Doc, yes indeed. Tom (a really nice guy, btw) and the rest of the Covey pilots worked some hairy things in support of our Special Ops troops in places where we weren't. It's basically the same job we did, except with US teams, and for some oddball reason I'll never understand, our mission was much more covert and disavowed than theirs. Then again, little to nothing about that war was rational or made sense.
If you or anyone else would like to read hundreds of FAC stories, written by the FACs themselves, there are two massive volumes titled "Cleared Hot" that were assembled by a couple of very ambitious guys belonging to the Forward Air Controllers Association. Link to Volume One is
HERE and Volume Two is
HERE I just discovered that there is a volume three that I didn't know about, and will order for myself this very day.
HERE All three are also available as ebooks.
That's something like 750 "There I was when..." stories. Coveys, Nails, Tums, and many many more.
