The Making Of A Chopper Pilot

by Rick Blackmon

  Greg reached into his pocket and pulled out an exquisite diamond studded tennis bracelet in a small jewelry box and handed it to Beth. "It's not much, just something I picked up at the BX at the Presidio." (The Presidio is an Army base in San Francisco.) "Jake, I'm sorry but your gift didn't arrive in time for me to bring with me, but should be delivered in the next few days. I ordered a Big Bertha C4 club. I have a set of their clubs and love them. I think you'll like it. It won't let you beat me, but you'll be able to beat your regular golfing buddies."

  "Greg, you shouldn't have," Beth said, "but it really is beautiful." She handed it to Jake and said, "Would you put it on my wrist, please, Darling?" He obliged her.

  "I've really missed you guys. There is nothing like you two in the entire country of Afghanistan and you both know I love you more than anything in the world."

  "Beth, how's Pop?" Greg's dad had been on the road traveling in his job and was rarely home for any of the events in Greg's life. Beth's family had lived in the same block as he had in Bedford and they were in and out of each other's homes frequently, as was Jake, who also lived close by. Greg and Jake had played on the same Little League baseball teams, the Bedford High School football and baseball teams. Beth's father had treated him as he would his own son and Greg always referred to him as "Pop".

  "Actually, he's doing very well. He's very pleased to hear you were going to be here and we'll get together while you're here," Beth said.

  "Greg, I've planned dinner at home tomorrow evening. I have invited a couple of friends over. I think you will like them."

  Jake's foot nudged Greg under the table. When Greg looked at him, he rolled his eyes in a 'lookout' warning. Greg had not had time for girls in high school nor at West Point. He worked hard at his studies and had no time left. Beth had decided after Jake and her two small boys, her next most important function was to find a nice girl for Greg. To this end, she was always finding nice girls for Greg to meet. Along that vein, beginning the next evening, there was to be another parade of lovely, single young women brought into close proximity to him. Greg asked a couple of them out but no more than twice. Beth was exasperated and disappointed. Beth Chalmers Wilson had one dominant quality. She never gave up.

  Chapter 6

  Following a six week course of indoctrination, Greg was deemed an instructor pilot, commonly referred to as an "IP".

  There are quite a few aspects to the training of a helicopter pilot. To begin with, they must complete 'Dunker training', where they are taught survivor tactics in the water. This training is about seven hours and involves escape from a capsule under water. The escapes are varied from upside down, sideways, etc. and may include 150 or more dunks.

  Following the dunker training, the student must undergo classroom training, simulator training, and then basic maneuvers such as takeoff, landing, hover, etc. The instructor pilot will be involved in all areas. Generally, an instructor pilot will have two students.

  Greg found he much preferred combat flying over instructing and when a request came for pilots needed in a coming upsurge in Afghanistan, he volunteered and was accepted.

  Prior to being re-deployed, he transitioned into the AH64D Longbow attack helicopter. Training for this transition involved the use of the Longbow crew trainer, where a pilot, copilot/gunner were trained at the same time. Instructor pilots were also trained in the Longbow LCT.

  Training involved flight, instruments and weapons delivery, normal and emergency procedures, and sensor system operating tasks that simulated activities required by the systems implemented in the operational design of the Longbow.

  These systems include the Fire Control Radar (FCR), Pilot Night Vision Sensor (PNVS), and the gunner's Target Acquisition and Designation Sight (TADS).

  After successful completion of the training Greg was assigned to Kandahar airfield and the 159th Combat Aviation Brigade. This unit is part of the 101st Airborne Division. He began flying in a support role for search and rescue using the Longbow.

  It was a cold but cloudless morning when a call for an extraction was received by Greg and his copilot/gunner, Wild Bill Hanrahan. Already in his flight suit, Greg grabbed his helmet with 'Cool Hand' stenciled on the sides. He was called 'Cool Hand' for his calm, steady demeanor in critical situations.

  "C'mon Wild Bill. Time to kick the tires and light the fires." he yelled. Helmet in hand, he ran, closely followed by Wild Bill to their bird. With the aid of the crew chief, Greg climbed in and strapped into the rear seat of the Longbow, which had his name Captain Greg 'Coolhand" Michaels stenciled just below the cockpit window. "Wild Bill" Hanrahan was doing the same in the front cockpit. (Author's note: The copilot/gunner is seated in the front cockpit to give him better line of sight on targets. He has all of the flight controls as the pilot and can fly the bird if the pilot becomes incapacitated.)

  Either of the crew members can launch the missiles. The AH-64D is fitted with a radome to control the Longbow firing system. The Longbow takes advantage of the 'fire and forget' version of the Hellfire Missile.

  On this day, the controller vectored Greg into the extraction area. A platoon of infantry had been ambushed by insurgents. They reported two KIA (Killed in Action) and four WIA (Wounded in action.) The ground forces reported a hot LZ so Greg and his team brought the entire area under fire with the chain guns. The ground forces had marked their location with red smoke and any movement outside the smoke was hostile. Raking the area with fire, the attack helicopters held the insurgents at bay while a Chinook raced in to pick up the KIAs and WIAs. At the same time, the remaining ground forces were returning fire with their small arms.

