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I haven’t written in a while, largely because real life has gotten in the way, but I’m going to try something new and see what kind of response it gets.  The book idea referenced above is something I’ve been toying with for about a year but the ideas therein go way back.  Here’s the draft of the introduction.  If you think this idea has “legs” let me know!

Chief Pilot – A No-Nonsense Guide to Tactical Flight Department Leadership

Introduction

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Last Friday, we had a conference call concerning a possible jet purchase at my new company.  Since the jet had been previously registered in a foreign country in the Far East, there was some concern that we might be subject to “intelligence gathering” if we bought it. Prior to the call, I informed my boss that the prospect of that happening was highly unlikely, but if we wanted to assuage concerns, we could have the jet swept for listening devices and the like during the pre-buy inspection.  End of story – or so I thought.  During the call, the “intelligence gathering” possibility was raised again.  The consultants basically reiterated my take on the subject and the CEO agreed with the advisers and I, dismissed the security concerns, and told us to pursue that jet.

Why is this a big deal?

In my last company, it would have never happened.  The CEO would have never spoken up like that.  He would have never been willing to stand up to some of the members of his staff and been decisive.  Instead, he would have required more analysis, more discussion and the decision would have been deferred to some time in the future – needlessly extending the timeline.

All I can say is that it’s good to see decisive leadership once again.  I think I’m going to like it here.

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My only complaints with the book were I thought the climax/conclusion came a little too quickly and that the loose ends were tied up a little too thoroughly. I also thought that we didn’t really need the continuous lectures about airline cost savings, training and financial consequences. While I realize that element was a central theme of the book, it got to be a little repetitive after awhile.

All of that said, Karlene has written an AWESOME book and I recommend without reservation. If you like books about aviation, you’ll love this one!

Order it at amazon.com here.

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http://www.prlog.org/11972445-brighton-publishing-signs-chris-broyhill-for-the-cabo-contract.html

The Cabo Contract

PRLog (Press Release) – Sep 11, 2012 -
CHANDLER (AZ)—Brighton Publishing LLC today announced the signing of Chris Broyhill for his second action-packed techno-thriller, The Cabo Contract. After achieving Brighton Publishing “Best-Seller” status with his celebrated debut novel, The Viper Contract, Chris Broyhill returns to the stage with his highly acclaimed hero, Colin Pearce. Readers will struggle to catch their breath with each mind-tingling turn of the page as Pearce is cast into the middle of a terrorist plot while simultaneously waging war on the Mexican drug cartel. The Viper Contract is currently available in print and eBook from Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and other fine retailers nationwide. The Cabo Contract is being fast-tracked through production and is presently slated for release in Late-2012 or Early-2013.

It hadn’t been long since Colin Pearce’s last heroic action, and now, only time can help heal him from both his physical, and his emotional wounds. While convalescing in the hospital Colin receives a phone call from his longtime friend and fellow pilot, Sarah Morton.  Sarah tells Colin that she is in desperate need of his stellar piloting skills and asks Colin to assist her and her company with a “situation” in Mexico. When Colin senses a hint of panic and desperation in the sexy, centerfold-turned-pilot’s voice, he finds it difficult to say, “No” and, convalescing or not, Colin heads for the hospital exit.
Soon, he is introduced to Sarah’s new boss, a tall, stylish man by the name of Adam Archmere. Colin discovers that Archmere has contracted a G-IV plane from Sarah’s company and is using it to make multiple trips to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.

The story quickens when Colin finds out from his CIA contacts that the man they know as Adam Archmere, is none other than Abdullah bin Rashid al Qudamah. Eventually, Colin discovers that Qudamah is travelling to ‘Cabo’ to conduct clandestine meetings with several members of the Mexican drug cartel.  Colin’s contacts make it clear that Qudamah is a renegade Saudi prince with ties to the radical Wahhabi sect of Islam and he is hell-bent on destroying America. Colin and the CIA are convinced that there is an imminent danger to the United States if an alliance is ever formed between the cartels and the terrorists. Things couldn’t get much worse for Colin…or could they?

