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Brian Shul and the SR-71


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I had a most interesting conversation with Col. Rich Graham, former SR-71 pilot, 1st SRS squadron commander and 9th SRW commander while I was at the Oshkosh EAA Airventure today. Recently in an Air Force Association Magazine letters to the editor section there were a few letters including one from General Patrick Halloran about Brian Shul, basically saying he was the only SR-71 pilot removed for cause and that he should not be regarded as any kind of hero Blackbird pilot. Nothing was said about what actually happened.

I asked Col Graham if he could tell me what that was all about, and he was happy to do so. It seems one evening the command post at Beale received several phone calls from people living in nearby Marysville saying a plane had crashed. There were only two jets airborne from Beale at the time, a KC-135 and an SR-71 flown by Shul. Both were contacted and reported no problems. When the SR landed, Col Graham, who was Squadron CC at the time, and another high-up from the wing were there to meet him. Shul and Walter Watson, Shul's RSO, told a believable story explaining what had happened and nothing else was said.

Months later Shul was in England and one evening at the Officer's Club was bragging about lying to the command staff and getting away with it. Word got back to Beale and Col Graham had the mission tapes pulled out of storage. He said that he, the Deputy Wing Commander and Wing Commander listened to the cockpit voice recording and heard Shul and Watson in the cockpit concocting what story they were going to tell. What really happened was that Brian Shul was starting his photography business and wanted photos of an inflight SR-71 lighting off the afterburners at night. He had a friend over at his house, and Brian made several low passes over his house lighting off the burners for the friend to get the photos. The noise is what made the citizens think there was a plane crash. Col Graham said while Watson went along with the story, it was Shul who was behind it. Col. Graham and the wing deputy commander wanted Shul permanently grounded, but the Wing Commander decided to cut him a break, so while removing him from the SR-71 he allowed Shul to continue flying the T-38.

Col Graham also said Shul was breaking regulations by taking a camera into the SR-71 and later T-38 cockpits, but the command staff was unaware he'd been doing that until Shul published his books after leaving the USAF, because everyone who witnessed it figured Shul had permission and so they never reported it. Shul most assuredly did not have permission! Col Graham told me that had he been aware, Shul would have been fired from the program immediately. And they were also unaware of the other things Brian Shul later wrote about, such as flying Mach 3.5 over Libya (Col Graham doubts that number but concedes it might be possible) and nearly stalling the SR-71 while flying an unauthorized fly-by at a small airport in England. Col Graham said had any of those things been brought to his attention Shul would have been immediately fired. Because of all these things Brian Shul is persona non grata to the Blackbird community.

Col Graham stressed that the SR-71 was considered a national treasure and that they all knew any pilot hot-dogging in the airplane could bring major embarrassment to the program, the Air Force and the Nation. Evidently most all of the other Blackbird pilots consider Shul a pariah and want nothing to do with him as well.

Scott Wilson

Edited by Scott R Wilson
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Well, I for one am glad that he took those pictures because his books are excellent. As far as what he did in the military....who cares he flew over his house so someone could take pictures? That event was over 25 years ago and he paid the price by not being able to fly the plane that he probably dedicated his life to. As far as heroes go, I don't care for the overused phrase, but the guy was shot down during Vietnam and crashed landed his plane in the jungle. After he was released from the hospital he went back to flying fighters.

I don't know either guy and one might be a real live douche while the other jealous of his success, or vice-versa. In any event who cares?

Edited by fulcrum1
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This prompted me to do some research. Here's what I found in Air Force Magazine.

An article in the May 2012 issue, Airpower Classics: SR-71 Blackbird, mentions Maj. Brian Shul, USAF (Ret.) and Col. Walter Watson Jr., USAF, (Ret.) among "Famous Fliers" of the SR-71.

Under Famous or Infamous? in the July 2012 issue's letters, a letter from Maj. Gen. Patrick J. Halloran, USAF (Ret.), notes a "a landslide of negative comments from former crew members" in questioning the mention of Maj. Shul & Col. Watson in the SR-71 article.

Under Famous AND Infamous in the August 2012 issue's letters are several letters challenging Maj. Gen. Halloran's characterization.

Under Speak No Evil in the Sept 2012 issue's letters are another several letters challenging Maj. Gen. Halloran's characterization.

I've long wished I had purchased Sled Driver: Flying the World's Fastest Jet when it was published; the book is now absurdly expensive.

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I briefly met Brian Schul at a book signing years back, and while standing in line and listening to him interact with the public, you definitely got a sense of his flair for the dramatic.

