Right Seat Driver Posted July 29, 2015 Posted July 29, 2015 Just finished Lemay by Warren Kozak. Good look at the hows and whys in his approach to the bombing campaigns in Europe then Japan. And how he built SAC. My favorite quote "I'll tell you what war is about. You've got to kill people and when you kill enough of them, they stop fighting." His mentor was Robert Olds, father of Robin Olds. Lemay was also a lead from the front kind of guy and had to be ordered to stop flying bombing missions. History has not been kind on LeMay, but he was the right guy at the right time. I also recommend the book, read it a couple of times on deployments while orbiting as the reliability tanker.
TreeA10 Posted September 20, 2015 Posted September 20, 2015 Currently reading "Colonel Roosevelt" by Edmund Morris. Colonel was Theodore Roosevelt's preferred title after he left the White House and the book is about that part of his life. This excerpt is from a speech in Paris in 1910 you have probably heard but I think it is worth repeating.It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. - Theodore Roosevelt. 3
Slander Posted September 20, 2015 Posted September 20, 2015 Just finished up "Worthy Fights" by Leon Panetta. Its his memoir and it's really interesting. Highly recommend it for any long flights you have coming up.
Insubordinate & Churlish Posted September 21, 2015 Posted September 21, 2015 Currently reading "Colonel Roosevelt" by Edmund Morris. Colonel was Theodore Roosevelt's preferred title after he left the White House and the book is about that part of his life. This excerpt is from a speech in Paris in 1910 you have probably heard but I think it is worth repeating.It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat. - Theodore Roosevelt.Vance 15-05 incorporated the speech into their patch. There appears to be multiple versions of the speech. In one, he said "dare mighty things" instead of "daring greatly." The rest of the patch is WWII nose art from some pilot training base. 1 1
Clark Griswold Posted October 3, 2015 Posted October 3, 2015 Recommend "The Hunter Killers" by Dan Hampton. The Hunter Killers LP: The Extraordinary Story of the First Wild Weasels, the Band of Maverick Aviators Who Flew the Most Dangerous Missions of the Vietnam WarGood backstories, technical descriptions, engagement descriptions and perspective on the origin & development of the Weasel Mission.
jango220 Posted October 3, 2015 Posted October 3, 2015 Recommend "The Hunter Killers" by Dan Hampton. Definitely agree. Hampton goes into incredible detail about the development of both SAMs and the Weasel mission from day 1 until the Vietnam War ended. I bought it purely on a whim at a bookstore because I recognized the author's name from "Viper Pilot." I happened to hear Col Leo Thorsness speak at Maxwell a couple days earlier, and the book explains the events that led to him being awarded the MoH. I've already bought a couple extra copies and handed them out to people. Highly recommend.
Clark Griswold Posted October 4, 2015 Posted October 4, 2015 Definitely agree. Hampton goes into incredible detail about the development of both SAMs and the Weasel mission from day 1 until the Vietnam War ended. I bought it purely on a whim at a bookstore because I recognized the author's name from "Viper Pilot." I happened to hear Col Leo Thorsness speak at Maxwell a couple days earlier, and the book explains the events that led to him being awarded the MoH. I've already bought a couple extra copies and handed them out to people. Highly recommend.Another good one is from the Vs. series of books:F-105 Wild Weasel vs SA-2 'Guideline' SAM (Duel)Lots of technical detail and personal interviews (especially interesting with the NVA missile crews) - worth the time to read.