“Chris Broyhill delivers another pulse-pounding, page-turner with enough jet fuel to set your hair on fire,” said Kathie McGuire, director of Brighton Publishing. “The Cabo Contract not only lives up to expectations—it surpasses them. Colin Pearce defines adventure and Chris Broyhill knows exactly how to please his audience.”

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This guy may be clueless, but at least he’s arrogant.   And the real problem is, he’s not alone.  There are plenty more where he came from.  I’ve heard equally demoralizing stories about a flight department director in New England and another in the Midwest, both of whom are despised by their people, have generated extremely high turnover, and yet are protected by senior management above them.

It’s guys like this that have led me to begin work on a book about no-nonsense, tactical leadership for flight department.  The sad fact is that that there isn’t much real leadership in our industry.  There is plenty of politics, cronyism, brown-nosing, accession by seniority, and even some decent management from time to time, but leadership, real leadership, is hard to come by.  In fairness, the industry doesn’t really encourage it.  Corporate aviation is a lot about maintaining a low-key, low-visibility presence and isn’t about vision or bold decision making or taking care of people, so the environment doesn’t favor those who possess true leadership skills.  It does, however, favor professional managers and politicians and these are the people who often ascend to positions of responsibility in our industry, just as they are the people who ascend to the top in corporations.

This is the reason I have a love/hate relationship with our industry.  A flight department or a charter/management company, when it is well led, reminds me of my time in a fighter squadron when the focus was on the mission and the unit members were there for one another.  They followed the “boss” because they respected him and they believed in him.  They enjoyed coming to work and they enjoyed serving others.  But more often than not in our industry, the person in charge of a flight department is more concerned with the politics than his subordinates and more concerned with how he looks to his boss than how he is respected and trusted by his people.  And in the latter case, those in charge don’t understand how transparent their behavior is or how demoralizing it can be.   So the potential that business aviation has for those who are able to lead and those who want to follow is enormous, but the reality rarely lives up to the potential and the industry plays along, pretending all is well.

So as I continue to write on this subject, more will follow.  I’ve never been one to keep my mouth shut or my pen still when I see something that disturbs me.  And those who present poor leadership examples should be taken to task.

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I had heard about the Front Sight Firearms Training Institute some time ago.  Front Sight purported to train its students at a level which exceeded law enforcement or military standards.  While I had purchased a membership there, largely to receive the training materials for research purposes, I didn’t know if I’d ever really go to a course there.  But as I got into writing Colin Pearce’s third adventure early this year, and realized that he’d have to have some pretty kick-ass handgun skills to prevail, I scheduled myself to attend the Four-Day Defensive Handgun Course at Front Sight if for no other reason than to satisfy my curiosity.

So last Monday, on the 18th of June, I arrived at Front Sight to begin my training and proceeded to have my life changed.  Over the next several days of intensive training (9-10 hours a day folks, no kidding), I learned how to present a handgun from a holster (the technical concern is “present,” not “draw”) and engage targets with a controlled pair of shots to the thoracic cavity of an assailant at ranges of 3-15 yards in just a few seconds and, where required, to also engage with a designated head shot.  I learned secrets of sight alignment and trigger control that make the difference in not only delivering rounds on target accurately, but doing so quickly AND accurately.  I learned how to clear malfunctions in minimum time and how to clear doorways and houses where required.

I was struck by two things continually as I went through the course.  First, I was stuck by how much I thought I knew about using a gun that was just plain wrong, and second, I couldn’t believe how much I didn’t know that I didn’t know.  That’s not a typo or unintentional word repetition.  I didn’t know what I didn’t know.  One particular example was the exercise in which the scenario was something like this: “You’ve just seen a guy with a gun enter your house with your family inside.  You’ve called the police but they won’t be on scene for several minutes and you’ve just heard shots and screams from inside the house.  What do you do now?”  The answer involved me entering a mock-up house, gun in hand, and engaging targets where required and avoiding shooting innocent people where required, all with only a few seconds to make the decision to shoot or not.  If you think you know how to do this and you haven’t been trained, trust me, you don’t – you’ll be shot within seconds by the bad guys, or worse, you’ll shoot the wrong people on the inside.