That combined with the awesome capability of the SR-71...no doubt could make strong pilots do silly things, I'd guess. In any case I've always considered the Habu to be dedicated American patriots rather than "hero's".

Now the men flying the A-12's, they had a big set on em'! I've read of at least one pilot who walked away from the program before they got the inlet scheduling/pressures sussed out. Great machines and great men.

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This prompted me to do some research. Here's what I found in Air Force Magazine.

An article in the May 2012 issue, Airpower Classics: SR-71 Blackbird, mentions Maj. Brian Shul, USAF (Ret.) and Col. Walter Watson Jr., USAF, (Ret.) among "Famous Fliers" of the SR-71.

Under Famous or Infamous? in the July 2012 issue's letters, a letter from Maj. Gen. Patrick J. Halloran, USAF (Ret.), notes a "a landslide of negative comments from former crew members" in questioning the mention of Maj. Shul & Col. Watson in the SR-71 article.

Under Famous AND Infamous in the August 2012 issue's letters are several letters challenging Maj. Gen. Halloran's characterization.

Under Speak No Evil in the Sept 2012 issue's letters are another several letters challenging Maj. Gen. Halloran's characterization.

I've long wished I had purchased Sled Driver: Flying the World's Fastest Jet when it was published; the book is now absurdly expensive.

That price is a bargain compared to the original.

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Fascinating insight in to the world of Aviation , pilots and scandals ..Thank you Scott for sharing /posting your conversation with Col.Rich Graham.

..and David , thank you for those interesting links to what others think et al..

:salute:

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I don't think it is at all any kind of jealousy against Shul's success. Col Graham said the program was too important and too sensitive to accept any rogue pilots and Shul proved himself to be such. While I also enjoyed Shul's stories and photos I also see Graham's point of view. There were a number of accidents in other fighter aircraft caused by cameras in the cockpit, mid-airs and collisions with the ground. Also ejecting at high Mach with a camera strapped around your neck would seem to me extremely risky.

For what the potential consequences of allowing a hot-dog pilot to continue just look up Col Bud Holland and the B-52 crash at Fairchild AFB.

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For what the potential consequences of allowing a hot-dog pilot to continue just look up Col Bud Holland and the B-52 crash at Fairchild AFB.

Very good example of why a hotdog needs to be removed from the cockpit ASAP. Zero tolerance, no second chances. Holland's story is a disgusting example of failed AF leadership that cost 3 guys their lives (could have been more, the B-52 came close to impacting on the base special weapons storage compound).

http://www.crm-devel.org/resources/paper/darkblue/darkblue.htm

Edited by 11bee
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I wonder what all this means for the Heroic Navy SEALs that have been a little more public than they should be for their own books. They probably aren't heroes anymore.

This is the problem with "Good guy" or "bad guy" logic and it gets even worse when we start throwing words like "hero" around. We unfortunately live in a gray world, and people are complex and contradictory creatures. It is in fact possible for someone to do the right thing in some areas, and be total scum bags in others. He lied, he got caught, he paid. He should not have done that, but he also didn't mow down a bunch of civilians in a village.

Pilots seem to enjoy a lot more latitude in general and its always interesting to see what is considered a true screw up and what is considered a "boys will be boys" laugh.

Edited by TaiidanTomcat
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I wonder what all this means for the Heroic Navy SEALs that have been a little more public than they should be for their own books. They probably aren't heroes anymore.

At least the Silent Service seems to be holding true to the tradition.

This is the problem with "Good guy" or "bad guy" logic and it gets even worse when we start throwing words like "hero" around. We unfortunately live in a gray world, and people are complex and contradictory creatures. It is in fact possible for someone to do the right thing in some areas, and be total scum bags in others. He lied, he got caught, he paid. He should not have done that, but he also didn't mow down a bunch of civilians in a village.

Insert image of Randy Cunningham here.

Pilots seem to enjoy a lot more latitude in general and its always interesting to see what is considered a true screw up and what is considered a "boys will be boys" laugh.

I think the cut-off point is a smoking hole.

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I find this all a bit sad. Having known Brian since he flew AT-28's in SEA, meeting up with him when he was in the A-7 community, running into him when he flew the A-10 and hooking up with him after he retired, he has always been a good head as far as I was concerened. He even gave me a personal autographed first edition of his first book before it went on sale to the public (from what I read above this may be a rare copy). One thing I believe is that there maybe some basic philisophical difference here as most of the SR-71 community were from SAC (bomber guys) and had a different outlook on things compared to the TAC (fighter guys)guys. Anyway, Brian has always been and always will be a good friend.

