I grew up in a USAF family, and served
1965-1970 as a KC-135 navigator in the 46th Air Refueling
Sqaudron. During that stint I had occasion to parachute
from a tanker one summer night in the Upper Peninsula. Prior
to that only two Stratotanker crewman had ever made it out
safely. That night four more of us made it. This, of course,
is just the sort of material a creative person immediately
puts to use, and service in the military itself is a rich
source of dark humor. With fewer and fewer people serving,
I wonder how long such humor will retain currency.