LIFE IN GERMANY
September to November 2002
By Gordon Cimoli

Things have been going pretty well here and as you can imagine I have been kept very busy since we last wrote.

Let me start by telling you about Poland: Ok…here was the plan—deploy to Poland on September 28th and stay there for 3 weeks. Our mission was to train with the Apaches (gun helicopters) in their “deep attack” role. That means that the Apache's go behind the enemy lines and attack targets. We support that mission by delivering people to sneak around behind enemy lines to identify targets and other support missions such as that.

Well, my buddy Shawn was the guy who was planning all of Poland—he was going to be the flight lead and the guy who briefed the mission to the Battalion. BUT about 3 weeks prior to leaving, we got word that he (and some others) would be leaving to go train in Kuwait. That left me stuck with the planning and lead to Poland. Great. I had all kinds of other work going on and certainly did not need this. Either way, I got it. So my co-pilot, CPT Dave Smith (he was the guy who let us stay in his apartment—the 2nd place we lived—when we got here. If you remember, that was the place where Benjamin accidentally hit the kid in the head with the shovel), took the ball and really ran with it and put 99% of the plan together. I reviewed his work and guided him when he needed guidance but was really fortunate to have him on the job. It relieved me of having to put the entire plan together. So, we continued to get ready for this deployment and finally briefed all the pilots. The next day we left. The flight took us out of Giebelstadt, up to the north and west into the former western Germany. Of course, this doesn't exist anymore, but its jut something to note. For this leg of the flight, I would navigate and lead the flight while Dave would fly in his chemical mask! This leg of the flight was 2.3 hours long and it is a painful experience to wear that mask for anything longer than a few minutes. We are training for the eventualities of war in the desert (and anywhere else) so it was necessary. As we took off, I noticed that our primary navigation system —the GPS— was not working properly and was steering us in the wrong direction. So, I had to be much more diligent with my map navigation. We were flying 200 miles or more and I would be doing it strictly off an air map. No problem—we do this all the time in training but we tend to get a bit more complacent when we have the GPS to guide us. Having to navigate off the map and constantly compare terrain features outside with those on the map as well as talk on the radios, manage fuel (which was critical for this leg of the flight) and all the other things associated with flying and leading a flight, increased the stress level exponentially. It was a great flight and I kept us on course the entire way as we flew over towns and mountains and rivers. It was a pretty flight. The weather was pleasant. We arrived at our first stop—Cottbus, Germany and landed for fuel. Dave was about to pass out from the pain of wearing his mask so immediately after shutting down, he took his mask off and we all took a break. The Germans were quick to respond with their NATO coded fuel trucks. We had a quick update briefing and reviewed our weather then continued on to Poland.

For this leg of the flight, we would switch roles-Dave would navigate and manage the flight while I would fly and wear my mask. **One note here: Dave's mask had a broken microphone in it, so he had to wear my mask…for 2.3 hours…which meant that all his sweat and breath and spit would be all over the inside of my mask. So as I put my mask on, Dave cajoled me with statements that he had been licking the inside of my mask and other disgusting things to make me feel more comfortable with having to wear it. My only solace was that this leg of the flight was only 1.5 hours.

We took off and Dave was quickly introduced to the stressors of having to do everything! He did a great job, kept us on course as well and after 20 minutes, we crossed the border into Poland. As we crossed the border (which was a river) we could see the immediate difference between the “free world” and Soviet block nations. On the German side of the river, the houses were large and colorful but on the Polish side of the river they were dark and small. The roads were smaller and run down and the cars were small and compact. We didn't see many sites, but the land was beautiful and the trees were lush and green. The towns, like many of the towns in Germany, were small with houses very close together, but as we flew over them, we could see that in all of the towns, there were buildings that just couldn't stand any longer and had collapsed. To me, it looked like nothing had changed since World War II—and I was judging that by video clips and pictures that I have seen.

We were flying to Miroslawiec Airbase and that is where we would live until October 20th when we left. We arrived and the weather was still beautiful. We saw a few Apaches in the air as we arrived. We lined up for landing and positioned the aircraft in their respective parking spots, last in a long line of Blackhawks from our sister companies and Battalions. We shutdown and waited as customs came around and signed us in to their Country.