:cheers:

Itch

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I had a most interesting conversation with Col. Rich Graham, former SR-71 pilot, 1st SRS squadron commander and 9th SRW commander while I was at the Oshkosh EAA Airventure today. Recently in an Air Force Association Magazine letters to the editor section there were a few letters including one from General Patrick Halloran about Brian Shul, basically saying he was the only SR-71 pilot removed for cause and that he should not be regarded as any kind of hero Blackbird pilot. Nothing was said about what actually happened.

I asked Col Graham if he could tell me what that was all about, and he was happy to do so. It seems one evening the command post at Beale received several phone calls from people living in nearby Marysville saying a plane had crashed. There were only two jets airborne from Beale at the time, a KC-135 and an SR-71 flown by Shul. Both were contacted and reported no problems. When the SR landed, Col Graham, who was Squadron CC at the time, and another high-up from the wing were there to meet him. Shul and Walter Watson, Shul's RSO, told a believable story explaining what had happened and nothing else was said.

Months later Shul was in England and one evening at the Officer's Club was bragging about lying to the command staff and getting away with it. Word got back to Beale and Col Graham had the mission tapes pulled out of storage. He said that he, the Deputy Wing Commander and Wing Commander listened to the cockpit voice recording and heard Shul and Watson in the cockpit concocting what story they were going to tell. What really happened was that Brian Shul was starting his photography business and wanted photos of an inflight SR-71 lighting off the afterburners at night. He had a friend over at his house, and Brian made several low passes over his house lighting off the burners for the friend to get the photos. The noise is what made the citizens think there was a plane crash. Col Graham said while Watson went along with the story, it was Shul who was behind it. Col. Graham and the wing deputy commander wanted Shul permanently grounded, but the Wing Commander decided to cut him a break, so while removing him from the SR-71 he allowed Shul to continue flying the T-38.

Col Graham also said Shul was breaking regulations by taking a camera into the SR-71 and later T-38 cockpits, but the command staff was unaware he'd been doing that until Shul published his books after leaving the USAF, because everyone who witnessed it figured Shul had permission and so they never reported it. Shul most assuredly did not have permission! Col Graham told me that had he been aware, Shul would have been fired from the program immediately. And they were also unaware of the other things Brian Shul later wrote about, such as flying Mach 3.5 over Libya (Col Graham doubts that number but concedes it might be possible) and nearly stalling the SR-71 while flying an unauthorized fly-by at a small airport in England. Col Graham said had any of those things been brought to his attention Shul would have been immediately fired. Because of all these things Brian Shul is persona non grata to the Blackbird community.

Col Graham stressed that the SR-71 was considered a national treasure and that they all knew any pilot hot-dogging in the airplane could bring major embarrassment to the program, the Air Force and the Nation. Evidently most all of the other Blackbird pilots consider Shul a pariah and want nothing to do with him as well.

Scott Wilson

Being all that as it may, his book has brought fame and attention if not reverence to the SR-71 community.

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Insert image of Randy Cunningham here.

Yep! Remember if some other Vietnam Vet went in front of the judge and started waving his hands in the air and talking about how he heroically killed 5 people (and let me explain exactly how I did it) he would be branded a nut. Pilots are chess masters though, unlike ground pounders who require no skill or technique to fight and win.

I think the cut-off point is a smoking hole.

Then in retrospect all the signs point to a "loose cannon"

Movie Logic:

My brother and I were talking about Top Gun. The movie opens with Maverick "showboating" with a MiG. He then disregards orders to land immediately. He is yelled at, and a laundry list of previous offenses is brought up, many of them safety violations. He is sent to Top Gun. On his first sortie he violates a "major rule of engagement" by "violating the hard deck", and then doing an unauthorized low level high speed pass. His fellow aviators openly declare him "unsafe" and "dangerous" eventually his luck runs out and his RIO is killed. For some reason this is a surprise to everyone. He is cleared of all wrong doing and his Chain of Command instantly throws him back into the cockpit. He is then aloof in the air, and aggressive toward his peers. The solution? "keep sending him up!"

:rolleyes:

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My brother and I were talking about Top Gun. The movie opens with Maverick "showboating" with a MiG. He then disregards orders to land immediately. He is yelled at, and a laundry list of previous offenses is brought up, many of them safety violations.

He didn't know where the Admiral's daughter had been. Ewwwww!

He is sent to Top Gun. On his first sortie he violates a "major rule of engagement" by "violating the hard deck", and then doing an unauthorized low level high speed pass.

