293d Aviation Company
The
house was finally ready, furniture unpacked and replaced as needed. I
reported in the unit. The new unit was to be the 293d Aviation Company,
Medium life helicopters (Chinooks, CH - 47C-). We were on secret
orders for Viet Nam. The secret was that we did not know where we would
be assigned in Viet Nam. No location or parent unit was designated at
this point. The procedure was when we were enroute to Viet Nam, actually
off the ground and enroute, the Army would tell us the destination. We
would land, then go to the port and draw our equipment from ships that had been
loaded in the states.
The commander of the unit was Major Merrill Adamcik. The executive
officer or XO was Major Samuel Kaiser. There were two Platoon leaders,
Major Leroy Jones and Captain Jeffrey Fillion. The supply officer was a
senior Captain, Larry Cooper. All the above had experience as Army Aviators.
The only other members of the unit with aviation experience were the
maintenance pilots and commanders. The unit was actually a combination of
two units. The aviation company had the pilots, administrative staff,
door gunners, and crew chiefs assigned to each of the 18 aircraft. The
maintenance detachment assigned to the company as the 2d part, had a commander,
two test pilots, as well as 300 enlisted men who were to become experts in
sheet metal work, avionics, blade repair, engine repair, hydraulics systems,
etc. within months. This was very
important, as they were ALL fresh out of school. Almost to the man, the
age was 18 or 19 and total time in the Army was 6 to 12 months.
All maintenance procedures were accomplished by all the enlisted, whether
crewmembers or repairmen, by a team effort. One would read the book,
explaining how to do a job, the second would do the job as it was described in
the book. This was true whether the job required one or two men to
perform, as a daily inspection would, or 30 - 40 men as a major inspection
would require. The system was slow at the start, but it proved it worked,
and each man learned to use the "book". The unit was a stickler
for "going by the book". I liked it, and used it for
another 30 years.
Commo and Motor Pool
Paul Cuda and I were the only other commissioned officers in the unit. Before going to OCS, Paul and I had been in
the same unit at Fort Ord, with Paul, as the acting platoon sergeant. By
the time we arrived at Fort Sill, he was my junior in rank. I had
finished OCS a month or two ahead of him. "like Virginity among whores...
unless you are senior man!"
Paul was assigned as the unit's Commo officer. He was the communications
specialist for the company, not the aircraft. Paul had to maintain all the
company radios for operations section, and all the vehicles. Paul
had 2 or three technicians assigned to him as part of the TO&E ( Table of
Organization and Equipment) that told each unit what people and equipment they
were authorized. Not what they would get, just what was
"authorized".
Almost immediately upon signing in to the company, I was told I was the new
"motor officer." This meant I was in charge of the vehicles
assigned to the unit - jeeps, 3/4-ton trucks, 2 1/2-ton trucks etc. We
were an aviation unit; this couldn't be that hard. Then I remembered,
vehicle maintenance and accountability were some of the classes I slept through
during OCS. Now I had a problem.
I asked where the motor pool was, thinking the vehicles and mechanics were
there and I would drop by and have a look. Oops! The motor pool
location was found, and I went by. What I found was two empty bays in a
long building, an office, and a large fenced area. I was to be allowed to
use two bays, the office and part of the fenced area as "my" motor
pool. The balance of the bays and parking belonged to the home unit.
When I asked where the vehicles were, I was told I had to
"draw" them from Fort Sill facilities. When I asked what I was
to draw from Fort Sill, the answer was, "don't know, check your
TO&E". So the next two weeks were spent looking for a copy of
the unit TO&E and then trying to figure out the number of vehicles, types,
and above all the tools and spare parts authorized. (Table of Organization and
Equipment - TO&E)
It seems the Army had a system. If you owned 1 - 3 jeeps, you might be
required to have 1 spark plug as a replacement item. 4 - 8 jeeps 2 plugs,
8 - 12 jeeps - 3 plugs., etc. This was true for each part on the vehicle
from tires to oil filters. It was also true for each vehicle you owned.
In my case, I owned a lot.