From there we went to our tents which were already set up by the advanced party who arrived earlier that morning. We put our cots up and arranged our sleeping areas. We were told that we would be working a new idea to an old mission: Personnel Recovery (PR). It was formerly referred to as Combat Search and Rescue (CSAR) but the new terminology was just PR because we didn't have assets to waste “searching” for downed people...especially in Combat. If we did that, we would definitely lose more crews so we needed to wait until we had a location—then we weren't searching. Makes sense. So, for the next few days, we brainstormed what we could do to make this a successful mission. For the Army, this was totally new and so for our unit as well. Basically, we were going to develop the doctrine and procedures that would be used across V corps in Europe and quite possibly the Army as a whole. This news was very exciting. We finally had a mission that was real and very important. For the next 3 weeks, we trained at this mission and did a great job of putting together procedures that work in various environments. I will not describe how we perform this mission, but I can tell you the basics: A person finds himself isolated behind enemy lines for whatever reasons (shot down, patrol gets shot up…etc); the system starts working to find this person; we are notified that we may have a mission and we start planning; meanwhile information is gathered about the enemy and the person we are trying to get; eventually, we launch, with hopeful fighter/gunship support and find the guy, pick him up before the enemy can capture him and bring him home.

While in Poland we got to practice this mission under various conditions and with various additional pieces to work with. We did a great job and learned a lot through each training event. While there we had a Public Relations team do a story on us. That story was placed on the US Army Europe website.

It snowed one night while we were there but the snow did not stick around after the sun came up.

The mission ended and everyone prepared for redeployment to Giebelstadt. We returned from Poland on October 19th and had a lot of work to do with getting all of our equipment cleaned and put together. As you have seen in the news, Saddam was looking like he wanted war so we were busy prepping for that eventuality. Things were busy with no light at the end of the tunnel. We were working long hours and late nights. Then, then very next week I found that I was going to Stuttgart, Germany for a class on Personnel Recovery. So, on the next Monday we left.

After the class was complete, we moved out of the hotel and moved in with our friends Tim and Lisa who live there also. From there house we staged a trip to Strasbourg, France. It was only a 2 hour drive and we took some pictures crossing the border—which is totally open. All you do is drive across the border just like you would drive from Michigan to Ohio. There is a sign on the side of the road that says, “Francreich (France in German) or “France.” So we drove on into a place called Soufflenheim that is known (in some small circles) for its pottery. We went there with our friend Lisa and her two kids so we had a van load to say the least. We walked around the town which was fairly small but so beautiful. Now we were in a French speaking country and with my 4 years of French in school I was a shoe in to talk to these people—NOT! Ha-ha. I was lost! Just like in Germany. Sure I knew some basic words and could read a few signs…but still I was lost. Anyhow, we walked around the pottery shops and Stefanie found some cute pieces to give as Christmas presents. We stayed there for a few hours then continued to our other destination of Strasbourg.

We got on the highway (autobahn) and drove at 97 m.p.h (which is MY standard rate of speed on the autobahn's) to arrive at Strasbourg in an hour or so. We drove through the city but not into the heart of it. You see, the city center's, although drivable, are very, very tight and do not allow much maneuver room for a van let alone a car. So, whenever it was apparent that we were entering the city center, we would turn and look for another place to go. Eventually we found a good parking spot only a few blocks from where we wanted to go. We were within visual range of the cathedral and that was our main destination. We got out of the van and instantly saw a pile of crap next to a tree that we parked next to. Along with the visual we quickly received an odor to accompany it! We were disgusted by that and had heard that the French all own little dogs (that are the perfect size to kick a field goal with) and that they let them crap anywhere…we were firsthand witnesses to that fact. We gathered the kids and walked towards the cathedral. Every tree we passed had a nice loaf or two or three around it. So as we are walking, the kids, as curious as they are, are trying to run around the trees and we are all yelling at them because there are these huge landmines all around the trees…

We managed to make our way into the center without having any “crap incidents.” We rounded a corner and saw the huge cathedral! As always, it was huge, with ornate carvings and sculptures. Amazing. We walked around enjoying the stores and shops and the occasional street performer. We finally found a nice outdoor café to eat some lunch. We ordered some bratwursts, cocoa, and sandwiches and relaxed outside. It was about 50º but comfortable in our jackets. After eating we walked around the town some more then made our way towards our van. On the way, we passed a shop that had the most beautiful cakes and tortes in the window. We stopped in there and had a few pieces of assorted sweets and more cocoa. They (Europeans) don't seem to sweeten their cocoa like we do. It is good, but more like baker's chocolate then what we are used to.

