Heavener native on leave from Afghanistan

By CRAIG HALL
HEAVENER—Heavener native Chris Neal is living his dream while serving his country.

Ever since he was little, Neal has wanted to fly. That is what he is doing now, although the location is probably not what he expected.

Neal, is part of a crew flying AH-64 D Apache Longbows in Afghanistan.

“I’ve been interested in flying since I was a kid,” said Neal a 1999 graduate of Heavener and the son of David Neal and Vanessa Neal. “Every decision in school was based on that. It takes a while and you have to be determined.”

He has been stationed in Afghanistan for four months, serving as a front CPG (co-pilot/gunner). His job is dangerous, but he enjoys the flying.

“It is dangerous,” he said. “I don’t really worry about close calls.”

So far, Neal said he has not seen any fire in his direction although his flight crew said shots were fired at his helicopter.

Neal is a Chief Warrant Officer II, which is located between enlisted servicemen and officers. He is part of the First Battalion of the 3^rd Combat Aviation Brigade. The Apache is a twin engine, tandem seat, aerial weapons platform, not used to transport troops, but to attack.

Neal knows he and the other pilots he works with make a big difference.

“It’s very rewarding,” he said. “We do a good service for the guys on the ground. When they are getting shot at, it usually stops when we get there or when they hear us coming.”

Neal has another eight months in Afghanistan before he goes back to Hunter Army Air Field based in Savannah, Georgia. He also is signed up until 2014 with a six-year commitment after he graduated flight training.

“I’m probably going to be a lifer,” Neal said. “I really enjoy it.”

Neal served in the Oklahoma Air Guard before transferring to the Army and trained for two years.

He first flew without an instructor after about a month to a month-and-a-half of training. Approximately 20 percent of the candidates don’t make it through flight school because of medical reasons or they simply can’t do it.

Afghanistan was about like he expected.

“I always characterize it as twenty-three hours of foredoom and one hour of excitement,” he said. “Afghanistan is still not without dangers. We have shells coming over into the fob. They fire rockets and mortars, stuff like that at us.”

His base has tents and generators, but no power grid yet. There are a lot of wooden structures and because of a previous crew, they have satellite internet. One disadvantage is having to walk throughout the fob, which is not overly big compared to other bases, but still requires lots of walking.

Depending on what is going on, his flight time varies from day to day. Neal said after he retires, he hopes to fly Air-Evac helicopters, although that will be a ways down the road.