by Dan Pedersen
Mel Holmes, myself, Darrell Gary, and Jim Laing at Condor’s house in Southern California in April 2017, almost fifty years after we stood up Topgun.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
This book has been in the works for about eighteen months. It all started when Jim Hornfischer, president of Hornfischer Literary Management, contacted one of Topgun’s Original Bros, Darrell Gary in San Diego, to discuss a legacy book to be written and published in time for the fiftieth anniversary of Topgun. As I had been the original Topgun leader during the formation of the Navy Fighter Weapons School in 1968 and 1969, Jim felt I should tell Topgun’s story by way of a personal memoir. Jim helped us develop the idea, brought our proposal to New York, and set us up with Hachette Books, my estimable publisher.
For the first year of this effort, I had the honor of working closely with naval aviation’s premier historian, Barrett Tillman. Barrett’s work is the gold standard of naval aviation history, based on his dozens of books and hundreds of articles in his award-winning career. Working under an extremely short deadline, we thoroughly researched and co-wrote the original draft, providing accuracy and authentication while we recounted most of the story. It was the experience of a lifetime to share my naval aviation career and Vietnam experience with this fine man. He is a walking encyclopedia of naval aviation. Our relationship has grown.
When the original manuscript was delivered, it was decided that more could be added to the story. In the final two months in which the book was finalized, John R. Bruning Jr. helped me to transform it into what it is today. John and I became fast friends as we worked daily to adapt the original manuscript on a tough schedule. It was a true pleasure to work with and learn from him. He has authored or co-authored twenty-one military books, including House to House, Outlaw Platoon, Level Zero Heroes, The Trident, and Indestructible, and has embedded with our combat ground forces in the Afghanistan war. He is one special American.
As my literary agent, Jim Hornfischer navigated the project from beginning to completion and helped shape the final manuscript. An author in his own right (recipient of the Samuel Eliot Morison Award for his work, which includes The Fleet at Flood Tide, Neptune’s Inferno, Ship of Ghosts, and The Last Stand of the Tin Can Sailors), he is a skilled literary guide who worked tirelessly to help me tell this story the right way.
It truly was a once-in-a-lifetime experience to recall and relive my life and Navy career with the assistance of these gifted professional gentlemen. The true legacy of the Navy Fighter Weapons School would not have been told without their devotion and close involvement. They can fly my wing anytime.
My publisher at Hachette Books, Mauro DiPreta, has been a great advocate for this book and a skilled editor of the manuscript. Thanks also to his very capable assistant, David Lamb, and to the rest of the Hachette Books publishing team, including associate publisher Michelle Aielli, marketing director Michael Barrs, and senior publicist Sarah Falter. All of them play key roles in the work of bringing a new book to the public.
The founding instructors of Topgun, the Original Bros as we call each other, gave life to the new organization and have been friends of mine since we began our association more than fifty years ago. My thanks to these great patriots: Darrell Gary, Mel Holmes, Jim Ruliffson, John Nash, Jerry Sawatzky, Steve Smith, J. C. Smith, Jim Laing, and Chuck Hildebrand. With the outstanding leadership of succeeding generations, including forty-two skippers, numerous young instructors, and the always-hard-working enlisted maintenance crews and staff, the Navy Fighter Weapons School grew to international fame. I thank you all for the risks you took, your sacrifices and those of your families, and your superb performance over many decades. This story, our story, is one that I’ve longed to tell. I hope I’ve done it right, because we all did it right, back when our country needed us. You were then, and you are today, the best of the best.
Special thanks to the Navy’s greatest sailors. Master Chief David M. Hobbs, a great friend with whom I served in USS Ranger, is at the very top of that list.
It was my family who made everything possible. My grandfather, Arthur Lamp, was my guiding light. My folks, Orla and Henrietta Pedersen, always encouraged me.
Lastly, my wonderful Mary Beth: This book is dedicated to you for your sustained and sustaining support and love for all these many years. You made it all complete.
