Spiritual Wingman: A Fighter Pilot's Journey To God

By Richard W Haines III

The experiences did not just make a man; they made a man of God certain of the fact that his creator cares about his direction in life and will ensure that everything turns out the way it is meant to be.

SPIRITUAL WINGMAN is a true yet intriguing story of Richard's adventures as a young fighter pilot and how God has guided and

• Language: English
• Publisher: Quantum Discovery
• Release date: Dec 12, 2022
• ISBN: 9781959314639

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Spiritual Wingman

Copyright © 2022 by Richard W Haines III

All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other non-commercial uses permitted by copyright law.

ISBN

978-1-959314-61-5 (Paperback)

978-1-959314-63-9 (eBook)

978-1-959314-62-2 (Hardcover)

DEDICATION

This book is dedicated to my loving wife and traveling companion, Toni, who never gave up on me...or God. Also to my beautiful daughters, Aris and Rana, who have shared a section of this runway with us. And above all, to my Lord Jesus Christ, whose Father so loved me long before I ever began my journey and whose Spirit continues to give me directions along the way.

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Acknowledgments

Foreword

Dial a Disaster

The 10 Percent Rule

Divert to the alternate

Fingertip Formation

Helmet Fire

Cross-Check

Stall recovery

Just a Wingman

Mission Ready

The Spiritual Wingman

The Debrief

Glossary of Terms

About The Author

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

There are so many individuals who have affected this pilot’s life-journey. Some gave me instruction, some charted my course, some maintained my plane, some fueled my tanks (in-flight at times), some were my emergency support, and some were my wingmen. But all were necessary to ensure a safe mission. Since I am now mission ready, I feel it’s of utmost importance to thank those who have served with me.

First, I thank my amazing wife, Toni. I am convinced that it was her continuous prayer that got us through all of the turbulence along the way and kept us on the narrow path to where we are today. Without her unwavering loyalty and steadfast faith over the years, I’m sure this book, if in fact there were a book, would have turned out drastically different. Also, her countless hours of editing have helped my thoughts become the flowing story that you will soon read. I look forward to reading about her journey someday.

Thanks also to my dear family. To my two beautiful daughters, Aris Greene and Rana Neshyba, for loving me through my student years and for contributing their thoughts and insights to these pages. To their husbands, Jared Greene and Garrett Neshyba, for letting me share with them some of my lessons learned. And to my now five grandkids, Levee, Wade and Josie Neshyba and Aven and Ravae Greene, whose smiles have charted a brand new course for me called ‘papa-hood!’ To my exceptional parents, Dick and Sadie Haines, for always providing me ample opportunities to explore my potential talents and then proudly supporting my every endeavor. And finally, thank you to my wonderful parents-in-law, Charles and Frances Arnold, for being a consistent and perfect example of unconditional love—not only to each other but especially to me.

A special thank-you goes to Richard Z-man Ziebarth and Pastor Steve Hinrichs, two men of God who had a huge impact on my life. I have no idea where I would be today if God had not placed them in my life. To Pastor Jeff Daley, who, unknowingly to me, had prayed for my future in preaching, and who diligently coached me through the preparation of my very first congregational sermon. And a special thank-you to Pastor Dale Skid Marks for planting the seed to write this book in the first place. He saw something in me that no one else could see—a story to tell. He continues to challenge me every week as one of my mentors. And thanks also to Pastor Andrew Baker, senior pastor at Calvary Chapel Pagosa Springs. He has provided many teaching opportunities and Christian resources, which have improved my literary knowledge and biblical counseling skills. .

Of course, not one word would have been possible without my awesome Father God, who was, is, and will always be my ultimate flight lead. It will take eternity to thank Him for leading me (even when I didn’t know He was there) by His Spirit to his gracious gift and only son, Jesus Christ. Through Him, my last flight will be a VFR, speed of light, one-hop to heaven!

WHAT’S NEW IN THE REVISED EDITION?

