Rotary Wing Refresher

2192 Words9 Pages
HQDA detailers received complaints from commanders concerning placements, quality for Training and Combat Development Directorates at Fort Rucker. They wanted CGSC graduates. I found it interesting that they chose a passed-over Major to solve that problem. And DA told me this was my only promotion opportunity, but by now, I realized that what they said was not what they meant. But the options were scarce, and I was within three years of retirement. Enterprise, Alabama was a low-cost area, and I might be able to get a flight instructor or a maintenance officer job after retirement. We went to Enterprise in December 1982, found a lot, designed a house similar, but even better than our Fresno house, and began building. It was on a quiet cul-de-sac overlooking a small lake. The neighbors in the cul-de-sac were dentists, so it…show more content…
Two of us signed into the Chief of Staff’s office to be assigned. They were elated to have CGSC graduates. When the Colonel welcomed us, he said I’m assigning one of you to Training Command and one to Directorate of Combat Developments (DCD). Mine was the latter. I didn’t even know DCD’s mission. Building security was extremely tight, and I signed in DCD behind a series of cipher-locked doors in a complex of World War II buildings. This labyrinth of buildings and excessive security was getting a little weird as I made my way to the Commanders office. “I’m going to put you in Materiel Division, working on the LHX,” Colonel Burnett said in a booming, gruff voice. Now if I only knew what an LHX was. I told him my personal issue and that I had submitted an appeal. In fact, I showed him the 67-page reclama. He looked at it and a few minutes later, he said; “You’ll do fine.” When I left his office, I’m sure he said to himself; “I wanted a CGSC graduate, and they sent me a passed over
Show More
Related

  • Fort Rucker: A Case Study

    2222 Words  | 9 Pages

    the engines out to the rotating wingtip pods, directly coupled to the rotors. The normal power path was directly from the engine into a speed-reduction gearbox and into the rotor without any vulnerable shafts involved. A driveshaft remained in the wings for emergency use to transfer power to the opposite rotor in case of a single engine failure, but that shaft did not normally carry any power loads, making it lighter. Colonel Burnett picked me to fly the aircraft perhaps because I had test flight

    Read More

More about Rotary Wing Refresher

Open Document