We started out the list with 1 Cushman
scooter. It was a miniature motorcycle with a 5HP engine. The
inspectors were to use it as transportation on the flight line when they were
inspecting aircraft. The next item was a "mule", another 5HP
engine on a four-wheel flat bed about 30" wide and 6' long. It too
was for the flight line, used to haul tool boxes and replacement parts to the
aircraft. Then came jeeps, or 1/4 ton trucks from WWII that were still
issued in the Army.
I had 17Jeeps, about 12 with radios. Paul would equip the jeeps for radios and
install them when they were needed, then remove them for storage when not in
use for security reasons. Once in Viet Nam, the radios would be left on
the jeeps all the time. 3/4-ton trucks, 2 1/2-ton, 5-ton cargo trucks
were drawn from post. A 5-ton tractor and trailer was drawn, then a
mini-bulldozer, D-6 caterpillar, water trailers, a heavy forklift, and a 5-ton
wrecker.
In addition, each vehicle had a trailer that was authorized, although none were
ever issued. Each piece of equipment was new. All the attached
equipment was still in the crates from the factory when we drew it from the
consolidated supply at Fort Sill.
I had a Motor Sergeant, actually an E-4 instead of an E-5, and a mechanic, PFC
or E-3. Both were fresh out of maintenance school and had never worked in
a motor pool. To help me, a warrant officer was assigned to me as an
assistant motor officer. Even with new vehicles, we found maintenance was almost too much for the
number of personnel assigned to the motor pool. We assigned vehicles to
the different sections and finally had drivers assigned and trained.
Control was the key, everyone wanted his or her vehicle all the time, but
was not willing to have the driver do proper maintenance. The vehicles
were finally locked up and not released until maintenance was completed.
This made for a lot of mad officers, but better mad than having the
vehicle breakdown.
Waiting on Aircraft and Transitions
While
we waited for the Chinooks to be made and picked up at the factory by our
pilots, I flew OH-23s Fort Sill had assigned. A couple of hours practice
and I was back in the groove. We could take them out just to keep
proficient, or operations would call us for missions taking ROTC students up
for recons of training areas during their training. Most of the time,
ROTC students (college students that had taken military courses and were
commissioned upon graduation from collage) were excited and wanting to learn.
Now and then a few came through that bragged about their
"experiences" and abilities. One of the first flights was a
couple of these "experienced" 2 Lts. They both proceeded to
explain to me that they flew all the time in civilian life and my briefings
were a waste and I didn't have to bother. No problem. I got them
strapped into the seat, and began to crank. The OH-23 has a huge Plexiglas
bubble and being summer, we took the doors off. It provides a great view,
front, down, sides, and top.
Cranked, and ready, we took off. Take off was straight for the
mountain to the west of the campsite. As the mountain climbed, we used a
small valley and climbed also. Keeping below the tree line on either side,
and at the top, just clearing the trees, we finally were up and in free air.
So they thought. I climbed enough to see the convoy we were
supposed to watch, then dived to the tree tops again to " stay out of the
enemy radar". Having flown through the trees for months in school,
this was great fun. For the two new 2 Lts with so much "civilian
experience", it was pure stark terror.
It took about 30 minutes for them to want to be at the bivouac site waiting
for the convoy to arrive. I delivered them, waved and returned to the
airfield and shut down. I doubt they ever told another Army
"pilot" how much experience they had. This was normal treatment
to most all that assumed the attitude of "old hat" at helicopters and
low-level flying. It has
never,
never, failed to get a passenger’s attention.
Other passengers that said it was their first flight, or listened to briefings
and tried to follow safety instructions were given flights that were so smooth
a baby could sleep through them. No one was ever scared intentionally
unless they asked for it, or tried to play the big shot routine. This was to
continue into Chinooks and years later into fixed wing.
Learning
to Fly the Chinook
In addition to setting up the motor pool, drawing tools and equipment as well
as the vehicles, I began my transition into the Chinook. We had a couple
of officers that were qualified before arriving at Fort Sill.
