 |
 |
 |
||
|
||||
|
November 4, 2005
Battle Mountain resident, Jim Cyr, fights in war-torn Afghanistan
By CALEB
"SHOOTER" SCHABER
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan - High above Afghanistan, Sgt. Jim Cyr, 40, crisscrosses this war-torn country in a CH-47 Chinook helicopter almost every day. Cyr, from Battle Mountain, serves with the Nevada National Guard Co. D 113th Aviation Unit based in Stead, near Reno. Since March, the 214 soldiers in the unit have operated at Kandahar Airfield in Afghanistan. The CH-47 is a large, twin blade aircraft. The country of Afghanistan is covered with remote mountains and harsh deserts. Very few roads exist in this country, even in the flatlands. The CH-47 is an essential vehicle - a platform of choice - for the war in Afghanistan. Troops and supplies can be moved quickly to almost any location. Cyr, a flight engineer, works 12 hours days with very few days off, like the rest of the soldiers in the 113th. As a flight engineer, he is responsible for everything in the CH-47 he rides in, behind the cockpit. He checks instruments, spots the pilots in tight landings and mans one of the three M-240H machine guns on the CH-47. He also secures the helicopter after missions and prepares it before missions. Cyr completed eight years of active duty in the military after high school and has served two years in the Nevada National Guard. Back in Battle Mountain, Cyr works for Getechell Gold. He also keeps bees. "Roger Merring is watching my bees while I am gone," he said. "He is doing a good job." Cyr was home on leave over the summer. When he returns from this deployment, Cyr is looking to expand his beekeeping operation. "Other than the bad guys, I love the river valleys in Afghanistan," he said. "There are orchards there." These orchards remind Cyr of his bees. Hidden in the remote mountains of Afghanistan are small villages with trees and farms. Unfortunately, the Taliban also hides in those areas. Cyr's work in the CH-47 involves a variety of duties. Deliberate Assault missions looking for the bad guys are one of the more dangerous. He has also flown VIP escorts, support missions and transported a variety of troops from Australia, Canada, Afghanistan and the United States. On any mission, Cyr monitors the helicopter's numerous mechanical systems, making sure all operations are going properly. "If certain things go wrong, you have to land immediately," he said. "Just the other day we made a PL (precautionary landing). We were down 20 minutes. "If we go down, the war stops," Cyr said. Although his comment was a joke, it underlines the importance of the CH-47 in military operations across the board in Afghanistan. Previously, the CH-47 had M-60s. Now the CH-47s are upgraded with the 7.62mm M-240H machine gun. "It's faster and more accurate," said Cyr of the weapon. More importantly, the gun can be removed and made into an infantry machine gun if the CH-47 is on the ground and the crew needs to evacuate the helicopter. Cyr, along with the rest of the 113th, are more than half way through their tour of duty in Afghanistan. They know their jobs and they do them well. Out of all the hardships of this war, what Cyr misses most is his wife, Milene, and their two sons, John and Josh. "I'm ready to go home," said Cyr. "Please tell my wife I love her." |
|
