Selection Day! (2 new posts)

CHAZ GOT THE KIOWA WARRIOR!!!

Chaz made selection today and got what he has always wanted! He was in the top of his class and got to pick first what he wanted. We are so excited! I am very proud of Chaz. He has worked so hard to be able to get this helicopter. He studied so hard and kept up his exercising every morning so he would score high on the physical fitness test. He (and many family members) also fasted and prayed a lot so he would feel confident about the tests he took and so he would remember the material he studied for them. Chaz and I both feel confident that the Kiowa is what Chaz is supposed to fly and that this is the direction the Lord wants our life to go. We couldn't be more happy and more blessed. We look forward to our future!

So, because Chaz got the Kiowa we will probably be here another year! Chaz will be on hold for at least 4 months, meaning that he doesn't do any training for that long and he gets to stay home with me! He will probably start again right at 4 months because since he was top in his class he will be one of the first to start the course. Once he starts the Kiowa course he will be training for 5 months. Once those 5 months are up then it is graduation! Chaz wants to go to Ranger school though so he if gets to go that will add another 3 months to our stay here. Chaz would go to Georgia for that while I stay here for 3 months (that kinda stinks. We won't be able to communicate with each other that long! There is a possibility I would just go back home to Utah to wait it out). So, it looks like we will be here until the end of summer next year! That is good news. Chaz and I love it here and the longer we are here the further away a deployment is!

Some facts about the Kiowa:

The OH-58 Kiowa is a family of single-engine, single-rotor, observation and light attack helicopters manufactured by Bell Helicopter and originally based on the company's Bell 206A JetRanger helicopter. The OH-58 Kiowa has been in continuous use by the United States Army since its introduction in 1968. The latest model, the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior, is primarily operated in an armed reconnaissance role in support of ground troops.

The OH-58D (Bell Model 406) was the result of the Army Helicopter Improvement Program (AHIP). An upgraded transmission and engine gave the aircraft the power it needed for nap-of-the-earth flight profiles, and a four-bladed main rotor made it much quieter than the two-bladed OH-58C. The OH-58D introduced the most distinctive feature of the Kiowa family – a Mast-Mounted Sight (MMS) above the rotor system with a gyro-stabilized platform containing a TeleVision System (TVS), a Thermal Imaging System (TIS), and a Laser Range Finder/Designator (LRF/D). These new features gave the aircraft the additional mission capability of target acquisition and laser designation in both day or night, and in limited-visibility and adverse weather.

These are the posts where the Kiowa helicopters are at right now. In other words, these are the posts we are most likely to be at the rest of our lives :) Of course the army could change it at any time. Like Ft. Carson, CO is probaby not one anymore because it is rumored that they took the Kiowas out of there. The highlighted posts are the posts we are asking to go to after graduation, in that order.

Ft. Carson, CO
Ft. Campbell, KY
Ft. Bragg, NC
Ft. Drum, NY
Ft. Lewis, WA

Hawaii

Alaska

YAY!!!!!! We want to thank the family for your fasting and prayers and all of our friends also for your love and support!!! And I special thanks to Ben Taylor, Mike Hill and Nate Salisbury for helping Chaz with his homework and maps.