These individuals flew commercial flights to the Boeing plant in PA, inspected,
and signed for the new Chinooks, and flew them home. 16 separate trips
were made ferrying new aircraft home from the factory. Each Chinook was
the new "C" model. However, the engines designed for the
"C" model were having problems and the aircraft we drew had the
"B" model engines. This meant a heavier aircraft and
underpowered engines. With the "C-" aircraft as it was called, we
could lift 10,000 lbs. inside or externally with a sling load during almost any
weather. With less fuel and a real smooth control touch in the cockpit,
we could get 12,500 off the ground on a good day. The -10 manual or
textbook for the aircraft said 10,000 without over-grossing the aircraft and
bending some frame member. Our rule was - if we could get it off the ground,
fly it!
A couple of techniques were taught then that are not taught to Chinook drivers
today. (I know because when I went back for the second transition into Chinooks
in 1996, the techniques were not taught at all) The first technique was
based on the fact that you could not "weigh" a load before taking
off, due to time and weight calculations needed for each load and piece of
equipment. You loaded the aircraft, or picked up the sling load, if the
torque meter inside the aircraft didn't exceed the marked red line on the
gauge, then you could go if it was external.
If it was an internal load, and you could not hover at 20', but had a runway of
sorts, you did a "fixed-wing" or airplane take off. That is -
using the wheels, and letting it roll until it actually lifted off the ground.
A helicopter goes through "translational lift" at about 18
knots of forward airspeed. This is true whether it is moving forward from a
hover, or rolling on the ground. At that point, translational lift, the
aircraft flies. Any power required to maintain a hover is reduced by 1/3
or more. If the aircraft can't hover for take off, and uses the running
take off procedure, then the same is true for the landing. A running landing is
made, so that the helicopter is landed just like an airplane would be. The helicopter is flown to the ground,
landing on the rear wheels and braked to a stop. Using these procedures,
weights 2 - 5,000 lbs. above maximum gross weight can be obtained and flown.
Running take offs are not taught Chinook pilots today.
Autorotation is another maneuver that is not taught. An autorotation is a
landing in a helicopter without engines running. The blades freewheel
when the engine stops. The wind is used to create life as the aircraft
nears the ground. As a Chinook was expensive, the plan was teach the
pilots how to land if the engines quit. We did hundreds of autorotations
in the Chinook. Each will scare you to death. If you look down
between your feet, you can see where the Chinook will land in an autorotation. It
falls like an anvil. Perfectly safe, the roll on at the end of the
autorotation is so smooth, if done right, you cannot feel it touch the ground.
Some time in the 1980s, the Army quit teaching pilots how to do
autorotations in the Chinook. It's read out of the book, sometimes talked
about, and that is the experience the 5 crewmembers and 33 passengers have for
a safety factor today. Not to mention the aircraft cost over 30 million
apiece, compared to 1 million for ours in the 1960s.
Within about 3 months of arrival we had our aircraft, most of our equipment,
vehicles, etc., and were progressing toward having all the pilots trained in
the Chinook. My instructor was a CW2 XXX. He had just returned from
a trip to Viet Nam, and was back as an IP or Instructor Pilot. He was one of
about 4 in the home unit at Fort Sill. The senior IP was an old crusty W4
who had been flying for years. We all swore he took the - 10 manual
home and memorized it to ask us questions no one could possibly know the answer
to. He was extremely hard on students because of where we were going and
the dangers to be faced, but, he was harder on his instructors to be fair.
At one point, my IP and I were returning to the airfield at the end of the
training. We were passing an old grass landing strip that was used from
time to time. Inside the Chinook were two 105 mm Howitzers. For the
C- model and in August or September at Fort Sill, Oklahoma, this was a very,
very heavy load- a load that required two engines or a paved strip to make a
roll-on landing with.
My IP pulled an engine off line, giving me an emergency procedure to do, i.e.,
land single engine, which requires a running landing. I immediately told
him it was too hot, and we were too far from the grass strip to safety do a
single engine approach and running landing. With the weight on board, I
would have to over torque the engine to get it on the ground safety. “Put the
engine back on line, and do this at the airport". He refused.
