Off We Go Into the Wild Blue Yonder
Almost every day here in Daejeon, I hear fighters screaming overhead from a nearby air force base. For someone who once served in the Air Force, it’s a bit like Pavlov’s dog—my ears perk up at that familiar roar of afterburners as jets rip across the sky. And every time I hear that sound, it carries me back to 2002, when I had the chance to ride in one. The runway blurred beneath us. A second later, the afterburner ignited, and the F-16 surged forward with a force that pushed me deep into the seat. Rain streaked across the canopy as the jet roared down the runway at Osan Air Base. Then the nose lifted and the ground dropped away. Within moments, we were climbing through the clouds. Strapped into the back seat, helmet on and oxygen mask tight against my face, I had a sudden thought that still seemed slightly unreal: Just days earlier, it was a classroom at Yonsei University, teaching English. Now it was the back seat of an F-16, one of the most advanced fighter jet...
