Chapter Five - part two

   James watched her closely as he waited for an answer. It was a long moment before he got one. She never moved or changed expression before she spoke. "You were picked for this because of who you are and what you are. You being a very well known pilot among the pilots you will be assigned to train is a big part of this. You being a hero and the man who sent the top Chinese ace packing are reason enough. The fact that you should have a basic understanding of their language also helps, but it was just a bonus. It was never a factor in the decision. Ask your next question." James smiled in spite of the cold short answer she had just given him. He was ready with his next question. "Why do you want me involved with training pilots for an air force that is more likely to oppose us than support us? The ROCAF (Republic of China Air Force) may be based in Taiwan and separated from China politically, but we both know that China has been the real power behind the government in Taiwan for some time. In fact the PLAAF (Peoples Liberation Army Air Force), now have joint maneuvers with the ROCAF twice a year. You have to know that and being aware of it... I have to question our continued training of the ROCAF."

   That question and short statement got a much quicker response. When he was finished she sat further forward and her face became very serious as she spoke. "You just hit the real reason behind you being the one assigned this duty. The politicians think this is all a good thing, but the people in command of the Air Force think it is foolish. So why pick you? We want someone who is good enough to scare the devil out of the pilots we train. Oh we still want you to do a good job of training them, but you will be charged with adding a little something extra to what you teach them. You and Jeremy won't only be flying with them. You will be flying against them. You will be flying your own F/A-48's a good part of the time and you will be coordinating with the 61st squadron to do 'joint training missions' with both squadrons. We want you to put fear into the ROCAF pilots that leave here. We want them to go home knowing that an F/A-48 could easily destroy them, even if outnumbered by them. We also want you to use them to make our own pilots much better against them, before we have might face them in real combat again. Colonel Cooper you will also be doing advanced training for all of the currently trained F/A-48 pilots we have in conjunction with this. That training will be done on a rotating cycle. You will have a new flight of F/A-48 pilots to train every four months. You are tasked with showing those pilots every weakness in the ROCAF while showing the ROCAF nothing but our strengths."

   Now James leaned back and thought about what she had just said. Jeremy whistled softly as he shook his head, but James paid no attention. His mind was busy sorting out exactly what was being asked of them. The ROCAF actually flew two different types of fighters. One was the J-33 Chinese fighter, like those James had flown against in South Korea. The others were versions of the F-35 fighters that many allied nations still used. Unless the ROCAF was planning to bring the Chinese type fighters here to use during training James saw little chance of doing what was being asked. The F/A-48 could out maneuver an F-35 easily, but so could the Chinese J-33 that the ROCAF also used. It wasn't just the speed and maneuverability that made the difference in battle for the F/A-48 though. There were so many differences in the armament and tactics possible with an F/A-48 and they all added together to make the real difference in a battle. The only way to put fear in pilots for the F/A-48 was to show them what it could do against the best they had and that was the J-33's. James looked up and asked his next question.

   "I assume that we will soon be training pilots for the ROCAF who are flying J-33's? Unless we are doing that I see little way of putting any real fear into those pilots or teaching ours how to handle the best they will face. And I also want to ask you another question. How do you expect me to do both at the same time? I cannot take this command and not do the best I can to train those ROCAF pilots. I won't tell them about any possible weakness I know about in the F/A-48's, but I will tell them what they did wrong and what they could do different or better. I think you already know that though. So why did you want to see me, us, in person before you made this assignment final? There has to be something more involved in this. I would like to know what that something is." Susan Holt had begun to smile as James was talking. She seemed almost pleased at what he was asking. When he was done she nodded and laughed for the first time. Then she replied.

   "It seems that you really are all they say you are Cooper. I wasn't sure you could be that and still have done what you have done in your career. They told me you were honest and dependable. They said that you would always do your duty no matter what the cost to yourself. The truth is we are both here for much the same reason. It seems that over the last few training classes the ROCAF has felt less than satisfied with the quality of the training their pilots were receiving here. I was chosen for this command, because I have never accepted less than top performance from any of my commands. The reason you were selected was because my commanders said you would give the best training possible to anyone you train. That and you have seen enough combat to know how critical it is to get an upper hand before a battle even begins. I was told that if anyone could do what command wants done during training... you were the one who could do it! Honestly back at the Academy, I wasn't sure a Christian like you could even survive in the modern Air Force. It seems that you not only survived, but have excelled. The assignment is yours if you want it and I assure you I will expect you to train all of those involved to the very best of your ability."

   Then she had turned her eyes to Jeremy. "I want you to know that you also are critical to this too. You were one of the best trainers we have ever had on the F/A-48 initial training. You did more with green pilots than anyone else could manage. You also have some experience flying in an F-35 so you will be familiar with them as well. I will expect you to be just as diligent in training ROCAF pilots as you were when training our pilots. I also expect you both to maximize the training for each new flight of F/A-48's. That is to be your primary focus, while Colonel Cooper will be focusing on teaching the ROCAF pilots fear in addition to dealing with coordinating all of the training to get the most out of it for everyone concerned. Each of you will have all you can handle and more, but I will settle for nothing less than perfection."

   James had listened to her and watched her closely while she was talking. He knew that she was sincere in what she was saying. She would expect and demand that he do the best training he could. She hadn't directly answered his question concerning the J-33's, but James had a feeling they would be part of the program at some point in time. He had also heard another clear message, even if it had been unspoken. The command she had referred to was clearly the upper command in the Air Force. That was almost more troubling than it was reassuring. James had to wonder which side was driving this particular mission. The side that saw no threat from empowering militaries that were opposed to America or those who wanted to scare the threat right out of those militaries. He suspected it might well be both working together towards very different goals. James looked over at Jeremy to see what he was thinking. Jeremy just shook his head. Then he smiled as he spoke. "It's your call. I told you to pray for blessings, but I am prepared to face whatever comes along if you are. I trust the Lord and I trust you, so I am good to go."

   James laughed as he looked at Jeremy. Those words might have been a joke once, but somehow he knew Jeremy was totally serious right now. James had seen a huge difference in Jeremy and he had felt the difference too. Now James knew for certain that the difference was faith. As he looked at his friend smiling back at him James knew what his own answer must be. He had to have faith too. Taiwan might be playing at a sort of independence from China, but James knew China had only faked letting Taiwan govern itself again. He didn't like the idea of training pilots that would go back to teach pilots he might have to fight one day, but that didn't matter. James knew that he had been sent here for a reason. He didn't have to like it or even understand it. All he had to do was have enough faith in God to do his assigned duty. God knew why they were all here and that was all that mattered. James nodded and stood up. Jeremy joined him. James spoke to Brigadier General Holt who had remained seated. She was smiling too. "We will be honored and proud to do our duty Ma'am. What are your first orders for us?"