Photo By Sgt. Maj. Nathan Hoskins | Spc. Kevin Thomson (right), a CH-47F Chinook helicopter mechanic for Company D, 2nd...... read more read more
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By Sgt. Nathan J. J. Hoskins
1st Air Cavalry Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division
FORT HOOD, Texas – It's an unusually cool summer morning in Texas and the dew gleams like frost scattered lightly across the grass.
In the distance the muffled sound of hoofs stomping the ground play out like the cadence of a drum line.
And in that moment, sitting tall upon a horse, a 1st Air Cavalry "Warrior" Brigade, 1st Cavalry Division, Soldier lifts his hand and commits three more years to the warrior lifestyle.
That's the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior lifestyle to be more exact.
Spc. Kevin Thomson, a CH-47F Chinook Mechanic for Company D, 2nd "Lobo" Battalion, 227th Aviation Regiment, 1st ACB, 1st Cav. Div., took his second Oath of Enlistment (first reenlistment) to reclassify as a Kiowa mechanic, Sept. 19, 2008, at the 1st Cavalry Division Horse Detachment stables.
This was a very special occasion for him; so much, in fact, that his wife of five years, Nancy, attended the ceremony.
Not only that, his mother, Sharon, and his father, William, traveled in from Booneville, Ark., to see their son reenlist.
"I was proud of him for making the commitment," said William, a retired Air Force master sergeant.
Thomson originally was going to start a career in aviation in the civilian sector when the 9-11 terrorist attacks occurred.
"9-11 just kind of derailed a lot of those plans and aspirations," said Thomson, a Sacramento, Calif., native.
As time went by, he decided to dedicate some time to his country and get some aviation experience in one fail swoop – he enlisted in the Army.
Thomson has served his country for just short of four and a half years, and he's already been to Korea, Pakistan and Iraq, he said.
With this many deployments, and time away from his loved ones, it's inspiring that he still perseveres as a dedicated Soldier, said Capt. Norvel Taite, commander of Co. A, 2-227th.
"When you see them voluntarily reenlist, stay in, even though they know that means more deployments and more time away from their families ... it just instills a sense of pride in yourself," said Taite, the officer who reenlisted Thomson.
Taite said that it's great to see well-trained aviation mechanics stick with military aviation and not move to the civilian sector.
"You just take a lot of pride in seeing your Soldiers actually wanting to stay in the military, especially with all this experience, because there are opportunities out there in the civilian world for them," said Taite, a native of Macomb, Ill.
Thomson agrees with his commander. He sees more and more Soldiers leaving the Army to work as a civilian, but that isn't the case for him.
"A lot of people have come out of the military with aviation experience and have gone on to bigger and better things on the civilian side, but I think aviation in the military is going be the place for me," he said.
Although Thomson is changing his job to work on a different aircraft, he still has a lot of pride in the time he's put in with the Chinooks.
"It's good to see them flying overhead knowing that people are getting where they need to go in a timely manner and that we're getting parts and equipment out to the lines where they need to be," he said.
And this is even more important recently with the relief efforts to stabilize Galveston, Texas and the surrounding areas after Hurricane Ike violently rocked the coast.
Chinooks have been flying food and water to those affected by the hurricane, and Thomson has had a hand in keeping the twin-rotor helicopters in the air.
But now he's going to work on a much smaller "bird," the Kiowa Warrior, and further his career as an aviation Soldier in a different unit.
Although he is a great trooper, his commander doesn't mind him heading off to other units – so long as he stays a dedicated Soldier.
"I don't mind losing people as long as they're staying in the military continuing to do what they're going to do," said Taite.
And that's what Thomson did on this unusually cool morning in Texas on top of a Cav. horse – on top of his future – on top of the world.
| Date Taken: | 09.23.2008 |
| Date Posted: | 09.23.2008 10:32 |
| Story ID: | 24039 |
| Location: | FORT HOOD, TX, US |
| Web Views: | 291 |
| Downloads: | 231 |
This work, Why I serve: Soldier maintains aircraft, career, by SGM Nathan Hoskins, identified by DVIDS, must comply with the restrictions shown on https://www.dvidshub.net/about/copyright.
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