I assumed command from Acting Commander Captain Jerry D. Wright during late summer 1971. I was to command the last American CH-47 company in the Viet Nam theater of operations. One day I would fold its colors and see the final CH-47 transferred to VNAF.
Commanding this unit was the culmination of a decade's training. I looked forward to the assignment. Doing so was what every professional aviator dreamed.
At a time when commanders served for six months, I kept the command for a year. I never supported the six month command policy. It was a detriment to a unit's functioning. I was quite pleased I did not have to leave my unit for a staff job after only six months.
Part of my preparation for this command was my first tour. I included this time in my pages because, without the experience, I would have had a much tougher time helping my men survive. It is what I learned the first tour that caused me to enforce (often times some might say, "extremely") standard operating procedures (SOP) for tactical employment. For example, personnel flying without a "chicken plate" drew an automatic $415 fine.
The 362nd Aviation Company did not lose a single person to hostile action during its existence.
Much credit goes to the unit's non-commissioned officers. These soldiers were the back bone of the 362nd. Their experience kept aircraft maintenance honed to a fine edge resulting in the best safety record ever attained by any aviation unit ever in Viet Nam - and that means any unit at any like period. Only the "best of the best" ever became aircraft commanders (AC). There were some pilots who never attained AC status. That's a shame but there was no room for compromise. Either they met the standard or they didn't get AC orders. This site will be under construction as time allows me to tell the 362nd story. Please come by often and learn more about "The Last Hookers."
DUTY - HONOR - COUNTRY
"Leading fellow soldiers in combat brings a high, moral responsibility. I dedicate these pages to five brave men who made the supreme sacrifice."
LTC Carle E. Dunn, USA-Ret.
