It was the beginning of the Cold War.

The day was cold and the night grew even colder as the pilot flew his crew of 15 on the C-130 “Hurricane Hunter” weather plane based out of Offutt AFB, Nebraska.  The mission departed from Elmendorf AFB, Alaska in the dead of winter.  The true mission of the plane was highly classified and included a route just off the Siberian coast.

Shortly after arriving at their location near Siberia, the crew encountered a winter storm. The aircraft’s navigational system failed and it mistakenly entered Soviet air space.  The Soviet Air Defense shot down the unauthorized intruder with a surface-to-air missile.  The crew made their egress from the aircraft with only seconds to spare as they parachuted to temporary safety over near the C-130s area of impact. The speeding fiery ball forced a massive crater into the frozen tundra upon impact. The crew was able to make their way back to the wreckage in search of any supplies that could be salvaged.  Unknown to them, the Soviet Army was quickly approaching.

As the crew reached the wreckage, an extraordinary reaction occurred between an extremely rare mineral, found only in Siberia, and the intense heat generated by the burning fuel.  The gases emitted into the air transformed the pilot and his crew into a pack of wolves!  Immediately after the transformation took place, the Russian soldiers ignored the wolves and after searching the area for survivors, they returned to their base. They were convinced that nobody could have survived such a violent crash.  Over the next three months, the Wolfpack made their way feeding on small animals.  After arriving at the Siberian coast, they made their way on icebergs through the Aleutian Islands.  Traveling back through the pristine forests of Alaska, they fed on small game and other species abundant in the area.

One night, during a new moon, the pack began to notice that they were slowly transforming back into humans.  The transformation was complete by morning. The pilot and crew eventually made themselves known to the only individuals cleared to know the true purpose of their mission. The crew was sworn to secrecy concerning their transformations.  They were required to provide all of the information they had obtained during their journey to special agents in charge of the “Z” files.

The pilot received permission to return to Offutt and fulfill his new calling to form and lead an ROTC Detachment at the local university.  The 1st Commander of Det 470 instilled in his cadets the characteristics of the wolf. Although he never told them of his experiences of the Cold War, he did teach them the importance of perseverance, teamwork, loyalty, honor, integrity, and excellence.