Alan Craik is an officer with the U.S. Naval Intelligence.
He is a very serious minded, determined young Lieutenant at the start of this dynamite series. Also a pilot, he is eager to prove himself to his Navy, to his father, a decorated Navy Pilot still on active duty, and to himself. When his father's plane is shot down near Iran, Craik has an even greater goal - namely to prove that it was not a lucky shot or pilot error but a concerted effort to see his father dead. That is not, of course, the only emphasis of the series but it definitely was the genesis of it.
As the series progresses, Craik grows quickly in skill, reputation, and self-assuredness. Willing to take a stand on his opinions, he carefully threads the needle as he has to deal with others not in the know or not wanting to know. He rises in rank and authority. He becomes someone that others come to for help and advise. And he becomes a man who is not afraid to leave the comfort of a base or aircraft carrier to find out the truth of an assignment.
This series is truly half Naval adventure and half spy drama. It is able to do justice to both sides admirably. Or is that admiralably?
Gordon Kent is really a pairing of two authors, a father-and-son team consisting on Kenneth M. Cameron (the father) and Christian G. Cameron (the son). Both speak from considerable experience as both were Naval officers and both were fighter pilots. The son was in longer and had more experience but the father had the more overall experience in life so the two complemented each other.