Fifteen Minutes to Kill: An Apache Helicopter Pilot's Descent into the Chaos of Modern War

Diyala Province, Iraq, July 2006. “Attack 34, we have troops in contact and need your help. Are you available? Over.” Attack 34 was Lt. Bryan Fitzpatrick, twenty-four-year-old pilot of an AH-64D Apache Longbow helicopter. “Troops in contact” meant boots on the ground were in trouble, a mission of the highest priority. And yes, he was available, even though it meant dropping out of a formation escorting a general and racing across the desert and into the fight. War was seldom fought by the b...