Stephen Coonts - Combat

“A … favor?” Norman stammered. “Why do you need me to agree to anything? You’re the commander in chief — why don’t you just use your authority and give him a promotion?”

“Because I’d prefer not to disrupt the normal officer selection board process as much as possible,” the President replied.

“The President knows that only a board member can change his rating of a candidate,” Ingemanson added. “Not even the President has the legal authority to change a score. McLanahan received a high enough score to earn a below-the-zone promotion — only the 772 stands in his way. The President is asking you to remove that last obstacle.”

“But how? How can McLanahan possibly earn a high enough rating?”

“Because the other board members recognized something that exists in Patrick McLanahan that you apparently didn’t, Colonel,” the President replied. “Great officers exhibit leadership potential in many other ways than just attending service schools, dress, and appearance, and how many different assignments they’ve had. I look for officers who perform. True, Patrick hasn’t filled the squares that other candidates have, but if you read the personnel file a little closer, a little differently, you’ll see an officer that exhibits his leadership potential by doing his job and leading the way for others.”

The President took the Form 772 from Ingemanson and extended it to Norman. “Trust me, Colonel,” he said. “He’s a keeper. Someday I’ll explain some of the things this young man has done for our nation. But his future is in your hands — I won’t exercise whatever authority I have over you. It’s your decision.”

Norman thought about it for a few long moments, then reached out, took the Form 772, and ripped it in two.

The President shook his hand warmly. “Thank you, Colonel,” he said. “That meant a lot to me. I promise you, you won’t regret your decision.”

“I hope not, sir.”

The President shook hands and thanked General Ingemanson, then stepped toward the door. Just before the Secret Service agent opened it for him, he turned back toward Norman, and said, “You know, Colonel, I’m impressed.”

“Sir?”

“Impressed with you,” the President said. “You could’ve asked for just about any favor you could think of — a choice assignment, a promotion of your own, even an appointment to a high-level post. You probably knew that I would’ve agreed to just about anything you would have asked for. But you didn’t ask. You agreed to my request without asking for a thing in return. That tells me a lot, and I’m pleased and proud to learn that about you. That’s the kind of thing you’ll never read in a personnel file — but it tells me more about the man than any folder full of papers.”

The President nodded in thanks and left the office, leaving a still-stunned, confused — and very proud — Norman Weir to wonder what in hell just happened.

ACSC — Air Command and Staff College, an Air Force military school for junior field grade officers that prepares them for more leadership and command positions.

AFO — Accounting and Finance Officer — handles pay and leave matters

ASAP—“as soon as possible”

AWACS — Airborne Warning and Control System, an aircraft with a large radar on board that can detect and track aircraft for many miles in all directions

Backfire — a supersonic Russian long-range bomber

Badger — a subsonic Russian long-range bomber

Bear — a subsonic turboprop Russian long-range bomber and reconnaissance plane

BIOT — British Indian Ocean Trust, a chain of small islands in the Indian Ocean administer by the United Kingdom

Blackjack — an advanced supersonic Russian long-range bomber

Buccaneer — a British long-range bomber

Candid — a Russian cargo plane

Chagos — the Iliot native name for the islands administered by the British Indian Ocean Trust

Class A’s — the business-suit-like uniform of the U.S. Air Force

DIA — Defense Intelligence Agency, the U.S. military’s intelligence-gathering service

Diego Garcia — the largest island of the Chagos Archipelago in the Indian Ocean, part of the British Indian Ocean Trust

Dreamland — the unclassified nickname for a secret military research facility in south central Nevada

Extender — a combination aerial-refueling tanker and cargo plane operated by the U.S. Air Force

firewaHed — on an Officer Effectiveness Report, when all raters rate the officer with the highest possible marks

Goblin — nickname for the U.S. Air Force F-117 stealth fighter

GUARD — the universal radio emergency frequency, 121.5 KHz or 243.0 MHz

HAWC (fictional) — the High Technology Aerospace Weapons Center, one of the top-secret Air Force research units at Dreamland

Iliots — the natives of Diego Garcia in the British Indian OceanTrust

IRSTS — Infrared Search and Track System, a Russian heat-seeking aircraft attack system where the pilot can detect and feed targeting information to his attack systems without being detected

Mainstay — a Russian airborne radar aircraft

Megafortress (fictional) — an experimental, highly modified B-52H bomber used for secret military weapons and technology tests

MiG — Mikoyan-Gureyvich, a Soviet military aircraft design bureau

MOI — Memorandum of Instruction, the directives issued by the Secretary of the Air Force to a promotion board on how to conduct candidate evaluations and scoring

MPC — Military Personnel Center, the U.S. Air Force’s manpower and personnel agency

Nimrod — a British reconnaissance and attack plane

NOFORN—“No Foreign Nationals,” a security subclassification that directs that no foreign nationals can view the material

O-5—in the U.S Air Force, a lieutenant-colonel OER — Officer Effectiveness Report, an officer’s annual report on his job performance and his or her commander’s remarks on his suitability for promotion

Orion — a U.S. Navy antisubmarine warfare aircraft

OSR — Officer Selection Report, the file members of a promotion board receive to evaluate and score a candidate for promotion

PCS — Permanent Change of Station, a long-term job change

Peel Cone — a nickname for a type of Soviet airborne radar

PME — Professional Military Education, a series of military schools that teach theory and practice to help develop knowledge and skills in preparation for higher levels of command

PRF — Pulse Repetition Frequency, the speed at which a radar is swept across a target: a higher PRF is used for more precise tracking and aiming; when detected, it is usually a warning of an impending missile launch

SATCOM — Satellite Communications, a way aircraft can communicate with headquarters or other aircraft quickly over very long distances by sending messages to orbiting satellites

Scorpions (fictional) — the AIM-120, a radar-guided medium-range U.S. Air Force antiaircraft missile

SP — Security Police

Strait of Hormuz — the narrow, shallow, winding waterway connecting the Persian Gulf with the Gulf of Oman, considered a strategic chokepoint for oil flowing out of the Gulf nations

Stratotanker — the U.S. Air Force’s KC-135 aerial-refueling tanker aircraft

USAFE — U.S. Air Forces in Europe, the major Air Force command that governs all air operations in Europe

warning order — a document notifying a combat unit to prepare for possible combat operations

DALE BROWN is a former U.S. Air Force captain and the superstar author of eleven consecutive New York Times best-selling militaryaction-aviation adventure novels, including Flight of the Old Dog, Silver Tower, Day of the Cheetah, Hammerheads, Sky Masters, Night of the Hawk, Chains of Command, Storming Heaven, Shadows of Steel, Fatal Terrain , and The Tin Man . He graduated from Penn State University with a degree in Western European history and received his Air Force commission in 1978, serving as a navigator-bombardier on the B-52G Stratofortress heavy bomber and the FB-111A supersonic medium bomber. During his military career he received several awards, including the Air Force Commendation Medal with oak leaf cluster and the Combat Crew Award. He is a member of the Writers’ Guild and a Life Member of the Air Force Association and the U.S. Naval Institute. A multiengine and instrument-rated private pilot, he can be found in the skies all across the United States, piloting his own plane. He also enjoys tennis, skiing, scuba diving, and hockey. He lives with his wife, Diane, and son, Hunter, near the shores of Lake Tahoe, Nevada.