Viper Pilot_ A Memoi..

17,000 feet, panting hard. The RWR mercifully shut up, and I dropped my mask to
let the cool air hit me in the face. Glancing at my multifunction display (MFD), I
decided not to thread the needle down the MiG bases along the Euphrates River.
Not because of the Iraqi Air Force, but because the air bases all had SAM rings. So
MOXIE and STOIC came around southwest and headed in the shortest direction to
the Saudi border. Maybe, I thought, if we refueled we could go back in and go
MiG-hunting.
Wiping my face, I sat back in the seat and looked at the rapidly graying sky as
sunrise approached. The more I thought of it, the more I believed that last SAM
had been a false alarm. Rocking my wingman in for a battle-damage check, I keyed
the mike. “STOIC and MOXIE . . . cut the Dog loose.” Meaning, sever any decoys.
Looking in my HUD, however, I saw that my decoy was already gone, and I took a
deep breath.
That last SA-3 had been real after all.
AFTER LANDING BACK AT PRINCE SULTAN AIR BASE, WE IMMEDIATELY began planning
to continue the Shock and Awe campaign. Contrary to popular belief, this neat little
phrase wasn’t invented in 2003. In fact, it had been formalized in 1996 as a military
doctrine based on the use of “overwhelming decisive force,” “dominant battlefield
awareness,” “dominant maneuvers,” and “spectacular displays of power” to
“paralyze” an adversary’s perception of the battlefield and destroy his will to fight.
Okay.
Every battle or firefight I’d been in was like that, but someone now had to put a
name to it. I think it appealed to the self-perception of American military and
political leaders. They correctly saw our military capability as overwhelming,
ultimately unstoppable (if utilized properly), and downright frightening. What they
screwed up, and seem to always get wrong, are enemy reactions to our force.
American leaders assume whoever we’re fighting will simply lift their skirts and run
away. This doesn’t always happen, however. Chances are, when your nation is
attacked, you’ll forget about everything else but defending your country and your
family. Unless, of course, you’re French. Then you surrender and eat cheese.
(Good cheese, I must say.)
If the United States was invaded, I don’t think people would give a damn how
the guy next to them voted in the last election—they’d simply fight. American
reactions to the September 11 attacks are a perfect example.
Planning on the other guy’s capitulation is also a dangerous way to start a fight.