The mission was simple enough; monitor air operations at Thumrate bombing range from a safe distance, locate ordnance that did not detonate, ensure a positive identification of said ordnance and ensure a complete disposal of said ordnance is accomplished with the lowest profile possible. Oh, if life could be so easy! The ordnance: MK82, 500-pound bombs using M904E point detonating nose fuzing with a M990 series, inertia tail fuze back-up, and GBU-10, laser guided bombs (MK84) with a MK346 electric tail fuze. What normally would have been a “blow-n-go” operation took a brutal turn for the worse when a herd of camels followed by the entire tribe of Bedouins wandered onto the range. This simple act of random grazing blew the “low profile” right out the window and led to a severe case of “mass pain in the six”
