[MilCom] Question about common U.S airforce frequencies

[Larry Van Horn]

These nickname Air-Air common are NOT necessarily nationwide, nor are the
designators associated with them in common use by all who are assigned these
frequencies (if at all). These frequencies have been circulating on this
list almost since the first message was posted on it after I created this
group many moons ago. Most of the usages on these frequencies has changed
over the years. Not to say you couldn't bump into something every once in a
great while, but most of these are NOT USAF nationwide interplane (Air-Air),
much less using the designators illustrated below. Some of these I believe
had to be invented in the minds of creative Milcommers to see how long a
list like this stuff would survive. ;-)

So let's look at the list below.

> 351.00 AF INTERPLANE COMMON (HAIRCUT)

1FW/27FS has a squadron ops freq here and they could be using it nationwide
as an Air-Air also. This is also a UTTR Range control discrete.  There are
NO nationwide listing for anything else on this one. Someone from the
1FW/27FS might have used this term at some point, but the USAF doesn't have
a nationwide here and I doubt the designator "Haircut" has ever neeb heard
on any form of regular basis.

> 357.0 AF INTERPLANE COMMON (MAGNUM)

This is a funny one. It is a USN/USMC primarily assigned frequency. The
102FW out of Otis uses this Air-Air, but that is it for the USAF.  This was
an old VFA-203 freq before they decommissioned and I was attached to 203 for
5 years. Never and I mean never did any of our pilots use the term "Magnum."
in conjunction with that freq. VAQ-138/VAW-120/VT-7 all use this one and
some of the training pilots at VT-7 might use this term, but this is hardly
a USAF nationwide air-air. We can safely scratch this one off our list.

> 384.50 AF INTERPLANE COMMON (PISTOL)

This is a NORAD tactical in the NE US SOCC. Air Force AWACS have also been
heard here in the SE US and this could also be a NORAD freq here as well. I
have never seen any fixed wing fighter aircraft air-air reported on this
one. It isn't a USAF interplane much less the "pistol" designator being used
here. Scratch another one.

> 384.55 AF INTERPLANE COMMON (PISTOL FIVE

Believe it or not this is a real USAF nationwide air-air for the USAF F-15
flight demo team (west). The cajun gang down at 159FW at NAS NOLA (Belle
Chase) also uses this one. In the many years I was stationed at NAS Nawlins
I never once heard a 159FW pilot uses the "pistol 5" term relating to this
freq. Again while the freq is valid for the units above (not the whole darn
AF) I doubt the term is in use, if it ever was.

Master Brian wrote:
>I live in New England and I've heard A/A activity  on all of these except
351.0.

Hearing activity and confirming the usages above are two different stories.
Brian you have been here for a long, long time, one of my original guys on
this list. Have you ever in all these years heard any of the designators
above in use in your area?

The problem with list like this is that the folks who post them to newsgroup
like Milcom and others have verified nothing. They post them because they
think it is helpful. Then these old tired and worn out list end up on milair
listening related websites and now they become the gospel and sacred ground.

Bottom line, list like these should not be posted as fact unless you have
verified the actual usage including designator from over the air monitoring.
I appreciate Steve posting the freqs above as it gives us a chance to knock
down a few of the myths. Now lets see after this how many websites still
carry these old freqs. One omly has to compare the airshow list on the MT
website with most of the old airshow freq list posted from time to time here
and on websites. The scourge of all this is that people in our hobby won't
throw away a freq, even after it has been shown not to be what is
represented. So let's see if these four freqs and bogus designators
disappear from the milcom scene (my money says they don't). We will then
know who is listening and those who can't throw a frequency away no matter
what. ;-))

You all have a great day and may a ton of Milcom transmissions fill your
speaker.

73

Larry Van Horn
Milcom Founding Father