Flight Lieutenant Phil Smith in East Timor

Espionage, terrorists and fast jets. These are just some of the ingredients featured in a new door-busting military thriller, Shooting Script, written by Air Force reservist Flight Lieutenant Phil Smith.

FLTLT Smith said he was inspired to write the novel while sitting under his mozzie net in Bougainville one evening.
He realised how lucky military personnel were to get to all these places and knew he already had enough material for a good yarn.

Set in Noumea and Bougainville, Shooting Script pits an Australian television news crew and their mysterious government liaison officer against French Foreign Legionnaires and Indonesian renegades bent on havoc throughout the Pacific.

The action takes place on the eve of an independence ballot for the war-torn island of Bougainville.

The power structure of the entire Pacific region hinges on solving a WW2 riddle hidden in the jungle.

Amberley's F-111s, Caribous and Airfield Defence Guards all get involved from their forward operating base at Cape York.

The Navy and Army also get involved as the action moves from the Great Barrier Reef to Cape York.

"It's high time Aussie heroes saved the day in an international plot with all the necessary white-knuckle ingredients," FLTLT Smith said.

His novel puts Australian heroes on an international powder keg and draws from his own experiences in East Timor, Bougainville and south-east Asia as a broadcaster, correspondent and Reservist.

He said his military background had given him great contacts, which helped in researching technical details. For example, can a Caribou land on a 2m-wide dirt strip? He learned that it can.

His service in the Air Force Reserve includes peacekeeping operations, joint exercises and humanitarian relief in various parts of the world.

He was also awarded a Chief of Air Force Commendation and is the 2001 Air Force recipient of the Prince of Wales Award.

High praise has already been received for FLTLT Smith's novel from critics and an Australian film company is also considering Shooting Script for development into a screenplay.

Callum McPherson, Editor of Pacific Wings magazine, said the book was written with a great turn of phrase with the reader's attention held throughout.

Shooting Script will be available for sale from all Frontline stores or, for more information, contact the author at SPUNYARNS@bigpond.com

By CPL Mark Eaton