1
Sep
2014
Late winter of 2012 found me on a four-day mission flying a UC-35 to transport distinguished visitor passengers to various locations throughout Europe. The second day of the mission had us departing Byrdgosz, Poland, at mid-morning, refueling in Bucharest, Romania, then continuing to Ankara, Turkey.
I always begin this story with, “It was 100 percent my fault.” Pride aside, here are the events that led up to my Class D accident.
“Beat the heat” — those three words used to remind me of my early days in the military. Beating the heat could be the difference between life and death at Fort Jackson, South Carolina. However, this historic motivational quote took on a whole new meaning following what I consider to be the scariest moments of my deployment.
Left-turning vehicles continue to be a significant hazard to motorcyclists. Surviving the ride requires we understand how left-turner crashes occur and how to avoid them.
For service members, the first few weeks of reintegration after a long combat tour are crucial. We have to discard basic actions of doing even the smallest tasks that kept us safe during a time of danger.
I was on the top of the world. I’d just been promoted to master sergeant, and my colonel, a man I really admired, pinned on my stripes and made me officer in charge of the transportation section. My commanding officer said he had faith that I could handle it.