Grasping for the Wind

Extraordinary friendships are formed by six young fighter pilots during the promising days of the early sixties. They are brash and cocky, and their future seems unlimited, but only one is committed to career success no matter what the cost—Rob Walker. The new Kennedy administration takes Washington, DC, by popular storm. One of the key members of the new frontier is Robert McNamara, secretary of defense. Recognized as a brilliant corporate executive, he eagerly takes immediate measures to control the Pentagon’s inefficiencies and wastes. The best opportunity to demonstrate his management rules is the most publicized procurement program of the decade—the Tactical Fighter Experimental (TFX), later designated the F-111. The result of his hands-on management is an ill-conceived and controversial fighter that costs lives. Rob Walker and his closest friends are among the first pilots assigned to the dangerously flawed fighter at Nellis Air Force Base at the glitzy edge of Las Vegas. There, they find themselves in the riskiest game of their lives.