Viper Pilot_ A Memoi..

In any event, the war was rolling. The following day, the ground invasion began
in earnest as U.S. Marines, Brits, and Poles attacked the port of Umm Qasr. The 3rd
Infantry Division and the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force would enter southern
Iraq on their way north. The heavy air campaign resumed on March 21.
Shock and Awe. In a twist of fate, it was the shock and awe of 9/11 that had
provided the outward legitimacy for this war. We named it counterterrorism.
Neighboring Arab countries would now call the invasion of Iraq an act of terrorism.
Just goes to show you, the battlefield winner gets to write the slogans regardless of
who triumphs in the end.
SHOCK AND AWE HAD BEGUN IN EARNEST, AND I WAS GLAD. The sooner it started, the
sooner we’d win and could all go home. Walking outside our operations trailer, I
stood there in the morning sun. My sweaty flight suit had long since dried, and I
smelled stale. I yawned and rubbed my fingertips against the stubble under my
chin. The door slammed behind me and the Gambler squadron commander, my
good friend Storm’n Norman, stepped out.
“Breakfast” I asked.
“Rather not. Been sick today already.”
I chuckled. The Wild Weasels were at war again.