An American Combat Bird Dog Pilot is a compelling look at the life and times of a member of the Silent Generation. Mike Leonard’s recollection of the life and death struggle on Thanksgiving Day in 1969 with North Vietnamese forces hell bent on capturing or killing the crew of a downed chopper near the Cambodian border is about as hairy as it gets. Then the final straw — and the catalyst for the book — which took place more than 40 years later; Leonard made contact with one of the crew members from that chopper.
An American Combat Birddog Pilot; From the Battlefield of Vietnam and Beyond
March 3, 2021
About the author:
Mike Leonard is a retired Air Force officer and highly experienced global business executive. He was a USAF command pilot with a military career spanning 20 years, including two Vietnam tours in 1965–1966, and 1969–1970. Mike spent four years flying the VC-140B Special Air Mission aircraft during his time with the 89th Military Airlift Wing, the home of Air Force One. His combat decorations include three Distinguished Flying Crosses, nine Air Medals, and the Vietnamese Cross of Gallantry.
He began his corporate career in 1983 at Ford Aerospace and Communications Corporation, later to become Space Systems/Loral. During his tenure at FACC and SS/L he successfully closed the sale of the nearly $200 million USD Agila satellite system with Mabuhay Philippine Satellite Corporation.
Mike served as director of International Business Development for Lockheed-Martin’s Commercial Satellite Division. Under his guidance, his capture teams were credited with over $1 billion USD in satellite sales. He has a broad entrepreneurial background, having been involved in five start-ups companies, one of these as vice president of business development for The Fantastic Corporation, a broadband wireless content delivery company located in Zug, Switzerland. Mr. Leonard was a key contributor to this company’s successful IPO in 1999 (Neuer Markt: FAN).
Mike was a co-founder of both the Travis Consulting Group and Etherware, LLC, the predecessor company to VSL Networks, Inc. He holds an MBA in marketing and business management from Southern Illinois University and a BA in political science from Benedictine College.
Web site:
http://SOFREP.com/
