Flying the F-5 Tiger II (Part 2)

Flying the F-5 Tiger II (Part 2)

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As a reservist who flew no more than 120 hours per year, .8 at a time, the F-5 was a dream. It is inexpensive to operate, therefore plentiful, and painfully simple, thus always mission ready. We flew as much as we could stand, often against each other to maintain tactical proficiency and to sharpen the […]

Putin Moves Back to the Future

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Putin has ordered a resumption of a Cold War favorite. In the past few days there has been a marked increase of Russian bombers sniffing around the edges of U.S. airspace.

Flying the F-5 Tiger II (Part 1)

Flying the F-5 Tiger II (Part 1)

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Jorge Canyon. The Centroid. The Six-Pack. Sperm Lake. Circle Squares. The Dong. These are the inside names of some of the secret hiding spots in the greatest aerial playground in the United States. For 10 years I was fortunate enough to be a member of a squadron flying the F-5 Tiger II as an adversary pilot, or Bandit, with VFC-13 […]

The Right Use of Air Power At The Right Time

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It’s with a fair amount of trepidation, but not a great deal of surprise that we learned about the return of U.S. forces in active combat roles in Iraq today. It was just a few years ago, the end of 2011, that we ostensibly washed our hands of the fruitless mission of trying to keep […]