Flying Forwards, Facing Backwards
Captivating Tales from a Vulcan and Nimrod Air Electronics Officer
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Flying Forwards, Facing Backwards
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Narrated by:
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Graham Mack
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By:
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Jim Walls
About this listen
Since he was a child in the 1950s watching Vampires and Meteors operating from RAF Turnhouse, Jim Walls wanted to fly aircraft; he just never envisaged that his flying career would be spent in the back seat as opposed to the front. Jim guides listeners through his forty-year RAF career that started as a Boy Entrant at RAF Cosford, then as an air radar tradesman, before specializing as an air electronics operator (AEOp) in the Nimrod MR1, and later as an air electronics officer (AEO) who flew in Nimrod R1s and Vulcan B2s.
With detailed insight into the world of radar, electronic countermeasures, and signals intelligence, Jim highlights the role they played in warfare for numerous operations during the Cold War as well as the Falklands campaign, First Gulf War, and Bosnian War. As well as focusing on his career, Jim gives his viewpoint on matters such as Operation Black Buck and the reduced war-fighting capability of the Vulcan as it neared retirement.
This fascinating book showcases the vital role that AEOs held and the importance of radar and electronic warfare in the fight against enemy forces. It is also a tribute to the much-loved Cold War icons, the Nimrod and the Vulcan. This book will appeal to Cold War enthusiasts and fans of the iconic jets of that era.
©2022 Jim Walls (P)2022 TantorListeners also enjoyed...
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 25
In Harrier Boys, Volume One: Cold War Through the Falklands, 1969-1990, Robert Marston, who flew Harriers for many years, draws together accounts from others who worked with this unique jet through its history. The excitement, camaraderie, and pride of Harrier operators shine through in the personal stories of those whose lives were changed by their experience of this iconic aircraft, both on land and at sea.
By: Robert Marston
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Flying from the Black Hole
- The B-52 Navigator-Bombardiers of Vietnam
- By: Robert O. Harder
- Narrated by: Bob Souer
- Length: 9 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 88
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 81
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 80
Air Force navigators and bombardiers have long labored under the shadow of pilots - their contributions undervalued, misunderstood, or unknown to the general public. This was especially the case with the non-pilot officer aircrew in the Vietnam and Cold War-era B-52 Stratofortress. Of the six people who operated the bomber, three wore navigator wings - two of those men were also bombardiers, the other an electronic warfare officer. Without the navigator-bombardiers in particular, executing the nuclear war strike plan or flying Southeast Asian bombing sorties would have been impossible.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Today I learned something new.
- By Rob Wilson on 02-20-21
By: Robert O. Harder
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Harnessing the Sky
- Frederick "Trap" Trapnell, the U.S. Navy's Aviation Pioneer, 1923-1952
- By: Frederick M. Trapnell Jr., Dana Trapnell Tibbitts
- Narrated by: Patrick Lawlor
- Length: 8 hrs and 51 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 26
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 25
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 25
A pilot of calculated courage, "Trap" entered the Navy when test pilots were more like stuntmen than engineers. Airplanes had not yet come into their own as weapons of war, and they had an undeveloped role in the fleet. His vision and leadership shaped the evolution of naval aviation through its formative years and beyond. When the threat of war in 1940 raised an alarm over the Navy's deficiency in aircraft - especially fighters - Trap was appointed to lead the Flight Test Section to direct the development of all-new Navy airplanes.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Superb Book
- By Peter H. Christensen on 09-27-19
By: Frederick M. Trapnell Jr., and others
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Skybreak
- The 58th Fighter Squadron in Desert Storm
- By: Mike Guardia
- Narrated by: Johnny Heller
- Length: 5 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 38
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 32
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 32
August 1990: Iraqi forces under the command of Saddam Hussein invaded the tiny emirate of Kuwait. In response, the US military led a coalition of thirty-four nations in what became known as Operation Desert Storm—a violent air and ground campaign to eject the Iraqis from Kuwait. At the tip of the spear were the men of the US Air Force’s 58th Fighter Squadron. Based on hours of interviews and archival research by author Mike Guardia, this book reveals an intimate, no-holds-barred account of modern aerial combat…as told by the men who lived it.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Desert Storm Fighter Action
- By David T. Gato on 07-23-24
By: Mike Guardia
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SR-71, the Blackbird, Q&A
- By: Terry Pappas
- Narrated by: Chris Abell
- Length: 4 hrs and 24 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 145
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 130
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 129
Higher, farther, faster - what every real aviator aspires to. The SR-71 was the epitome of this dream for three decades. The only way to beat the SR-71 was to rocket into space, and every astronaut in the office with me in the 1960s would have loved to have flown the Blackbird. In many ways it placed greater demand on piloting proficiency than any spacecraft.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Great in sight on life and times of Blackbird crew