  Wild Bill Hanrahan told Greg over the intercom, "I have a MG about 200 meters this side of the LZ." Greg made a pass at it. The machine gun continued firing as The Chinook with the wounded lifted off, lowered its nose and sped off. Greg pointed the nose where Wild Bill had indicated and the MG was obliterated by Wild Bill. Another Chinook came in to pick up the rest of the ground troops. One of the orbiting attack choppers took an RPG head on and disintegrated, killing both crew members.

  A concentrated effort by the Taliban was focusing on the Chinook still on the ground taking the remaining troops aboard. Greg told Hanrahan, "We're going back in." Knowing he would be inside the optimal range of the RPG's, (Author's note: The optimal range of the RPG is approximately 200 meters.) Hanrahan launched the fire and forget Hellfire missile and Greg turned the Longbow and lifted into a steep bank and climb. He could hear the chatter from his other two team members as they took on advancing Taliban on the other side of the Chinook.

  "I'm going to go at them from the front and swing the nose and use the chain gun to keep the gomers from getting a shot at the Chinook." This tactic forced the insurgents to keep their head down or be sent to paradise by the chain gun. Two insurgents stood to launch RPGs but their foolhardiness was their undoing. They would not survive the fire of the chain gun.

  As the Chinook lifted off, the two supporting choppers fell alongside covering the ground with heavy fire. Greg and Hanrahan stayed back, they were much faster than the loaded Chinook so they ran a rear guard. He made one more pass at the insurgents, giving the departing Chinook the chance to gain speed and altitude.

  "Let's go home," he said over the intercom.

  "Damn, you're crazy Cool Hand, you know that? Making four passes? You have a death wish or something?"

  "I knew we would be okay because in our hearts, we are pure," Greg said in a sonorous voice.

  "Shit," was the only response.

  They learned later all of the extracted personnel would survive their wounds and live to fight another day.

  That was their last of the nine days of flying. Tomorrow would be a down day. Both aviators were ready for one.

  Chapter 7

  Colonel Bagby, Greg's commanding officer had sent a runner asking Greg to stop by at his convenience.

  As expected, Greg reported as soon as he received the message. In the outer offic
e, he greeted Command Sergeant Major Bolin. "Good afternoon, Command Sergeant Major Bolin. Colonel Bagby sent for me."

  "Yes, sir Captain." He spoke into the intercom, "Sir, Captain Michaels is here. Yes sir."

  "Colonel Bagby will see you now, Captain."

  "Thank you Command Sergeant Major."

  Greg opened the door to the office and went in. He stopped precisely two feet in front of the desk, and staring at a spot six inches above Colonel Bagby he said, "Sir, Captain Greg reporting as ordered, sir."

  "Greg, your tour is up in six months. The Army would like for you to stay in. I would like for you to stay in. Have you given any thought on what you will do."

  "No sir, well a little, but not much. I really like what I'm doing but I'd like to know what's out there for me, sir."

  "That's understandable. Since the unit's tour is up in another week, I can tell you, we are going to Fort Irwin in the California desert. Why don't you take some leave, think it over and we'll talk when you get back?"

  "That's a good idea, Colonel. I'll do that. It's about time I visited by best friend, Jake. He lives in a suburb of Dallas."

  "Command Sergeant Major Bolin will set it up. Keep up the good work, Captain. That last mission was a ball buster and your work was exemplary."

  "Thank you sir. By your leave, sir."

  Colonel Bagby waved his arm vaguely as if to say, "That's all, now get out of here."

  Greg stopped at Command Sergeant Major Bolin's desk and told him about the discussion. Bolin pulled some papers from his desk drawer and said, "I have already drawn up your papers. If you give me an address of record and sign them, I'll get them started."

  The next day was a flying day, so it was back to work again.

  Chapter 8

  Captain Greg Michaels's next two missions were unremarkable insofar as a combat mission can be unremarkable.

  The first was an extraction of a patrol that had been inserted behind the lines of the insurgents. It was their mission to determine the strength in the area assigned to the patrol. They were to attempt to locate any strongholds and estimate the strength of these. That they had remained undetected was a tribute to their abilities to make the best of what concealment was available. They were not to engage the enemy unless there was no alternative.

  On the fourth day of their mission, they had requested extraction and defined a landing zone (LZ). After watching the LZ for several hours, they determined it was not hot and the call for extraction went out.

  A Chinook and two Longbow choppers were assigned the pickup. With Greg and his partner and the other Longbow flying guard, ready to suppress fire if necessary, the recovery was made without any problem. There was no report of ground fire and the group back to base. This was the type of mission called a milk run. Greg felt he was due a milk run.

  Greg was assigned to support a mission flying the Secretary of Defense, his aide and Greg's Brigade Commander, Colonel Bagby on a tour of the various military installations in the 159th area of responsibility. No pilot likes to fly this type of mission, lest a career ending incident beyond his control occurs. His fault or not. Greg and the other pilots were relieved when this meet and greet tour was over and SecDef was safely on his way to another area of Afghanistan.

  The final mission for Captain Greg Michaels on his second tour had him flying the AH64 Apache helicopter gunship, on a ground support mission following a request for assistance by a squad of Army Rangers surrounded by a company of Taliban insurgents.

  The results of this mission and subsequent adventures can be found in The Transplant List, by Rick Blackmon, now on sale at Amazon.com. Be sure to visit the author's website at https://rickblackmon.com.