The Final Flight of a Distinguished Career

AFGHANISTAN

04.28.2017

Story by Bob Harrison 

U.S. Forces Afghanistan

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (April 28, 2017) – U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 John Anthony Aloi, piloting his RC-12X Guardrail aircraft, touched down here for his last time as a military aviator. Aloi will redeploy soon to his Fort Hood, Texas home and prepare himself and his family for retirement from the Army early next year.

His teammates and the leadership of Task Force ODIN and Task Force Lightning were on hand at the airfield to greet him and celebrate his career.

As he taxied to the ramp, two arching plumes of water doused his aircraft. On the ramp, the salute continued with everyone spraying water at him – thoroughly soaking Aloi and his uniform. The water salute is one of the oldest aviation traditions that commemorates the final flight, or retirement, of an aviator or aircraft.

This final flight here in Afghanistan was almost 15 years to the day that Aloi flew his first combat flight, also here at Bagram Airfield.

“This airfield looked a lot different then,” noted Aloi.

Army Lt. Col. Shawn Barnes, Task Force ODIN and 206th Military Intelligence (MI) Battalion commander, recalled his experiences serving with Aloi.

“Chief Aloi took the time to know the Soldiers, he took the time to get to know the people,” said Barnes. “John’s a people person.”

“People talk about what they would do, how they would react, in difficult, dangerous situations. They want to believe they will do the right thing,” Barnes continued. “John did. He doesn’t hesitate. I’ve watched him. There is no hesitation. He would instinctively sacrifice himself for anybody around him.

“I have never met a more professional senior warrant officer. He is special in a way that I will remember for the rest of my life.”

Army Chief Warrant Officer 4 David Spielman co-piloted Aloi’s final flight. They have known each other since 2014 and joined the 206th MI Battalion just prior to this deployment.

“Mr. Aloi is a phenomenal officer. I’m very sad to lose him in the Army not only as a friend but as a co-worker,” said Spielman. “We’ve worked every day together as the aviation special staff for the battalion command and brigade commander.

Aloi will have served nearly 26 years in the U.S. Army by the time he retires. He originally enlisted in 1992 as a military policeman from his home in Fairmont, West Virginia.

“I commend him for his 26 years of service to the Army. I truly appreciate that, my family appreciates it and I know the unit appreciates it,” Spielman added.

Aloi left the Military Police Corps to become an Arabic linguist during which time he encountered in-service recruiters seeking volunteers to become Army helicopter pilots. Aloi submitted a packet, was accepted, and finished flight school. He was assigned to the 101st Airborne Division as a UH-47 Chinook pilot.

Within a year, Aloi deployed to Afghanistan for the first of his six combat tours; three here, three in Iraq.

During his last tour in Iraq, his fifth combat tour within 10 years, Aloi experienced a harrowing month of close calls that encouraged his ambitions to become a fixed-wing pilot.

Aloi and his crew were given a mission to extract a British Special Forces unit from a tough situation. Upon landing his Chinook helicopter, the enemy ambushed the landing zone and began firing at the aircraft.

“There were some special forces, some British guys, who need exfil [exfiltration]. We got them out of a hot LZ [landing zone]. We took quite a few bullets and RPGs [rocket-propelled grenades],” recalled Aloi. “We had to limp the helicopter back covered in transmission fluid and bullet holes. But nobody got hurt.”

The following week while awaiting the green light for a similar mission, an OH-58 Kiowa helicopter lost power and crashed as it departed the Forward Arming and Refueling Point at Forward Operating Base Ramrod.

Without hesitation, Aloi sprinted across the field toward the crashed helicopter. Fully aware of the dangers of aircraft post-crash fires with live ammunition, Aloi resolved himself and pulled both pilots from the burning aircraft before the fire became uncontrollable, saving their lives, according to the citation awarding Aloi the Soldier’s Medal for his heroism.

About a week later, Aloi and his crew flew another mission that he considered to be another close call.

“We had a mission where some Rangers had been blown up, some had been killed. We went in to get them,” said Aloi.

“We sat about seven and a half minutes on the LZ. About 20-30 seconds after we lifted off, the enemy was hitting us with a lot of small arms fire and RPGs. Then, friendly fires hit the area and the whole place just exploded. We just thought we were lucky to have just gotten out of there in time.”

After more than 10 years flying Chinooks, Aloi submitted a packet to become a fixed-wing pilot. He remembers thinking a lot about his family and his kids at the time.

Aloi will retire with more than 4,000 military flight hours; 2,000 in combat.

John Aloi is also the recipient of the Distinguished Flying Cross for Valor, two Bronze Star medals, and several Air Medals.

Next year, he and his wife will return to his Fairmont home. Their oldest son is currently attending college in West Virginia. They also have a daughter and son in high school back at Fort Hood. Aloi will return in time to see his daughter graduate from high school this year. John will retire and return to the same address, his childhood home, where he originally joined the Army more than 25 years ago.

“The most memorable thing about the Army, by far, is not the missions, it’s not the aircraft, it’s the people,” said Aloi as reflected on his Army career.

“I still remember the guys who were here in 2002...by name. I still remember those guys like it was yesterday. What a great group of guys,” he added, “and all the other groups both here and Iraq.”

“It’s really the people you work with, they become your family. And even their families, they’re like nieces and nephews to me.”

“That’s the biggest thing about the Army.”

• Date Taken: 04.28.2017
• Date Posted: 05.03.2017 07:01
• Story ID: 232380
• Location: AF
• Hometown: FAIRMONT, WV, US
• Hometown: FORT CAVAZOS, TX, US