Vipers in the Storm: Diary of a Gulf War Fighter Pilot

Capt. Rosenkranz's book is not the typical "shoot `em up" war story. "Rosey," his Viper call sign, first describes his desert training and then gives the reader some background leading up to the Gulf War. I found this invaluable, as my son was not even born when the Storm ended. It's also a great review for us older folks who may have forgotten a thing or two, or maybe didn't know the rest of the story!

Throughout the book, Rosey describes his personal feelings, his worries, disappointments, love for family, and sadness and horror. Nothing is left out. His attention to detail and accuracy is outstanding. When you finish this great book you, too, will have a new measure of appreciation for America's Viper drivers, which is personified here by Keith Rosenkranz.

Although the book impressed me, it made even a bigger impression on my 10-year-old. With the current situation with Iraq, the book gave him cause to question current events with me and has impressed on him what we are transitioning to in the Gulf today. Rosey's love for his family, and separation from them, as well as the training, downtime, and losses he wrote of, vividly portray the struggles our pilots have faced and are facing today.

When the "action" does start, Rosey pulls no punches and again accurately describes the entire mission from turning on the VTR and titling his tape to munching a granola bar at 36,000 feet on the flight home. In between those times, Rosey recounts some hair-raising incidents, again in great detail. Rosey's account of his 30 combat missions should dispel any doubts that America's fighter pilots "just push buttons." What makes Capt. Rozenkran's missions even more amazing is that most of them were flown at night, using LANTIRN!

Rosey completed his missions in the finest tradition of the U.S. Air Force, and he does recognize the enemy were human beings doing their job for their nation. With a mixture of fear, exhilaration, sadness, relief, and joy when the ordnance was on target, each mission is professionally accomplished. Errors, when they happen, are not glossed over but spoken of honestly and learned from.

For the flight sim pilot, veteran pilot, aviation enthusiast, young person interested in the USAF, or reader wondering what our Air Force did (or may do again) in the Gulf, Capt. Rosenkranz's work will leave you about as breathless as he was when he watched the SAMs launching below him. My thanks to the author, and all Viper drivers, for their dedication, and thanks, Keith, for instilling in my son a desire to fly with the best someday.


A must read military aviation enthusiasts.   August 22, 2000
6 out of 6 found this review helpful

Written from a first person point of view, Keith "Rosey" Rosenkranz takes the reader along with him in his F-16C through the exciting and, at times, terrifying combat sequences in the Gulf War. From the air to air combat during a bombing mission in the first chapter through the end of the war over Basra, his descriptions are vivid without becoming mired down in military jargon and acronyms. He presents the F-16C, its maintainers and the men flying the airplane as an entire weapons system, offering many details only available from a first hand account. He shares the commraderie and trials of squadron life and offers a hearty glimpse into the world of a USAF fighter pilot.

As if the book weren't enough, the author has an accompanying website ... . This innovative site is a perfect companion to the book and includes a wealth of technical details, lots of photos and an interactive "Viper" cockpit. He even includes actual HUD display tapes from his missions (listed by chapter) in a real player format along with other video sequences. The only thing missing are the G forces!



Combat details derailed by naive political commentary   December 10, 2003
6 out of 14 found this review helpful

Rosenkranz provides plenty of details about exactly what a combat pilot does in a very busy F-16 cockpit, and he also details some of the interesting personal history that led him into this career. Unfortunately, he can't resist frequently venturing off into naive political and historical analyses of the wider questions of the war and the threat Iraq posed to the world, reprinting many speech excerpts from President H.W. Bush as justification for what he and his fellow service men and women were doing, extending them, in the end, to justify the current war in Iraq without ever considering the problems incurred by pursuing policy with force in the Middle East. At times the book reads like an instrument of the Republican National Committee campaign to reelect George W. Bush, or at the very least an apologist for the mistakes of both Bush administrations in the Middle East.


A great first-hand account of a fighter pilot's craft   November 24, 1999
Gerald Musselman (Hurst, Tx USA)
5 out of 6 found this review helpful

First-hand reports are always the best, and this book is certainly one of the top raters that I have read. Surprising detail is included, both of the airplane and the tactics employed. I would strongly recommend it to anyone interested in military aviation.


Awesome Tales Of A Real American Hero   September 4, 2002
Steven J Oakley (Huntington Beach, CA United States)
5 out of 8 found this review helpful

The book, "Vipers In the Storm" is a real life tale of a modern war hero, Keith Rosenkranz, Captain USAF. The foreward by Vice President Dick Cheney sums it up by saying how fortunate we are as Americans to have dedicated heroes like Keith Rosenkranz fighting for our freedom. This is a must read book for anyone interested in modern air warfare, the real life accounts of the Gulf War, and for those interested in heroism at its best. I understand that several readers of Vipers In The Storm actually joined the USAF and are now flying fighter jets for our country - all inspired by Captian Rosenkranz (Rosey). The Captain writes vivid accounts of both his personal feelings and the combat he was a part of on a daily basis. With more potential conflict ahead of the United States, this is an important book to read and gain a foundation of the United States previous battles in Iraq.
The author's website ... is also a must see. The author responds to email which makes this book even a better buy.
I enjoyed the book and the accounts of Captain Rosenkranz. This book is worthy of the best seller list!