A young US Marine Corps corporal directs modern history’s largest Naval bombardment in support of ground forces, wiping out an entire Viet Cong battalion augmented by Red Chinese regular soldiers.* 28-29 July 1965 Where the hell are you, Charlie? You’re out there. I feel it. A rawboned, lanky U.S. Marine strained to detect movement […]
Blue Angels: Contract Of Trust
Blue Angels ‘Diamond’ Epitomizes Team’s Contract of Trust (Courtesy of Aviation Week & Space Technology/McGraw-Hill) William B. Scott, Pensacola, Fla. — Nov 13, 2006, p. 48 The 2006 air show season marks the U.S. Navy Blue Angels flight demonstration team’s 60th anniversary. Known for dynamic, precision flight maneuvers in close proximity, the team’s pilots live […]
Starve the Beast
In an excellent July 19, 2013, Wall Street Journal essay entitled “Rise of the Warrior Cop,” author-journalist Radley Balko described the alarming militarization of police forces across America. He cited myriad cases of innocent citizens being killed by over-zealous police officers, particularly Special Weapons and Tactics (SWAT) teams serving warrants for alleged, often petty, offenses. […]
The High Cost of Cheap
A Tale of Towels How the false economies of “cost-saving” can destroy companies. A reporter for an international magazine, you arrive early for an interview with executives of a large Southern California aerospace company. After checking in at the front desk and receiving a visitor’s badge, you pop into the lobby restroom to…whatever…, correct wind […]
Space Wars: The Story Behind the Book
As a reporter for Aviation Week & Space Technology magazine, I covered the military space sector, including U.S. Space Command and U.S. Air Force Space Command. I interviewed four of the four-star generals who headed those commands within an eight-year period, and they all expressed the same concerns: our satellites are vital to national security; […]