thedrifter
02-07-06, 10:22 AM
Retired Marine pilot chronicles air combat duty
By: ALEXANDRA DeLUCA - For the North County Times
In the introduction of his latest book, "Hammer from Above: Marine Air Combat Over Iraq" ($25.95, Random House), retired Marine Corps fighter pilot Lt. Col. Jay Stout recalls his thoughts as Operation Iraqi Freedom officially commenced on March 20, 2003.
"I felt like an old, worn-out gundog ---- left behind and scratching at the kennel door on the opening day of hunting season while all the young pups headed to the field," he writes.
Did the Desert Storm veteran, now a senior analyst for a major defense contractor, truly wish he was back in "the sandbox?"
"It was exciting to think about," said Stout, 46, of Poway, but his previous experience told him that the reality was less glamorous.
"Ninety-five percent of it is sitting around in the dirt and cold, missing your family so much it turns your guts," he said.
Still, Stout felt connected to the conflict: after all, the former fighter pilot had flown 37 combat missions during the first Gulf War, and many of his Marine buddies were now back for round two.
His experience landed Stout a couple of appearances as a "talking head" for the Fox News Channel during the initial invasion of Iraq, but his writer's instinct told him there was a story to be told.
"Before this thing even kicked off, I thought, 'Gee, if there's an air campaign I'd like to cover it,'" said Stout, who had dabbled in writing even before retiring from the Marines in 2001 after 20 years of service.
"Writing was my hobby," said Stout, whose first book, "Hornets over Kuwait," an account of his experiences as an F/A-18 pilot during Desert Storm, was published in 1997. "It was just something that interested me. Some guys play golf Ö (writing) is what I did."
He found further motivation to write about Marine aviation in Iraq when he realized that the air war, which received extensive coverage during Desert Storm, was barely mentioned during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Still, exciting events were unfolding in the skies over Iraq ---- if you knew where to look.
"This was more a helicopter war, where Desert Storm was a jet war," said Stout. "It's still very interesting: very gritty, dirty fighting from the air."
After air combat operations ended (less than a month after they began), Stout contacted some of his Marine buddies, asking them if they'd be willing to recount their experiences. His initial e-mail to about 10 friends netted him dozens of responses. Stout estimated that he interviewed 70 to 100 Marines over e-mail, by phone or face to face in researching his book. The Marines gave him just the kind of blunt, detail-laden accounts he had hoped for.
"They were very open to sharing with me," said Stout ---- the less flattering stories along with the more positive ones.
Almost every anecdote is attributed to its original author, although in a few instances, Stout changed names and details. "I was careful not to use quotes that could get anyone in trouble," he said.
Deciding which stories to include was made easier by certain criteria that Stout had established: He wanted to cover each aircraft in the Marine Corps inventory, and he wanted to make sure none of the stories was repeated.
In the end, he used about 40 stories, each of which became a chapter focusing on a particular mission. However, Stout said, "There are human stories, too."
He wrote his book between January and August 2004. After spending 10 or 11 hours at work, Stout would come home and write for about two hours each night, and devoted most weekends to his book as well. "I enjoyed it," he said. "I really worked my backside off."
The result is a frank, fascinating, exciting and sometimes heartbreaking glimpse of air combat over Iraq.
"It's for anyone that's interested in aviation, the military or what's going on in Iraq," said Stout. "I'd like it to be one of the classics of that campaign."
He had several goals in mind for this book, his fifth.
"One, I wanted it to be a decent historical record," he said. "Two, I wanted to show the warts and all. I didn't want it to be a rah-rah, 'everything's perfect' account."
Another point he hopes to get across is, as he writes in the book, war is not a game: "It's about killing. You've got to remember, it's about killing somebody's baby boy. It's about killing somebody's husband or father."
Stout said he hasn't figured out what his next project will be, but if the publisher was interested, he would be willing to pick up where he left off and write about what happened after the initial air campaign in Iraq ended.
"Actually, I think the more exciting stuff happened after the period I wrote about," said Stout.
Alexandra DeLuca is a freelance writer. Contact her at Alexandra.L.DeLuca@gmail.com.
