The most dangerous and difficult job fighter pilots face today | Fox News

Serving in the U.S. Armed Forces requires bravery at all levels. This post is a tribute to those pilots who 'don antlers during hunting season' to then find and destroy enemy installations, usually camouflaged. Is there any other assignment in any branch of service more dangerous?

Hand salute to all my brothers and sisters, past and present, who serve this great nation. Merry Christmas, and enjoy this article...

"These gutsy pilots are tasked with flying their specially outfitted fighter jets into enemy surface-to-air missile envelopes in order to bait SAM operators into targeting them with their radars. Once targeted, the radar waves are traced back to their source allowing the Wild Weasels and other attack aircraft to destroy the threat. Actually, the unofficial motto of the Wild Weasel crews is YGBSM: “You Gotta Be Sh-tting Me.” It was B-52 Electronic Warfare Officer (EWO) veteran Jack Donovan’s natural response when he was introduced to the tactics and mission details. His exact reply was: “you want me to fly in the back of a little tiny fighter aircraft with a crazy fighter pilot who thinks he’s invincible, home in on a SAM site in North Vietnam, and shoot it before it shoots me, you gotta be sh-tting me!” His vernacular stuck and YGBSM is prominently displayed on the patch of some squadrons, adding to the legend of the Wild Weasel.