I landed on the grass, rolled to a stop, and he brought the engine back
on line. I said nothing more, took off, returned to Fort Sill main
heliport, landed, shut down, wrote up the over-torque, went up stairs, shut the
door and told the senior IP. As I left the building you could hear him
chewing on my IP. The crux of the lecture was that a student should not
be the one to know more about the limitations of the aircraft than the IP,
that's why there were IPs in the first place. Never again was that
procedure done with heavy birds and hot days, at least at Fort Sill.
We flew with the IPs for 40 hours of flight time. During this period we
also attended 40 hours of classroom instruction on the aircraft and its
systems. We were then off and on our own. Two 40-hour pilots assigned to
a Chinook for everything from local missions with passengers, slingloads, cross
country to Texas, Oklahoma, and then Georgia.
Today, pilots might have 500 - 1000 hours of Chinook time before they are
carried as Pilot in command and allowed to 'be in charge' of a Chinook. Most
units today are run by politics, rather than pilot’s ability. There is no
mission today, as there was then. Pilots then, were expected to be
pilots.
All our pilots, operational pilots in the unit were fresh out of flight school.
Most were 19 - 20 years old, high school grads, enlisted and then to flight
school. - In the Army a year, and flying a million dollar machine. -
Not bad for a kid! Arrogant, cocky, good, and shortly to be some of
the best aviators in the world. All of this usually before their 21st
birthday.
One of our young warrants, was 19, married, a father, and by 2/3s of his tour
in Viet Nam (1 1/2 years after flight school) he would have 3 aircraft shot
from under him, crashed, damaged one aircraft as it was shot down, saved the
aircraft from a 1,000 foot cliff, put in for Silver Star (3rd
highest award in Army ), and 1200 flight hours. All before he was old
enough to vote!
Fort Sill and Lawton, Oklahoma
Lawton, as we found, was a quiet Oklahoma town, for the most part. Lawton is or
was made to support Fort Sill, which had been there since the 1860s.
Fort Sill was an original Cavalry post for the 9 and 10 Cav. of black, Buffalo
Soldiers assigned there to pursue the Commanche Indians raiding KS, OK, TX.
The original post was only about 500 yards square. Over the years
the old post grew from stables and tents to a quadrangle of 1 sq. mile and
stone buildings (now storage and offices), with the commanding General's
quarters the center piece, to today's post of 40 - 70 miles across and 10 miles
deep. The main post is west of the original site. Most of the
original Fort Sill has been converted to museums and left in its original
condition. From the old garrison, to the quadrangle, to the stone 8 X 8' jail
for Cochise, not much has changed.
The western corner of the post is a Commanche Tribal settlement. This is
part of the original Indian Settlement from the mid 1800s when Quanta Parker
led raids against the whites. When we were assigned to Fort Sill, the III
Corps Artillery Commander was a relative of Quanta Parker. He was
inducted into the tribe and invited to all ceremonies.
Lawton grew up from that era and with the attitude Fort Sill was the blood of
life. What Fort Sill wanted, Fort Sill got. South of Fort Sill was
housing for about 3 miles. From the fence surrounding the post to
downtown was a mixture of business and housing. Small, quiet
neighborhoods, with strips of bars, stores, pawnshops, and car lots.
The farther west, the newer homes, and less business.
Down-town Lawton had always been a bit of a military town and rowdy. By
the late 1960s it was going full steam. The Army was conducting Basic
Training, Advanced Artillery Training, Officer Candidate School for Artillery
officers, a basic branch course for ROTC graduates, and the Advance Course for
Army officers of Captain and Major Rank. By the time we arrived with the
Chinook unit, Fort Sill had a population of approximately 60 - 70,000 soldiers.
Most were enroute to Viet Nam, young, and wild.
The two parallel main streets in downtown Lawton were almost solid bars for 3
blocks on each street. Friday and Saturday nights were wall-to-wall
soldiers in each bar and most of the sidewalks between the bars. The MP
or Military Police from Fort Sill rode in the city police cars with the local
cops. This at least doubled the City police department, and helped the
court system, as most of the trouble was from soldiers.
