Tomcat top guns

A young Navy pilot joins with other "incredibly gifted young" flyers to fight the war against terrorism

THE U.S. NAVY'S F-14 TOMCAT IS a swing-wing, twin-engine fighter capable of speeds over Mach 2—twice the speed of sound. In its 30th year of service, the Tomcat is older than many of its pilots and the aircraft carriers it lands on. It was a mainstay of the Afghan air war, stalking the skies 24/7 with updated night-vision technology and launching laser- and satellite-guided "smart bombs."

The young men (and a very few women) who crew the Tomcats—a pilot and a Radar Intercept Officer (RIO) fit in each—are the most highly motivated, talented, trained, and unabashed patriots Americans could ever hope to have. Fighter pilots today get paid to do what they would gladly do for free, driving a bullet around the wild blue. It's a feat 99 percent of all young men could only dream of, and most would lose their lunch if they tried.

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February 01, 2003, Vol. 18, No. 4

State of the Union 2003 Jan. 25, 2003	30 years of destruction Jan. 18, 2003	Lord of the box office Jan. 11, 2003
Year in Review 2002 Dec. 28, 2002	Fact & Fiction Dec. 21, 2002	Dick Armey's parting words Dec. 14, 2002