- By J Bo on 11-11-15
By: Terry Pappas
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Vulcan 607
- By: Rowland White
- Narrated by: Roy McMillan
- Length: 13 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall5 out of 5 stars 54
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 46
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Story5 out of 5 stars 46
Shoulder to shoulder with Strategic Air Command B-52s throughout the Cold War, the big delta-winged Vulcans of the Britain's V-bomber force faced down the Soviet threat to the West. In 1982, they were just months from retirement when they flew in anger for the first time. It was to be a record-breaking mission of breathtaking audacity: a single bomber launched from a remote island airbase to carry out what would be the longest-range air attack in history. An 8,000-mile round-trip.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Wow, incredibly gripping and entertaining
- By MortonC on 09-10-24
By: Rowland White
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Before Topgun Days
- The Making of a Jet Fighter Instructor
- By: Dave Bio Baranek
- Narrated by: Stephen Hoye
- Length: 4 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 54
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Performance4 out of 5 stars 48
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 48
Before becoming an instructor in the Navy's Topgun program, Dave "Bio" Baranek was just another kid with a dream. Upon graduating from college, he joined the Navy with the goal of becoming a fighter pilot. But, his eyesight waning, he knew that he would never be able to reach that goal. Undaunted, he plowed ahead and found his niche as a radar intercept operator in the backseat of the sleek, new Grumman F-14 Tomcat.
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5 out of 5 stars
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SHB
- By Kindle Customer on 06-10-23
By: Dave Bio Baranek
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From F-4 Phantom to A-10 Warthog
- Memoirs of a Cold War Fighter Pilot
- By: Steven K Ladd
- Narrated by: Jeff Bolton
- Length: 12 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 131
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 115
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 116
You do not have to be an aviation aficionado to enjoy Colonel Steve Ladd’s fascinating personal tale, woven around his 28-year career as a fighter pilot. This extremely engaging account follows a young man from basic pilot training to senior command through the narratives that define a unique ethos. From the United States to Southeast Asia; Europe to the Middle East; linking the amusing and tongue-in-cheek to the deadly serious and poignant, this is the lifelong journey of a fighter pilot.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A 28 year history of Air Force fighter duty.
- By David H Milton on 07-09-22
By: Steven K Ladd
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Bloody Sixteen
- The USS Oriskany and Air Wing 16 During the Vietnam War
- By: Peter Fey
- Narrated by: John McLain
- Length: 15 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 35
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 27
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Story5 out of 5 stars 27
Strategy and reality collide in Peter Fey's gripping history of aircraft carrier USS Oriskany's three deployments to Vietnam with Carrier Air Wing 16 (CVW-16). Its tours coincided with the most dangerous phases of Operation Rolling Thunder, the ill-fated bombing campaign against North Vietnam, and accounted for a quarter of all the naval aircraft lost during Rolling Thunder. The Johnson administration's policy of gradually applied force meant that Oriskany arrived on station just as previous restrictions were lifted and bombing raids increased.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Great Listen!
- By MeathookWX on 09-21-18
By: Peter Fey
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Wings on My Sleeve
- By: Eric 'Winkle' Brown
- Narrated by: Cameron Stewart
- Length: 9 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 110
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 103
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 103
The autobiography of one of the greatest pilots in history. In 1939 Eric Brown was on a University of Edinburgh exchange course in Germany, and the first he knew of the war was when the Gestapo came to arrest him. They released him, not realising he was a pilot in the RAF volunteer reserve - and the rest is history. Eric Brown joined the Fleet Air Arm and went on to be the greatest test pilot in history, flying more different aircraft types than anyone else.
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4 out of 5 stars
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Fascinating memoir
- By Jean on 07-05-16
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Why Planes Crash Case Files: 2001-2003
- By: Sylvia Wrigley
- Narrated by: Charlie Boswell
- Length: 13 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 92
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 84
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 83
Why Planes Crash offers an exciting and compelling look at the critical moments which define an aviation accident, explaining both the how and the why of catastrophic accidents in modern times. From disintegrating airliners to in-flight suicide to maintenance shortcuts, the author looks critically into each factor that might have lead to the crash. Her investigations and deep insight aim to make the listener into a witness to the investigation, and, yet, it is comprehensive enough for anyone with no aviation knowledge to understand.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Exactly what I was looking for...
