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KANDAHAR AIRFIELD, Afghanistan (10/8/2012) – The desire to become
a pilot can stem from various reasons, such as a family background
in aviation, being fascinated with flying, or the joy associated
with flying an aircraft. For Chief Warrant Officer 5 Joe Roland,
25th Combat Aviation Brigade standardization officer, his desire was
a combination of family background and the feeling of flying.
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October 7, 2012 - Chief Warrant Officer 5
Joe Roland (left), 25th Combat Aviation Brigade standardization
officer and brigade warrant officer, lands on the ridge while Troops
load onto the UH-60 Black Hawk during a mission in Afghanistan.
Photos by Army Sgt. Daniel Schroeder
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“I used to go flying with my dad when I was eight,”
recalled Roland, a native of Falmouth, Mass. “My passion for
flying came from those flights, and my family has a
background in aviation. My father was a senior pilot for
U.S. Airways and used to fly for the Navy, one of my
brothers is an F-18 pilot in the Navy, and my other brother
is an air traffic controller.”
Roland's background
led to a 19-year-long career in the U.S. Army as a UH-60
Black Hawk pilot. Through his career, he has become the most
decorated UH-60 pilot currently in the Army.
According to Col. Frank Tate, 25th CAB commander, “Roland is
being recognized by Sikorsky as being the Army's most
decorated Black Hawk pilot. I have pinned most of the medals
he has earned as well as promoted him to CW4 and CW5.”
Before joining the Army, he served six years in the
Marine Corps as a UH-1N Huey crew chief and AH-1W Cobra
repairer. In 1992, he was selected to attend Warrant Officer
Candidate School and Initial Entry Rotary Wing flight
training at Fort Rucker, Ala. He graduated from initial
flight training on the Commandant's List in 1993 and later
selected to attend UH-60 Black Hawk qualification training.
“I chose the Black Hawk because it is the Army's most
versatile helicopter,” Roland said. “It has the most
opportunities for a bigger scope of missions. When I first
started in flight school, I was not a natural aviator. The
instructors did a good job teaching me because I was able to
graduate in the top two percent of my class.”
During
his time as a UH-60 pilot, he generated more than 6,700
flight hours, 2,250 night-vision goggle flight hours, 1,900
combat flight hours and has served at locations around the
world in Germany, Korea and the United States. He also
served combat tours during Operations Enduring Freedom,
Iraqi Freedom and New Dawn.
“In the ten years I have
known him, he is the finest warrant officer I have served
with,” said Tate, a native from Charlotte, N.C. “He is
aggressive and cool under fire with an unending sense of
duty. There is almost nothing he wouldn't do on behalf of
the Soldier on the ground.”
Like the great Chuck
Yeager, Roland finds the pleasure no matter what mission or
type of flight he is conducting.
“My most enjoyable
moments of flying are when I am the Air Mission Commander on
a complex mission and teaching young aviators the trade,”
said Roland. “It helps my brain work to complete complicated
and tasking missions to standard. Also, I enjoy that I can
train others to do what I do.”
Throughout his long
career, Roland has flown some memorable missions.
“One of my most memorable flights with him was the night we
flew Saddam Hussein's body to his final resting place,” Tate
recalled. “It signified the end of Saddam's reign and the
beginning of the newly-formed government of Iraq.”
When not flying missions deployed, he spends his flight time
teaching the younger aviators how to be more proficient with
their flying.
“He is well respected and admired by
his peers and fellow aviators and sets standards other
warrant officers strive to achieve,” said Tate. “I am
extraordinarily proud of him, proud of the CAB and soldiers
who often flew with him throughout this war. I am proud to
have served with him.”
By Army Sgt. Daniel Schroeder
Provided
through DVIDS
Copyright 2012
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