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Cesar Antonio Rodriguez | |
|---|---|
 Rodriguez at the ceremony with US airmen when his combat aircraft was moved to theSmithsonian | |
| Nickname | "Rico" |
| Born | (1959-03-22)March 22, 1959 (age 66) El Paso, Texas, U.S. |
| Allegiance |  United States |
| Branch |  United States Air Force |
| Service years | 1981–2006[1] |
| Rank | .svg) Colonel |
| Unit | 33rd Tactical Fighter Wing |
| Conflicts | |
| Awards | Distinguished Flying Cross Legion of Merit |
Cesar Antonio Rodriguez is a formerUnited States Air Force (USAF) officer and pilot who served from 1981 to 2006. With three air-to-air combat victories, he joined USAF pilots Thomas Dietz, Robert Hehemann and Robert Wright as the closest to becoming aflying ace of any U.S. pilot since theVietnam War;[2] until April 13, 2024, when several USAF pilots attained ace status during an attack on Israel from Iran.[3][4] Rodriguez scored his kills in anF-15 Eagle - the first two kills in 1991, during the firstGulf War, against aMikoyan MiG-29 and aMikoyan MiG-23 of theIraqi Air Force, and his third kill came against a MiG-29 of theYugoslav air force during the 1999NATO bombing of Yugoslavia.[2]
Rodriguez was born in 1959 inEl Paso,Texas; son of a careerU.S. Armynon-commissioned officer he lived on various military bases and graduated from Antilles High School atFort Buchanan, Puerto Rico in 1977. He received a degree in Business Administration fromThe Citadel in 1981 and was commissioned as an officer in the United States Air Force, after attending Undergraduate Pilot Training he was awarded pilot wings in November 1982.
His first operational assignment was flying theFairchild Republic A-10 Thunderbolt II atSuwon Air Base,South Korea; in 1985 he was selected to attend the Instructor Pilot Course atRandolph Air Force Base, Texas then spent the following three years as anAT-38 Instructor Pilot atHolloman AFB, New Mexico; in 1988 he transitioned to theMcDonnell Douglas F-15 Eagle and was assigned to the33d Tactical Fighter Wing atEglin AFB, Florida. Rodriguez flew missions in support of theU.S. invasion of Panama in 1989 and following service in Operation Desert Storm served on the staff of9th Air Force atShaw AFB, South Carolina then attendedAir Command and Staff College atMaxwell AFB inMontgomery, Alabama. Beginning in 1995 he was Chief of Force Requirements and Executive Officer to the Commander ofU.S. Air Forces Europe atRamstein Air Base, Germany then returned to operational flying as a pilot and Chief of Safety with the48th Fighter Wing atRAF Lakenheath, UK; he next served as Assistant Chief of Safety atAir Combat Command Headquarters atLangley AFB, Virginia and then attended theNaval War College inNewport, Rhode Island. In 2002 he was assigned as Deputy Commander of the366th Operations Group atMountain Home AFB, Idaho and also deployed toKuwait in support ofOperation Iraqi Freedom serving as Operations Group Commander for the 332d Air Expeditionary Wing, the largest flying unit inCentral Command. His final assignment was as Commander of the 355th Mission Support Group atDavis-Monthan AFB, Arizona; he retired in November 2006. His numerous awards include theLegion of Merit, threeDistinguished Flying Crosses and theAir Medal with 11 oak leaf clusters.[1]
Rodriguez, call sign "Rico" scored the first two air-to-air direct hits of his USAF career in the Gulf War.[2] His first hit occurred when he and his wingman Craig "Mole" Underhill came across two Iraqi MiG-29 "Fulcrums". The two F-15s quickly locked up the MiG-29s, which turned east to avoid them. However, anAWACS then reported two more MiG-29s coming in fast at them from the west a mere 13 miles away. The two F-15s and two MiG-29s charged straight at each other. Underhill quickly fired anAIM-7 Sparrow radar guided missile at the first MiG. At the same time, the second MiG-29, piloted byCaptain Jameel Sayhood, "locked up" Rodriguez, who then quickly executed a dive down to the deck to avoid the radar lock and nearly collided with the AIM-7 fired by Rodriguez's wingman which, seconds later, destroyed the lead MiG. After seeing his wingman killed, Sayhood decided to bug out briefly. Rodriguez rejoined with Underhill until Sayhood reappeared. Underhill locked him up, though his computer would not let him fire the AIM-7 to destroy the MiG because of a glitch in hisIFF system which told him that the MiG was a friendly aircraft. Rodriguez and Sayhood then proceeded to merge, whereupon they both turned left and promptly got into a turning fight. As they descended towards the ground, Sayhood attempted to execute asplit S maneuver. However, having insufficient altitude (about 600 feet) he crashed into the ground. Rodriguez was credited with a maneuvering kill.[5] Later while flying back to his base, Rodriguez was repeatedly locked on by patrolling friendlyRoyal Saudi Air Force F-15s. After several warnings, Rodriguez threatened to shoot the aircraft down if they locked onto him one more time.[6]
His second kill came as he was flying in formation with three other pilots, Captain Rory Draeger with his wingman Captain Tony "Kimo" Schiavi, and Rodriguez with his wingman Captain Bruce Till. An AWACS picked up four Iraqi MiG-23s taking off from the airfield designatedH2. The four F-15s turned ninety degrees, and spread out over a space of ten miles to maximize their radar and missile coverage. One of the four MiGs bugged out with mechanical problems. Draeger assigned the targets, taking the lead MiG, while Schiavi took the northern one, and Rodriguez was assigned the southern MiG. The three of them locked up the MiGs and all fired AIM-7s. All three MiGs were destroyed within seconds of each other to for a "textbook" beyond visual range fight. The moment of the missiles impact in the MiG-23 was caught in the cockpit camera of that MiG, which was later recovered by a special forces team.[1][5]
During 1999'sOperation Allied Force in Yugoslavia, Rodriguez was deployed as part of theNATO campaign against the Yugoslavs. On the first night of the campaign, March 24, 1999, several YugoslavMiG-29s took off to resist the NATO air attacks. Two MiGs took off on the opening night fromNis Air Base. The first was downed by anAIM-120 AMRAAM missile strike from aRoyal Netherlands Air ForceF-16 Fighting Falcon fighter,[7] while the second flown by Yugoslav pilot Major Ilijo Arizanov was engaged and shot down by an F-15 Eagle piloted by Rodriguez. The MiG-29s of theYugoslav air force were suffering severe problems with their systems. Arizanov was having trouble getting his radar working when he was shot down by Rodriguez. This would be Rodriguez's final kill, making him the leading MiG-killer since the Vietnam War and tying him with three other USAF pilots for the most aerial victories since the Vietnam War.[8]
After his combat service, Rodriguez continued to serve with the U.S. Air Force until November 30, 2006, when he retired with the rank of colonel.
Rodriguez currently resides inTucson, Arizona and works forRaytheon Missile Systems.[citation needed]
| Date | Type | Location | Aircraft flown | Unit assigned |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 19, 1991 | MiG-29 | Iraq | F-15C | 33 TFW, 58 TFS |
| January 26, 1991 | MiG-23 | Iraq | F-15C | 33 TFW, 58 TFS |
| March 24, 1999 | MiG-29 | Yugoslavia | F-15C | 48 FW, 493 FS |
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