Muscle2002 Posted October 5, 2015 Posted October 5, 2015 Two recommendations:"The Most Dangerous Enemy" by Stephen Bungay about the Battle of Britain"The X-15 Rocket Plane: Flying the First Wings into Space" by Michelle Evans about the X-15 program
JarheadBoom Posted October 7, 2015 Posted October 7, 2015 Recently read:"Legend" by Eric Blehm. The back-story of then-SSgt Roy Benavidez, and the events that led to the day he earned the MoH. The description of the battle is incredible, both in detail and intensity. "Redeployment" by Phil Klay. Several "short story"-style accounts of people's time during and after their OEF/OIF tours, and how they deal (or don't deal) with their demons. In work:"Hit The Target: Eight Men who Led The Eighth Air Force to Victory over the Luftwaffe" by Bill Yenne.
slackline Posted February 27, 2016 Posted February 27, 2016 Check out this article from USA TODAY: Medal of Honor recipient shuns spotlight https://usat.ly/210MTeD This is the caliber of dudes in used to, not the Marcus Latrells that are out there capitalizing on their brethren. I love that he silently calls them out for it too. 3
ATIS Posted June 26, 2017 Posted June 26, 2017 Rogue Heroes: The History of the SAS, Britain's Secret Special Forces Unit That Sabotaged the Nazis and Changed the Nature of War Excellent read on the start of the SAS in the North African desert though Europe and the end of WWII. It's a solid and quick read. Amazing stories on the personalities that were the foundation of the SAS...both good and bad. I was pretty amazed on the things they got away with (both with leadership and in combat). Cheers ATIS
Mighty Mighty Posted June 26, 2017 Posted June 26, 2017 On 7/20/2015 at 0:42 AM, Dalton said: "Viper Pilot" by Dan Hampton. One of the few books about military aviation in recent years. I'm not a big reader but I really enjoyed it. Even went out and got "Lords of the Sky" by him after I finished it, about the history of the fighter pilot. About a third of the way thought but so far it's good. Through* damn autocorrect i can second this recommendation. I've read both. I couldn't put viper pilot down when I started reading it and got through it in a weekend. 1
John3806 Posted June 26, 2017 Posted June 26, 2017 Combat Ready by Capt Taylor Fox was an awesome book with a great look into UPT, IFF, and B-Course. I highly recommend.
JeremiahWeed Posted June 27, 2017 Posted June 27, 2017 On 7/19/2015 at 11:42 PM, Dalton said: "Viper Pilot" by Dan Hampton. One of the few books about military aviation in recent years. I'm not a big reader but I really enjoyed it. Even went out and got "Lords of the Sky" by him after I finished it, about the history of the fighter pilot. About a third of the way thought but so far it's good. Through* damn autocorrect I ran across Dan a few times during my career. AFROTC field training, a few of the same strike package during Desert Storm out of the 'Lik and at least one Flag. All I'll say is that not everyone shares as high opinion of him as he does. That's been a trend since ROTC. To proclaims one's self the "most lethal pilot" in the USAF or whatever he said when I leafed through the book in an airport bookstore is a bit of a stretch, considering the company he keeps in aviation history. A good driver with some good stories? No doubt. At least his books are selling. In my final comment below, I realize I may be somewhat biased considering my background. However, I think it's still extremely valid. The one question I have for him, should we cross paths again would be this: Considering the success of the fighter version of the F-15 over the history of it's four-plus decades of operations, how can someone write a history of the fighter pilot and fail to even mention that aircraft once? I get the whole Eagle-Falcon rivalry.......but considering the F-15 was probably the last US aircraft designed purely to fulfill the role of a true fighter (not a pound for air-to-ground) and has a pretty enviable kill ratio in combat (ya know..... the actual job of a "fighter pilot"), you'd think it might have at least made it into the index. 5
matmacwc Posted June 27, 2017 Posted June 27, 2017 Two Dogs is full of himself and there are some skeletons but who doesn't, I hope he's making a bunch of money.
Vito Posted June 30, 2017 Posted June 30, 2017 "If You Ain't a Pilot" by Ray Wright. Hands down the BEST book written about UPT. Hilarious, witty and every Air Force Pilot can relate. 1
SurelySerious Posted June 30, 2017 Posted June 30, 2017 I haven't seen it mentioned yet: First to Fly by Flood is an interesting recount of the Lafayette Escadrille. Lots of personal stories and vivid details.
