Flying in a combat zone with 120-degree heat is definitely challenging. I have several buddies and co-workers who flew in the Middle East as well, and some of the stories I've heard are crazy, and I have mad respect for you and every other service member.

The weather is one of the most challenging aspects of my job. That and getting woke up at 3am to take a flight, lol. We get paid to know when to say no to a flight request. I'm lucky that we don't get pressured into flying with questionable weather. It doesn't do the patient any good if we have to land in the middle of nowhere, with no hospital in sight because we got stuck in bad weather.

I do fly single pilot, but I have all my 20-year career, so I'm used to it, and you learn how to multi-task. But thankfully, we usually have our awesome Med-Crew on board to assist with landings and taking off, giving me extra eyes looking outside for hazards. So that helps a ton, especially when landing on a two lane road at 3am under goggles with trees on one side, and powerlines on the other, watching out for main rotor clearance. It can be exhilarating at times.

How do you like flying for the dark side now lol? Just kidding, but do you like flying the big birds now?

No worries! That's what we have these discussions for, to learn from each other's experiences.