I would like to hear your story, Scout. You probably have the largest amount of current military experience on the forum. I think it would be great for us to hear how things have gone for you.
Stealth_81
After graduation I attended IERW at Fort Rucker. Back then it was the Flight School XXI model, which meant I did primary and instruments in the TH-67 and then three weeks of tactical navigation training in the OH-58A/C (paper map and compass and clock). At aircraft selection I chose the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior in the scout/attack track. The FSXXI model meant that I did all my combat skills and NVG training in the KW.
Following graduation I was assigned to an operational squadron at Fort Drum. I became a PC (or PIC or PPC depending on how you prefer to term it) as I was dating my wife. We have many fond memories of studying together while she was at Yale, seated in the sunny corner of a place that is now sadly a clothing store.
I deployed to Iraq and logged about 1000 combat hours in fifteen months during the height of the surge. We had two pilots get shot on the flight into country from Kuwait when a triangular ambush caught us. It was the wildest, most thrilling, longest, and saddest period of my career. For all the kids today who feel like they missed the war...I'm glad for them. War is the cost of doing business but it is still a terrific cost and I wish them peaceful careers filled with training exercises and great TDYs.
I spent time as a squadron operations officer and then attended the career course - which I recommend to no one.
Since then I've spent the last seven years in special operations, which is probably all the more I'll say about that in terms of detail for obvious reasons. It's a wonderful community full of the greatest professionals on earth. I'm privileged to serve.
The only notable break is was a year at CGSC where I proved that any decently smart person can graduate in the top five percent of the class while doing virtually none of the reading and drinking a lot of coffee, and spending most afternoons exploring KC or wrenching on a British roadster. Anyone who tells you that military PME is graduate level is a liar, a damn liar, or a general officer. But it was a great year.
I'm currently enjoying the best job in the Army.
Oh, and I'm about to have DD or DS. I won't know which until the missile leaves the rail, so to speak.
