Steve Niedbala said that the 178th was the best unit he had ever served in. I share Steve's opinion and I've tried to determine why we think so. We didn't have time to sweat the small stuff. We were too busy to worry about what we didn't have - and what we did have was much more than the foot soldier, the "grunt" had. We were supporting the grunt to the best of our ability - and we were grateful that we didn't have his job.
Much happened behind the scenes in the 178th before we shipped out of Georgia. As we were collecting our gear and our people at Ft Benning, our own "Sergeant Bilkos" were finding things that weren't lost and discovering imaginative solutions to shortages, real or imaginary. Our Chinooks had large bundles tied down to their cargo floors, allegedly "780 gear" (aircraft equipment) that later morphed into refrigerators, air conditioners and other stuff that wasn't critical for the operation of Fort Benning. Our people had the ideas, the smarts and the initiative to make things happen.
We were lucky in many ways. Our older NCOs and technicians had been in aviation units before, some in Vietnam. Training to maintain a Chinook wasn't easy but having prior experience in birds like the CH-21 was a tremendous advantage and enabled them to share their basic knowledge with the younger troops. Our guys were bright and quick to learn. They had pride in themselves, in their work and in their unit.
It would be difficult to find a better qualified, more experienced group of Army Aviators than those assigned to the 178th. Our original Warrant Officer pilots all had Helicopter Insturment tickets, most were on their second or third tour in Vietnam and most had multiple tours flying the CH-21, sometimes called, "The Bent-Bellied Bitch". Most of the other Officers also had CH-21 experience and Helicopter Instrument tickets. I had been CO of a CH-21 company in Alaska and of two Flight Detachments with CH-21s in Army Air Defense Command. The 178th was an ideal aviation company.
So, Steve, we've found the answer to why the 178th was the best unit we have ever served in. It was the people. They were the "Boxcars" and proud of it - and so are we!
Boxcar 6
Sep '65 - Sep '66