Staying as Long as I Can

Before and during the last drill weekend, I decided to stay in the Guard till they throw me out which likely will mean going to Afghanistan in two years or so.  Our unit should be getting new aircraft at the beginning of next year.  If all goes well, I hope to go with them.

When I started working full time in Iraq writing about soldiers, it became clear that in an ideal world I would have been in public affairs all the way through the training to get ready to go to Iraq.  That way I could have gotten information about every soldier before we went on active duty and written about the whole process--civilian, to soldier in training, to the desert and back again.

So I will write about all the training we do until plans for the unit become more clear.  Then I will have to get waivers both to stay in the Army past 60 and to deploy.  Our sergeant major thinks both waivers are possible, but nothing is ever a sure thing with waivers and exceptions.

On Monday when we were at the Corn Maze, PA State Senator Mike Brubaker was welcoming the veterans as we went in.  Later when we were eating he came over to our table and asked if there was anything he could do for us.  My wife said, "Neil wants to stay in the Guard and go to Afghanistan.  Can you help him with that?"  Sen. Brubaker called his aide over.  It turns out we live in a different senatorial district, but he said Senator Smucker would certainly be willing to help.  My commander in Iraq, Scott Perry, is the representative for the PA 92nd district, so maybe I will have other help getting a waiver.

At least now I can stop thinking about what to do next.  I will try to stay in as long as I can.  If I can't stay, at least I tried.  Next drill I will take an eight-hour ride in a Chinook and take pictures of aerial gunnery.  No matter how long I get to stay, I will get to do a lot of fun stuff while I am in.

Three-Day Drill Weekend

This drill weekend was a three-day Friday to Sunday weekend.  I will be posting pictures from the weekend.  I also shot video with a camera loaned to me by the WHYY Radio TV Learning Lab also known The Dorrance H. Hamilton Public Media Commons.

I shold be posting pictures in the next few days of pistol, rifle and machine gun ranges.  I should be able post video once Craig Santoro and the other folks at the WHYY Learning Lab help me figure out how to edit.

More posts in the next few days.

Today, my family got a free day at the Cherry Crest Adventure Farm in Strasburg, Pa.  They had free admission and free food for veterans today.

Another Half Marathon

Last Saturday I ran another half marathon--the Hands on House Half Marathon in Lancaster.  I ran it partly because it was close, partly because it was hilly, and because several friends from Church were in the race. It was a beautiful Saturday morning.  The race started at 9 am.  Just 1,200 people started the race, compared more than 15,000 at the Philadelphia event two weeks before.  Before the race started I hoped I could finish under two hours, but wasn't sure.  I felt better as the race went on and my pace was staying close to nine minutes per mile, so I thought I was going fast enough.

At mile nine, my left calf started to hurt and my legs started to feel heavy.  I thought I was keeping the pace up, but at the finish line the clock said 2 hours, 1 minute, 58 seconds.

Oh well.

I can try again soon.  There are several events reasonably close in the next two months.  My leg is recovering.  I ran three miles each of the last two days.  The winner in my age category finished almost 20 minutes ahead of me, so that goal is a long way off.

Go? Stay? Retire?

Lately I have been thinking a lot about whether I should stay in the Army National Guard.  On one level, I did more than I set out to do.  At first, I did not think I would go to Iraq.  That turned out different than I planned.

I would like to retire, but I have only a small chance of actually meeting the requirement for retirement.  In fact, I have a very good chance of ending my Army career just as my father did--months short of a retirement.  Dad served almost 19 years and was mustered out due to the Age in Grade act.  It was passed in Congress and supported by then representative John F. Kennedy.  Dad never voted for a Democrat and hated the Kennedys for that one.

To the best of my knowledge, when I turn 60 years of old, the Army National Guard will end my service.  At that point I will have 17 years of active, reserve and guard service.  I can get a waiver from the Adjutant General of PA if he or she is willing.  The waiver is good for one year.  I can get another year too, but age 62 is the upper limit.  At that point I will have just over 19 years which should be enough to get me the retirement.

To seal the deal, I would very likely deploy to Afghanistan or some other war zone by 2013.  But I could spend another year at one of our wars and still not get the retirement.

My current enlistment ends the month of my 60th birthday in May of 2013.

Actually writing this down makes it look less likely I can actually retire than when the words were just floating in my head.

PA’s Top Enlisted Man Started His National Guard Career in 104th Aviation

Command Sergeant Major Nicholas S. “Chip” Gilliland

His career in CH-47 Chinook helicopters spans three decades, but it took about three seconds for Command Sergeant Major Nicholas S. “Chip” Gilliland to decide on his most memorable mission in a Chinook. One long night in late January 1996 four Chinook helicopters from G Company, 104th Aviation Battalion flew to Williamsport to rescue residents from raging flood waters. In nearly ten hours using every rescue technique they knew, the G Company Chinooks rescued a total of 65 flood victims.

“We set the back end of the bird down on buildings and pulled people up the ramp,” Gilliland said. “We pulled people up with the winch. We set down wherever we could to save flood victims.”