On any given Friday or Saturday night there would be a shooting or knifing. On
payday there would be at least one killing. It was a wild and woolly
town, and equal to Dodge City in its best days.
Every bar had Go-Go dancers. Girls in mini skirts or G-strings dancing on
stage while the guys drank beer. Lawton, as well as the rest of Oklahoma
only allowed 3.2% beer, but it was enough. Soldiers can get drunk and
stupid on most anything.
We were lucky as a unit. None of our soldiers were shot or stabbed in
Lawton.
We heard, that shortly after we left for Viet Nam, the post commander put the
city, down-town, off limits to all soldiers, in an attempt to stop some of the
violence. When I returned years later it had quieted down. The city
fathers had actually managed to get a mall developer to move in, buy two of the
worst city blocks, and level it for a huge mall. Quite a difference from
the period 2 years before. It was on its way to being a town for
families.
Supply and Tools
Part of any good supply section is to have what the military says you can have,
and also what you will need to keep the unit running. The two are not
necessarily the same. Actually, they are rarely the same.
While the unit was forming for Viet Nam, part of the "formation" is
all the sections within the unit drawing the authorized equipment, tools and repair
parts. The supply room or supply section at all levels of command are
designated to request or process the request for all supplies needed.
This is the official and authorized method of doing things.
Each section supplies its own list of things needed. This does not by any
means, mean that a section cannot or should not acquire needed items on its
own. Example, in the motor pool we were authorized one toolbox with
certain tools in it for each of the mechanics. Additional tools were
allowed for the "motor pool", meaning tools that were assigned to the
unit, vs., the mechanic and therefore available to any mechanic during duty
hours. Reality was, mechanics lose tools. Spare tools are needed to fill
the losses or work cannot be done waiting on the supply channels to re-issue a
wrench.
It was incumbent on us to find and keep extra tools. Because the extra
tools are not accountable items they cannot be available for any inspections.
Anything extra, or not allowed by the Table of Organization and
Allowances would be moved from the unit during any and all inspections.
Drawing Equipment
As soon as I could figure out the number of spare parts and pieces I was
authorized to stock, I began ordering them. One at a time we picked up
the vehicles and the equipment that came with them. A jeep here, 3/4-ton
truck there, a 2 1/2-ton truck here, etc., finally all the vehicles were drawn
except the wrecker truck. As an aviation unit we were authorized to have
a wrecker for the vehicles recovery, if and when needed. After all, we
were going to a war zone. I go and pick up the new wrecker. It is a
beautiful 5-ton wrecker with hundreds of pieces of equipment - welders,
chains, wrenches, pry bars, etc. All the 250 vehicle pieces of equipment
is boxed in large wooden crates. When we left the supply unit I had two.
Two months later I was to turn the vehicle back in as we were changing
designations and 5 boxes of equipment was then required. Oops.
God looks after babies and fools I guess. When I went to turn the wrecker
back in, the extra 2 boxes of OVM, or parts, that I didn't pick up the first
time was still sitting by the door of the supply room where I left them at post
supply. Still sealed and didn't even have to count the parts. Lucky.
After all the spare parts authorized for the unit were drawn from supply, all
the vehicles drawn and stenciled and put into service, the Army changed our
unit designation, we ended up turning in all the equipment, and redrawing it,
or most of it anyway under a different unit designation. Mostly it was a
paperwork drill.
Tools, gold and silver welding rods.
One of the "trips" for pilot proficiency was to an Army supply depot
on the Red River, oddly enough called the "Red River Army Supply
Depot". There we managed to talk the management out of spare parts
and tools they had listed as extra and not on the Official Army record books.
Part of the loot was a full box of gold and one of silver welding
rods. We kept the silver for the motor
pool, and used the gold to trade for other supplies we would need more than
welding rods.
Visits to cities
Almost anywhere we wanted to go and could do a little coordination to arrange a
pick up of some sort was an excuse to do a "training flight".
