We'd head home. We'd get the hell out of Dodge. He pauses to leaf through an album of photos he took during reconnaissance flights, startling shots in which rivets on the fuselages of MiGs are discernible. There also are pictures of Soviet aircraft carriers and other warships. Like the Chinese and the Soviets, the U.S. also sends fighters up to escort reconnaissance craft near our shores.
Fighter pilots are the glamour fliers.
Few fighter pilots ever make aerial eye contact with a potential rival. Ofstedahl has done it hundreds of times. Such perilous obscurity required a dedication and camaraderie that made an indelible impression on Ofstedahl. They do this job because they believe in something larger than themselves. They believe in God and country.