Lash-Up

Dramatis Personae

Ames, Clifton; General, USAF: Air Force Vice Chief of Staff

Ardery, Robert: Edwards Air Force Base facility manager

Baker, Andre; Captain, USAF: Defender weapons officer

Barnes, Clarence; Captain (later Major), USAF: F-22 pilot, Defender mission commander, call sign “Biff”

Carson, Eugene; Rear Admiral, USN: Commander, Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR)

Champagne, Chris: one of Ray McConnell’s coworkers, wife Sandy

Chung, Glenn: Lockheed Martin information technology technician

Davis, Ben: aide and pollster for Congressman Rutledge

Dawson, Hugh: Lockheed Martin engineer assigned to the Defender project

Forest, Ted; General, USA: Army Chief of Staff

Evans, Joseph; Colonel, USA: the Defender project’s security director

Kastner, Sam; General, USA: Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff

Kramer, John; Admiral, USN: Chief of Naval Operations

Lewes, Geoffrey: Defender morale and welfare officer

Markin, Mark: CNN reporter

Matheson, Dr. Harold: National Aeronautics and Space Administration director

McConnell, Ray: brilliant yet humble engineer at SPAWAR, Defender project technical director and flight engineer

Naguchi, Jim: Ray McConnell’s coworker and friend

Norman, Carl; General, USMC: Camp Pendleton base commander

Overton, Frank; Rear Admiral, USN: J-2 (Intelligence), Joint Chiefs of Staff

Oh, Jennifer; Lt. Commander, USN: communications specialist at Navy Information Operations Command

Peck, Everett: Secretary of Defense

Rutledge, Thomas K.: representative from Nebraska’s 3rd Congressional District

Scarelli, Jim: Lockheed Martin test pilot, Defender pilot

Schultz, William; Vice Admiral (later Admiral), USN: Commander, Naval Air Systems Command, then Space Force Chief of Staff

Skeldon, Steve; Captain, USMC: Defender navigator/co-pilot

Takir, Avrim: Ray McConnell’s coworker at SPAWAR

Tillman, Sue; Lieutenant, USN: Defender sensor officer

Warner, Michael; General, USAF: Air Force Chief of Staff

White, Rudy: Ray McConnell’s boss and a division head at SPAWAR

Dong Zhi, Dr.: chief scientist of Tien Lung project

Li Zhang; General, People’s Liberation Army (PLA): Chief of the General Staff and PLA Commander

Pan Yunfeng: President of the People’s Republic of China and First Party Secretary

Shen Xuesen; General, PLA: commanding general of the Tien Lung launcher, engineer.

Wen Jin: Senior Agent, Ministry for State Security