Air Operations in Haiti - A Personal Account...

I write this entry today with the knowledge that General Aviation has taken a beating in the press lately, mostly as a convenient whipping boy. There is no rational reason for it, other than an unexplained bias that seems to be inherent in our media. Although only indirectly related to GA, what follows deals with military aviation, and with what a well trained, organized, and coordinated group can do, in a short time, and under extremely trying circumstances. Some of you may know that I'm an Army veteran, having served almost 11 years in various command and staff roles as an Armor officer, both in the USA and Germany. My dad was a Green Beret for most of his 22 years of service, including two tours of duty in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia. My little brother followed in my dad's footsteps, and just retired two years ago, as a Green Beret, at the rank of Lieutenant Colonel. He commanded a Green Beret battalion in Afghanistan...twice. Needless to say, my family has an intimate knowledge of what it takes to serve, and we still follow with great interest the activities of our military.