbell-106544762115864
Website: https://kim-kc-campbell.com

🎙️ Find AJ Online

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ajpasciuti/
LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/angelo-pasciuti/
Website & Book Pre-Order ("Darkhorse"): https://www.ajpasciuti.com/

🎧 Featured Content

Combat Story Podcast (Part 1 – USMC Sniper & Force Recon in Fallujah): https://open.spotify.com/episode/4aqnKAUUOCDmJZPWrMf9NZ
Combat Story Podcast (Part 2 – Sniper vs Sniper Battle): https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sniper-vs-sniper-battle-killing-the-enemys-most/id1537933985?i=1000633686192
Urban Valor Facebook Feature: https://www.facebook.com/UrbanValor/posts/retired-marine-chief-warrant-officer-3-aj-pasciuti-recounts-being-in-the-middle-/602000529075284/
DVIDS Video on Infantry Marine Course: https://www.nationalguard.mil/Leadership/Joint-Staff/Comptroller/Innovation/?dvpTag=imc&videoid=790758

⚡ Subscribe for more Combat Story episodes highlighting the courage, resilience, and leadership of warriors who've lived it.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0	My name is Kim Casey Campbell.
0:15.0	Casey's the call sign, which might sound like it stands for my initials, but it actually stands for Killer Chick.
0:21.6	I spent 24 years in the U.S. Air Force.
0:24.6	So my call sign Killer Chick stems from my very first Fighter Squadron,
0:30.6	where we get our names assigned to us, and being the only female fighter pilot in the Fighter Squadron,
0:36.6	it seemed fitting with the
0:38.2	airplane that I fly, the A10 Wartog, so my call sign became killer chick.
0:43.5	Well, I spent 24 years in the Air Force, so I had a lot of different units and a lot of different
0:49.7	assignments. My first assignment was with the 75th Fighter Squadron out of Pope Air Force Base in North Carolina.
0:57.0	That assignment started in 2002, early 2002, which meant that I deployed very quickly and spent very little time at Pope because we spent a lot of time rotating between Afghanistan and Iraq.
1:10.0	After those deployments, I went on to the 422 Test and Evaluation Squadron at Nulles Air Force Base,
1:16.6	where we were able to upgrade the A10A to the A10C.
1:21.6	From there, I had some school experiences at Fort Leavenworth,
1:26.6	and then went back to Davis-Montan Air Force Base
1:30.7	where my career as an A-10 pilot started. I got my first opportunity to command at the
1:36.9	355th Operation Support Squadron. And then as everyone eventually does, I went to the Pentagon. But I got the opportunity while I was in DC to be a fellow, the military fellow for the Air Force at the Atlantic Council.
1:52.0	I spent a tour as the military assistant, the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy,
1:57.0	which I had spent my entire career working at this tactical level and now got the opportunity to work at a very strategic level.
2:02.6	From there finally got my reprieve back to the A-10, back to flying, back to Davis-Montan Air Force Base,
2:08.6	where I was a group commander for the 474th Air Expeditionary Group and the 612 Theater Operations Group.
2:15.6	I thought I would retire from there.
2:18.3	That didn't play out and got an opportunity to go back where it all started for me at the Air Force Academy.
	...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Previous episode | Next episode

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Ryan Fugit, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Ryan Fugit and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.