First, why a revised edition? I was receiving positive feedback from readers who just wanted more. So I updated some personal info because it has been a few years, and God has done some pretty awesome things in my life!

Additionally, I felt the need to expand almost all of the categories, due to so many requests.

I also included some discussion questions at the end of each category, again by request, to help steer or guide small groups and/or couples.

Finally, it is with great sadness that I report the death of Z-man on 10 Oct 2017 while deployed. Speaking at his memorial was one of the hardest things I’ve done. I miss him everyday, but I also look forward to catching up one day, when God arranges it.

FOREWORD

Attitude, aptitude, and mutual support. Of all the things taught to a young fighter pilot, these three form the foundation for all others. To be the best fighter pilot, you must know these three (and if you don’t know who the best fighter pilot is, it isn’t you).

Attitude: It should go without saying, but in the fast-paced, dynamic world of the fighter pilot, your attitude sets the tone for success. It’s a hard world with a slim margin for error and a high intolerance for mistakes. So your attitude must be one of hard work, perseverance, and an internal drive to be the very best.

Aptitude: While attitude may get you to the fight, aptitude will give you the tools to succeed. You must know yourself, your enemy, your machine, and his. You must study the capabilities of each and be able to exploit any weaknesses. When asked what knowledge is required to be a great fighter pilot, the answer was always, All of it!

Mutual support: It’s been said that you can always tell a fighter pilot, but you can’t tell him much. A fighter pilot may seem to be the greatest individualist on the planet (with an ego to match), but no fighter pilot worth his salt would ever go into battle without his wingman. We preach mutual support in everything we do—whether engaging in a 2-v-2, rolling in on a target, transiting the area, or leading the debrief. Fighter pilots have one another’s backs. That means no matter where we are—in flight, at the club, or at home—we practice mutual support.

Most fighter pilots, at some point, can accomplish all three. It’s the rare individual who not only practices them all early but who is also skilled at teaching others—both in word and deed. Richard Haines is such a man. As a fighter pilot, he had the respect of his peers to live out in the purest sense what it meant to be a fine leader and wingman. But it is his strength as an instructor that brought him the most respect. He didn’t just show it in his actions; he reproduced it in others. Fighter pilots aren’t typically known for their transparency or vulnerability. Richard exhibits both of these attributes with humility. It’s why others are drawn to him. And he does all this with integrity. I’m not sure I’ve ever met or had the pleasure to serve alongside a man with more integrity. He’s the ‘real deal,’ as we say. Finally, and perhaps most important, he’s a man of incredible faith. When we first met a decade and a half ago, Richard was still working through some difficult things in his life and in his walk with Christ. And while some of those circumstances have changed over the years, his commitment to attitude, aptitude, and mutual support has not wavered. As a combat flight lead, mission commander, and now senior pastor, I couldn’t ask for a better wingman. He’s had my back and has been instrumental in God’s working all things out to His glory and my best in my own life. And as you read his story, you’ll be blessed in the same way that I have been in my life. Get to know him; you’ll learn how to say, Two, Bingo, Lead, you’re on fire! and a whole lot more!

Dale Skid Marks

Fighter pilot and Colonel, USAF (Ret.)

DIAL A DISASTER

Okay, hack the clock; clock running. Why do I do that? Because right this minute, I’m sitting in an Air Force fighter jet cockpit, in the hair-raising throws of an in-flight emergency! It has been ingrained in me since the beginning of pilot training that the first step of any emergency procedure is to start the airplane’s clock going—a normal clock with a stopwatch built in. Hacking is actually pushing the button and restarting the stopwatch function. It does two things: First, it settles you down a little and keeps you from overreacting or doing anything before first thinking about it. Next, it gives you a running time of how long it’s been since the emergency started. During emergency situations, pilots are taught to analyze the situation and, only then, take proper action (I think Christians could take a lesson from this as well. It would keep us from reacting as we often do and would point us to responding.). But right now, I’m not sure how often I am really