In His Own Words

The following interview excerpt appeared in Sunday's Washington Post. It's a story about an African-American pilot who rose through the ranks to retire as one of the Air Force's top commanders. But this isn't about pushing paper or yelling at sergeants. This is about flying, about the thrill that only a fighter jock can know:

Lt. Gen. Brown (USAF, Ret.): As a teenager in World War II, I used to deliver black newspapers every Thursday. That was my little gig. And they would be filled with news every week about the Tuskegee Airmen and the marvelous accomplishments they were having in Europe. That's what really motivated me to fly. Until the Tuskegee Airmen, I had no idea that aviation was an opportunity for young black men in America.

When you fly in fighter planes, it is a team operation. You cannot excel as a single individual. When your life depends on the fellow in the other airplane, what you are mainly interested in is his ability to put the airplane where it should be, to fire his weapon accurately, to respond to your needs and to protect you in combat. What color he is kind of falls to the bottom of all those other priorities. When you climb in a fighter plane, you put on a helmet. You put on an oxygen mask. You pull down the visor. There's no way to tell what color that guy is. The only thing you can see is, how does he handle the airplane? Now if he handles the airplane in a way that adds to your own longevity, then he's a friend.

The ultimate feeling is when you no longer feel that you are riding in an airplane. You feel like you, yourself, are flying. When you have attained a certain level of proficiency in moving the controls and adjusting the power, it no longer becomes a mechanical, "I pull back on the stick, I push the power." It becomes, "I'm going that way," and you just, you do whatever it takes to go that way. The airplane literally becomes an extension of your body.

Three or four nights a week, I dream of flying. Rarely am I ever in an airplane. I just put my arms out like that, and I'm flying.

FMI: www.tuskegeeairmen.org