Photo By Sgt. Maj. Nathan Hoskins | Chief Warrant Officer 4 Steven Kilgore, the brigade master gunner, 1st Air Cavalry...... read more read more
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By Spc. Nathan J. Hoskins
1st Air Cavalry Brigade Public Affairs
CAMP TAJI, Iraq – He grew up in Portage, Indiana, a town not far from the Indiana Dunes National Lakeshore, where he and his family would go out on a snowy day and sled and play tackle football.
Now, this 1st Cavalry Division Soldier is flying over the country of Iraq as an AH-64 Apache pilot, seeking out and destroying those who wish to harm others and protecting those who wish to bring peace to this embattled country.
Chief Warrant Officer 4 Steven Kilgore, the master gunner for the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade, works day in and day out to ensure the sectarian violence that plagues Baghdad, and more specifically Sadr City, is squelched
There are two aspects to his job. Some days he flies an Apache attack helicopter, and on others he pilots his desk in the office, but both of these have significance in the war on terror.
One evening in late November, after being delayed in order to provide safe passage for a ground unit, Kilgore and his wing man were returning back to the forward operating base to refuel.
He noticed a flash out of the corner of his eye that immediately rang some alarms in his mind.
"Because of that delay, as we were passing Sadr City, we witnessed [some insurgents] launching one rocket after another; six total rockets from about the middle of Sadr City. The first launch caught my eye," Kilgore said.
What was unique about this incident, he added, was that it was all caught on tape.
"We got our sights on it, so we were actually able to record the launches on tape, which is something that you don't normally get," Kilgore said.
With many years of experience in an attack helicopter, Kilgore's skill shines through even in such tense situations. The professionalism is heard throughout the tape, said Baton Rouge, La., native Lt. Col. Charles Dalcourt, the brigade operations officer, for 1st ACB.
After getting approval from the nearby ground unit and their tactical operations center, and despite being very low on fuel, Kilgore said they engaged the enemy.
"Whether it was sectarian or actions against U.S. forces, [it] just didn't matter to us. We knew we needed to go in and take care of business. We got sight on the rocket launchers; we got sight on the personnel coming up to start to break down the rocket launchers ... these are the kind of people we need to get rid of," Kilgore said.
With skill and precision, the enemy was destroyed along with their ability to continue to maintain sectarian violence, he said.
"I hope we showed both sides that are involved in the sectarian violence that it doesn't matter who you are, it doesn't matter what your purpose is. Right now, as Iraq tries to get itself stabilized, if we catch you doing something that you shouldn't be doing ... we're going to come get you," Kilgore said.
Once the enemy and launchers were destroyed, Kilgore headed back to his base camp with both 'fuel-low' warning lights lit up, he said
"If I hang out too much longer I'm going to land with no gas ... or not land, as the case may be," reflected Kilgore.
During the ten-minute flight back to Camp Taji, Kilgore began receiving calls on his radio that the engagement was being reported on CNN News, but the initial reports were that some attack helicopters engaged a funeral procession, he said.
"The news can report what they want to report as an initial report ... as long as they go back and follow up later and report it right. That's the problem, though. When we released a video clip proving that what we were doing was the right thing to do, nobody picked it up," said Kilgore.
"There have been cases in the past where we do something we know is right and the press reports it all wrong," he said. "It's frustrating. It's frustrating because we work really hard on training our pilots and going through a lot of classes and things to learn the decision-making process that these guys are going to face."
Kilgore understands that the media has a job, but feels they are a sometimes biased when it comes to the U.S. Soldiers fighting daily for the freedoms of America.
"[The media] are doing a job and they're trying to sell a story. What I felt was – in this particular case – was once they figured out U.S. troops weren't doing something wrong, that it was no longer newsworthy," said Kilgore.
"I think that we should be reporting the newsworthy incidents that troops are out there every day ... doing phenomenal stuff under really harsh circumstances," he said.
"I fly over these 'Joes' everyday. These guys are out there. They've got a tough job. They're out there and people are trying to blow them up ... and these guys are going out there and overcoming that and accomplishing the mission every day," said Kilgore with conviction.
When the husband of 18-and-a-half years and father of one isn't out taking fire and quelling sectarian violence, he is in his office ... quelling sectarian violence.
"His job is absolutely critical," said Dalcourt. "He plays such a large role in standardization and education for the brigade."
As the brigade master gunner, Kilgore has a hand in almost everything that deals with keeping pilots and door gunners skilled at firing their weapons systems. This, in turn, keeps the sectarian clash in check with precision fire.
"I'm looking for ways to make us better and more accurate with our weapons systems," said Kilgore.
"The master gunner is the guy that looks at techniques; he analyzes training. He can be the first to point out those subtleties that will help hone the skills of your people, educate them properly, hold them accountable by action and inaction," said Dalcourt.
"I maintain a gunnery training program which allows [the Soldiers] to go out there and train new guys and also to sustain their proficiency once they've gone through a gunnery and are deemed proficient," said Kilgore.
Along with keeping 1st ACB's pilots and gunners on top of their game, Kilgore takes it a step further by keeping the rest of the aviators in the Army abreast of the newest tactics, techniques and procedures being used in Iraq.
"He's developed scenarios for Fort Rucker ... to teach the young group of pilots coming in, to season guys who haven't been in the crucible yet," said Dalcourt.
"I'm doing some academic work to take the lessons that we learn, rules of engagement, escalation of force and weaponeering, and get those back to the school house so that follow-on units and future leaders can see the problems we face and the process we go about to solve problems," said Kilgore.
Constantly striving to do the best in everything he does, Kilgore is a vital part of the 1st Air Cavalry Brigade team and is well respected among his peers, said Dalcourt.
"He is absolutely critical to the team. I think the great thing about Steve Kilgore is that you get a complete officer. You have someone that exhibits compassion, [is] a sage thinker and someone with wisdom and wit at the same time," he said.
With many jobs and many aspects to each of them, Kilgore stays busy, but he is always on top of his game. It is necessary to keep the rampage of sectarian violence to a minimum, if not eradicate it completely, said Kilgore
"We're out there. We're forward. We're fighting the enemy on the ground of our choosing," he said. "It's a tough fight, but it's a necessary fight. As long as that fight is necessary, that's going to continue to motivate me to continue to do the job I'm doing. These people are worth my best effort."
| Date Taken: | 12.17.2006 |
| Date Posted: | 12.17.2006 15:51 |
| Story ID: | 8599 |
| Location: | TAJI, IQ |
| Web Views: | 147 |
| Downloads: | 57 |
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