Yee-haa! Jester's dead! Wouldn't everyone? Besides, SHornets and Europhoons both proved the validity of the technique vs. F-22s.

His fellow aviators openly declare him "unsafe" and "dangerous" eventually his luck runs out and his RIO is killed. For some reason this is a surprise to everyone. He is cleared of all wrong doing and his Chain of Command instantly throws him back into the cockpit.

rolleyes.gif

Yeah, but his RIO made an AWESOME career resurrection in the medical field. No harm, no foul.

Edited by Horrido
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At least the Silent Service seems to be holding true to the tradition.

We try to keep our good and our bad to ourselves. You need access to a high level briefing to find out about either most of the time. Besides if people knew what we did, everyone would want to be us. We've spent years cultivating an outward image of nerdy, geeky, stuck up, arrogant know-it-alls to ruin our club by going public with too much :)

Cheers,

Dave

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I read with interest Scott’s account of Rich Graham’s comments concerning Brian Shul. Let me add some clarification to that account for all those who think they are always getting the ‘inside scoop’ from everyone they talk to at an airshow. There are so many inaccuracies in that account, I hardly know where to begin. I know Brian Shul and Walt Watson both, personally, live in the Beale AFB area, and have talked to many of the people involved with Shul’s so called ‘transgressions’. Here are a few facts Rich Graham failed to mention;

Shul and Watson were never ‘fired’ or ‘removed’ from the program because they did not do anything illegal. They simply used poor judgement in lighting the afterburners while performing a 360 behind the C-5A in the pattern that night. There was no tanker in the pattern. And there was certainly no one out taking pictures in the middle of the night. It was 2am since the mission had been delayed.

Brian volunteered to fly the T-38 full time since Rich Graham was about to become wing commander and vowed never to allow Brian to fly it again, something that everyone knew was an illegal act by a commander since no violation of flying rules had been committed.

What really ****** off Rich Graham was that Shul and Watson referred to him with irreverence in their inter-cockpit transmissions that night, transmissions that should have never been pulled on the tapes, but were by a certain ops officer to discredit Brian and Walter. The tower tapes showed no reckless flying, only appropriate and professional radio calls for flying GCA patterns to burn down fuel. Brian at no time bragged about any part of this incident.

Shul always got permission to take his photos and has the letters from commanders to prove it. He could not have done it otherwise. Most of his photos that have received such high acclaim were taken from the back seat of a T-38 chase plane anyway, totally an acceptable practice. Rich Graham probably didn’t tell you that he asked Brian for some of his photos and even used one in one of his books.

When renowned historian and author Walter Boyne called Shul and Watson one of the top 5 most notable crews ever to fly the SR-71 in Air Force Magazine, Rich Graham had General Halloran, someone who was not even in the program when the burner pass took place, write a defamation piece on Shul to the editors. What Graham did not tell you at Oshkosh, was that the succeeding two issues of Air Force Magazine were filled with support for the one man who has done more to keep the beautiful history of that airplane alive than anyone else today, and that’s not Rich Graham. The SR-71 community told Rich to let it go, that 25 years of holding a grudge was enough.

Rich Graham wrote a note to AOPA several years ago when he heard that Brian Shul was going to be their featured guest speaker, basically saying ‘take me, take me’. AOPA officials thought it was some kind of joke and were stunned to find that Rich had actually written it. You may be interested to know that Brian is speaking at AOPA this year for the 4th consecutive year.

Brian Shul was one of those legendary characters in the Air Force, but was the consummate professional aviator. Many things have been blown out of proportion concerning his career, but the Air Force last year saw fit to induct Brian Shul into the Air Force Hall of Fame for his numerous contributions during his 20 years as an instructor, leader, and pilot. Rich Graham has never been asked and was fired as Wing Commander shortly after he took over at Beale. Brian Shul’s photograph hangs in the hallway of the Pentagon today.

Many see Rich Graham today as a bitter old man who is simply jealous of another man’s success. This is sad considering the distinguished career that Graham carved for himself in the Air Force, the SR-71 and with the airlines. What possible motive would someone have now, to try and discredit Brian Shul, 30 years after a minor incident that amounted to nothing. He has only made himself look small.

So yes, there is always more to the story. Shul and Watson have suffered the slanderous remarks of Rich Graham for years now and always taken the high road and would not take the time to continue to rebut what has now become a tired refrain, as well as embellished account. I’m glad I could help bring some clarity to this thread.

Mike

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The military is full of people who get some ill feeling about someone and then given the chance will mess with their career and reputation just to make them feel good about themselves. I saw this many times during my service and I imagine it still goes on today. Little men they are !

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