The U.S. has conducted more than 4,700 air strikes against ISIS militants since Aug. 2014, and the American pilots carrying out those attacks often have awesome — and sometimes hilarious — callsigns.
In an interesting article for The New York Times, journalist Helene Cooper profiles some of the pilots flying from the USS Theodore Roosevelt, who go by names like “Yip Yip,” “Pope,” and “Pizza.” The pilots talk about some of their missions to strike inside Iraq and Syria and the camaraderie among their squadron.
“Quite honestly, the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marines own the skies,” Maj. Anthony Bourke, a former Air Force fighter pilot, told The Times. “So even though pilots dream of dogfights, the biggest risk now is small-arms fire, and if you stay above 10,000 feet, you’re not going to be hit.”
Though the Times article does not explain how they got their new names, it’s well known in the fighter pilot community that callsigns are usually earned during a “naming ceremony,” where fellow pilots bestow a newbie with something of a play on their name, or a name that evokes a past screw-up (cool names like “Iceman” or “Maverick” are usually out of the question).
So who are the mystery men flying in on F/A-18s to strike terrorist infrastructure? According to the photo spread accompanying the article, they are:
- “Yard Sale” — Navy fighter pilot
- “Chaz” — Navy fighter pilot
- “Xerxes” — Navy weapons officer
- “Pope” — Marine fighter pilot
- “Yip Yip” — Navy fighter pilot
- “Pickle” — Navy fighter pilot
- “Skull” — Marine fighter pilot
- “Pope” — Marine fighter pilot
- “Betty” — Marine fighter pilot (and yes, he’s a guy)
- “Sweet P” — Navy weapons officer
- “Smoat” — Navy fighter pilot
- “Bones” — Navy weapons officer
- “Pizza” — the commander of the Roosevelt’s air wing
Now after an ISIS truck gets blown to bits, we know it may have all been the work of a guy named Yard Sale.
Now check out the Times article