Page 94 - Never Fly Solo

BREAK RIGHT! | 67
U U U

Definitely not a typical day in the life of a fighter pilot, that
mission changed my life forever. You see, not every mission is
full of glory and winning. Sometimes it’s just about coming
back. Survival is when you’re focused on the competition or
threat, and winning is when you’re focused on the target.
When the missiles come, it’s nearly impossible to focus on the
target. And let me tell you, the job of surviving is almost never
fun, especially when it involves forty-foot missiles full of
explosives.
Now, if you look closely at the combat mission I described,
it’s clear what made survival possible. Without hesitation,
when I heard “Break right!” I took my wingman’s advice and
acted. I applied evasive maneuvering procedures and took
fierce, tactical action—on trust alone. Also, my wingman
never left me. He maintained situational awareness and talked
my eyes onto him.
You are flying missions every day at work. They aren’t as
intense as combat (although in some ways they may appear
to be), yet the stakes are high nonetheless. The key not just to
surviving but also to winning these missions is trusting your
wingmen—your coworkers, partners, collaborators, friends,
or spouse. You must trust these partners when it really counts,
because in the heat of battle, you’ll never be able to see all the
missiles coming at you. This measure of trust—even more
than self-trust—breeds the highest form of confidence.
I may have strapped into the cockpit of an F-16 by myself
on sixty-five combat missions, but I was never flying solo. I