The Longest Day

MY FIRST DAY IN THE COCKPIT AS A FULLY QUALIfied U.S. Air Force pilot fell on a Tuesday. I’d completed my initial training the Saturday before and had been paired with an experienced lieutenant colonel who had a full head of gray hair. We called him the Silver Fox, and he was not there to amuse us. He had high expectations and a reputation for liking to fly with the “green beans” — as newly minted air force pilots like me were called — to make sure we wouldn’t get the idea that the stress was over. On the contrary, he wanted us to know, it was just getting started.

At McGuire Air Force Base in New Jersey the day before, we’d meticulously planned out a six-hour sortie consisting of maneuvers and exercises off the Atlantic coast. Our aircraft, a KC-10A tanker, could hold