Serendipity From The Desert Skies

I was mostly with the 3AD Rear/DISCOM during the war. I was very mobile and active as a tactical comms Warrant for the Division. We were part of V Corps, but deployed under VII Corps in the desert. We quickly became a step child of VII Corps. It was fukking miserable, especially in the giant warehouses at the port. What a disorganized mess!

I was a newly-promoted CW2 right before ODS. Our air assets were out of Maurice Rose AAF in Frankfurt. My peacetime duty station was on Drake Kaserne, with the 143d Sig Bn, headquartered across the street on Edwards Kaserne. The aviators referred to us as “walking Warrants.” I attended WOCS from Apr 1988 until completion, in Red Flight, class 88-12. I got my dot in Nov 1988, after an additional 26 weeks of a very tough tech course in Ft Gordon, Ga.

I had flown on many a UH-60 during the ODS conflict to troubleshoot tactical comms within 3d Armored Division as well as many logistical missions. When the pilot(s) would see my rank while I boarded the aircraft, they'd smile and give me a thumbs up. Once I donned the CV helmet, they'd mockingly remind me of my “walking Warrant” status and make the ride extra “exciting” just for me. It usually scared the life out of me, but such is the hierarchy in the WO Corps. It's all in fun and kept the friendly rivalry alive.

While in the WOCS, consisting mainly of Flight candidates, we all were forced to bond in order to navigate the stressful environment. There was a particular flight candidate about 6’, very professional, and an excellent student leader. She was in the Blue Flight ahead of our class in Ft Rucker, and was well respected during training. She was always very professional and carried herself with extreme confidence. (This comes into play shortly).

While preparing to start the ground war, the ADC-M at the Division TAC, required a replacement CRYPTO radio. I held the spares for the Division, therefore I had to supply the replacement. BG Herling offered to send his pilot to a pre-arranged location near the Division Rear. We had all spent hours breaking camp and were getting in position to move forward into battle, so this had to work.

I waited, until finally an OH-58 came into view. I grabbed the 35 lb. radio and carried it towards the front of the bird. As I approached, I saw the pilot, whose aviation helmet displayed a CW2 insignia, just like mine. After retracting the visor assembly, it revealed my classmate from Blue Flight. She recognized me right away, which is why she slid the visor up into the helmet. I really couldn't believe my eyes. We had a brief 2-3 minute reunion, and I transferred the CRYPTO device onto the aircraft. We saluted, went our separate ways, and never crossed paths again.

I never recalled her name, but she helped tremendously.

Serendipity?