Warriors (9781101621189)
Page 30
Through the characters of Dragan and Irena, I hope I have presented the better angels of Serbian culture. To create those characters, I took inspiration from Serbian-Americans I have known, including a favorite college professor and a pilot with whom I shared many enjoyable hours in the cockpit. I believe Dragan and Irena, and the professor and the pilot, represent the vast majority of that proud and storied people.
The Rivet Joint aircraft described in The Warriors is real, though my portrayal of its procedures is speculative. The Rivet Joint’s true capabilities and methods are classified, and I have never served with the electronic warfare community.
The novel’s depiction of Manas Transit Center in Kyrgyzstan is fairly true to life. The American commanders at Manas, like my character Webster, often come from reserve components of the Air Force. I wrote the description of the base’s coffee shop from memory, right down to the cat. Who knows? Maybe the cat’s still there, sleeping on the lap of some off-duty aviator, providing a moment of calm and normalcy.
As The Warriors goes to press, twentieth anniversaries approach for some of the worst events of the Balkan wars. I hope we will take time to reflect on those events, and to consider the costs of turning a blind eye to things we’d rather not face.
—TOM YOUNG
Alexandria, VA
July 2013
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
While on an Air National Guard mission a few years ago, my crew stopped at a German pub for dinner. We had some time off before resuming our journey to Southwest Asia, and we looked forward to the luxury of a full meal and a good night’s sleep. As we waited for our food to arrive, we discussed our civilian job prospects.
I had just been furloughed from a struggling airline, and I mentioned that I had considered flying for a contractor known for taking on some of the government’s more unpleasant missions. But, as I told my crewmates, I dropped the idea after my wife, Kristen, weighed in on the subject.
Kristen’s pronouncement: “If you fly for that company and the insurgents don’t kill you, I will.”
An Army master sergeant and his wife sat at the next table, not taking part in our conversation. But the wife overheard my story, and it must have touched a nerve. She stood up and addressed all the servicemen in the pub.
“That’s right!” she said. “You guys listen to your wives. They’re why you’re still alive.”
She probably overstated the case, but I do know this: My wife is why I’m still an author. I’m always astounded by her talent for taking my manuscript and identifying flaws I can’t see, finding ways to sharpen the story. Good editing requires a special genius, and I lucked into a marriage with a bonus.
I also lucked into a working relationship with the best in the business: Putnam publisher and editor-in-chief Neil Nyren, Putnam president Ivan Held, and executive editor Thomas Colgan at Berkley. Thanks are also due to Michael Barson, Sara Minnich, Kate Stark, Chris Nelson, and everyone at Penguin Group. My agent, Michael Carlisle, makes it all possible, along with Lyndsey Blessing, who helps bring my novels to readers overseas.
Without the kindness of author and professor John Casey, these stories would probably not have progressed beyond scribblings in my notebooks and files on my computer. My parents, Bob and Harriett Young, provide endless support and encouragement, with a lot of promotional help thrown in as well. And on each manuscript, I have received good advice from author and editor Barbara Esstman.
From two very different worlds I’ve been blessed with two important friends and mentors, both of whom helped shape this novel. My old broadcast journalism professor Richard Elam remains a constant friend and adviser. Retired squadron mate Joe Myers, as a pilot and aircraft commander, always brought me home safely. Now he helps keep me safe from technical errors in my copy.
Two other squadron mates, Ryan Hawk and Don Magners, provided valuable background on the duties of an Air Force safety officer. I also owe a word of thanks for input from Mike Land, Liz Lee, Jodie Tighe, and Robert Siegfried.