Shoot Like a Girl by Mary Jennings Hegar

Author:Mary Jennings Hegar
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Published: 2017-04-12T10:52:09+00:00

SIX

Reporting to the 129th Rescue Squadron at Moffett Federal Airfield in Silicon Valley was the beginning of the happiest part of my entire career. I was worried that I’d be bored flying stateside missions after two back-to-back tours in Afghanistan, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Flying with this unit was everything I had ever hoped for as a rescue pilot.

I was one of three pilots assigned to the elite Counterdrug Task Force flying unit named Team Hawk. On my first day of work, I walked into the Team Hawk room, and the first person I saw was a burly guy who was concentrating so hard it looked like he was going to bite his tongue off, pecking the computer keyboard in what only distantly seemed like an attempt at typing. He looked up and broke out into a huge grin that matched mine. It was Steve Burt, my cigar-smoking buddy from KAF.

“Well, holy shit. Look what the cat dragged in. How the fuck are you?” Steve asked as he got up to give me a shoulder-slapping hug. I breathed a huge sigh of relief—I was back with my people. I greeted the other two pilots, who had also become friends of mine in Afghanistan. Something in my chest untied—I’d found my home.

One of the other two pilots was my new boss. Finn was the Team Hawk Commander and a huge part of why I was in California in the first place. He and I had become great friends in Afghanistan, and it was ultimately his decision to hire me. Finn was the perfect example of a clean-cut all-American pilot. He was a good ol’ Midwestern boy who had graduated from the Air Force Academy and was married to a teacher. To me, he always looked the way I imagined Ender from Ender’s Game all grown up. He had a quiet demeanor and wasn’t a huge guy, but his fiery Irish side would come out now and then when he was really spun up about something. I wouldn’t be surprised if someday he ends up a senator from the Buckeye state of Ohio.

The third Team Hawk pilot was Dave. Over the years, Dave and I would become close friends, and I could always rely on his loyalty and sound judgment. He and I didn’t always agree on tactics, but he was a good pilot and a great friend.

After visiting my new team, I ventured out into the rest of the squadron to see who else I could bump into. One of the first people I saw was another good friend I’d made at KAF. He hailed me warmly and asked me to take a walk with him to the admin building. I could tell he wanted to talk to me in private.

“So, I just wanted to give you a heads-up because I know what you faced in New York,” he began in an ominous voice. “You’ll find ninety-nine percent of the people here are thrilled to have you. You have a great reputation in rescue for being a good stick and a mission hacker.

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