"Gunny" R Lee Ermey calls Tuffy's Heroes
  "OUT—STANDING!!"

Meet the basic trainees whose lives will never be the same once they meet their Air Force Training Instructor, Technical Sergeant Joe “Tuffy” Tofuri. A hard-nosed T.I. who conveys his years of training and experience by using creative tactics to gain the attention of his trainees.

The team is composed of a hilarious squadron commander (Major Chin Ho Wok), his T.I.s and their trainees. Explore the hilarious antics that rocked basic training in 1968. Experience the trials and tribulations of the werewolf, an airman launching himself from a window, a trainee “hung out on a limb”, and a daring secret mission to secure a highly contested aircraft, and many more hilarious stories from basic training.

Featured in TACTICAL WEAPONS

TW • Read any good books lately?
I want to call everybody’s attention to one of the funniest books I’ve ever read on my favorite subject—recruit training. It’s called Tuffy’s Heroes by retired Air Force Master Sergeant Joe “Tuffy” Tofuri. He spent 14 years as a TI. The Air Force calls them “Training Instructors” instead of “Drill Instructors.” Anyway, I found reading about his years as a TI at Lackland Air Force Base in San Antonio to be totally interesting and entertaining. I can’t recommend the book highly enough.

TW • Is Tuffy’s Heroes readily available?
The publisher’s website is GiPubs.com. This is the revised 2011 edition. I think everybody will want to make sure they get this latest printing. Some years ago, Tuffy and his wife stood in line at one of my shows in San Antonio to meet me and give me a book. We’ve been friends ever since, and I even did an Air Force Birthday Ball with him. He’s the real deal, and so is his book.

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About the Author

Retired Air Force Master Sergeant, Joe “Tuffy” Tofuri spent 14 years as a T.I., training basic recruits during the 60s, 70s and 80s. He was a member of the first group of “Blue Ropes” initially established in 1975, making him a Master Military Training Instructor. It took him 28 years to complete “Tuffy’s Heroes”, and within its pages he recalls those glorious; albeit painful days under the hot Southwest Texas sun training his “Young Heroes”.

Many of the hilarious incidents that actually occurred between Tuffy and his trainees are colorfully brought to life within the pages of Tuffy’s Heroes, with such incidents as: The “Shootout”, The “Body Count”, The “White Tornado”, The “Stolen Airplane”, The “I’d Rather Fight Than Switch”, and lest we forget… “The Werewolf”!

Follow the hardcore and side-splitting adventures of a new flight of basic trainees in 1968 from the day the arrive at Lackland AFB, to the day they finally manage to graduate basic training… and all the hysterical events in between!