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Resident MiG killer retires from 33d Fighter Wing

  • Published
  • By Staff Sgt. Phillip Butterfield
  • 33d Fighter Wing Public Affairs
EGLIN AIR FORCE BASE, Fla. --  The 33d Fighter Wing's resident "MiG killer," Lt. Col. Benjamin "Coma" Powell, 33d FW inspector general, retired Friday and bestowed his legacy as a Gulf War hero as an example for other pilots to follow. 

During his tenure with the 53d Fighter Squadron at Spangdahlem Air Base, Germany, Colonel Powell deployed to Southwest Asia in support of Operation Desert Storm in December 1990. He soon became part of an elite group of pilots who are truly MiG killers. 

It happened Jan. 27, 1991, which was coincidentally Super Bowl Sunday. While flying on the edge of the Baghdad Surface to Air Missile ring, then Captain Powell and Capt. Jay Denney, who as a colonel later commanded the 33d Operations Group from 2002-2004, were abuzz with adrenaline, according to Colonel Powell. 

"Four planes came at us at once; my wingman shot two and I shot the other two," said Colonel Powell. "Mostly, it was just like the training. While it was going on, everything that I had been taught about this situation all came flooding back to the old cranium." 

While taxiing back to their parking spots after downing two Iraqi air force MiGs, Captain Powell and Captain Denney noticed a crowd of about 100 people from all around the base had gathered on the ramp, clapping and congratulating them on their victory, Colonel Powell said. 

"Sometimes I think about that day," said Colonel Powell. "All the tactics we had to learn, all the scenarios we practiced, and in just a few moments you validate the equipment and training in a split second. I also think about the human factor that came into play. The MiG pilots were professionals doing their job and we were professionals doing our job; you win some, you lose some." 

In October of 2003, he was assigned to the 33d FW as chief of wing inspections and exercises until May 2005. 

Colonel Powell served as 33d FW IG and flew with the 60th FS. Now, after a 22-year career in the Air Force, he plans to retire in Southern Colorado with his family and finds it hard to leave the jets and the wing he so loves behind. 

Although Colonel Powell has retired, he still has feelings for the jet he once piloted and the wing he once worked for. 

"I'm sad to see the Eagle go," said Colonel Powell. "It's my favorite airplane and it was the best for what it did and for what it has done for the past 30 years, so it's always sad to see the end of an era. I'm also glad to see that the 33d FW isn't completely going away but just changing its mission." 

Even though Colonel Powell is gone, his legacy as a MiG killer and knowledge of dogfighting tactics will be examined for years to come. 

"Having the opportunity to fly with Lt. Col. Powell is a rare privilege," said Royal Air Force Squadron Leader Stuart Smiley, 60th FS assistant director of operations. "He is the epitome of what a fighter pilot should be and has the unique ability to impart this knowledge to all who fly with him, regardless of their own experience level."