Richard Herman, Jr., wrote a series of books about 2 seat fighter airplanes. The person that sat in the rear seat of the 2 seat fighter operated the weapons systems.

He had one character, that he developed, who was a bit older that the young pilots. This character would come out with these one liners of wisdom every now and than. In the book, “Firebreak,” he collects these one liners.

Major Furry Ambler was such a man. He was a bit older than the hot shot young pilots he flew with. Major Furry would come up with these one-liner “words of wisdom” to educate the young pilots.

The collected sayings of Major Ambler, USAF, are not the product of his wit and experience, but the distilled wisdom of men who have fought in combat since time immemorial. Without doubt, many of Major Furry’s rules were in well-developed form when the Hittites first smote the ancient Egyptians.

It is important to remember that there is no priority to the importance
of these rules. Whichever rule is applicable immediately becomes number one.

Here are “Furry’s Rules.”

1. Always remember your jet was made by the lowest bidder.
2. Train like you plan to fight.
3. If you’re up to your eyeballs in Gomers, you’re in combat.
4. When in doubt, use industrial strength deterrence.
5. Never fly in the same cockpit with someone who is braver than you.
6. Priorities are man-made, not God-made.
7. A plan never survives the first thirty seconds of combat.
8. If it’s stupid, but it works, it ain’t stupid.
9. Only turn to blow the opposition away; otherwise, run away and
fight another guy.
10. Always honor a threat.
11. Know the opposition.
12. Know when it’s time to get out of Dodge.
13. Always know how to get out of Dodge.

I always thought that numbers 14 and 15 were words to live by.

14. The important things are always simple.
15. The simple things are always hard.

from the book, FIREBREAK, by Richard Herman, Jr.