No problem Fiddle. There's no way for anyone to know unless I tell them. For about four years, I wouldn't have said anything to anyone. Now, I realize the only person I'm hurting when I don't say anything is myself. I'm no longer embarrassed by it. It's just the way it is and I've a long career of friends who knew me before the explosion. So they give me a lot of slack now a days.
I mentioned it only so I could learn more, not to "beat you up" with it. Sometimes, I think I would be better off prefacing some of my questions with my cognitive issues so people will know right out.
And Lord knows, I've a lot to learn yet!!
Thanks for the kind words too guys.
I will say this though. My only regret is that I wasn't able to overcome the injuries enough to return to service. I've overcome other injuries in the past. 3200 hours in a Blackhawk tends to leave you bent and broken....especially with the crap we've had to deal with since 1989 when I went in.
I loved the large majority of my time in the Army. Some rough spots, some awful spots. Mostly great things though. No regrets about my service. I joined up, and then re-enlisted, many times before I went indefinite. I knew what the risks were and happily accepted them. I loved what I did with a passion. Helicopters. What's broken? How to fix it? How to improve it? Troubleshooting was my specialty. Replacing parts and getting things in order, like a primary servo replacement I did on the deck of the U.S.S. America while off the Haitian coastline. The left side main landing gear shock strut that collapsed on my helicopter at 0330 in the rain, landing on an Aircraft Carrier. I had three Navy Seals in that doorway and one of them got a crushed foot because of it. But my aircraft was back on mission within 90 minutes with a properly installed and serviced strut. The time my M134 machine gun crapped out it's feeder/delinker over a certain body of water far from here. I was able to break down the gun, clear the brass that was shredded all over the bolts and in the bolt carriers as well as pry all the brass and lead out of the feeder/delinker. The gun was back in action within 10 minutes despite all the powder in it. As soon as it spooled up and started firing again, the lube caught fire for about 20 seconds. Scared the hell outta me to see my gun burning, but it worked out great in the end. Man did my back hurt like MAD after that one!! Leaning out of the right side gunners window at 135 KIAs working on a minigun when it's cold out is pure torture!
Sorry for rambling on. Guess I got diarrhea of the keyboard for a sec.
I miss it, being in the Army, tremendously so. I hope that part gets easier.