When we were leaving we were walking to our car and a delivery van came down the road behind us and was turning in front of us down a small alley. So, we stopped to allow him to pass in front of us. He turned the corner a bit too tightly and we watched as the van scrapped against a guard pole and forced the van to stop. The driver backed up and moved forward again, with the same result. He did this 2 more times before the passenger got out to guide him. Again, he hit the pole a few more times and by this time there was a crowd gathered on the street. They finally maneuvered into the alley and we walked on.

After getting back to the van, we drove back to Soufflenheim to get a few more pieces. I stayed in the car with all the kids while Stef and Lisa walked around. They returned then we left.

The next day was Saturday. Stef and Lisa woke up early and went downtown in Stuttgart. Stuttgart is a large town, like Dearborn, and has the large town atmosphere and stores. They took the train to the city center and then shopped and enjoyed some time without the kids. Meanwhile, Tim and I got the kids ready to go and we left to run errands and eventually ended up at an ice skating rink! We watched the people skating and decided that we wanted to take the kids in there. We called Stef and Lisa on the cell phone and told them to get on the train and come to this stop – which was right outside of the rink. They eventually arrived and after some adjustments, we got our skates and got into the crowded rink! I haven't skated since I was 14 or so? So it was nearly impossible for me. We each took a kid and Emily went on her own. We all had a great time and after an hour or so it closed so we went back to Tim's house. We came back home to Grünsfeld that night. It was a nice week and weekend.

Now it was November 3rd. I knew my yearly evaluation flights were coming up on Wednesday so I spent some time studying for it. I went to work on Monday and Tuesday and continued to study but spent most of that time distracted with other work.

I got a big surprise on the night of the 5th. I came home from work and as usual, on my drive home I was thinking, “I need to drive Momma down this road cause it will scare her…” and then when I pulled up in my driveway and walked into my house, I looked at the landscaping around the house and thought, “Momma needs to come here and see the beauty of all of this…” So I walked up to the door and tried to open it. It was locked. I rang the door bell and Stef told me to hang on for a minute. She finally opened the door and standing right there in front of me, to my TOTAL surprise, was Momma! Most of the time I can figure out what people are trying to surprise me with and I would even say that some how, my subconscious knew that she was here (as indicated by all my thoughts of her on the way home). So Stef and her friend Jennifer took pictures of the surprise as it happened and I enclosed the best ones! I was really surprised.

Well, to my disadvantage, she arrived the day before I had a BIG, BIG check ride. The next day I was flying all modes of flight to be checked off for my yearly evaluation. I would be riding in the front next to a guy who I was evaluating for his yearly evaluation and Pilot in Command. My boss, Sam DeNardi would be riding in the back and would be watching what we both do. Sam was there to evaluate me evaluating the other guy. This is called a “food chain” ride. The big fish, eating the little fish, eating the littler fish…you get what I mean? For this flight, we would be flying instruments (in the clouds), then day, then with a chemical mask on, then night without the goggles, then with night vision goggles. Typically, we would split this into a few days, but for time constraints we needed to make it happen in one day. So needless to say I had a TON of studying and preparation to do – all of which I planned on doing the night Momma arrived. Go figure. Procrastination will get you no where.

After talking for many hours and eating dinner—a Duck that Stef cooked up (it was not bad but both momma and I turned our noses up at it), I finally began studying and preparing for tomorrows evaluation. I stayed up until 1am and finally went to bed.

I reported to work the next day and began the evaluation. I began with an oral examination of the other pilot while Sam watched my techniques. We then moved to the aircraft and after a few delays we took off on our Instrument portion of the flight. We took off and were heading south to a nearby airport. We arrived at the other airport and did our approaches as necessary, punching through the bottom of the clouds before seeing our landing site and then would head back into the clouds for more training. We finished there and headed back to Giebelstadt; in the clouds for another 2 approached that I would fly for my evaluation. If you can imagine this: The instrument structure is just like a highway in the air. These airways (if you will) keep aircraft separated by distance or altitude because they are in the clouds and can't see each other. There is a controller who has radar to keep this separation. Well, we were arriving at Giebelstadt to head outbound (away from the airport) to set up for our approach in while another Blackhawk was inbound to Giebelstadt on the same approach. We were cleared out, they were cleared in and there was an obvious disconnect between controllers. At some point, I felt my hair stand up and felt really weird. Felt like something was about to happen. At about the same time, I heard the tower talking to another aircraft (who, up until this point we did not know there was another one out there) asking for his position. He reported his position and as I heard it I looked down at our position and found that we had just passed each other—same altitude—same airway! By that point, we had already passed each other and there was no more danger so I didn't think so much about it until we landed. We finished he flight, landed and came back inside to set up for the night and night vision goggle portion of the flight. When I came inside, there was a message from someone that I didn't know to give him a call. I called and it was the other pilot from the other Blackhawk. We talked about what happened and then I realized how close we were. I let Sam talk to him as well and then Sam called the Tower. He told them that we almost hit and they already knew that they had made a mistake but it seemed that no one wanted to take responsibility for it. Sam filed an Operational Hazard Report (OHR) which must be answered by higher up.

