Photo By Sgt. Maj. Nathan Hoskins | Wichita, Kan., native Spc. Benjamin Full (left), a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter crew...... read more read more
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By Spc. Nathan Hoskins
1st Air Combat Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division Public Affairs
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – Aviators from the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, received combat action badges in a June 8 ceremony for their actions when their helicopter went down April 5.
Chief Warrant Officer 2 Jaime Gordon, a UH-60 Black Hawk pilot for Alpha Company "Werewolves," 3rd Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st Air Combat Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, was the pilot in command that day.
It all started when the helicopter's number one engine went out and caught on fire, said Gordon a Priest River, Idaho, native.
When the fire began to rage, Wichita, Kan., native, Spc. Benjamin Full, a Black Hawk crew chief for the Werewolves, helped the pilot fight the fire, he said.
"I can't see the engine from where I'm seated. (Full) was my eyes to see the engine. Together we fought that fire," said Gordon.
While Full and Gordon were fighting the engine fire, another fire started inside the cabin where the passengers were seated, said Gordon.
That's when the other crew chief, Nolanville, Texas, native Sgt. Bruce Adams, from Bravo Company, 3-227th, threw the fire extinguishers to the passengers to help fight the flames bearing down on them, said Gordon.
While most of the crew and passengers were fighting the fires, the co-pilot, Portland, Ore., native 1st Lt. Kenny Doleac of Co. A., was trying to land without the usual communication with Gordon or his crew chiefs, Gordon said.
"(Doleac and Gordon) ensured the safety of their occupants and they minimized the destruction of Army property. Those are two things we are trying to do every time we go out there and fly and do our mission," said Carlisle, Pa., native Lt. Col. Michael Shenk, commander of 3-227th in remarks at the ceremony. "I'm glad (Gordon and Doleac) are setting the example for the rest of us pilots and as members of the crews."
Once Doleac safely landed the helicopter, the crew chiefs, without any concern for their own safety, quickly began evacuating the passengers and pilots, he said.
After the crew and passengers where safely away from the downed aircraft, Full provided first aid to the wounded passengers, said Gordon.
"You hope and expect that the (crew chiefs) will act and react to the situation with the best of their abilities ... there wasn't one thing they did wrong that day," he said.
"We thank Pfc. Full for understanding the bigger picture and being a much bigger part of the crew that day," said Shenk.
Once the badges were pinned on the Aviators in attendance – Adams was not able to attend – the crew did what most heroes do: they went back to work.
| Date Taken: | 06.11.2007 |
| Date Posted: | 06.11.2007 09:21 |
| Story ID: | 10743 |
| Location: | TAJI, IQ |
| Web Views: | 420 |
| Downloads: | 347 |
This work, Blackhawk Crew Receives CAB for staying cool in the face of fire, by SGM Nathan Hoskins, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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