A B-52 Stratofortress from the 96th Bomb Squadron, Barksdale AFB, La., recently traveled to Edwards AFB, Calif., for Hazards of Electromagnetic Radiation to Ordnance (HERO) testing. The 772nd Test Squadron managed the process at the Benefield Anechoic Facility. It took four days to situate the B-52 physically inside the building, which has a jack and a turntable to recreate in-flight conditions. The HERO testing is meant to ensure the aircraft’s normal electronic operations will not accidentally activate the ordnance it will carry. The anechoic facility also allows faster and more reliable test results because it creates an environment that filters out the kind of electronic signal traffic usually found on a flight line.
Retired Col. Carlyle "Smitty" Harris, known for introducing the "tap code" by which American POWs in North Vietnam could surreptitiously communicate with one another, died July 6. Harris was brutalized by the North Vietnamese over almost eight years of captivity.