Our Safety Officer—Mike Polk—listened to the Air Traffic Control (ATC) tapes and heard all the radio calls that were made. There was a problem in passing us from the airway structure to Giebelstadt. The problem was noted and I think fixed. Not sure the disposition of this yet.

Anyhow, we finished the night portion of the flight and debriefed the other pilot then same debriefed me. I was now complete with my annual evaluations except that I had to write a 50 questions test from the Operators Manual (still working on that by the way—have until November 30th to finish it). I came home around 10pm and went to bed right away because I had an early report time to the simulator in the morning and it is an hour from our house.

That was Nov. 7th. Then after that we have been just chilling with Momma. We either watch T.V at night together or drive somewhere to see something.

We went to the city of Rothenberg. The city is walled and on the walls are walkways going around the entire town! It is amazing. We stayed there for the day, went to their medieval justice museum which and all kinds of torture devices, beheading devices and other things of that nature.

A few weekends later, we took her to Heidelberg—that was a nice trip. Took her to the castle there and took lots of pictures. Heidelberg is where the “poop” story happened where you may remember a kid stomping a loaf of dog poop that was lying on the ground? We took Momma to an Irish pub and had Fish-n-Chips before leaving.

I came out of the house the other morning and Momma had a disgusting look on her face. She told me there was a nasty worm on the driveway. She had a stick in her hand and wanted me to move it. She gave me the stick and then a funny idea popped into my mind—pick up the worm and chase Momma with it just like in the old days. So I got it up on my stick and lifted it up to eye level and began moving towards her. She hid by the side of the Van but quickly got stuck and started screaming at the top of her lungs—kind of like the day that the pool broke and she was screaming for you—anyhow, I continued on and chased her a bit more. It was hilarious!

Check out what Anabelle did the other day: She was walking around and said, “Shit”. Then I walked in to the room where she was and said, “What did you say?” Benjamin said, “Anabelle said Shit.” I told him not to say that and then Anabelle ran into the room with Emily and Stef and said, “Benjamin said shit.” It kept going on and on and on…it was quite funny. Then she said, “Daddy's friend said shit.” Oops! Ha-ha that is funny. That is the first time I heard any of them (I think) say any cuss words.

The kids are growing more and more find of school everyday. It is hard on Stefanie trying to help them with their homework, but it is now getting easier. We went and talked to Emily's teacher to try to get her some help because she was spending 5 hours on homework. He agreed that that was too much so changed her Duetsch (German) lessons to a 2nd grade book and now she is doing much better and is learning faster! Kids are amazing. Benjamin is not having it too hard because he already reads novels (can you believe it?) in English and his class is only working on letters and numbers…he can read the German just as good as the kids in his class and actually the other day, the teacher told him that he was the BEST reader in his class! So, he apparently reads German quite well! Anabelle picks up small things and says “yes, no, please and thank you” in German. She picks up stuff from the kids.

The kids communicate by assimilating what the Germans do. They get more and more words everyday and although they don't speak the language fully, they do just fine. Emily's teacher speaks enough English to help, but Ben's speaks none—ironically, Benjamin is learning basics in his class so he is not missing anything where as Emily needs that bit of English to help her out since she is at a higher level.

All in all, it is still a struggle to get them to do their homework sometimes but it is all working out.

Emily has horse riding lessons on Tuesdays. She loves that but is allergic to the horses so has to wash her hands immediately after coming home or she will break out like I do with cats.

One more thing: On St. Martin's day, the whole town gathered in the Church in celebration of St. Martin. They sang songs and the kids did some presentations then we all left the church and were lead through the city streets with handmade lanterns with candles in them. We walked up to the castle in our town and then enjoyed cookies and hot drinks while the kindergartners sang! It was cool…just one more example of how tight the small towns are here. I don't think you would experience something like that in the states—everyone is too busy for that.

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