Janes Fleet Command Never send just one plane anywhere; fights will be better if you send a pair of fighters, even when identifying unknown craft. Lead your air assaults with HARM missile-equipped planes. These missiles hone in on the enemy's active radar, taking it out and shutting down the enemy's air defense. Years ago, the U.S. Navy taught its tactical-action officers (the folks in charge of employing a ship's weapons) to "shoot, shoot, look." You should do the same. Fire two missiles at any incoming target. Wait to see the result, and then fire again--if necessary. Swarm. Don't attack with a Harpoon here, a Maverick there; hit the bad guys with everything you have. There is a much greater chance of destroying your target if you swamp its defenses. Stay cool. Don't use your radar or activate sonar until you are in battle; otherwise, you'll give your position away. If necessary, send a ship (called the picket ship) ahead of your task force. Order this ship to light off its radar. Hopefully, it will discover the waiting enemy; of course, it might also discover ten cruise missiles headed its way--but hey, life's full of little surprises. One day a man and his wife are playing golf at their home course. On a certain par four, the man tees it up and hits a big slice into the woods. They find his ball directly behind one of the greenskeeper's buildings where equipment is stored, so that he can't play toward the green at all. "Damn!" the man says, "I'll have to play sideways to get back on the fairway. I'll make five at best." But his wife, who had been looking things over, said "Look, this shed has double doors at both ends. If we open them up, you can hit a low shot right through the building toward the green." The man congratulated his wife on her cleverness and they set up for the shot. But the ball hit the top of the far doorframe and came whistling back, striking his wife in the temple and killing her dead on the spot. A year or so later, the same man was playing the same par 4 and hit his tee shot in almost exactly the same spot as before, right behind the building. As he is cursing his luck and preparing to swing, one of his playing partners says, "Wait, look we can open these double doors and..." "No way," the man says, cutting him off. "I was here last year and tried that shot and ended up making a six." |
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