Tri-Service
Super Bowl Champ Was 'Warthog' Combat Pilot
Chad Hennings wasn't your average NFL player. Drafted by the Dallas Cowboys in 1988 he didn't actually play professionally for the team until 1992.
Funded through college by the U.S Air Force, Hennings had to serve a mandatory four-year active duty commitment before taking to the field and eventually being part of three Super Bowl winning teams.
Not content though with driving a USAF desk, Chad Hennings got his hands on the throttle of one of the meanest bits of kit ever to be flown.
Saddling up as an A-10 Thunderbolt II pilot he flew 45 combat sorties during two deployments over northern Iraq in support of Operation Provide Comfort - defending Kurds from Saddam Hussein as the Iraqi dictator sought retribution following the first Gulf War.
Gaining a waiver to leave the Air Force as part of a Reduction in Force programme he headed back to Texas, serving as a reservist while playing 119 games for the Dallas Cowboys over nine seasons.
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