by Nick Irving

Timing is Everything: from the book Way of The Reaper

As soon as we were on the tarmac of the airfield, mortar rounds came in on our position. I (Nick Irving) thought again about our HVT and what seemed to be his sixth sense. As I hustled aboard the Chinook, I wondered if maybe somebody was tipping him off — one of the Afghan interpreters? Some other local who worked with us or for us? Seemed too coincidental that as soon as we were off to get a bad guy, explosive rain came down near us. In keeping with our time-sensitive mission, the chopper pilots did their part to deliver us to the landing zone as quick as possible. As much as I have a fear of heights, I liked it when the pilots employed their map-the-earth routine. That meant low-altitude flying, adjusting the craft’s flight for terrain and man-made obstacles. Read more ›