Dear Family and Friends,
I've asked my wife and parents to forward this message to all of you who are interested, rather than missing some by accident or simply due to my lacking and outdated address list. I hope you can forgive me for not sending it to you directly.
I suppose many of you are interested to hear how I am doing in light of all the recent crashes out here with respect to Operation Enduring Freedom. Rather than simply talk about myself, I'd like to share a little insight on the recent events that have transpired and perhaps convey my thoughts through a message.
You may not have heard, that at the beginning of my deployment we lost a F-16 pilot to impact into a mountain while approaching Bagram to land. Last week 4 were killed aboard a MC-12 (twin-prop ISR aircraft) due to terrible weather. A few days back 7 crew-members were killed aboard a Boeing 747 jumbo-jet carrying 5 vehicles out of Bagram after the load shifted (i.e. chains broke and vehicles all moved aft, stalling the aircraft), and yesterday 3 lost their lives after what initially appears to be some form of mechanical failure aboard a KC-135 refueling tanker deployed to my same location.
The news is devastating and with each crash it just heaps the reality of aviation danger upon all of us. Every reason for the above crashes can happen to anyone anytime. I happened to transport two similar vehicles to Bagram the day after the 747 crashed and saw the wreckage on the side of the runway. It's eery to think that my load was similar to theirs, and if the same thing happened in my jet we would be just as incapable of recovery. I think about the terrain around Bagram every time I fly in there, remembering the F-16 crash. Bagram is located in a valley with very large mountains in every direction. There's only one direction into the airfield, and even that has a small mountain in it's path which blends in at night with all the other terrain. Weather is always scary to pilots, and even moderate bumps of turbulence scare me now after we lost about 1000 feet in a second the other night after leaving Bagram. Passengers who had just sat in their seats at our request but not yet buckled up were launched about 3 feet above their seats. Military working dogs sitting on the floor in front of their handlers ended up in the laps of their handlers but never jumped up. I literally thought we had lost our wings when it happened. Now after flying over the crash site of the KC-135 this morning, following the same route we all fly to get to Afghanistan, I had that sick feeling in my stomach that a catastrophic mechanical failure of the aircraft can happen to any of us at any time for any number of reasons. What goes up must come down. It may not be in the form we choose, but all things return back to earth.
These crashes hit home to all of us in the aviation community, as well as our families and friends who anxiously await news of safety. Like any tragic end to one's life, the news sinks deep into our hearts, our minds, and souls as we search for answers, search for peace, and search for new ways to forge the life we will live ahead of these times.
I hope you all can take some quiet moments to think about your personal lives and what you would change with the thought that today you could pass away from this mortal existence. Perhaps we all have regrets in life, but hopefully we can think not of disaster but of the reality of life, that each of us has a chance to help others, send a note, make a phone call, tell someone you love them, and serve to bring joy and peace to the lives of others as our Savior showed us during his mortal ministry.
I love flying, I will keep flying, and I will live on each day putting on the uniform that represents freedom. While my calling to serve is in the armed forces for the time being, each of you has a calling to serve our country as citizens. That doesn't mean work, pay taxes, and vote every two years. Being a citizen means watching your neighborhood to stop crime, protecting and teaching the children of your community, paying attention to the actions of your elected officials and always making your voice heard about issues up for debate. They have email, they have phone lines, they have websites, and they all deserve to hear from their constituents, not once or twice but continually. Being a citizen means making not only your voice heard but helping to get the word out to others (sounding the alarm) so they too will make their voices heard. Our country is under attack not only from abroad for which I fight, but also within. We each have a responsibility to our country day after day, even when our roles change. These crashes don't crush my spirits, but remind me of my passion to serve, the reason I signed up for this job, and the reason I wish to keep our colors forever flying free. Remember the constitution, remember your rights and duties. Remember those who gave their all for you and me. Remember. Protect. Serve.
God bless America, land of the Free and home of the Brave. And may God bless each of you as he has blessed me.
-DT
3 comments:
FYI: I just want to note that all of the aircraft incidents are still under investigation. I must therefore express that the views in my post are purely my speculation and are not official conclusions of investigations.
Thank you Daniel. I've read this over and over tearing up every time. Thank you for your inspiring words and perspective. We love you and are honored to have you in our family! We pray for your safety every day.
wow. just wow. thank you for sharing. love you guys.
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