GLOSSARY OF ACRONYMS AND TERMS
AAA: Antiaircraft artillery
AAW: Antiair warfare
ACM: Air combat maneuvering
ACMI: Air combat maneuvering instrumentation
ACMR: Air combat maneuvering range
AIM: Air intercept missile
AOR: Underway replenishment ship
Bandit: Hostile aircraft
BarCAP: Barrier combat air patrol
Bogey: Unidentified aircraft
BOQ: Bachelor officers’ quarters
CAG: Air wing commander
CAP: Combat air patrol
CCA: Carrier controlled approach
CNO: Chief of naval operations
CO: Commanding officer
ComFit: Commander, Fighter and Airborne Early Warning Wing
ComNavAirPac: Naval Air Force, U.S. Pacific Fleet
CV: Aircraft carrier
CVN: Nuclear-powered aircraft carrier
CVW: Carrier air wing
DCNO: Deputy chief of naval operations
ECM: Electronic countermeasures
FAGU: Fleet Air Gunnery Unit
FAST: Fleet air superiority training
FRS: Fleet replacement squadron (RAG)
GCA: Ground-controlled approach
IFF: Identification friend or foe transponder
IP: Instructor pilot
J.G.: Junior grade
JO: Junior officer
LSO: Landing signal officer
MCAS: Marine Corps Air Station
MiGCAP: MiG combat air patrol
NAS: Naval air station
NFWS: Navy Fighter Weapons School (Topgun)
NAWDC: Naval Air Warfare Development Center (previously NSAWC)
NSAWC: Naval Strike and Air Warfare Center
OP-05: Office of the CNO, deputy chief of naval operations for air
RAG: Replacement air group (FRS)
RIO: Radar intercept officer
ROE: Rules of engagement
SAM: Surface-to-air missile
TarCAP: Target combat air patrol
VA: Attack squadron
VAW: Airborne early warning squadron
VF: Fighter squadron
VF(AW): All-weather fighter squadron
VFA: Strike fighter squadron
VS: Antisubmarine squadron
VX: Air test and evaluation squadron
WestPac: Western Pacific
XO: Executive officer
TOPGUN OFFICERS IN CHARGE AND COMMANDING OFFICERS
Officers in Charge
1969 Dan A. “Yankee” Pedersen
1969–71 John C. “J. C.” Smith
Commanding Officers
1971–72 Roger E. “Buckshot” Box
1972–73 David E. “Frosty” Frost
1973–75 Ronald E. “Mugs” McKeown
1975 John K. “Sunshine” Ready
1975–76 James H. “Cobra” Ruliffson
1976–78 Monroe “Hawk” Smith
1978–79 Jerry L. “Thunder” Unruh
1979–81 Lonny K. “Eagle” McClung
1981 Roy “Outlaw” Cash Jr.
1982–83 Ernest “Ratchet” Christensen
1983–84 Christopher T. “Boomer” Wilson
1984 Joseph “Joedog” Daughtry Jr.
1984–85 Thomas G. “Otter” Otterbein
1985–86 Daniel L. “Dirty” Shewell
1986–88 Frederic G. “Wigs” Ludwig Jr.
1988–89 Jay B. “Spook” Yakeley III
1989–90 Russell M. “Bud” Taylor II
1990–92 James A. “Rookie” Robb
1992–93 Robert L. “Puke” McL
ane
1993–94 Richard “Weasel” Gallagher
1994–96 Thomas “Trotts” Trotter
1996–97 Rolland G. “Dawg” Thompson
1997–99 Gerald S. “Spud” Gallop
1999–2001 William “Size” Sizemore
2001–03 Daniel “Dix” Dixon
2003–04 Richard W. “Rhett” Butler
2004–05 Thomas M. “Trim” Downing
2005–06 Mike R. “Trigger” Saunders
2006–07 Keith T. “Opie” Taylor
2007–08 Michael D. “Dice” Neumann
2008–09 Daniel L. “Undra” Cheever
2009–10 Paul S. “Dorf” Olin
2010–11 Matthew L. “Yodel” Leahey
2011–12 Steven T. “Sonic” Hejmanowski
2012–13 Kevin M. “Proton” McLaughlin
2013–14 James D. “Cruiser” Christie
2014–15 Edward S. “Stevie” Smith
2015–16 Michael A. “Chopper” Rovenolt
2016–18 Andrew “Grand” Mariner
2018– Christopher “Pops” Papaioanu
PHOTO CREDITS
Photos courtesy of the author, except for the following: (here, here) U.S. Navy photograph; (here, here) U.S. Navy photograph (here) National Archives photo courtesy of Jack “Ordy1” Cook; (here) U.S. Navy photograph; (here) courtesy of Jim Laing (here) U.S. Navy photograph; (here) U.S. Navy photograph; (here, here) U.S. Navy photograph; (here, here) U.S. Navy photograph (here) courtesy of Darrell Gary; (here, here, here) U.S. Navy photograph; (here) U.S. Navy photograph; (here, here) U.S. Navy photograph; (here, here) U.S. Navy photograph; (here, here) U.S. Navy photograph; (here, here) U.S. Navy photograph; (here) © John Bruning (here) © Jim Hornfischer.
* That’s the acronym for Readiness Air Wing 12, which was VF-121’s parent command at Naval Air Station Miramar.
* Although the Navy always uses the term “Topgun” in one-word form, the filmmakers insisted upon using two words. I guess it looks better that way on movie posters—or on the cover of a book, like this one.
* McClung is quoted here from Barrett Tillman’s fine book On Wave and Wing: The 100-Year Quest to Perfect the Aircraft Carrier (Washington, DC: Regnery History, 2017), p. 272.
* Valerie Insinna, “4 Ways Lockheed’s New F-35 Head Wants to Fix the Fighter Jet Program,” Defense News, July 14, 2018, www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/farnborough/2018/07/10/4-ways-lockheeds-new-f-35-head-wants-to-fix-the-fighter-jet-program/. Accessed by the author on August 23, 2018.
† Winslow Wheeler, “How Much Does an F-35 Actually Cost?,” War Is Boring, Medium, July 27, 2014, https://medium.com/war-is-boring/how-much-does-an-f-35-actually-cost-21f95d239398. Accessed by the author on August 23, 2018.
* In 2015, the Marine Corps prematurely declared its version, the F-35B, operational, although its systems, including its eight million lines of software code, remain plagued with problems.
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