I'm working to prepare a series of posts about the Oregon and Washington National Guard in action here in Eastern Afghanistan. Until I finish them and get them cleared with everyone I've been writing about, I thought some photos might be good to put up. Bravo Company is doing a heck of a job out here. Each day, the men and women of the unit do something to underscore the loyalty and devotion they have to each other. Hope to write soon about it all!
Warming up for a midnight flight. September 26, 2010. Logar Province. All photos have been cleared by TF PAO.
Civilian Contractor MI-17, outside of Kabul, night of September 26/27. Sgt. J. Haman, Flight Engineer with our company in foreground. The veteran rotary winged pilots call these civilian contractors "Jingle Air" after the multi-colored, well adorned "jingle trucks" that race up and down the highways out here. The Jingle Air crews don't talk on the radio much, and there's been at least one near miss between a U.S. helicopter and a racing MI. They are busy all day, hauling sling loads, passengers,a nd even American troops.
CW5 Geis, Washington National Guard joined the service in 1975. He served in the reserves until 2005. When he was a kid, his father built Chinooks for Boeing. Now, forty years later, he's still flying what his dad helped create.
David L. on the ramp, September 26/27 2010
Blackhawks in repose.
Sunrise in Logar Province. The Chiook crews are preparing to take a load of construction supplies to an outlying combat outpost.
It took two forklifts working together to get 9,000 lbs of steel beams into each Chinook. As they were loaded aboard, the local Jingle Air MI-17's went to work.
Hugging the mountains, en route to a narrow valley and an isolated combat outpost where a company of airborne troops have been fighting a long and difficult campaign to win over the hearts and minds of the locals.
Loading up. Good forklift drivers are worth their weight in gold. Shoehorning stuff into the back of these Chinooks takes a lot of patience and skill.
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On the wall at the remote combat outpost. Minutes before we arrived, a patrol had been hit with an IED right outside the gate. Everyone was safe, thank God.
John, My son is Craig Talarico and he is stationed at FOB Shank where he is a Chinook pilot. Craig is a graduate of the Univ.of Montana graduated first in his ROTC class. He is an avid U of M Grizzly football fan. He told me the other night that he brought a griz football flag with him to Afghanistan. Sometimes during half-time they would display Montana soldiers in Iraq with pictures or a video on the big screen. The stadium of 25,000 fans would erupt with cheers. Would you be willing to take a couple photos or video so we can display Craig and his comrades on the big screen during a game? We are aware of your web site and our family is looking forward to your soon-to-be posting. Craig's entire extended family (approx. 100) are also aware of your web site. We would greatly appreciate if you would consider this request. Thank you for all you do for our armed forces. Sincerely, Tom Talarico
Posted by: tom talarico | September 28, 2010 at 09:43 PM