Gilliland operated the winch. For most of the night he and the other members of the crew used night vision goggles and struggled against the rapidly changing weather that caused terrible floods. The temperature was almost 60 degrees during the day, then dropped to below freezing at nightfall and was ten degrees below zero in the middle of the night. Snow squalls hampered both rescue and refueling operations throughout the night.

The floods swept rivers across Pennsylvania causing 14 deaths, damaging 30,000 homes, closing 570 roads and destroying 8 bridges. But the act of rescuing residents altered the life of one of the rescuers

Gilliland is currently serving as Senior State Enlisted Leader for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. At the time of the flood, he had served for almost ten years, that included three years on active duty, two stints in the Individual Ready Reserve (IRR), a ten-month recall to active duty during Operation Desert Storm, finally joining the Army National Guard in 1994.

Then in January of 1996, the rescue operation showed Gilliland the importance of well-trained aircrews ready to respond in hours to a statewide emergency. Ten years after his initial enlistment in 1986, Gilliland knew what his life’s work should be.

He served in Company G until May of 1996 when he was hired as a CH-47 instructor at the Eastern Army National Guard Aviation Training Site. Since May of 1996 he has been fully committed to aviation maintenance. At the Eastern AATS he has served as an Instructor, Enlisted Standardization Flight Instructor, Senior Instructor, Section Sergeant, Platoon Sergeant, First Sergeant, culminating in his assignment as Commandant/Command Sergeant Major.

Command Sergeant Major Dell Christine, 2-104th Aviation, credits Gilliland’s leadership at EAATS with creating a culture of safety and thorough maintenance procedures that contributed to the enviable safety record the Pennsylvania National Guard Aviation has had on major deployments to Afghanistan, Kosovo, and Iraq. “The record speaks for itself,” Christine said. “We deployed an aviation brigade to Iraq 2009 and brought all the aircraft and personnel home without a major incident.”

Gilliland says the mechanics and flight engineers who were his first mentors taught him correct procedures. “They were careful, they went by the book. They taught me to do things right.”

From overseeing flight training Gilliland took a big step up in becoming the senior enlisted leader of 17,000 Pennsylvania National Guard soldiers and airmen. “We have 750 men and women deployed at any given time. Thousands in the last two years,” he said.

Maj. Gen. Jessica Wright selected Gilliland from many accomplished Command Sergeant Majors and Command Chief Master Sergeants in the Pennsylvania Nation Guard. She said, “Selecting CSM Gilliland as the State Command Sergeant Major was a clear choice. Though he was surrounded by several highly qualified peers, he stood out as the person for the job.  He is a technical and tactical expert.   Chip is also a Soldier's Soldier; he serves under the mentality that he works for them, the Soldiers do not work for him."

Gilliland’s office in the headquarters building at Fort Indiantown Gap shows at a glance the care and attention to detail that mark his long career. The plaques, certificates, flags and rack of coins that mark milestones in his career are carefully arranged. His desk is organized and clear of stray paper.

When his three-year tour as Pennsylvania’s Senior Enlisted Leader ends, Gilliland said he will retire. He plans to return to work in aviation.

Update on Lauren's Broken Finger

Lauren is back at practice and in physical therapy to get complete her healing process. She said it was definitely painful when the doctor and the therapist started bending her finger, but she hopes to be back in the goal before the end of the season.

She also hope to keep her bones inside her body from now on!

Speaking at the Mount Joy Rotary Club

Last Tuesday I was the guest speaker at the Mount Joy Rotary Club.  I had never been to a Rotary meeting before.  I was not surprised the chicken was on the menu or that I could have three desserts if I wanted them.  I was surprised at the opening of the meeting when we sang a song together.  Service clubs like Rotary have existed long enough that singing together is one of their traditions.

We pledged allegiance to the flag, sang the national anthem and sang "Roll, Rotary, Roll."

The audience numbered about 30, mostly men and three women.  I wore my uniform since I was speaking about serving in Iraq.  After I was finished speaking one of the women said, "I saw you come in the building in uniform.  I thought you were too old to be a soldier, but you explained how you got in."

Randy Wolgemuth, the president of the Mount Joy chapter gave me my opening joke.  He asked how long I lived in Lancaster County.  When I said 30 years, he said, "You're a native."  I said, "No way!"  When I got up to speak I told the audience what Randy said, then told them about about something I heard from a Mount Joy resident 30 years before.  In 1980, I met Harold and Helen Keller.  They were in their mid 50s at the time.  They had lived in Mount Joy in the same house since they got married 30 years before.  They raised eight kids and were active in their Church and the community.  But Harold told me there was a group of women in their 70s and 80s who lived on their street who still referred to them as "The Kellers from Manheim."  Manheim is the next town to the northeast, five miles away.

I spoke mostly about the men and women I wrote about while I was in Iraq.  As I flashed their pictures up on the screen, I was wondering how they were doing now.  Telling some of those stories again reminded me that I met some of the best people I have ever known in that miserable country.