Aviation often finds its way into my books, and the reason is clear—before becoming a full-time writer, I was a full-time pilot. When I was in college, I took some flying lessons on a whim. The next thing I knew, I was talking to an ROTC recruiter. I attended USAF pilot training at Columbus AFB, Mississippi, flying the T-37 and T-38.
After graduating, I was assigned to the 95 Fighter Interceptor Training Squadron, the “Boneheads,” flying T-33s. Two years later, I was lucky to be chosen to fly the A-10 Warthog, and after training out West, was stationed to England AFB, Louisiana—the famous Flying Tigers of the 23rd Fighter Wing. In January 1991, I led a nine-ship formation “across the pond” and flew over twenty missions in Desert Storm.
The year after that, I separated from the Air Force and began flying for Southwest Airlines.