Jim Spiri in Iraq

I had made my way over to the other side of the camp here at Mosul. It is divided into two sections, one being FOB Marez, where I stay, and the other FOB Diamondback, where the flight line is. I had determined to find out and visit the eyes that kept a close watch on me as I've moved about the Mosul area lately on missions on the ground. By the early afternoon of 31 July, I had been introduced to one Lt.

Col. Jamison who opened up to me and introduced me to his crews. At one point, I saw Lt. Col. Jamison in his trademark Cav hat and had to comment that he resembled to a tee the likes of Robert Duval in the movie "Apocolypse Now". He smiled a big grin at that, and I assured him my role model had always been the part Dennis Hopper played in that same movie, (the crazy photographer) and together we hit it off quite well. From there he took me around and educated me among his crews the daily routines of what his pilots do and what their missions entail.

I followed them around for a couple hours as they pre-flighted their aircraft, recieved word on what their missions would be for the day, observed a crew returning from their missions and how the hand-offs go, and many other things that go into keeping the folks on the ground informed from the vantage point in the air above. Again, I'd been given another education in a short amount of time that intrigued me even further as I add to my repatoir of classes I've gained on this journey.

For the layman, one might think that all these guys do is jump into an aircraft and go flying around in circles. Not so, by any stretch of the imagination.
There is a process, that is done over and over again, daily, nightly, 24/7 and everyone in the unit has an intregal part to play, all with a view to assisting in every sense of the word the folks on the ground.

Another sheet of music, with the entire symphony playing their parts, perfectly. I keep seeing this over and over again in every unit I visit. Everyone's job, from the briefing person, to the radio person, to the logistics person, all feeding the pilots their info, which they inturn assimilate and process it for each mission to support their brothers in arms on the ground. This they do, day in and day out, 24/7, during their 15-month deployment here in Mosul.

I sat and spoke at length with four pilots, which consisted of two, two-man crews. They would be on station for the next 10-hours and I happened to catch them as they came on board for this days activities.

I would interview on audio, Maj. Nicolson, CW3 Boise,
CW2 Starr, and CW2 Burns. I would come to find out that each of these warriors had chosen in round about ways, the OH-58 helicopter for the shear reason of wanting to directly support their brothers on the ground. Again, another humbling insight into first class aviator-warriors.

During conversations with these four, I asked how each of them came to be here, in Mosul, doing what they do.

One by one, I learned that three of them had been enlisted before joing the warrant officer program.

One a combat engineer, one an infantryman who had been in Somalia, and the other a special forces soldier.

The fourth, the Major, graduated from West Point in 1992. These four all meshed as one, not only in their duties, but in their speaking as well. I decided to speak to the four as one. I had noticed an insignia painted on a wall that displayed a "flying horseman". I was talking to "the four horseman".

Major Nicholson, 37-years old, and the father of four children, is originally from the Philadelphia area.

He looks a lot like like the character in the sit com "Friends", the character named Ross. I thought he was about 25-years-old, when I first met him, by his outward appearance, but his professional demeanor is that of a very mature person. He spoke more often than the others, and was the higher ranking of the four. However, I noticed that these four all were in one accord and although rank has its place at all times, I found that each are dependent upon one another at all times in every situation. The major loves his job and although he misses his family dearly he told me that each of them have two families. Their families at home, and their family here at work, in the war zone.

CW3 Boise, a fair skinned, ruddy complected, gentleman from Big Sky country in Montana, is the most laid back of them. He was special forces in years past and decided 10-years back that he would take up flying.

It has served him well. As I listened to him brief his comrades on the days missions, I found each of them listening intently as nothing was overlooked.
Again, more of "all on the same page" was the order of the day.

CW2 Starr, the biggest of the four, at 6'2", probably around 220-lbs, originally from Florida, was the one who explained to me that although he should be in a much larger helicopter, it was the "mission" of the OH-58, that compelled him to make himself fit into this little bird. His love for the support of the guys on the ground emphasised to me emphatically that care for comrade is not just a phrase, it is a reality among this crew.

CW2 Burns, the smallest in stature of the four, seemed to have the largest tenacity of them all. He is an experienced infantryman from years past in the Army and knows full well how critical the mission of the

OH-58 is to the guys on the ground. His wife is also in the Army, stationed in Baghdad. He, being the smallest, is teamed with Starr, the largest, and the two, who both look like they work out in the gym quite regularly, fit into the tiny frame of the helicopter in 120-degree heat, like sardines in a can.

We discussed things like weather, especially heat and how it affects the performance of the aircraft and keeping a close eye on maneuvers related to timing.
Hot, high and heavy is a phrase that is a daily reminder in such extreme heat conditions as are currently here in Iraq during the summer.

The mission of the OH-58,for those that do not know, is close in support for troops on the ground. Close is the key word here. It is no secret that drawing fire comes with the territory. We discussed the fact that their have been losses among them, and when asked about how they press on after such ordeals, the mood became more serious. It was a difficult question to ask, but one that needed to be answered. Each of them told me the same thing, more or less. They never forget their comrades, and it carries them even the more so, to help those on the ground daily who depend on their eyes above. War is hard and has its suffering. These ones never forget that. Yet they press on for those that have gone before them, in support of those that are underneath them.

Again, I was humbled.

Being that each of them had been to Iraq before, I again asked them a difficult question. I inquired as to their assesment of progress from their past tours to their current tours. All of them agreed that much progress has been accomplished, and yes, their is more to do. The northern part of Iraq, where this crew operates, has experienced a dramatic decrease in activity, although daily, there are still hotbeds of enemy activity. That is why they are still very busy, many flying regularly 100-hours or more a month each.

We talked about life after the Army, and all of them plan to finish a full 20-years of service. All of them look forward to returning to the Pacific Northwest and enjoying the cool mountain air of the Cascades and the clear rivers that are loaded with steelhead waiting to be caught.

Many stateside see and hear about helicopters in Iraq.

Most have the images of everything but the OH-58 helicopters. This is the little bird. It's hard to see the small ones. But these little birds have very big missions and fly daily right into the thick of things for the guys on the ground. I will never forget the call sign, "THUG". I would go flying with these "THUGS" any day of the week. Little birds with very, very big missions. This is who I met on this day in Iraq. The four flying horsemen of the Cav.

So, the next time I see these these little birds in my view finder zooming around the rooftops at less than 100-feet off the ground, I will be able to say, "I
know those guys. They are good...!"

By Jim Spiri
jimspiri@yahoo.com