SOUTHERN AIR TRADE / FIELD NOTES

Field Notes

ENTRIES ON FILE
Iraqi dead along a road on the southern front. The war is now in its seventh year.
08 NOV 2026

The Gulf Burns

From the November 1986 Southern Air Import: the Tanker War spreads as Iraqi jets hit Kharg shuttle tankers and the Larak Island terminal near the Strait of Hormuz.
The Hunt for Red October - Hardcover
08 NOV 2026

Wire Briefs: Fall 1986

Nine short dispatches from the Southern Air Import's November 1986 issue: Goldwater-Nichols, Bold Guard 86, the Daniloff-Zakharov exchange, the Stockholm Document, and more.
The office machine the 386 is built to replace, c. 1985.
08 NOV 2026

The 386 Revolution

From the November 1986 Southern Air Import: Intel's 32-bit 80386 points the personal computer toward a new class of business and engineering work.
Northrop’s F-20 Tigershark, the losing contender, fires an AIM-7F Sparrow, February 27, 1985.
08 NOV 2026

The Future of Air Defense

From the November 1986 Southern Air Import: the Air Force picks a modified F-16A for continental air defense over Northrop's F-20 Tigershark.
SDI concept: a ground/space-based hybrid laser weapon. Department of Defense art, 1984.
08 NOV 2026

Star Wars Goes International

From the November 1986 Southern Air Import: Israel signs on to Strategic Defense Initiative research, widening America's Star Wars program beyond NATO.
Mi-24 gunships cover Soviet armor in an Afghan valley. Department of Defense, Soviet Military Power, 1984.
08 NOV 2026

Afghanistan: The War Without An Exit

From the November 1986 Southern Air Import: the Tanker War spreads as Iraqi jets hit Kharg shuttle tankers and the Larak Island terminal near the Strait of Hormuz.
A MiG-29 Fulcrum escorting a Tu-22M Backfire. Painting by Richard J. Terry for the Department of Defense, 1986.
08 NOV 2026

The Next Generation of Air Superiority

From the November 1986 Southern Air Import: Lockheed and Northrop each win roughly $691 million to build competing Advanced Tactical Fighter prototypes, the contest that produced the F-22.
President Reagan with Caspar Weinberger, George Shultz, Edwin Meese and Donald Regan in the Oval Office, November 25, 1986. White House photo.
08 NOV 2026

Washington's Secret Ledger

From the November 1986 Southern Air Import: the Iran arms initiative, the $10–30 million diverted to the Contras, and the resignation of Poindexter and dismissal of Oliver North.
F-14A Tomcats of Fighter Squadron 142 in formation off the Virginia coast, May 1985. U.S. Navy photo.
08 NOV 2026

The Super Tomcat

The Southern Air Import's November 1986 cover story: Grumman's F-14A Plus swaps the troubled TF30 for GE's F110, and the Tomcat finally gets the engines it always needed.
Then Came The CIA: The Early Years of Southern Air Transport - Paperback
08 NOV 2026

The United Fruit Company and the Banana Wars

How United Fruit, 'El Pulpo,' shaped Central America: Minor Keith's railroad, O. Henry's banana republic, Smedley Butler and the Marines, the 1911 Honduras coup, and the CIA's 1954 Guatemala operation.
USGI Canteen Cup Stand Stove
08 NOV 2026

Coffee and the Special Forces

Coffee in American military history, from Civil War rations and the 'cup of George' to the Green Berets' first CIDG mission in Vietnam's coffee highlands and the veterans who opened roasteries.
DNC / Desert Tri-Color Reversible Woobie Jacket
08 NOV 2026

Desert Tri-Color and DNC

Desert Night Camouflage and Desert Tri-Color: the anti-night-vision grid pattern and the 'Coffee Stain' DCU, and how Desert Storm put Chocolate Chip, DNC, and tri-color on one battlefield.