Things remain to be pretty rocky here in Sweden for the Hastings Clan as it relates to immigration, finances, payment for rent, school mates for Mia, and communication back to friends and family in the US. The one thing that has gone very well happens to be my work here at Malmen Air Base.
I am in my third week at the position of Sweden TAFT SP. Our Swedish counterparts wasted no time in getting us into the aircraft and into the airspace above this frozen yet beautiful country. Of course the process of getting into the aircraft and breaking the surly bonds of the ground were as well a foreign affair for me.
The most pointed difference was the lack of work prior to entering the cockpit. The Swedes have a much different system than the US Army in this regard. Most notebly was the small amount of planning that went into the flight. It isn't that things weren't discussed or a plan wasn't hatched, just that we didn't spend a significant amount of time on discussing the plan. The crew brief, well, it just doesn't really occur. Their position is that all the crew members are current and qualified and we don't need to discuss what their role will be in the aircraft, or they shouldn't be on the schedule to fly. The professionals in the back of the cabin that we all know and love to be the crew chief, comes in a much different flavor here in Sweden. There really has never been two of them in the back since their previous helicopters either didn't have the station for two or just plain weren't utilized as the Black Hawk back seats stars are done in my world.
The crew chief in Sweden first and foremost, is an officer. That officer is either a technician (mechanic) or a mission specialist (sort of like our CE). The technician formerly didn't fly and the mission specialist does not work on aircraft. This means that prior to a flight, the technicians and the maintenance Kompany (yes with a K), owns the aircraft and prepares it for flight. They complete the required Daily inspection as well as a pre-flight, sign the logbook, and then brief the mission specialist of their work. The aircraft now belongs to the flight crew. Upon completion of the flight, the flight crew pretty much gathers their gear and walks away from the aircraft. The technicians then take the aircraft for all post flight activities and maintenance required.
For me this has felt like pure rock star/Hollywood pilot status. If a pilot or flight crew ever conducted themselves like this in the US Army, I would kick their head in. The crew chiefs would black ball that pilot and sing derogatory songs about them while slamming needles into their voodoo doll of them. Here it is the only way to fly, crazy, just plain different. It also again shows me just how damn bad ass the US Army Black Hawk Crew Chief really is. Not that I am not reminded by that over and over throughout my career, but it shines through very clearly while here in Sweden. I am in no means saying that our system is any better or worse than another country or another branch of our armed services. I just am committing to writing again that our crew chiefs are the hardest working, most knowledgeable, and bad ass members of Army Aviation.
My position here has been to advise and demonstrate ways of doing things in the Black Hawk in order to prepare the Swedish unit to take this new aircraft into their system of conducting business. My best advising comes with the tactical sense in mind. In other words, I really have been in the business of training to take this machine to war and kicking the fuck out of the enemy. After the training, actually take this machine to war and kick the fuck out of the enemy, which I have had the honor to do for three tours to Iraq and 42 months of combat deployment.
My experience so far has been great. The Swedish commanders and so far the small amount of available and qualified pilots have been absorbing my advise and techniques beyond my imagination. Not all things are capable of doing the way I know how to do because of the copious amounts of Swedish Regulations. I have had the honor of demonstrating the technique I have used with my unit deployed in combat for 27 months concerning dust landings. We have been able to use snow in the replacement of dust. It has proven to be a great challenge to me as the references in a snowy field are far more challenging/terrifying than the worst of dust environments. No matter, the Chief Pilot is now a believer in the technique and wants to adopt as the preffered method. I had the opportunity to conduct dozens of these landings along the east coast of Sweden. For me this flight was a thrill. Not for the landings but for the chance to fly along the rocky coast of the Baltic Sea. We saw multiple moose as we flew just inland of the coast. It was a notable day in my flying career.
Now my big block to further devolpment has come in the form of my inability to speak and understand Swedish. Obviously, the preferred language in the aircraft is going to be Swedish, well because I am with the Swedish AirForce. Since there is only three knuckleheads here that don't speak Swedish, I thought it would be the best if we just learned to speak Swedish in the aircraft. How hard can that be? Fuck is it hard. It turns out that Swedish has been ranked the fifth hardest language to learn for an English speaker. I can read the words, study what is to be said and what I should expect to hear, but saying these words has been a huge challenge. The sounds are so foreign to our tongues that our attempts have been so far off that they have become the butt of many jokes. All in good nature though. I have been learning Swedish regulations for formation flight. Pretty close in concept but different in application. Again there are regulated "call outs" that are in Swedish. I have a list of those and can practice, but the words are so damn hard to say. I think the decision was made today that when the stupid Americans are in the flight, English will be used. This makes me as an American very embarrassed that we only know one damn language. Of course when I was in high school, Swedish wasn't on the menu of classes that could be taken, or in college for that matter. Yet we still as a majority only speak English. This is so far behind other countries in the world. So I am going to get off my ass and this computer, go find someone that wants to laugh at my attempts to speak this language and practice until I am close enought to be understood. Bye for now!
