James Mackler

Aviation Field Exercise

February 19, 2005

I returned yesterday from my first aviation field exercise. We were in the woods from Tuesday morning until Friday. This was the last training exercise of my flight school career. I will turn in my gear next week and graduate.

The aviation community is replete with stories about how cushy field exercises can be, especially compared to those experienced by soliders in the infantry and other branches. I had heard tales of Chinook pilots wheeling refrigerators out of the back of their helicopters to plug into the ever present generator. Coolers of steak and soda, tables, chairs, and barbeque grills were all common items seen when aviators were in the field. After all, pilots are limited by what we can carry in our helicopters, not by what we can carry on our backs.

The stories appear to be true. The intent of the field exercise was for us to plan missions in a field environment and then fly them in the AVCATT simulator. This, however, did not take up most or even the majority of the time for most of the students. Those without leadership roles, in particular, had a lot of free time. We all spent a lot of time in our 30 person tent sitting on our cots or in chairs, playing cards, listening to music, eating junk food, telling stories, and generally acting like high school kids at a sleep over party. We even ordered pizza to be delivered to the tents one night and then burned to boxes to keep our instructor from learning our dirty little secret when he came to check on us in the morning.

It was not all fun and games, however. Despite my best efforts I wound up with a leadership role. I was the flight lead for the third mission. The Air Mission Commander chose me because I am a flight school XXI student and had more experience in the aircraft than a lot of ther other students. Though I did not want the job it appears that the army has some rules about Warrant Officers doing what they are told to do by more senior officers. Go figure.

Back in the Air (Sort of)

February 10, 2005

I got to fly again today (sort of). We have been planning a multi-ship mission all week with the intent to fly it in a sophisticated multi-person simulator called the AVCATT. We had a practice flight today.

The AVCATT consists of two trailers. Within the trailers are six rooms, each of which simulates a cockpit. There is also a conrol room where the Battle Master Commander (BMC) can control every aspect of the mission environment. He can add enemy or friendly forces, change the weather, bring in artillery, or create aircraft malfuntions. It makes for an experience very much like a really cool video game.

I was the pilot in charge of my aircraft because I was paired up with a Luitenant who had never flown a Blackhawk at all. Compared to her, therefore, I was a veteran. It was fun to try and teach her a little bit about the hawk while flying the mission. We brought a load to troops to the LZ, returned to base, picked up HumVees on sling loads, and then brought them back to the troops we had dropped off.

We did not have to worry about enemy activity today since we were just practicing. Tomorrow will be more challenging.

9 mm

January 28, 2005

We had our 9 mm qualification today. It was a really cold day to be out on the range so, by the time I got to shoot I was shivering pretty hard. The army issues 9 mm Barettas to officers, referred to in military parlance as the M-9.

The range consists of pop-up targets at various distances. They are pretty close because the M-9 is definately a close range weapon. My first attempt did not go well but I believe there was something wrong with the targets. I knew that I was hitting some of them but they were not going down.

Range control told me that I failed to qualify and had to go again. This was frustrating because I was getting cold and it seemed like it should have been easy. It made it worse when the Sergeant in charge of the range began to talk to me like a slow child, explaining how to aim the gun.

Luckily I redeemed myself. I shot at different targets and they all seemed to be working properly. I scored "expert", the highest possible and better than just about everyone else. No pop-up target is safe with me around.

Take care,

Not So Fast

January 24, 2005

Well, I just found out today that I have been assigned an "add-on school" here at fort rucker. I will be in an "Aircraft Life Support Equipment" (ALSE) class for five weeks beginning February 27th. It is not uncommon for graduating students to get these classes. It enables us to get to our new unit with additional skills, beyond flying.

I am bummed that I going to be spending an extra 5 weeks in Alabama but, as usual, I have little choice.

I Survived

January 22, 2005

It is absolutely incredible how much stress a human being can take and still continue to function. I think that must have been the main point of the week long class I just completed on Survival Evasion Resistance and Escape (SERE). The other point was to teach us, and have us apply, some very important practical survival skills.

