| During the last 10 years I
have supported our war on terrorism with four deployments as
an airline and military reserve pilot. As a regional pilot,
immediately following 9/11, I was called out of the army’s
Individual Ready Reserve to active duty to join the 101st
Airborne Division as a UH-60 Blackhawk helicopter pilot. The
following year we were the initial troops deployed to
Operation Iraqi Freedom. After my tour, I joined the Georgia
Army National Guard in 2003, then was mobilized a second
time for Operation Iraqi Freedom II, flying out of Camp
Buehring, Kuwait, in 2004–2005. I then returned to the
airlines and was hired by AirTran in March 2006. In keeping
with my true patriotic heart, I was then mobilized as a C-26
Metroliner pilot to Djibouti, Africa, in support of the
Joint Task Force Horn of Africa in 2006–2007. Since then, I
have been on active duty as an evaluator and mentor of the
National Guard Bureau’s Aviation Training and Assistance
Team, visiting National Guard Aviation units all across the
United States and preparing their Aviation Safety Programs
for overseas deployments and operations. I am currently on
my fourth deployment near Tikrit, Iraq, at COB Speicher for
Operation New Dawn as a Blackhawk pilot. From beginning to
end, I have supported America’s efforts here in Iraq and
abroad and am very proud of the support and appreciation of
the American people and AirTran.
First Officer Robert Negron, AirTran |