These are flights that the crew makes to get or remain proficient in the
aircraft operation. For us, all flights could and generally were,
classified as training. Going to Viet Nam and a combat zone was not
considered to be going on vacation. In all its wisdom, the Army doesn't figure
a soldier in a combat zone needs to bathe, or wash his clothes. It’s one
of the things the Army doesn't put a lot of faith in, until the soldier isn't
in the jungle, then he is expected to be starched and clean. Just another
case of the right hand not knowing what the left hand was doing.
We were lucky. Of the senior officers and NCOs in the unit, most had
already served one tour in Viet Nam and knew what the items were that would be
needed, yet not issued by the Army.
Top of the list would be water heaters, washers, dryers, sinks, etc., for
staying clean. A call was put out, have all the members of the unit
contact their relatives in Texas, Oklahoma, Ark, etc., for anything that could
be used to wash clothes, dry them, pass as a water heater, etc. If anyone
had any of these items, we would send a Chinook to the home town, with the
crewmember on board, spend the day, show off the aircraft, let the serviceman
see his family, then load the items on the Chinook and return to Fort sill. Training
for all the crew, and supplies to go to Viet Nam.
It worked like a champ. Before long we had two or three of everything.
We were probably the only unit to arrive in Viet Nam with enough sinks
and showers for every man in the unit, enlisted and officer alike.
When the Army finally designated our unit, we were authorized to ship
approximately 75 steel conexes or steel boxes 6 x 8 foot, by 7 ft high, filled
with our authorized equipment. We shipped almost 400! Not
authorized, but needed.
In addition to the trips made to the local area, when we moved the aircraft to
California for shipment to Viet Nam on board Aircraft Carriers, the maintenance
crews made separate trips back to Las Vegas and Nevada to the gambling halls.
Mob bosses may be bad guys, but be sure of the fact they are patriotic!
The amount of napkins, decks of cards, dice, drinking glasses etc., they
supplied was enough to fill another steel conex. All free, simply by
saying, "we're enroute to Viet Nam". The doors were open and we
were outfitted.
AF tugs stolen
On one of the
"training" flights an Air Force Tug appeared parked nearby. At the
time, and ever since, that I know of, the rule is that any military vehicle is
locked when it is parked. If a truck, car, jeep, etc, has a key, it is
removed and the doors locked if they can be locked. If no key or locking
doors is available, a heavy chain is run through the steering wheel and through
the clutch pedal or brake pedal and a lock is used to secure the ends of the
chain. This prevents the brake or clutch being moved and the steering
wheel being turned, therefore the vehicle can't be driven.
When the flight crew was ready to return to Fort Sill, the Air Force had
graciously left an Air Force Aircraft Tug next to the Chinook.
A "Tug" is a very expensive piece of equipment used to push or pull
aircraft in and out of hangers and parking spaces. Civilian aircraft at
commercial airports are moved with the same piece of equipment. The cost
for an Air Force Tug is estimated at 1969 prices to be about 25,000
dollars. This one was new!
The crew chief or a flight member drove it up and into the Chinook (same way we
carried jeeps and artillery pieces inside), then tied it down while the pilots
cranked and took off. Yes it was illegal, but only if you got caught.
After all, it was one military branch helping another!
Arriving back at Fort Sill, I was called at the motor pool and told there was
special equipment for me on the flight line. I retrieved the Tug,
repainted it, made an official looking logbook and the Air Force Tug became an
Army Tug, even though the Army didn't own anything similar.
We used it at Fort sill for the next 6 - 7 months, moved it when inspections
were due, loaded it on a train, sent it to Houston, then by ship, the Tug was
sent to Viet Nam, where it served proudly in the Army until the unit left and
returned to the states.
The unit commander wasn't aware of the theft until we were back from Viet Nam.
He was not involved in the theft, therefore couldn't turn us in, if
questioned, and we didn't have to worry about him telling us we couldn't have
the tug, if he knew. All in all, a favorable way to conduct business, if
you didn't get caught.