Go for Shakedown
by
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I looked over my left shoulder and saw Zorg meeting the soldiers approaching the helicopter through the dust. He revealed his regimental patch. It seemed to be sign that he was a brother, not a stranger. And that their fallen would be escorted with dignity under his watch. He grabbed one end of the body bag and lifted it onto the floor of the griffon. Snapshot had moved across and pulled the soldier through, placing a seatbelt from a floor ring over his body to secure him. The casualty’s impromptu paul bearers reached out to our passenger. I couldn’t see what they did, a pat of compassion? Blessing? I don’t know. It was surreal. Their heads were low. Faces flaccid with exhaustion, tears, fear, anger, horror, stained with dust and sunburn – stoic. Another soldier, a senior Warrant Officer, grabbed them and with some hand gestures reminded them it was time to get into a defensive position. The war was still on, they were more vulnerable with a helicopter in their position. Shots were expected. The NCO looked at me and spun his hand in the air signaling for me to get out, now!
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About the Book
Go For Shakedown follows my experiences through Afghanistan. It is a fictionalized dialogue between characters based on true events. It aims to capture the human side of war from the absurd situations to the complexity of actual helicopter missions; all through the development of about a dozen characters and their interactions and reactions both on the ground and in the air.
Shakedown is a call-sign for the helicopter. The helicopter is a civilian pattern helicopter that was converted into escort gunships by Canada in order to “get the job done.” A unique task since Canada is the only NATO country to NOT have helicopter gunships. Despite this limitation, the crews in Shakedown got the job done and were revered for their lethal capability yet always prevailing humanity.
Whenever ground troops asked for support, they were affirmatively answered with, “Go for Shakedown."
About the Author
I grew up in Western Canada. As a kid, I was thrilled with aircraft, war and machines as is every young boy. After I completed my high school education and university degree, in order to fulfil my sense of child-hood adventure, I joined the AirForce. I proudly served in the Canadian Air Force from 1986-2011. After gaining my wings in 1988, I served at 408 Squadron, 403 HOTS, 427 Squadron, 3 CFFTS and OP ATHENA (Afghanistan) during 2009-2010. The pinnacle was completing two tours in South Asia, which amounted to over 550 hours over 110 mission days. I am still an active commercial offshore pilot and proudly serve in the Reserves (equivalent to the American National Guard). I have attained over 7500 flying hours. I hope to write more stories until well over 10,000 hours.