One thing you’ll need to know about your future life in the military is that you and your fellow personnel will be using a lot of TLA’s.
What are TLA’s? That’s short for “Three Letter Acronyms.” Just between you and me, I don’t think there is any other reason for them other than they sound cool.
Ready for a TLA?
For my last few years in the Marine Corps, I taught BFM.
BFM is Basic Fighter Maneuvering- the building blocks of dogfighting. “BFM” is one plane against one plane, and this is where you will initially cut your teeth in fighter training before going on to bigger and better things like:
- 1 against 2
- 2 against 2
- 4 against 4
- 4 against 12
- 12 against 30
I’ve flown them all! And from experience, I can tell you that there really is nothing better than a pure 1-v-1 sortie. He adrenaline rush is incredible!
As an Afterburner Club member, I will tell you some of my favorite dogfighting stories, but right now, I want to tell you about a common characteristic in most of your fellow fighter pilot candidates, one that YOU, as an Afterburner Club member will be able to bypass completely and smoke your competition!
Most young fighter pilots start out thinking that there is a “magic move” that will win all dogfights. They saw what Maverick did in Top Gun and bought it hook, line, and sinker. Just as Maverick “hit the brakes and let him fly right by”, these young pilots think that if they find that similar “magic move” that will work for them, then they will always win.
There are NO magic moves in real life! Real success in aerial combat- just as in life- comes from treating it like a chess match; you outmaneuver your opponent one turn at a time, wear him down, and take advantage of his mistakes while not making any yourself.
The Japanese call it kaizen- the art of incremental self-improvement. Fighter pilots call it training.
Start that training immediately! Sign up with the Afterburner Club now and you will learn the kaizen-like art of maneuvering your way to success in your career and in the air!