Dangerous Mission | No Man Left Behind

It was an enormous honor to be chosen as a stealth fighter pilot. It was considered a special duty, black world. I felt extremely comfortable in that environment; absolutely loved it. I felt like this is where I belong.

There were eight of us that night, eight F-117s, each going after separate targets in the northern half of Serbia. At that point in time, I was the only F-117 pilot participating in Allied Force who had previous combat experience in the F-17. Mr. Zelo, so I flew 20 combat missions during Desert Storm. I felt very, very capable; very confident.

"Go ahead, Jens, open them up." But when I looked at that target pack, I realized my job was to take out one of the most high-value, the most heavily defended targets in Belgrade. The most dangerous, the most high-threat F-117 strike mission that I had ever flown.

"Good luck." So the next day was my daughter Gina's birthday. It was going to be her 10th birthday, so I was looking forward to being able to call her. There's nothing that's going to prevent me from calling her and reaching her and connecting with her on her birthday.