By Roger Yap

9/11/2005

I wish I could say that it seems like it was just yesterday when I sent that message about getting my orders to go to Iraq, but for me it really feels like a lifetime ago. This September 11^{th will make it exactly one year from when my unit was activated and fortunately we only have a few more months to go! I really haven’t been counting down the days, but I have to admit that as this tour starts to come to a close I get more and more excited about the thought of coming home.}

^{By Mike Nobriga}

^{The ArrivalThe blades were already turning on the noisy helicopter when the two of them got there. The aircraft’s pilots had accomplished their pre-flight checks and loaded all of the cargo for the night’s missions. They were only 5 minutes early for the flight and felt the rush to get going. The flights lead aircraft had already repositioned to another part of the immense base. It was to be a routine mission. Pick up some cargo and passengers here and drop them off there. Nothing either of them hadn’t done already seemingly thousands of times. Yet the air was filled with tension that night as they stepped off the hummer that had carried them out to the flight line. It was a nervous tension. Like someone was watching them through the scope of a high powered rifle. Yet no shots rang out and still the Blackhawk called out to them loudly. The message was clear. Both crewchiefs grabbed their M-60D machine guns and the rest of their flight gear and hurried over to the waiting helicopter. "Hurry up!" exclaimed the pilots as one crewchief plugged into the aircraft’s ICS (inter-comm system). "We gotta go!"}

^{By Andrew Meredith}

^{January 6, 2005 had come very quickly. Sgt. Scott’s alarm went off at around 5:00 a.m. that morning, letting off the signature beeping tone that I had come accustomed to while at Fort Sill. We woke up as a company, most of us still exhausted from the previous day’s activities. Most of our guys had a little packing left to do and rose from their beds quickly, eager to get everything ready.}

^{By Nathan Champion}

^{I was a recipe for disaster. Due only to the grace of God, and maybe in part to the other excellent pilots of B Co. 1/140th AVN did we all survive without a scratch. I had just completed a year of flight school and six weeks of Blackhawk training at Ft. Rucker, Alabama, and now I was getting deployed. I had about 120 hours of flying helicopters and I was confident in my ability to take off and land under normal circumstances, but now I was going to be landing into dust, confined areas, and with other aircraft around me. I had only flown in formation flights twice before ever, mostly with the IP on the controls, and now I would spend the next year flying in such formations. The difficulty arises in interpreting the movement of the other aircraft to know if they are going to be turning, speeding up, or slowing down. A misinterpretation could mean colliding with the other aircraft and possibly killing myself or others.}

ScAIR ASSAULT

^{By Bob Matthews}

^{In April we had an Air Assault mission with the infantry from Normandy. They wanted to raid a small village west of Baqubah that reportedly has numerous Anti-Iraqi Forces (AIF). I reported to the company formation at 2035. My co-pilot went to pre-flight and I checked out the NVGs and M4s. The commander wanted to talk to the company before we all started our pre-mission duties.}

^{By Mike Betz and J.D. Brown}

^{On Sep 11, 2001 OUR NATION WAS ATTACKED. AND WE FOUGHT BACK.}

^{On Sep 11, 2004 B Company Warhawks deployed for OIF III.}

^{From Los Alamitos-to Fort Sill, then on to Kuwait and Camp Speicher.}

^{The company I am about to speak of, came together when the tough usually get going. They were an unusual bunch of guys. Made up of soldiers from many units throughout the state, i.e the 1/18 Cavalry, 640th Avn., and the AVCRAD out of Fresno. Comprised of 35 authorized soldiers, B Company deployed with only 34. When asked to do additional assignments outside of the normal, they stepped up. This band of misfits, was also known as a very experienced, knowledgeable company. They shined brightest when put to the test.}

Why Are You Yelling At Me?

^{By Chris Good}

^{It was January 6, 2005, and Bravo Company was deploying from Kuwait to our new base in Iraq. The mood was professionally tense but we all knew our jobs and we were beginning the serious business of a Blackhawk unit going to war.}