The year was 1987.1 was in the Republic of Korea, sitting in a classroom on an air base, listening to an overview of the North Korean Army's (NKA) capabilities. The lecture was part of the noncommissioned officers training course, which is taught at nearly every Air Force installation and tailored to the local conditions--in our case, it included a discussion of the threat north of the 38th parallel. The NKA trained some of its elite soldiers to deploy in 12-man commando units to blow up bridges and runways, knock out communications systems, and generally wreak havoc. Then we were shown a photograph of the commando units' preferred mode of transportation: an old, piston-driven biplane. It looked like it was equipped with all the technological wonders the 1930s had to offer--a fuel gauge, a tachometer, a compass, and not much else. My classmates laughed. I shuddered. I knew what was coming next.
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