- By Narada on 01-08-19
By: Sylvia Wrigley
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Topgun Days
- Dogfighting, Cheating Death, and Hollywood Glory as One of America's Best Fighter Jocks
- By: Dave "Bio" Baranek
- Narrated by: Jeremy Arthur
- Length: 7 hrs and 43 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 344
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 300
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 298
Dave Baranek (callsign "Bio") was one of 451 young men to receive his Wings of Gold in 1980 as a naval flight officer. Four years later, seasoned by intense training and deployments in the tense confrontations of the Cold War, he became the only one of that initial group to rise to become an instructor at the navy's elite Fighter Weapons School. As a Topgun instructor, Bio was responsible for teaching the navy's and Marine Corps' best fighter pilots how to be even better. He schooled them in the classroom and then went head-to-head with them in the skies.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Top Gun or Topgun
- By Randy on 02-19-13
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The Men Who Killed the Luftwaffe
- The U.S. Army Air Forces Against Germany in World War II
- By: Jay A. Stout
- Narrated by: Paul Woodson
- Length: 15 hrs and 35 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 470
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 428
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 421
In this dramatic story of World War II, Jay A. Stout describes how the US built an air force of 2.3 million men after starting with 45,000 and defeated the world's best air force. In order to defeat Germany in World War II, the Allies needed to destroy the Third Reich's industry and invade its territory, but before they could effectively do either, they had to defeat the Luftwaffe, whose state-of-the-art aircraft and experienced pilots protected German industry and would batter any attempted invasion.
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5 out of 5 stars
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A must read for WWII buffs
- By david on 07-27-17
By: Jay A. Stout
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Harrier 809
- The Epic Story of How a Small Band of Heroes Won Victory in the Air Against Impossible Odds
- By: Rowland White
- Narrated by: Roy McMillan
- Length: 14 hrs and 47 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 162
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Performance5 out of 5 stars 128
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Story5 out of 5 stars 127
April 1982. Argentina invades the Falkland Islands. In response, Britain dispatches a naval Task Force. Eight thousand miles from home, its fate hinges on just 20 Sea Harrier fighters against the 200-strong might of the Argentine Air Force. Combining groundbreaking research with the pace of a thriller, Rowland White reveals the full story of the fleet's knife-edge fight for survival for the first time, and shows how the little jump jet went from airshow novelty to writing its name in aviation legend. And of how a small band of heroes won victory against impossible odds.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Fast paced thriller
- By J.Brock on 01-28-22
By: Rowland White
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Lancaster
- The Second World War’s Greatest Bomber
- By: Leo McKinstry
- Narrated by: Peter Noble
- Length: 25 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 33
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 31
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 31
A comprehensive history of Britain's greatest bomber plane. The Spitfire and the Lancaster were the two RAF weapons of victory in the Second World War, but the glamour of the fighter has tended to overshadow the performance of the heavy bomber. Yet without the Lancaster, Britain would never have been able to take the fight to the German homeland. Highlights the scale of the bomber's achievements, including the famous Dambusters attacks. With its vast bomb bay, ease of handling and surprising speed, the mighty Lancaster transformed the effectiveness of the Bomber Command.
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5 out of 5 stars
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Personal connection to a book section
- By Paul on 01-21-19
By: Leo McKinstry
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Big Week
- The Biggest Air Battle of World War II
- By: James Holland
- Narrated by: Grover Gardner
- Length: 15 hrs and 20 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 730
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 660
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 656
During the third week of February 1944, the combined Allied air forces based in Britain and Italy launched their first round-the-clock bomber offensive against Germany. Their goal: to smash the main factories and production centers of the Luftwaffe while also drawing German planes into an aerial battle of attrition to neutralize the Luftwaffe as a fighting force prior to the cross-channel invasion, planned for a few months later. Officially called Operation ARGUMENT, this aerial offensive quickly became known as “Big Week,” and it was one of the turning-points of World War II.
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5 out of 5 stars
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War in the Air: Sets stage with gripping narrative
- By Nashville Cat on 11-17-18
By: James Holland
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Tanker Pilot
- Lessons from the Cockpit
- By: Mark Hasara, Rush Limbaugh - foreword
- Narrated by: Danny Campbell
- Length: 11 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
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Overall4.5 out of 5 stars 133
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Performance4.5 out of 5 stars 122
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Story4.5 out of 5 stars 121
Get a glimpse of life in the pilot's seat and experience modern air warfare directly from a true American hero. Lt. Col Mark Hasara - who has 24 years of experience in flying missions around the world - provides keen and eye-opening insights on success and failure and emphasizes the importance of always being willing to learn. He provides 12 essential lessons based on his wartime experience and his own personal photographs from his missions during the Cold War, Gulf War, and Iraq War.
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5 out of 5 stars
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NKAWTG! Nobody!
- By David Stefano on 11-10-17
By: Mark Hasara, and others