Oregonians in Iraq stationed 20 miles from Iran
OPERATING BASE NORMANDY, Iraq -- Photos of his wife and daughter above his desk, Sergeant Tim Sparks surfs the Web on this base less than a marathon run away from Iran. He is expecting his second child in August during his leave.
Crew chiefs like Sparks, 29, from Woodburn, Ore., are also mechanics and usually start their morning at 8 a.m. by maintaining UH-60 Blackhawks.
Crew chiefs are responsible for keeping these expensive, life-saving machines running every day.
“Our average for getting the aircraft off the ground is 10 minutes even though we have 15 minutes to get going,” says crew chief Staff Sergeant James Tournay, 36, from Silverton, Ore.
The First Platoon from Oregon's Charlie Company lives in their workspace, like firefighters at their station, which is only a short run from the landing zone.
At 9 a.m., crew chiefs, medics and pilots meet together on camping chairs and worn couches outside their living quarters for the daily brief.
They discuss the day’s weather, which will be “beautiful and hot,” according to 32-year-old Eugene native Captain Nathan Edgecomb, platoon leader (at left).
There is also time to celebrate Beaverton’s Chief Warrant Officer 2 Devon Wickenhagen’s 37th Birthday with a song.
A routine patient run to Joint Base Balad, dust landings and a soldier’s promotion will fill another day in the desert for the First Platoon in Charlie Company stationed in a small base about 20 miles west of Iran’s border.
Today’s patient suffers from a back injury, which is not uncommon for soldiers who carry loads of equipment from 40 to 70 pounds.
“These are what we might classify as a practice for us, so when the urgents come in we gel more as a team and get our job done,” says Eugene native Sergeant Mike Barber, 44, a flight medic (below center, with Chief Warrant Officer 3 Gary Schulenberger and Specialist Nate Rodas).
The crew helps the passenger, hobbling in pain, onto the aircraft and are ready for take off.
Although the patient’s injury is classified as routine, one pilot feels the opposite of routine.
At the age of 45, Chief Warrant Officer 3 Gary Schulenberger is piloting his first flight as a pilot in command.
“Once you’ve kind of mastered the aircraft, the communications and the aerodynamics and everything, you’re signed off as what is called a PC" or Pilot in Command, says Schulenberger. “Then you take what you’ve learned and pass it on to the new pilots that will one day be PCs.”
Schulenberger is not from Oregon, but fits in with Charlie Company like a shipwrecked father finally coming home. Schulenberger, from Newville, Penn., was placed with Charlie Company back at Fort Sill in Oklahoma.
“I was lucky enough to get into the medevac company,” says Schulenberger. “I’m a police officer back home so I’m used to being a first responder.”
What makes today even better for Schulenberger is flying with 29-year-old Chief Warrant 2 Scott Schoer from Montana, who he describes as a son and as a friend.
After the patient is dropped off at Balad for further care, the crew decides to head back to their base to practice more dust landings.
“In the daytime, a dust cloud is one thing," Schulenberger says. "At night time, under night vision goggles, the dust cloud is a whole different beast, a different animal. (It's) much more stressful, less visual cues to see what’s going.”
Practicing routine dust landings ensures the crews are always mission ready.
After several dust landings, the crew is done for the day.
In a few hours Charlie Company will line up at the chow hall's serving stations, usually full of chicken, rice, cooked vegetables, pizza, fries, salad and ice cream bars. Fridges are stocked with juice, soda, Gatorade and milk. The worst things about the chow hall are the days without fresh vegetables.
As darkness approaches, the soldiers retreat to air-conditioned rooms to watch movies or write e-mails back home.
“I’m honored to be flying with these guys"
The general theme on this base is teamwork and appreciation for what they have. Last night the platoon sat around a huge bonfire blazing in the starry night for a Patch Ceremony.
“We are so lucky to have you,” said Edgecomb to each soldier before presenting them with their very own platoon patch, featuring a Blackhawk, mountains and a gargoyle perched on the Red Cross.
“Our motto is ‘not on our watch’ and the gargoyle represents a guardian,” says Edgecomb.
Then came the roasts, soldiers being teased about their buck hunting skills and hours of playing X-box or Guitar Hero.
They aren't from Oregon or Pennsylavania when they are on watch. They are in Iraq. And they are getting the job done as a team.
“I’m honored to be flying with these guys,” says Schulenberger.
Cali Bagby is embedded with the Oregon Army National Guard from Charlie Company, 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation, a Medevac Unit based out of Salem, Ore., for KVAL.com. Her work has been published in the Washington Post and the Eugene Weekly. | More stories | Visit her Web site
