An excellent weapon and luck had been on my side. To be successful, the best fighter pilot needs both.
I was lucky enough to lead a very successful war.
As a fighter pilot I know from my own experiences how decisive surprise and luck can be for success, which in the long run comes only to the one who combines daring with cool thinking.
There is no God-given right to victory on the battlefield. You win that through the skill and the devotion, the valor and the ferocity of your troops.
Working together, America's military, Iraqi security forces and the Iraqi people have won a major battle in the war on terrorism.
Feed the troops on victory.
The expert in battle seeks his victory from strategic advantage and does not demand it from his men.
Only in the spirit of attack, born in a brave heart, will bring success to any fighter aircraft, no matter how highly developed it may be.
Wars are not won by evacuations.
When we were almost to the other campus, I felt the weird nausea hit me. I called a warning to Christian, just as a Strigoi grabbed him. But Christian was fast. Flames wreathed the Strigoi's head. He screamed and released Christian, trying frantically to put the flames out. The Strigoi never saw me coming with the stake. The whole thing took under a minute. Christian and I exchanged looks. Yeah. We were badasses.
There is a peculiar gratification in receiving congratulations from one's squadron for a victory in the air. It is worth more to a pilot than the applause of the whole outside world.
Were I to flatter myself with the possibility of success in such combat, it would indeed be presumption.
My command, less than ten thousand, had found the battle on the Plank road in retreat, little less than a panic. In a few hours we changed defeat to victory, the broken divisions of the Third Corps rallying in their rear.
To the soldier, luck is merely another word for skill.
Militarily, we succeeded in Vietnam. We won every engagement we were involved in out there.
Success in warfare is gained by carefully accommodating ourselves to the enemy's purpose.
To win by strategy is no less the role of a general than to win by arms.
It is true to say that the first kill can influence the whole future career of a fighter pilot. Many to whom the first victory over the opponent has been long denied either by unfortunate circumstances or by bad luck can suffer from frustration or develop complexes they may never rid themselves of again.