But the staff at Front Sight didn’t stop there.  They also taught how to avoid confrontations, how to stay aware of your environment and how to stop an attack from an assailant before arms may even be necessary.  They spoke extensively about the moral and ethical ramifications of engaging in a gun fight and continually emphasized that the use of arms was an absolute last resort.   Anyone who tells you that trained gun owners are a bunch of cowboys spoiling for a fight has never been to a course like this.

So now that the training is over, I can tell you that my life is truly changed.  If I’m put into a position to defend my family, I KNOW I can do it.  Quickly, decisively and accurately.  And I want to get back back to Front Sight again, as soon as I can, to improve my skills or learn new skills with a different weapon.

Sure, Colin Pearce will be a bigger bad-ass now that this training has occurred.  But Chris Broyhill will be a more responsible gun-owner and able-bodied defender of his family as well.

And that alone was worth the price of admission.

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Read his coverage here:

http://www.ainonline.com/sites/ainonline.com/files/pdf/ain_2012_corp_aviation_safety_seminar.pdf

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To set the stage, this gentleman was reflecting on a discussion about an impromptu “flash mob” which formed at Reagan Airport to cheer a planeload of World War II veterans who were exiting their plane enroute to  a ceremony on The Mall.  When a group of veterans travel together on a plane to attend an event like this, it’s called an “Honor Flight.”

Now here are the gentleman’s words:

When we intentionally make – post-Vietnam, no conscription, for reasons we all know very well – military service entirely voluntary, we obtain two long-term results:

a.       A VERY professional and proficient military, far better than we have ever had in the past;

b.      A citizenry that generally and deeply believes they have the RIGHT to pursue their individual goals – many selfish and avaricious – with no thought of the nation’s defense.

Technology, capital, unit/service/joint cohesion, intense training, and great people (at all levels) have allowed “a” to work reasonably well.  However, “b” is creating a society in which large segments – especially among the better educated – rarely even think about the sacrifices required to sustain this nation;  when they do, they fundamentally believe it is not their concern.

Consider, for a moment, the current officer and senior-NCO/Petty Officer “corps” (let us just say E-6 and above) in all the services.  Without question, they are excellent;  however, we far-disproportionately see the sons and daughters of the professional military, kids from areas (urban and rural) that perpetually experience difficult economic times, and those (frequently, immigrants and minorities) who are attempting to achieve a “foothold” (education, skills, minimal financial security, respect) in our society.  What we do NOT regularly see are the children of middle/upper-middle class suburbia, educated at excellent high schools and colleges, and willing to make selfless scarifies for the common good, for our nation’s defense (after all, many of these youngsters already have “education, skills, minimal financial security, respect” as a near-birthright).

I do not believe that America can, over the course of several generations, prevail with a citizenry where only a distinct minority believes service is critical.  The self-anointed elites:

a.       Become increasingly disconnected from the majority of Americans;

b.      They – and their children/grandchildren – develop attitudes of entitlement and of superiority (“let Manuel serve, I’m too valuable to do so, and – besides – it will interrupt my pursuit of wealth and privilege at Harvard”);

c.       They will never understand that they are personally and individually responsible for America’s security and success.

What does all this have to do with the Honor Flight?  I suggest, a LOT.  Those who serve with honor – and, sometimes, with distinction – invariably understand that America requires “contributors” as well as “takers,” that by serving and sacrificing together, we develop an abiding respect for each other, and that wealth really is not crucial – the truly important things in life cannot be purchased.  We need mandatory, national service now!

Tom Brokaw and Stephen Ambrose popularized the term the “Greatest Generation.”  With profound respect for my parents’ cohort, I suggest that the more-appropriate way to understand this phenomenon is that virtually all who serve honorably – regardless of when they do so – become “great” through their experiences and sacrifices, but that during World War II we had an overwhelmingly large number who did so.

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