Bob, after I had a handle on what flying was all about, I started just assuming that I would eventually be shot down and that I might have to walk a long way back to friendlies.
I started to dress accordingly and most everything under my seat took that concept into account; food, water, weapons, ammo, and ways to carry all of that. What I never did manage to scare up was one of those little beeper radios. "Beeper beeper come up voice this is Crown 4 on Guard..."
Anyway, what I never figured out, and what caused me a lot of lost sleep, was how to enter a friendly firebase perimeter without getting shot. Some day I need to talk to a grunt and find out how they did it. I think maybe I'd have put a tree between me and them and then tried the old "three shots in the air" cowboy trick. I dunno.
Bob