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'It's personal'
26/03/2003 18:02 - (SA)
Southwest Iraq - US helicopter pilots about to fly into battle have taken personally the capture of two of their friends by Iraqi forces, a commander of the army's elite air assault division told AFP on Wednesday.
Chief warrant officers Ronald Young and David Williams, from the 5th Corp's 11th Regiment, became prisoners of war when their Apache helicopter was apparently struck by Iraqi small arms fire and grounded during a battle near the southern city of Kabala on Monday.
Colonel Greg Gass, the leader of the 101st Airborne Division's Aviation Brigade, said the two men's fate was very much in the minds of the pilots under his command.
"Any time you hear of pilots getting shot down it puts a nauseous feeling in the pit of your stomach," Gass, who is also an Apache pilot, said.
"It's personal. It's very personal no matter how much you try."
Gass said many of the pilots at the 101st knew Young and Williams.
"We move so much in the army and change units, sometimes every 12 to 36 months, so you are going to know a lot of these pilots and because you serve with them a lot of these pilots are good friends," he said.
The 101st has a fleet of 270-plus helicopters, including Apaches, Black Hawks and Kiowa Warriors, but they have yet to see any combat action, largely due to the fierce dust storms that have plagued southern Iraq over the past week.
However, Gass said the "Screaming Eagles" would join the battle soon after the weather cleared.
- AFX
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