ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
A warm and sincere thank-you to the following individuals for their expertise, encouragement, and research.
One of the best things about this job is the interviews, getting to understand a different culture, traveling to a different country, and talking to people with different perspectives than my own. For all of the people that graciously gave me their time, I am grateful.
To Jodi, for your continued love and patience, thank you for everything you’ve done to take care of us. To Gavin and Brennan, for your positive attitude and story ideas, allowing me to provide stories highlighting our great teams. To the Russo family, you guys are the best, thank you. To George M., thank you for all of your strong encouragement and ideas. To Ginny and Ed, thank you for years of love and support. To Cliff S., thanks for making it happen so many years ago and overriding my ‘no.’ To Brian Smith and Lisa Ziehmann, thank you for your kind support to veterans, especially your generous financial donations to Team Rubicon Global. To All Civil Air Patrol Cadets, with encouragement that you can do it, too. To Andrew R., Sonny H., Bill Y., Sean M., Jerry T., Brian S., and Neal B., for the edits and technical aspects of the stories — simply, “wow.” To Marine Corps Officers at The Basic School, Quantico, Virginia, thanks for reading it in the Q. To Uniformed Officers and Special Agents of the US Secret Service, thank you for reading The Devil Dragon Pilot at the White House. To Special Agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation at WFO, keep up the great work and thanks for being fans. To The men and women of the 914
th at Niagara- you guys are one heck of a team, and I was proud to fly with you. To USAF and USN Flight Students, thanks for being fans and providing your years of photos on Instagram- remember, never give up. To Rocko B. Cooper, thank you for years of friendship from the top. To Owen and Debbie S., Buffalo, thanks for the support and ideas — keep them flowing- come at me bro. To Lindsey and the Skull Creek Boathouse Restaurant Team, Hilton Head Island, South Carolina, thanks for the early opportunity and giving me a chance. To Mark M. at The Eisenhower School, National Defense University, thanks for the book reading! To Chris and Megan P, you guys are terrific friends- thank you. To Janice, General Aviation News, thank you for your article years ago and the assistance. To Management Team at Clyde’s Restaurant, Georgetown, Washington, DC, for allowing fans to take photos of the Ford and Emily table up front. To Ric Edelman, Edelman Financial, Fairfax, Virginia, thanks for mentioning The Devil Dragon Pilot on the air- BIG! To Peter at Navy League. To Bigfoot, Joint Forces Quarterly. To Hilton Head Monthly Magazine, thanks for putting me up there with the big dogs. To Danny, 45 Bistro in Savannah, Georgia for your kind support, as well as putting a copy of The Devil Dragon Pilot on display at the bar. To Jeff, Reserve Officers Association for your support in stressing the constant importance of our Reserve and National Guard heroes! To Team Rubicon Global and the Headstrong Project for continuing to support our great veterans, long after they return home. To Superfans Vern S and Marshall K., thanks for being the best. To Todd, Steven F. Udvar-Hazy Center, Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum, Washington Dulles International Airport, for allowing me to contact you for weeks with a smile. To Thomas and Jean, Barnes and Noble, thank you for the Meet and Greet support. To Jenny, and her professional editing team at Elite Editing, thanks for the fantastic work. To Alphonse R., for working to bring The Devil Dragon Pilot to the big screen! To Bick, for my final flight, as it was one for the history books. To Mom and Dad, for everything.