Seriously Posted July 2, 2017 Posted July 2, 2017 On 2/27/2016 at 11:10 PM, slackline said: Check out this article from USA TODAY: Medal of Honor recipient shuns spotlight https://usat.ly/210MTeD This is the caliber of dudes in used to, not the Marcus Latrells that are out there capitalizing on their brethren. I love that he silently calls them out for it too. I thought you were talking about Salvatore Giunta at first. Same deal. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salvatore_Giunta
ATIS Posted July 17, 2017 Posted July 17, 2017 Everyone should read this book. Blew my mind the rice bowl of politics that translated into a total Shit-show for the first few days of Linebacker II B-52 Ops. Is this required reading for Maxwell? Heck, Navy folks should read this as well. https://www.amazon.com/Eleven-Days-Christmas-Americas-Vietnam/dp/1893554279 ATIS 1
brickhistory Posted July 17, 2017 Posted July 17, 2017 5 hours ago, ATIS said: Everyone should read this book. Blew my mind the rice bowl of politics that translated into a total Shit-show for the first few days of Linebacker II B-52 Ops. Is this required reading for Maxwell? Heck, Navy folks should read this as well. https://www.amazon.com/Eleven-Days-Christmas-Americas-Vietnam/dp/1893554279 ATIS Worked with a guy who flew these missions. 3 X DFCs. He sent me the audio of one of them he had taped via his headset - he was an EWO. Holy sh1t doesn't come close to describing it.
JS Posted July 20, 2017 Posted July 20, 2017 On 7/17/2017 at 8:26 AM, ATIS said: Everyone should read this book. Blew my mind the rice bowl of politics that translated into a total Shit-show for the first few days of Linebacker II B-52 Ops. Is this required reading for Maxwell? Heck, Navy folks should read this as well. https://www.amazon.com/Eleven-Days-Christmas-Americas-Vietnam/dp/1893554279 ATIS Even if BUFFs, 'Nam, bombing, and SAC are not your thing, this was a very well written book and very engaging. In the cliche, it was a "page turner" that was hard to put down. I especially liked the parts described from the bad guys point of view based on interviews with the actual SA-2 operators. I read this book based on a recommendation in this thread from like 5 years ago, so it is nice to see it get bumped again. It's also fairly small, so it wouldn't take too much of a commitment to tackle this and gain a deeper appreciation for bomber/SAM operations, along with the idiocy of bad airpower tactics in Vietnam. 1
HerkFE Posted July 20, 2017 Posted July 20, 2017 (edited) Just finished "The Operator"...Robert O'neill...SEAL who took out Osama. It was pretty predictable, first 1/3 was about BUD/S, the rest about training/missions along the way, ending with the Osama mission. Nothing really surprising but I enjoyed it. ETA: Just placed my order for Eleven Days of Christmas based on the previous post. Edited July 20, 2017 by HerkFE added words
brickhistory Posted December 10, 2017 Posted December 10, 2017 A Pilot's Story by Bob Prest Excellent read about an RAF F-4 pilots road to wings and flying the mighty Phantom during the Cold War: getting bounced/bouncing all comers (sts) over Germany; intercepting Bears over the North Sea; deployments to the Med, etc; sitting air defense alert.
snoopyeast Posted December 10, 2017 Posted December 10, 2017 Little Toy Dog - Written by the two survivors of the RB-47 shootdown. Fulcrum - Soviet MiG pilot who stole a jet and defected. First Light - WWII Spitfire pilot.
flyusaf83 Posted December 11, 2017 Posted December 11, 2017 It was done in this thread a few years ago, but I’ll put in a plug for “Bleeding Talent” by Tim Kane. Kane is a USAFA grad, was in intel officer for a few years, and then a successful entrepreneur. His ideas for revamping how the military handles things like assignments, promotions, and evaluations are very interesting. He basically wants to put market forces in how the military handles people, which he argues would result in less bleeding of talent in the officer ranks. 1
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