User Guide

BILLY PARKER, “PRIME TIME”
— TOP GUN
First Lt. Billy Parker, or “Prime Time” to
the rest of the Wildcats, emerged after
four years in the 149th Tactical Fighter
Squadron with an unprecedented peace-
time total of 36 confirmed kills.
“Hey, what can I say? Put me and a
bogie in the air, throw in a couple
rounds of ammunition and someone’s
gonna be history.” Clearly, history is a
subject Parker has considered intently.
“The way I figure it, you’re either making
history, or you are history. A lotta the
guys in the Wildcats, unfortunately, are
pushing thirty. No doubt which they
are.” He shakes his head with mock
sadness, then breaks into a grin. “But as
for me, well, twenty-four is prime time.”
To what does he attribute his
remarkable success? “Focus and genius.
My genius is for aerial combat, but that
wouldn’t mean zip without a sense of
focus. Now, I always knew what I wanted
to do, which was be a top fighter pilot.
So I joined the USAF as soon as I turned
18. By the time I was twenty I was a
second lieutenant in the 149th, and four
years later I left with an honorable
discharge in my hand and the 149th kill
record under my belt. I was free and ready
to do what I’d always wanted: clean up
kicking burners on the Istanbul market.”
Commenting on Stern’s reputation as
a strong leader with his own iron brand
of discipline, Parker admits: “Stern is
tough, no question. But his style is
different from the military standard.
Stern is in charge, yeah, but he still lets
you be your own man. You’re a member
of the team, but the team doesn’t absorb
you. There’s a difference, and that’s why
I signed on with the Wildcats.”
CLAYTON TRAVIS, “TEX”
— RODEO COWBOY
Travis was a senior at Jackson High in
Amarillo, Texas, when he joined the USAF.
“I was busting broncs back then,” he
recalls. “Not professionally, just for fun,
but I was pretty good. Anyway, that year
the annual Amarillo Rodeo started up,
and a lot of low flying jets from the local
base were throwin’ off booms, and
generally spookin’ all the animals. So I
get pissed, and drive on over to the base,
to try to get ’em to cool their jets a spell.”
The 29-year-old Travis, who now only
answers to the name of “Tex,” slaps his
knee, laughing. “The recruiter there saw
an easy mark, all right. Told me the
rodeo wasn’t nothin’, slapped me into a
flight simulator for a spell. I couldn’t
walk for five minutes after I got out.
That’s when I knew where I belonged.”
At least for a while. Like Parker, Tex
opted out of the military after the
mandatory four years. “I just couldn’t see
getting shot at for anyone’s reasons but
my own. This way, if there’s risk I get
well paid for it. And besides, I’m not
much for taking crap off anyone.”
Indeed, Tex projects the classic image
of a loner. Tall and lanky, with a cowboy
hat usually perched on his head, he
looks as if he’d be more at home on the
range beside a campfire than in the
cockpit of an F-16.
“Yeah, I work best alone, I think. But I
don’t mind working on a team, so long as
I’m calling the shots.” A surprising
attitude, considering the emphasis Col.
Stern puts on teamwork in the Wildcats.
On following the orders of James Stern,
Tex comments: “One day I’m gonna be
running this outfit. But in the meantime,
let’s just say I’m workin’ on it.”
10
July 2011 • SUDDEN DEATH