Air Force Chief of Staff General David Goldfein recently explained how modern technology has changed the “pilot’s prayer”:

“When I grew up flying F-16s, the pilot’s prayer was, ‘Please God, let me find my target and not let my buddies down,’” Goldfein said. “It’s changed. In precision warfare and the information age, it’s ‘Please God, let me hit the right target, and not let my buddies down…”

(Not to be confused with the Fighter Pilot Prayer, also known as “The Lord is my Crew Chief.”)

General Goldfein’s point was that technology has advanced to the point that pilots almost always hit what they aim at — so their prayer now is that they’re aiming at the right target (a surprisingly difficult challenge in the fog and friction of war, sometimes).

Michael “Mikey” Weinstein will now Read more