Veteran Military Helicopter Pilot On Why Hovering Over Protestors Was Dangerous And Stupid

The maneuvers were absurd on every level and they put both the people below and the crews inside the helicopters in danger.
BY CHRIS "OX" HARMER JUNE 3, 2020

Early in my career flying H-60 Seahawks in the U.S. Navy, our carrier air wing was operating down in the Caribbean. I planned and led a complex training mission involving about a dozen aircraft, including four helicopters, eight strike fighters, as well as some Navy SEALS. We expended a lot of live ordnance, accomplished all our training requirements, and in general had a great time.

Afterward, as we were celebrating at a bar just outside of Naval Air Station Roosevelt Roads on Puerto Rico, one of the senior officers in the air wing took me aside and said: "There is a fine line between being aggressive and being stupid. Right now you are nowhere near that line. You are operating all the way on the stupid side of that line, and you need to un-fuck yourself before you get somebody killed." I am reminded of this incident at random times and it usually brings a smile to my face, because he was right. I was being aggressive, but stupidly so, and putting everyone at risk. I changed my ways and became a much safer, more effective, more responsible Naval Aviator.

An Unjustified Act

On Monday, I saw something that reminded me of the fact that there is a fine line between aggression and stupidity, and the memory did not bring a smile to my face. Just the opposite. I watched military helicopters being used to conduct crowd control and dispersal operations on U.S. citizens engaged in protests in our nation's capital. You can see all the videos of these incidents and The War Zone's in-depth coverage on them here.

I don't know who thought this was a good idea, but it's not courageous, it's not smart, it's not effective, it's just stupid and counterproductive on every level. It's also both unjustified and unnecessary.

More:
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/33820/veteran-military-helicopter-pilot-on-why-hovering-over-protestors-was-dangerous-and-stupid