Rule #1, Do Not Screw With My Crew, part 2.

If you have not already done so, please read the previous post before starting this one.

After we landed and the 5 members of the LRRP team headed off for a meal and their mission report, we pretty much laid back and prepared for the flight back to Long Binh. By the time the LRRPs were finished and more than anxious to get back to the rear area, we saw them walk out of the Tactical Operations Center and slowly meander toward our helicopter. As an extra added bonus, the 2nd Lt was seen following them out of the TOC.

As he approached the helicopter, he took a piece of paper out of his pocket and began waving it in the air. By the time he came to within ear shot, he started waving and loudly saying: "I've got priority here, I've got priority. You'll have to kick off a CREW MEMBER before you try to kick ME off. It's signed by the Colonel, it's signed by the Colonel".

At that exact moment in time, I remember looking back at Little O to see what his face looked like. I guess it was natural for me to think that way because Little O was famous for being a great shot but also famous for telling people to kiss his ass if the situation warranted it. I didn't think Little O was going to shoot the Lt but it would not have surprised me one bit if he had doubled up his fists and knocked the Lt on his ass or knocked him out completely.

Finally, Little O turned his head toward me and we made eye contact. When I saw the twinkle in his eye, right after I noticed the incredibly wide grin on his face, I realized that there had to be a Rule #2 that I didn't know anything about. I soon found out that there was. It goes something like this: "Whatever you do, if you are a passenger, For God's sake, don't piss off the Aircraft Commander".

The part they didn't mention was the verbage right after "piss off the Aircraft Commander". It had a number of additions to it like: "You WILL vomit on this flight". There were other sayings that were presented by the crew kinda like a stand up comic would deliver a comedy skit.

I remember "You WILL think you are going to die", "You're gonna WISH you were DEAD before this flight is over" or one of my favorites: "Your dumb ass SHOULD have gone to the latrene BEFORE you got on this helicopter".

Despite all the upset just prior to a helicopter flight, the LRRPs got on board followed by the Lt. I don't remember where he was sitting but I heard the AC tell O and the crew chief to quietly inform the LRRPs to cinch their seat belts tightly. I could still see the grin on O's face and I knew whatever it was, I was about to witness something that was going to be aerobatically unusual.

I didn't know that they'd talked to the LRRPs on the way back to Mace and told them the details surrounding the LT and what they'd been going through that morning. In any event, in a very short period of time we were west of Xuan Loc and flying right above the tree tops as fast as the Huey could fly.

I heard "Here we go" through the intercom and then experienced a high speed cyclic climb. That maneuver occurs when you pull back on the "stick" which tilts the rotor in a manner that puts you in the fastest climb rate possible. You can literally transition from straight and level flight to one that is almost vertical and going "straight up". You can experience G forces in a Huey but I never felt it wise to do so unless we were in combat and needed a position to effect a proper shot angle.

About half way through the maneuver, at a time when the G forces were pushing everybody down in their seats, you can push the stick forward and lower the collective lever which takes all of the "bite" out of the rotor blades, and almost be weightless. We were never allowed to put the Huey in a negative G maneuver because the rotor blades might come off, but we could do some rather hairy aerobatics without surpassing those kinds of limitations.

Now that I think about it, I think the Lt had elected to ride on the cargo floor and stretch out instead of being cooped up in a small seat with his attache case. I can only imagine the horrors he was going through. I could hear him cussing and when I did, we went back to straight and level flight.

I remember another maneuver where the anti torque pedals were pushed to the right side making the helicopter fly out of trim to the left. It wasn't bothering me at all but I'm sure the Lt. in the back was praying to God that he would survive and the flight would end.

Shortly after the last "out of trim" maneuver, Long Binh showed up and we made our approach to land at the same Fireball Aviation Pad where we had kicked the Lt off earlier that morning. As we set the helicopter down, the Lt was the first one out of the ship. The only thing he had to say as he was getting out of the helicopter, he said at the top of his lungs. "G** D**** Fireball Pilots". With that, he left the aircraft, didn't say another word and we never saw him again during my entire time with the 199th Light Infantry Brigade.

I'd hate to let this story go without giving the proper credit to whomever was flying Aircraft Commander that day but I think I've found a link to Craig Wollman. Femmer flew with Dell and Freemen as gunner and crew chief more often than not. Since Little O was on board and Wollman and I had flown with Ochadluss on several occasions, I'd have to take a guess and say that Craig either invented the rules or perfected their applications to a degree that might be considered "an art". He was like that, once he was committed, that was it, he was going to get the job done and get everybody back alive and that's exactly what he did.

I hoped you like this story especially since it's true. We rarely had problems like that but their were a few occasions where some had to be educated in the proper conduct of passengers.