European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - August 5, 1985, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Page 8 the stars and stripes August 1985 Eagle Drivers and keepers fighter Jock bit of lot of fantasy by Joe Mapother arc Mchaven Bureau Camp new Netherlands the crowd of spotters along the sides and at the end of the runway often numbers in the hundreds of for the highlight of the Vigil is a Chance to Sec the twin engine fi5 eagles Roar into the a few of the ground bound fighter buffs May meet the men who Fly those a few May even meet their not far from the crowd of air Force Matt Black is suited up in a Bunker and unsuccessfully trying to catch up on paper on this he is pulling a 24hour stint on Zulu duty ready to race to his nearby Jet when the Alert Horn sounds and get air he will have five minutes to do the circular White and Blue Patch he wears on his left shoulder says it All Eagle Driver reads the Blacks 26yearold is at Home taking care of 5wcekold Corrie the crowd of spotters knows none of they Are out to watch the fighters like James Thurber charac Walter to dream a Matt and Rita Black arc aware of the commonly held perception of a fighter Jock cocky Youngton Middle aged Man with a steely glint in his eyes and a love for adventure be it fast flying by the seat of his pants or life in the fast throw in a dash of downright craziness and the picture of the right stuff grows not say the its an said Rita of All images Are based on a bit of truth and a lot of fighter pilots arc sort of a admitted but the greek characters dont describe a Frater they symbolize Matt Black belongs to the new generation of fighter his assignment with the 32nd tac fighter so is his i still have never flown a prop said i guess i could but Ive never done Many of the pilots at this dutch controlled air base fulfilled their air Force College degree requirements in technical graduated from a Small religious College in Tennessee in 1980 As an Blacks Wing Nan out in the Zulu 1st Mike holds a degree in chemical in yet another blow to the Fry wears but the passion for flying fast is a readily observable Bond among the roughly 40 pilots with the when the talk turns to the Tempo of conversation picks every time i come to work in hoping the alarm Button will go and ill be said when he it is in a million machine capable of speeds in excess of times the Speed of the radar system allows a Pilot to see 50 Miles ahead of him and the primary Mission of the 32nd tac fighter so is to intercept enemy planes Airt air it is by nature a one none and the tools of the Trade Are radar and heat seeking aim missiles and a rapid firing 20mm training missions mean going up and fighting in the Lingo of the pilots of the one mistake in the air and they can end up As kills which Are awarded to pursuing pilots on the basis of Correct sighting readings As recorded by a cockpit radio beyond a pilots living with weekly training his family must face the possibility of a fatal it All can happen so you says its not one of those concepts that you always have in mind but its always True that you its never going to happen to i think i can handle any kind of Emer gency that can happen in an his wife also paused when addressing the possibility of a you dont consciously think of death All the Ive asked because it could happen so where do you want the remains sent theres no because were both that takes a lot of the Burden Many aspects of a pilots training Are based on Intra Squadron on the each pilots competency with the Eagle weapons systems in the air is reflected in a ratings list posted in the operations Cen the Pilot with the Best Overall score within a three month period has his picture posted on a Board with the top training missions Are followed by intensive debrief Ings during which pilots candidly discuss tactics and question the tactics of the other its no says Black of the training if you mess up then youre probably not going to come from a wartime one mistake in combat can set the other Guy up to hit the Pickle Button and Send a radar guided missile on its deadly realization of the stakes and the constant Competition Between the pilots takes its air Force Leslie Yee is flight surgeon who flies four hours a he to Foster an under standing of what the pilots Are up much of the Job stress is according to its All part of flying a High performance pilots tend not to walk into his office with their said you dont see much of it in a fighter Squadron because its All part of the Macho that Why you kind of have to read Between the often this Means diagnosis during social Sel Confidence is an important part of a fighter pilots according to to put it another Way As far As ego i try not to let the ego get that me talking because i just think it de tracts from the respect of your Black there Are ego in the he id like to think Ive always been a positive Black i look at the training i debating a situation at length while flying a supersonic Eagle is not what the air Force what is lengthy in the life of an Eagle Driver is his working twelve hour Days Are at the Zulu its All business around the there Are drawbacks daddy being away but those adjustments have to be says Rita even when her husband can be found with the eve present technical but he insists on time with his she sometimes he does said Rita juggling his big Book and when Black drives to there is Little Chance he will talk with other base personnel before arriving at the operations pilots Park their cars near the operations the lot is controlled by an armed without a special there is no asked about the apparent closed society of Black said he had a lot of Contact with other air Force when pressed for he cited maintenance Crew members who while away the hours with the pilots in the Zulu the mystique surrounding fighter jocks May be rooted in their isolation from mainstream base their special status is evident in the layout of the operations Many individualized Beer mugs with the Squadron insignia hang on a rack behind the bar at the slobbering dog in the far Corner of the Black said the serving starts when the last plane is on the out in the color photographs of current fliers everybody has a usually Given by the Squadron pilots but sometimes brought along from another base like the household Blacks Nick name is Flat derived from the shoe polish or paint and depending on whom you talked to and Black himself is unclear How it it just appeared one he f15 pilots come in All shapes and but their bodies must fit an Eagle Black is about 5 8 inches and although he says the forces of Gravity encountered while flying have expanded his neck size about of an although he said he had not set his sights on flying Black is now part of an elite at flight school he was one of two pilots in a class of 50 chosen to Fly the hard work and High test scores on things like hand Eye coordination got Black the Slot he Hes says Rita and who  be if they were flying an says i dont have any heartburn at All telling people in an f15 Eagle Pilot Matt Black tells his and 5weekold Corrie goodbye As they drop him off for another Days work with the 32nd tac fighter so at Camp new on Page one Jet engine mechanics senior airman Tom Martin and Sherri Wilson troubleshoot a problem with an f15