The instructors for SERE are referred to as “Cadre.� The Friday before school started the Cadre suggested everyone eat a very big breakfast before reporting at 0600 on Saturday. I had a large bowl of oatmeal and a peanut-butter and jelly sandwich. I would have eaten more had I truly known what was in store.

The first four days were spent in an outdoor classroom environment. This consisted of a covered concrete pad with metal bleachers surrounded by Alabama forest. We had classes and demonstrations in this area. We were divided into eight teams of five or six soldiers and slept with our teammates in improvised shelters that we constructed nearby. These were our “hole sites.�

The classes consisted of subjects such as shelter construction, fire building, edible plant procurement, signaling, tool and weapon making, wire-crossing, trapping game, and how to kill, clean, eat and preserve game. When we were not in classes we were applying the skills we had learned at our hole sites.

While the cadre were teaching classes they were also trying to simulate a Prisoner of War environment. They wanted to see how well our class bonded and how well we resisted efforts at exploitation. For example, they made the teams race against each other with an offer of extra food for the winning team. We recognized this as an attempt to cause fractures within the group and resisted by ensuring that every race ended as a tie. No one got any extra food but we retained group cohesion – something critical for survival at a POW camp.

Off to the Woods

January 14, 2005

I am leaving tomorrow at 0600 for a week of training in the woods. I will be in a six person team practicing evasion and surival skills. I expect to be cold and hungry most of the time. It should be some good training.

The past few days in the classroom have been good training, as well. We are learning about you to survive in different environments, how to resist interrogation, and how to escape from activity. We are also learning some classified stuff about how to avoid becoming a POW in the first place.

I will let you all know how things went when I get back.

Take care,
James

First Assignment

January 11, 2005

Here it is, the news I you have all been waiting for. I have received my first duty assignment. I will be joining the 101st Airborn Division at Fort Campbell, KY immediately upon completion of flight school. I dont know the deployment schedule yet but I believe the unit is scheduled to deploy to Iraq shortly after I arrive. It may be almost time to go play in the sandbox!

Back here, the Army is working hard to prepare me for the worst. Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape training has begun. I will be in classroom sessions until Friday. On Saturday I will be in the field for a week. The information I am getting is classified so I cant share it here. Suffice it to say the Special Forces guys teaching this class really know their stuff. One of our instructors has even been though the POW experience himself in Iraq.

I feel good knowing where I will likely be for the next several years even if that time will be interrupted periodically for trips across the pond.

Take care and be safe,
James

The End is in Sight

January 7, 2005

Today was "Day Zero" of the Aviation Officer Basic Course." It consisted of a PT test followed by a series of briefings.

The PT test went better than expected considering my recent excesses in Miami. I scored above ninety percent in each event. My run was slower than usual but, considering that my past times were excellent, my slower run was still a ninety-two percent. I am going to try and get back into better shape over the next six weeks so that I can get back to a perfect score on the run.

The briefings were boring but contained some useful information. Most importantly, we received a full schedule for the next six weeks. That is a change from the usual "need to know" type of schedule we have gotten in the past.

********* I will be graduating from flight school on February 24, 2005 at 1000. ********* This is a Thursday. You are all invited to attend. The Aviation Officer's ball will be the evening of the 23rd.

I am thrilled to be in the last phase of training and to have the end in sight. I am also getting just a little bit anxious about the future. I will continue to keep you all up to date.

Miami

January 2, 2005

On December 20th I drove down to Florida to spend a couple of weeks with my youngest brother, Jake, at Florida International University. It was great getting to see him because it has been a long time since we spent any time together.

We went out to bars and clubs every night for two weeks. My typical day (night) involved going out at 11:00 PM and returning at 6:00 AM after a stop at waffle house or IHOP. I'd then sleep until the early afternoon, and, as they say on the shampoo bottle, "wash, rinse, repeat".

I am definately getting too old to keep partying with kids more than ten years younger than me but I have to say it was a great stress relief and a good break from the routine I have lived for the past year.

As for training, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel. I am done with my flight training and am now certified to fly Blackhawks. All that I have let to do before graduation is two weeks of survival training and then additional month of classroom and field problems. I expect to graduate and get my wings at the end of February.

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