IN THE SHADOW OF THE HINDU KISH

Introduction

I’m an air warrior and this is my story. I’ve always been a patriot and wanted to be a pilot from a young age, even though I had never been in a plane.  Right after the disastrous Vietnam War ended, I joined the military when it wasn’t a cool thing to do.  I trained as a pilot and then flew continuously for over 20 years in the U.S. Air Force (USAF) and the Air National Guard (ANG), mostly as a fighter pilot and Forward Air Controller (FAC).  Whatever I was flying -  A-10 pilot or as a FAC, I always wanted to be where the action was. Yet, as my modest career progressed in the 1980’s and 90’s, I saw only limited combat. My A-10 ANG unit was initially told to deploy to Saudi Arabia for Operation DESERT STORM, but that got cancelled.  I was greatly disappointed that I didn’t get to serve in the Gulf War.  I was flying worthless missions over Iraq when the Kosovo conflict occurred in 1999.  Other A-10 units were used in that short Balkan campaign. I despaired that I might never see real combat flying in an actual conflict. I stayed in this military profession long after most of my contemporaries had left.  My airline colleagues wondered why I kept up with it.  It all became clear to me with 9/11. I could finally do something important to help my country in its hour of need.  This is the tale of my adventure and those of my colleagues in Afghanistan in 2002-3.