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OH-58D(R) Kiowa Warrior pics - Tikrit, Iraq

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kiowa125

kiowa125

10+ Year Contributor
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0
May 14, 2008
Ft. Riley, Kansas
Trying my hand at photography, (mostly due to boredom.) Forgive the angles of the shots, they were taken with the camera set on my kevlar helmet as a makeshift tripod. Whatever works, right?

AIR CAV!

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Nice photo. I converted it to a jpg file and it went from about 454kb to 45kb without any loss in what I could see. I used Irfanview which is a small free download for the conversion. If you are still over there in the sand and trying to send photos you might want to switch to the more efficient jpg format to speed things up. Thanks for the picture. I have a family member who flies one. Are you still there now?
 
Thanks!

I guess I should have explored the program a bit better. I used Irfanview as well. I have more pics but couldn't figure out how to downsize them more, so I ended up just posting one. Looks like I have some editing to do :rocks:
 
Kiowa125,

Thanks for the Kiowa photos. I am adding these to my scrapbook collection. I just spoke to some folks from Ft Carson and they didn't know if an Av group was still over there. Stay safe. I hear you had a big haboob move in a couple of hours ago. Must be tough keeping the sand out of everything you are trying to work on. Thanks again.
 
Hey man, no problem. That Haboob was INSANE. Wind, lots and lots of rain, sand, the works. Everything is still damp and all we have out here (duh) is sand, so it smells like the beach.

It's really hard keeping the sand out of places it shouldn't be, a lot of our job is cleaning the helicopters before and after services, as well as inspecting the components for damage and correct operation.

Thanks for the concern, it means a lot! I'm at T-minus 55 days now :rocks: It still seems like forever to go, but thinking of it as 55 days out of 457 total, it's not so bad I guess. People complain a lot about the deployment length, but we forget about the soldiers/sailors/marines/airmen who fought in WWI/WWII who were away for YEARS at a time. It humbles me, it'll be good to be home again.
 
Yeah man, I plan on being as safe as possible, especially near the end of this deployment. Good luck over there in Afghanistan, is it pretty hairy, or not so bad where you are?

The one with the light and the one with the moon are my two favorites too.
 
Cleaning them is just part of it. It's so important for them to be clean because of the necessary inspections that must take place in set intervals (of flight hours.) If components aren't clean, I might not notice a crack, or an imperfection (scratch, dent, gouge.) My job also consists of keeping up with scheduled maintenance, unscheduled component replacements (due to damage, or just that the part has been installed for X hours and it's time for it to come off.) As well, we make sure our "own" helicopter is well taken care of, the crew compartment clean, in good order, the blades are painted (to slow de-lamination/erosion) and that there is no corrosion present on the airframe. It's pretty involved, but a fun job to have. Although I will admit, doing maintenance at a combat tempo for 13 months straight kind of wears on you. It's VERY repetitive, but rewarding nonetheless. Nothing beats doing maintenance on your bird and watching it take off to go kill some terrorists!

EDIT: Yes, I specialize in working on OH-58D's. My MOS is 15S (OH-58D Helicopter Repairer)
 
kiowa125 said:
It's VERY repetitive, but rewarding nonetheless. Nothing beats doing maintenance on your bird and watching it take off to go kill some terrorists!

EDIT: Yes, I specialize in working on OH-58D's. My MOS is 15S (OH-58D Helicopter Repairer)
Click to expand...

Very cool. do you ever see some birds come back with bullet holes? Any pictures of them?
 
No, fortunately none of our birds have come back with bullet holes. Our guys have gotten shot at, but (knock on wood) haven't been hit yet.
 
Certainly. We haven't had any engagements since February or so, but our pilots killed a lot of bad dudes during the beginning part of the deployment.
 
No, I haven't. I don't know if he's even been to my base since I've been here.
 
We've had heavy dust present for a few days now. From the weather report, this dust storm is the size of Iraq. And now, at about 7:30am local, the sun has risen, making the atmosphere look like we're on Mars.

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No, I'm really not sure:coy:, but the only place I really hear about him going is Baghdad. He probably goes to other ones too.
 
Yeah, we have a LOT of weather days in this part of Iraq. But, my time on here is also attributed to the fact that there is little else to do that's interesting. Tuners has been a god-send as far as fighting boredom goes.
 
I'd heard it was snowing dust today. Your photos paint a pretty gloomy day. Is your Carson group being replaced by the ones from way up north? My family member is with them and they have been there about a month now. Thanks for the photos.
Mack103
Denver area
 
Yeah, you're exactly right. "Snowing," is exactly the term I'd use to describe the dust last night. Just HUGE particles of dust. There was a 1/8'' layer of dust on my bike today when I got finished with work, craziness.

As far as the "up North group" (I'm assuming you're talking about the Kiowa unit in Alaska?) I'm not sure what's on their agenda, they might be headed to Stewart? Not sure. 1-6 Cavalry, my unit, is probably headed to Ft. Riley sometime near June of '09, but nothing is set in stone as of now. It's all speculation and rumors at this point.
 
Kiowa125,
I just looked at AccuWeather and it says 2 mph and zero miles visibility. If that is correct, it must be about as bad as your last photos - again. Yes, I was referring to the Alaskan group. I assume you are working together with them to some extent. The Ft Carson area is nice if you like the variety of geography and things to do in Colorado, but Ft Riley might not be too bad - I really don't know that area at all. I hear so many rumors I haven't paid any attention as to whether that is where you will be going or not. Is the weather you are having there typical of this time of year, or is it common year round? Stay safe.
 
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