Our son was then based with a ‘wild-weasel’ squadron, USAF, in Japan, and they moved many jets, pilots, maintenance, admin, etc. to Jordan to position themselves to strike ISIS, the Taliban and Al-Qaeda via strikes in Iraq, (You might recal an F-16 was knocked-down during this time frame and ISIS burned the Jordanian Pilot alive; my son knew him, flew with him.) Afghanistan and Syria. ISIS was getting obliterated; decimated, really. ISIS made public announcements that they wanted the American Pilots to know they would kill their families in America. They made several attempts at several families; two or three made the headlines, to the Air Force’s chagrin.
My wife, one evening, said she was going to take our dog for a walk around the block (we were in Del Rio, Texas, as I was a retired American Airlines Pilot now training USAF Pilots as a Civilian Simulator Instructor Pilot. She went to the right exiting our driveway and she / we usually go left, so that interested me; I went back to studying. To the right went next to a field which stretched-out all the way to the border of Mexico! Coyotes, transporting illegals and/or drugs, went through there at night allot; so much so that the Border Patrol had installed cameras and listening devices in those fields.
My phone rang and it was my wife, very shortly after leaving. She sounded winded and her voice revealed stress and fear. She said two men stood-up in the field looking right at her, They said something in a language she did not recognize. (She would recognize Spanish, French or English.) She said the hair was standing-up on her neck like never before and she was scared. I grabbed my Springfield Armory XDm 45 ACP, her still on the cell walking fast for home, and stepped into the clear (not far from protection if they made any moves) with my weapon in hand, hanging by my side. I made eye contact with them as I called to my wife to keep walking past me and go directly inside the house; I was on with 911. Both men quickly made a half-turn right and kept going as I watched them go out of my sight around a bend, still on with 911. I’m certain that the show of potential lethal force AND my gaze spoke loudly to them; I was ready and I meant business if I needed to. (I have a medal for small arms excellence, U. S. Navy, as I was a Naval Aviator and the SEALS trained me to that proficiency while I was based in the Philippines at Naval Air Station Cubi Point. We flew to/from aircraft carriers and other places.
I decided to get in my car, still on with 911, as I wanted to watch their direction since the 911 operator said four vehicles were responding; one code three, the others code two. I saw the men trying to get into an abandoned house and they turned and saw me about 1/2 block away, quickly turned and headed towards a road called Amistad Way as I recall. A black sports car pulled-up behind me, about 5 car-lengths, stopped and began to shadow me. I told the 911 operator; we were then concerned the two men were cartel coyotes, but the vehicle made no threatening moves and then went a different direction. I stayed with the men until a sheriff’s deputy arrived code-3, pulling in front of the men at a 45 degree angle, got out and was alone, drew his weapon and I saw the men clasp their hands behind their heads and drop to their knees. I told the 911 operator I was now across the street backing-up the officer since no other officers were yet present. I departed the scene and went home when the 911 operator said it was ok to go as the second and third vehicles arrived.
I received a call at home and the police requested that I return to the arrest scene, to which I, of course, agreed. I brought my wife (as a witness - I suspected the men might have said we initiated the potential conflict), parked a block away and got out and started walking towards them. One of the plain-clothes officers, armed, saw me, smiled and pointed at me, beckoning others to come towards me; but they were all smiling and looked … happy!
They all came at me, hands outstretched to shake mine and one of them said, “We just wanted to tell you, commend you, that you did a good, good thing! These are bad men; bad, bad men.” They would not (could not?) give me any more details except to say both were wanted for multiple murders; one was from Africa and one was from Saudi Arabia. There were two Del Rio PD cars there, two Valverde Sheriff vehicles, two CBP (Border Patrol, and two undercover ICE agent unmarked cars. The one plain-clothes told me he was ICE, the black sports car behind me; I told him I was a little concerned I had stumbled on cartel ops and he was gonna pull-up and open-up with machine guns; really, I was.
I notified my then Manager and the appropriate Air Force Commander of mine. I could not get ANY information at all from the law enforcement agencies involved! So I involved the local Air Force Office of Special Investigations (OSI), as we had been warned of the ISIS threat. OSI’s investigation silenced everyone! The Air Force had already experienced headlines on two families approached by the then long arm of ISIS; those attempts were also, thankfully, unsuccessful.
A local law enforcement officer I knew finally gave me some details, only after I promised I’d go to jail before revealing his name: According to him (can’t remember his name, ever!) both were jailed, indicted, arraigned, and the one a liberal judge let go on his own recognizance until his court date (honest to God!) and has been, to my knowledge, unlocated. The other went to a ‘real’ judge and remains in prison as a terrorist at least up to the last time I checked.
BOTTOM LINES: As my wife learned: If something doesn’t feel safe, or feels dangerous, escape as soon as you can - avoid - withdraw! My wife who would never own a weapon before came to me and said, "I’m ready! I want to know how to shoot, how to defend myself!) (Our children all knew, and we were all members of the Black Belt Club in Tae Kwon Do, but not her. She is a nurse and always saved lives; I pointed out that on that day, because I was armed and ready and capable, I saved two lives; one of them happened to be my own. She and my daughter I bought weapons for, and bought them training with a peer who is quite the weapons competition and instructor!
NOTE: I can now find NO clue or stories about the two F-16 Pilots’ families I KNOW were in the news when ISIS came after them here in America!
Thanks. My son is still flying; next stop: Director of Operations (DO) at an F-22 squadron after training in it; he’s at Naval War college right now. He was just serving with the Navy Top Gun as an instructor and dual-qualified on the F-18 Super-Hornet. He got to meet Tom Cruise & the cast at a special viewing of the completed Top Gun Maverick film in California. He was the only Air Force Pilot at Navy Top Gun, I was the only Naval Aviator at an Air Force squadron. 
