Photo By Sgt. Roland Hale | Sgt. 1st Class Eric Cooper. read more read more
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FORT RILEY, Kan. — When a 19-year-old kid from Ohio joined the Army in 1986, he probably didn’t think he’d wear the uniform for more than two decades. He probably didn’t expect to travel around the world, or to go to war.
Now 44, Sgt. 1st Class Eric Cooper is finishing his 25th year of service. He’s done all that and some.
“I originally joined to get out on my own,” said Cooper. “It sounded good, sounded interesting, and it let me afford to leave home by myself.”
Cooper’s first assignment catapulted him from Columbus, Ohio, to the frontlines of the Cold War. He was stationed in Germany as a crewman on the Pershing 2 missile system, a class of medium-range missiles poised to counter a Soviet attack.
“We were the first line of defense, that was us,” said Cooper. “Everything we did was geared toward preparing for a conflict if it happened.”
“Back then it seemed inevitable that something would happen,” he said. “We always had the missiles ready to go, and we spent a lot of time guarding them."
Cooper’s career changed directions shortly after that, however, when the Army did away with its arsenal of Pershing missiles. He chose a different branch of the Army this time, and became an OH-58 Kiowa helicopter repairer. It was a compromise with a childhood dream of becoming a pilot, he said.
“I wanted to do the high school to flight school program, but couldn’t,” he said. “I did get to fly with the helicopters to make sure they were maintained properly though, so I guess that paid off in the end.”
After his initial assignment in Germany, Cooper’s work took him to several posts in the States, Korea, and back to Germany again for a second tour.
“And Iraq, if you count that,” he said.
Cooper never fought the Russians, but he stayed around long enough to go to war anyway.
Cooper’s first deployment to Iraq was with a cavalry squadron in the 1st Armored Division. He returned from his second Iraq tour this February, with Fort Riley’s Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division.
Cooper is still assigned to the brigade, and plans to retire at Fort Riley in October.
“Scary,” he said, asked to describe in one word his choice to leave the military life. “For the last 25 years the Army has told me what to do and where to be.”
Regardless, Cooper is looking forward to a change, he said. He has two sons: the oldest a senior in high school, the younger entering the third grade. Leaving the uniform behind will give him more time with his them, he said.
“I’ve missed more than half of their lives in a way, due to travelling with the military, etc.,” said Cooper. “So they’re something to look forward to.”
Retirement isn’t the end of the line though, he said. While he’s still weighing his options, Cooper said it’s a possibility he’ll go to the Middle East again to work on the Army’s helicopters as a contractor.
“We’ll see,” he said. “For now I’ve still got to do what the Army says, and we’ve got PT tomorrow.”
| Date Taken: | 05.26.2011 |
| Date Posted: | 05.26.2011 14:31 |
| Story ID: | 71141 |
| Location: | FORT RILEY, KANSAS, US |
| Web Views: | 109 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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