By: ALEXANDRA DeLUCA - For the North County Times
In the introduction of his latest book, "Hammer from Above: Marine Air Combat Over Iraq" ($25.95, Random House), retired Marine Corps fighter pilot Lt. Col. Jay Stout recalls his thoughts as Operation Iraqi Freedom officially commenced on March 20, 2003.
"I felt like an old, worn-out gundog ---- left behind and scratching at the kennel door on the opening day of hunting season while all the young pups headed to the field," he writes.
Did the Desert Storm veteran, now a senior analyst for a major defense contractor, truly wish he was back in "the sandbox?"
"It was exciting to think about," said Stout, 46, of Poway, but his previous experience told him that the reality was less glamorous.
"Ninety-five percent of it is sitting around in the dirt and cold, missing your family so much it turns your guts," he said.
Still, Stout felt connected to the conflict: after all, the former fighter pilot had flown 37 combat missions during the first Gulf War, and many of his Marine buddies were now back for round two.
His experience landed Stout a couple of appearances as a "talking head" for the Fox News Channel during the initial invasion of Iraq, but his writer's instinct told him there was a story to be told.
"Before this thing even kicked off, I thought, 'Gee, if there's an air campaign I'd like to cover it,'" said Stout, who had dabbled in writing even before retiring from the Marines in 2001 after 20 years of service.
"Writing was my hobby," said Stout, whose first book, "Hornets over Kuwait," an account of his experiences as an F/A-18 pilot during Desert Storm, was published in 1997. "It was just something that interested me. Some guys play golf Ö (writing) is what I did."
He found further motivation to write about Marine aviation in Iraq when he realized that the air war, which received extensive coverage during Desert Storm, was barely mentioned during Operation Iraqi Freedom. Still, exciting events were unfolding in the skies over Iraq ---- if you knew where to look.
"This was more a helicopter war, where Desert Storm was a jet war," said Stout. "It's still very interesting: very gritty, dirty fighting from the air."
After air combat operations ended (less than a month after they began), Stout contacted some of his Marine buddies, asking them if they'd be willing to recount their experiences. His initial e-mail to about 10 friends netted him dozens of responses. Stout estimated that he interviewed 70 to 100 Marines over e-mail, by phone or face to face in researching his book. The Marines gave him just the kind of blunt, detail-laden accounts he had hoped for.
"They were very open to sharing with me," said Stout ---- the less flattering stories along with the more positive ones.
Almost every anecdote is attributed to its original author, although in a few instances, Stout changed names and details. "I was careful not to use quotes that could get anyone in trouble," he said.
Deciding which stories to include was made easier by certain criteria that Stout had established: He wanted to cover each aircraft in the Marine Corps inventory, and he wanted to make sure none of the stories was repeated.
In the end, he used about 40 stories, each of which became a chapter focusing on a particular mission. However, Stout said, "There are human stories, too."
He wrote his book between January and August 2004. After spending 10 or 11 hours at work, Stout would come home and write for about two hours each night, and devoted most weekends to his book as well. "I enjoyed it," he said. "I really worked my backside off."
The result is a frank, fascinating, exciting and sometimes heartbreaking glimpse of air combat over Iraq.
"It's for anyone that's interested in aviation, the military or what's going on in Iraq," said Stout. "I'd like it to be one of the classics of that campaign."
He had several goals in mind for this book, his fifth.
"One, I wanted it to be a decent historical record," he said. "Two, I wanted to show the warts and all. I didn't want it to be a rah-rah, 'everything's perfect' account."
Another point he hopes to get across is, as he writes in the book, war is not a game: "It's about killing. You've got to remember, it's about killing somebody's baby boy. It's about killing somebody's husband or father."
Stout said he hasn't figured out what his next project will be, but if the publisher was interested, he would be willing to pick up where he left off and write about what happened after the initial air campaign in Iraq ended.
"Actually, I think the more exciting stuff happened after the period I wrote about," said Stout.
Alexandra DeLuca is a freelance writer. Contact her at Alexandra.L.DeLuca@gmail.com.