Alan C. Mack

It's like, oh, there's a stream over there. No, wait, that's the stream. It's like a guy driving a big bus, you know. And so you learn to do that and fly, and that's a lot of fun, actually. And you finish that up with a great big exercise where, like, the cobras come in and the Hueys, and it's a big, they call it an AVTAC. I don't remember what that stood for, but it was a big, big event.

It's like, oh, there's a stream over there. No, wait, that's the stream. It's like a guy driving a big bus, you know. And so you learn to do that and fly, and that's a lot of fun, actually. And you finish that up with a great big exercise where, like, the cobras come in and the Hueys, and it's a big, they call it an AVTAC. I don't remember what that stood for, but it was a big, big event.

It's like, oh, there's a stream over there. No, wait, that's the stream. It's like a guy driving a big bus, you know. And so you learn to do that and fly, and that's a lot of fun, actually. And you finish that up with a great big exercise where, like, the cobras come in and the Hueys, and it's a big, they call it an AVTAC. I don't remember what that stood for, but it was a big, big event.

It was really cool. And then you moved into Knights.

It was really cool. And then you moved into Knights.

It was really cool. And then you moved into Knights.

What's the... It was like we all flew out to an assembly area, right? And we went in and got a briefing from, you know, the cadre planning the mission. So it was, you know... 20 Hueys flying in one big-ass formation, like something out of Apocalypse Now. And the Cobras would roll in and do the gun runs, and the OH-58s would call in the spot reports, all that stuff. And we would all do this.

What's the... It was like we all flew out to an assembly area, right? And we went in and got a briefing from, you know, the cadre planning the mission. So it was, you know... 20 Hueys flying in one big-ass formation, like something out of Apocalypse Now. And the Cobras would roll in and do the gun runs, and the OH-58s would call in the spot reports, all that stuff. And we would all do this.

What's the... It was like we all flew out to an assembly area, right? And we went in and got a briefing from, you know, the cadre planning the mission. So it was, you know... 20 Hueys flying in one big-ass formation, like something out of Apocalypse Now. And the Cobras would roll in and do the gun runs, and the OH-58s would call in the spot reports, all that stuff. And we would all do this.

And we're a bunch of, we're not even W-1s yet. We're still walks. We're not officer candidates. And the instructors are obviously having fun because they're showing off their students can do this and that. And it was a lot of fun. I don't think they do that anymore. It's probably very risky when you think about what they were doing. All these aircraft in one little area, synchronized.

And we're a bunch of, we're not even W-1s yet. We're still walks. We're not officer candidates. And the instructors are obviously having fun because they're showing off their students can do this and that. And it was a lot of fun. I don't think they do that anymore. It's probably very risky when you think about what they were doing. All these aircraft in one little area, synchronized.

And we're a bunch of, we're not even W-1s yet. We're still walks. We're not officer candidates. And the instructors are obviously having fun because they're showing off their students can do this and that. And it was a lot of fun. I don't think they do that anymore. It's probably very risky when you think about what they were doing. All these aircraft in one little area, synchronized.

I mean, this is advanced stuff. And they allowed us to do that. How far into training is that? That's several months in. That's got to be... Like five, six months in. Okay. And then, because when you finish that, now you move to night. And when you go to night, you do all the same stuff. You do stage field, right?

I mean, this is advanced stuff. And they allowed us to do that. How far into training is that? That's several months in. That's got to be... Like five, six months in. Okay. And then, because when you finish that, now you move to night. And when you go to night, you do all the same stuff. You do stage field, right?

I mean, this is advanced stuff. And they allowed us to do that. How far into training is that? That's several months in. That's got to be... Like five, six months in. Okay. And then, because when you finish that, now you move to night. And when you go to night, you do all the same stuff. You do stage field, right?

Traffic patterns, you do auto rotations, emergency procedures, all that stuff with goggles. And when I was in there, we had... The Army had just transitioned from what we call full-face 5s, right? So Anvus 5s or PVS 5s, whatever they were. And they used to be like a— Are you talking about the mono? No, no. They're binoculars, but they are like a rectangle.

Traffic patterns, you do auto rotations, emergency procedures, all that stuff with goggles. And when I was in there, we had... The Army had just transitioned from what we call full-face 5s, right? So Anvus 5s or PVS 5s, whatever they were. And they used to be like a— Are you talking about the mono? No, no. They're binoculars, but they are like a rectangle.

Traffic patterns, you do auto rotations, emergency procedures, all that stuff with goggles. And when I was in there, we had... The Army had just transitioned from what we call full-face 5s, right? So Anvus 5s or PVS 5s, whatever they were. And they used to be like a— Are you talking about the mono? No, no. They're binoculars, but they are like a rectangle.

Oh, these are like the thing that the eyeglass doctor used. You put them on your face, right, like a diving mask. Think of a diving mask where it's just got toilet paper tubes sticking out of it, right, and everything else is black. That's what they started with.

Oh, these are like the thing that the eyeglass doctor used. You put them on your face, right, like a diving mask. Think of a diving mask where it's just got toilet paper tubes sticking out of it, right, and everything else is black. That's what they started with.