A fun easy read. If you grew up watching Top Gun you will probably like this. Also go watch Ward's youtube channel - he has some great videos and interviews. ( )

This story accurately depicts self absorbed jet pilots and the frequent frustrations of squadron life under bad leadership. The narration was good and added to the story. These typical fighter pilots who have all the foibles of regular people on top of an "attitude" and an ego as big as the boat. ( )

While stationed on a carrier in the Persian Gulf, Navy lieutenant Rick "Punk" Reichert's life is turning into one big dogfight. The constant threats of enemy engagements, the restlessness of his girl back home, and his future career are at the forefront of the pilot's mind. But when his superior officer takes on an Iraqi pilot with tragic results, the international incident makes him a hero while Punk is sent flying out of control ( )

First, the author's credentials. Carroll served as a radar intercept officer, RIO, the guy in tha backseat of an F-14, for fifteen years and now teaches at the Naval Academy. So when he says that being shot off a catapult is "life pasing through him. . .all the 'accelerated roller coasters' and 'car crash and orgasm mixed into one' analaogies did not do the feeling injustice," he knows what he's talking about.

Punk is an F-14 fighter pilot whose unit is assigned to routine patrol off the coast of Iran. An Iranian jet sneaks through radar observation and makes a pass at the carrier, escaping when the Squadron commander makes a mistake and presses the gun toggle switch instead arming the missile. The result is an admiral totally paranoid that an enemy could come so close, so he orders round-the-clock combat air patrol (CAP) coverage by flyers with more than five hundred hours. This required more than three missions per day. This extremely demanding operation begins to wear out the machines and the men with numerous night landings, "a most terrifying task."

Fuzzy, one of the other pilots, loses a wheel on an aborted landing, forcing a barricade landing. "With that bit of news, Fuzzy promptly placed the contents of his bowels into the seat of his flight suit." When, on final approach, he loses his full complement of hydraulics, he contemplates ejection into the drink, the thought of "going for a swim might not be all that bad in that it would clean the mess out of his flight suit." He is reminded to drop all his weapons in case they would come off during the smash into the barricade, adding several millions of dollars to the ordnance cost of what they were now calling the "Great Iranian War," and Fuzzy muses, "If the Iraninans only knew how well they were doing now by doing nothing.

By now, his wingman, Punk, is way short of fuel and the Viking launched to gas him up develops a problem with the fueling cable forcing Punk, to head for the Air Force base in Kuwait. Unfortunately, the Air Force won't open the base (it's after two in the morning) because the request didn't come through the proper channels. So Smoke, the Punk's "rep" on the carrier, defies orders (Punk had been ordered to return to CAP position even though he had virtually no fuel left), and calls Kuwait International Airport, also closed, but he gets the facilities manager who says, sure, "give me two minutes ." "Smoke coudn't believe dealing with a Kuwaiti at a foreign international airport was easier than working with a U.S. Air Force officer, but then again, maybe that wasn't such a big surprise." No more spoilers.

You get the idea. This book is exciting, funny, and very realistic in the sense of confusion that reigns as the carrier staff try to juggle multiple problems to keep the planes flying as personal agendas compete with a variety of scenarios. Certainly makes you wonder....

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