“The book title “POINT OF THE SPEAR” represents the vary nature of the Covey FAC mission in the skies over North Vietnam, South Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia during the undeclared Vietnam War. The Covey FAC in Southeast Asia was literally at the point of the air war “spear” over his area of operations (AO.) Just as the point of a spear is the first part to arrive when hurled at a target, the Covey FAC was the first to arrive over his usually target rich environment.
It was more than being first on target, however. He was usually the last to leave, often low on fuel because of hours of effort to interdict the enemy supply lines or to affect life saving rescues of SOG teams who had infiltrated with the Covey’s help. Deep in the heart of enemy territory surrounding the Trail, the Covey coordinated the insert of his team, and the “hot” extract of that same team if it came under attack, as they often did. The Covey was the real time, on-scene commander for conducting air strikes, whether for interdiction or troops-in-contact situations. He had to be the out-front leader who handled[…]”
