Page 10 - DFCS News Magazine Winter 2015

A. J. Billings cont’d
touch, your smell, everything was heightened.... I never felt so alive, as when I was scrambled in support of someone in trouble on a moonless night where you couldn't see your hand a few inches in front of your face. I guess you could call me an adrenalin junky.
As promised within minutes we were overhead. The SEALs marked their posi on with red blink- ing lights and directed us two hundred yards to the south where they had received the heaviest concentra on of re. Being single ship it was about as stealth as we could get. We turned o all the lights and headed in for the a ack. With- out lights all Charlie had to shoot at was the sound of the helo and our muzzle ashes/ tracers. Each me we started our a ack from a slightly di erent direc on. It only took a couple of passes before re from the edge of the village subsided. I received a radio call that the Army "Slicks" were s ll 30 minutes out. Just then the SEALs started receiving re from the tree line to the east. Again we went in with guns blazing. I heard the SEAL Team Leader come up over the radio in an excited voice, telling us we were re- ceiving heavy re from a tree line. It was typical of them. Pinned down with three wounded and a er everything they had just gone through, they were concerned about the Seawolves. It said a lot about the caliber of people they were. A er several passes we seemed to have gained the upper hand.
We were out of rockets and running low on am- mo. I told SEAL Team Lead that the "Slicks" were s ll 30 minutes out and I needed to rearm. At that point, it was quiet and he agreed. We head- ed back to base red-lining everything on the old bird, airspeed, power, torque, and temperature. Upon arrival we slid right into the rearming pit and, with the blades s ll turning, rearmed. Within minutes we were back on our way.
When we arrive overhead all was calm for the moment and, the Army "Slicks" were checking in on our frequency. The SEALs marked an LZ and the two slicks started their approach. About two thirds of the way in, Charlie opened up on the slicks from the tree line. As they pulled o , I
rolled in and red o a half dozen rockets along the tree line. Next me around I told them I would lead them in, and they agreed. With the two "Slicks" to my le , I emp ed the rest of the rockets into the tree line. I rolled right. Our bird was armed with a 50 CAL, and the door gunner kept con nuous sup- pressive re on the tree line. With that 50 CAL chewing up the jungle, I think all Charlie was doing is looking for a hole to crawl into.
The Slicks made it out of the LZ without taking any hits and return the wounded to the eld hospital. When I returned to our base, the OINC was nowhere to be found which was ne with me. I knew I was going to get an ass chewing. I just didn't know how bad. When we shut down, I no ced the other door gunner had his hand wrapped. When I asked what happened, he said it was nothing. Eviden ally one of the rounds in his M-60 cooked o . When you re the M-60 for long periods of me, the barrel gets so hot it glows a bright red in the dark. During the re- ght he didn't have me to change the barrel, and it cooked o a round in the chamber. I told him to head over to the dispensary and have the doc take a look at it. All in all, it was a successful mission. The SEALs were recovered, the slicks didn't take any hits and the only injury on our bird was the door gunner.
The next morning was a di erent story. During the crew change, the OINC came into the opera ons hooch and called me outside. He chewed me up one side and down the other. Words like “le er of repri- mand” were used and, to be fair, I was a bit of an ass. I was going to be an airline pilot when I re- turned home and, I gured the only way they could hurt me with a bad tness report was to roll it up into a tube and jab me in the eye with it. Young, foolish, impetuous, probably all of those were appro- priate in describing who I was at the me. There would be other mes when they would go a er my wings but, instead would award me another medal or promo on.
The next morning the Area Commander for the SEAL Team units in the Delta called the squadron CO and thanked him for the support. The CO, in turn, called the OINC and told him to write up the ac on. I didn't know it at the me but, it was the beginning of a 22- year career. A. J. Billings
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