I am in my third week at the position of Sweden TAFT SP. Our Swedish counterparts wasted no time in getting us into the aircraft and into the airspace above this frozen yet beautiful country. Of course the process of getting into the aircraft and breaking the surly bonds of the ground were as well a foreign affair for me.
The most pointed difference was the lack of work prior to entering the cockpit. The Swedes have a much different system than the US Army in this regard. Most notebly was the small amount of planning that went into the flight. It isn't that things weren't discussed or a plan wasn't hatched, just that we didn't spend a significant amount of time on discussing the plan. The crew brief, well, it just doesn't really occur. Their position is that all the crew members are current and qualified and we don't need to discuss what their role will be in the aircraft, or they shouldn't be on the schedule to fly. The professionals in the back of the cabin that we all know and love to be the crew chief, comes in a much different flavor here in Sweden. There really has never been two of them in the back since their previous helicopters either didn't have the station for two or just plain weren't utilized as the Black Hawk back seats stars are done in my world.
The crew chief in Sweden first and foremost, is an officer. That officer is either a technician (mechanic) or a mission specialist (sort of like our CE). The technician formerly didn't fly and the mission specialist does not work on aircraft. This means that prior to a flight, the technicians and the maintenance Kompany (yes with a K), owns the aircraft and prepares it for flight. They complete the required Daily inspection as well as a pre-flight, sign the logbook, and then brief the mission specialist of their work. The aircraft now belongs to the flight crew. Upon completion of the flight, the flight crew pretty much gathers their gear and walks away from the aircraft. The technicians then take the aircraft for all post flight activities and maintenance required.
For me this has felt like pure rock star/Hollywood pilot status. If a pilot or flight crew ever conducted themselves like this in the US Army, I would kick their head in. The crew chiefs would black ball that pilot and sing derogatory songs about them while slamming needles into their voodoo doll of them. Here it is the only way to fly, crazy, just plain different. It also again shows me just how damn bad ass the US Army Black Hawk Crew Chief really is. Not that I am not reminded by that over and over throughout my career, but it shines through very clearly while here in Sweden. I am in no means saying that our system is any better or worse than another country or another branch of our armed services. I just am committing to writing again that our crew chiefs are the hardest working, most knowledgeable, and bad ass members of Army Aviation.
My position here has been to advise and demonstrate ways of doing things in the Black Hawk in order to prepare the Swedish unit to take this new aircraft into their system of conducting business. My best advising comes with the tactical sense in mind. In other words, I really have been in the business of training to take this machine to war and kicking the fuck out of the enemy. After the training, actually take this machine to war and kick the fuck out of the enemy, which I have had the honor to do for three tours to Iraq and 42 months of combat deployment.
My experience so far has been great. The Swedish commanders and so far the small amount of available and qualified pilots have been absorbing my advise and techniques beyond my imagination. Not all things are capable of doing the way I know how to do because of the copious amounts of Swedish Regulations. I have had the honor of demonstrating the technique I have used with my unit deployed in combat for 27 months concerning dust landings. We have been able to use snow in the replacement of dust. It has proven to be a great challenge to me as the references in a snowy field are far more challenging/terrifying than the worst of dust environments. No matter, the Chief Pilot is now a believer in the technique and wants to adopt as the preffered method. I had the opportunity to conduct dozens of these landings along the east coast of Sweden. For me this flight was a thrill. Not for the landings but for the chance to fly along the rocky coast of the Baltic Sea. We saw multiple moose as we flew just inland of the coast. It was a notable day in my flying career.
Now my big block to further devolpment has come in the form of my inability to speak and understand Swedish. Obviously, the preferred language in the aircraft is going to be Swedish, well because I am with the Swedish AirForce. Since there is only three knuckleheads here that don't speak Swedish, I thought it would be the best if we just learned to speak Swedish in the aircraft. How hard can that be? Fuck is it hard. It turns out that Swedish has been ranked the fifth hardest language to learn for an English speaker. I can read the words, study what is to be said and what I should expect to hear, but saying these words has been a huge challenge. The sounds are so foreign to our tongues that our attempts have been so far off that they have become the butt of many jokes. All in good nature though. I have been learning Swedish regulations for formation flight. Pretty close in concept but different in application. Again there are regulated "call outs" that are in Swedish. I have a list of those and can practice, but the words are so damn hard to say. I think the decision was made today that when the stupid Americans are in the flight, English will be used. This makes me as an American very embarrassed that we only know one damn language. Of course when I was in high school, Swedish wasn't on the menu of classes that could be taken, or in college for that matter. Yet we still as a majority only speak English. This is so far behind other countries in the world. So I am going to get off my ass and this computer, go find someone that wants to laugh at my attempts to speak this language and practice until I am close enought to be understood. Bye for now!
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