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November 29, 2006

Heros, Revisited

I am on the CENTCOM mailing list for bloggers, so I get press releases now and then. This morning's referenced Chief Warrant Officer 3 ( CW3) Lori Hill, recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross. Since CENTCOM's web site, to be blunt, is terrible, I'll quote extensively from the release here.

Back in March in Iraq, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Lori Hill, with the 2nd Squadron, 17th Cavalry Regiment, was piloting her Kiowa Warrior when the lead chopper came under heavy fire. She drew the fire away, simultaneously providing suppressive fire for the troops engaged with the enemy on the ground.

A rocket-propelled grenade hit her, damaging the helo’s instrumentation, but instead of focusing on her predicament, she established communication with the ground forces and continued to provide them with aerial weapon support until the soldiers reached safety.

As she turned her attention to the aircraft, which was losing hydraulic power, the helo took on machine-gun fire, a round crashing into one of Hill’s ankles. Still, with a damaged aircraft and an injury, she landed at Forward Operating Base Normandy, saving her crew and aircraft.

For her actions she was presented the Distinguished Flying Cross by Vice President Richard Cheney at Fort Campbell, Ky., on Oct. 16.

That is, to put it mildly, pretty amazing. (An important reminder, I'll note, to those who think that heroism is a solely male bastion.) Helicopters aren't the most stable of platforms to begin with, and a single well-placed RPG can turn one into a pyre in disturbingly short order, as we learned to our peril in Mogadishu. But, helicopters can also provide excellent ground support, far superior to fixed wing aircraft, because they travel so much more slowly their pilots can be a lot more precise when they engage the enemy. Going into combat is a risky business no matter what your job, but it's hard not respect someone who sticks around when they've got an excellent means of leaving whenever they choose.

Reading about people like CW3 Hill always fills me with a combination of awe, envy, and curiosity. I know, that's an odd mix, but I'm an odd guy. I think we can all agree on the awe part: anyone who is able to go above and beyond the call of duty in combat is a pretty amazing individual. I suppose there are those who disagree, on second thought, but I have no use for them. (And doubtless they have no use for me, so we're agreed.) The envy is not over the award itself, but for the ability of the individual to do such a thing. I'd like to believe that I'd perform well in combat, but it seems the Army doesn't want me to find out, and who knows until you've been there whether you'd serve honorably or wet your pants and cry for Momma? And the curiosity stems from the same source: could I do that? What would I do in a situation where bullets are flying and people are dead and wounded around me? I suppose it sounds a little crazy to have even the slightest desire to experience such things, but it can be frustrating to spend your entire life preparing for something and never actually get a chance to do it.

In any case, congratulations to CW3 Hill and all the other real heroes out there. It is people like this who help to explain why I love the Army and my job, regardless of whatever frustrations I may find in it from time to time. "No greater love hath a man than he lay down his life for another."