The Trojan Sea (46 page)

Colonel William “Shanker” Stuart, USAF (Ret.), was, above all else, a fighter pilot. As a young man he flew F-4C Phantoms in Southeast Asia and logged two-hundred combat missions over North Vietnam. When he volunteered for a third tour, the Air Force assumed he had a death wish, which he did not, and refused to send him. As a fighter pilot he had three qualities that few men, and only a small percentage of pilots, possess. He was the master of his aircraft, he was a hunter, and, most important, he had situational awareness. Situational awareness can best be defined as the state when perception matches reality. In the air and in combat Shanker had it in abundance. But not necessarily on the ground or in his personal life. He lived his life by the principles he learned as a fighter pilot, and he had distilled them to a set of simple rules. With the exception of Rule Number One, there is no priority.

 

1. Check six.
   
2. Honor the threat.
   
3. When things go wrong, get aggressive.
   
4. The guy who shot you down is the guy you never saw.
   
5. Always know when to get out of Dodge.
   
6. Always know
   how
   to get out of Dodge.
   
7. Speed is life.
   
8. The ground has a kill probability of 1.0.
   
9. Lose sight, lose the fight.
   
10. In a knife fight (one versus one), one of you isn’t coming home.
    
11. Train like you plan to fight.
    
12. It ain’t over until you’ve filled out the paperwork.
    
13. A plan never survives the first thirty seconds of combat.
    
14. Use the sun.
    
15. Never fly in the same cockpit with someone braver than you.
    
16. If it’s stupid and works, it ain’t stupid.
    
17. When all else fails, select guns.
    
18. Know the opposition.
    
19. Tell me the threat and I’ll tell you my tactics.
    
20. Never forget Rule Number One.
    

 

While this novel is a work of fiction, I tried to base it in reality. In it I went far beyond my own area of expertise and am indebted to those who shared their experiences and knowledge. Mike Curtis spent hours introducing me to the complex and fascinating world of oil, while Perry Fisher,
World Oil
magazine, was willing to take the time to answer a host of questions from a complete stranger and provide invaluable leads.

Brian Carroll, who logged nearly three thousand hours flying Lightnings—first for the RAF, where he served as the Chief Flight Examiner Strike Command (Fighters), and later as Chief Flying Instructor Royal Saudi Air Force—spent a weekend captivating me with the saga of the Lightning. He then had to spend countless hours tutoring me in the details. And while I was a poor student, I enjoyed every minute.

A word about the Lightning. A total of 337 Lightnings were built by English Electric, now known as British Aerospace, and served in the RAF from 1960 to 1987. They were also flown by the Kuwaiti and Royal Saudi Air Force. The Lightning was unique and a classic fighter, and the only supersonic jet built by Britain on its own. Designed as a point defense fighter, it exceeded all expectations in its superb performance, and its initial rate of climb of fifty-thousand feet per minute was breathtaking. It is a pilot’s airplane in every respect, and it was a sad day when they were finally phased out of service.

Jeff Ackland of Performance Aircraft was kind enough to allow me to write about the Legend, and his aircraft does perform as described. Dr. Richard Hawkins made the Sabreliner come alive and, in the process, made me deeply envious. At the Pentagon, Mr. Robert Boyd intrigued me with the plans-intelligence interface, which is worth a story in itself, and Colonel John Gunselman of Installation Logistics and POL gave me a quick education in what logistics is all about and, in the process, impressed me beyond measure.

Karen Frost of Frost Media Relations went far beyond the call of duty in showing me the Dallas–Fort Worth area, while Jack and Mary Holstein gave meaning to the term “Texas hospitality.” Finally, Paul Woodford shared his insights and humor into the nature of fighter pilots, and William P. Wood was always there with his sage advice and cool insights, keeping me on track.

To all, many thanks.