Posted on 02/03/2020 10:33:45 AM PST by Red Badger
The Army's helicopters have a number of names you recognize immediately: Apache, Black Hawk, Kiowa, Lakota, Comanche. They are also known as the names of Native American tribes. This is not a coincidence.
According to GlobalSecurity.org, this was originally due to Army Regulation 70-28, which has since been rescinded. Today, while the regulation is gone, the tradition remains, and there is a procedure to pick a new name. The Bureau of Indian Affairs keeps a list of names for the Army to use. When the Army gets a new helicopter (or fixed-wing aircraft), the commanding officer of the Army Material Command (the folks who buy the gear) comes up with a list of five names.
Now, they can't just be any names. These names must promote confidence in the abilities of the helicopter or plane, they cannot sacrifice dignity, and they must promote an aggressive spirit. Those names then have to be run by the United States Patent Office, of all places. There's a lot more bureaucratic mumbo-jumbo to go through, but eventually a name is picked.
An OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopter from the 1st Infantry Division takes off on a mission from Forward Operation Base MacKenzie, Iraq. It is armed with an AGM-114 Hellfire and 7 Hydra 70 rockets. (U.S. Air Force photo)
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Then comes something unique the helicopter or aircraft is then part of a ceremony attended by Native American leaders, who bestow tribal blessings. You might be surprised, given that the Army and the Native Americans were on opposite side of the Indian Wars and those wars went on for 148 years after the Declaration of Independence was signed.
Three UH-60 Black Hawk (Blackhawk) helicopters prepare to touch down next to the Point Salines Airport runway during Operation URGENT FURY. (SUBSTANDARD)
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Don't be. The fact is, despite the 148 years of hostilities, Native Americans also served with the United States military. Eli Parker, the only Native American to reach general's rank, was a personal aide to General Ulysses S. Grant. Most impressively, 25 Native Americans have received the Medal of Honor for heroism.
Gen. Abidin Ünal, Turkey's Air Force Chief of Staff, waves during takeoff in a UH-1N Iroquois at Joint Base Andrews, Md., April 6, 2016. (U.S. Air Force photo/Senior Airman Ryan J. Sonnier)
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In other words, the Army's helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft bear names that reflect fierce and courageous warriors who also have fought well as part of the United States Army. That is a legacy worth remembering and honoring with some of the Army's most prominent systems.
I love low hanging fast ball's. Can't hit a lick @ 66 yr's old, but their was a time.
Model name would be "Pocahontas."
Cherish the thought that even LAZ, wouldn't Poke-Her-Highness.
Grumman Test Pilot Don Evans was very skeptical of helicopters. He told a story of having been at a test range and been invited by a friend to take a ride on a test flight of a helicopter. His friend prevailed on him to take the ride - but when Don understood what the next test procedure would be, he demanded to be let off.His friend let Don off the chopper, and proceeded with the test - and crashed, and totaled, the chopper.
Yep.
UH-1H, Huey, best helicopter ever built, low tech, versatile, adaptable, forgiving, and tough. I’m kinda biased tho, 8 years in the Army as a crew chief. :)
***Apache, Black Hawk, Kiowa, Lakota, Comanche.***
And what is wrong with that? THESE were tough tribes to beat! You had to be tough or they would have been beaten. They were so bad they struck fear into the other tribes around them. If they had had wimpish names they might have been whooped by tribes like the Kronkawas, Tonkawas, Wichitas, Colapissa, Bidai, Patiri, Pequoit, Otoe, an dhundreds of other tribes, and dozens of other tribes.
From my youth, I remember the name CHEYENNES sounded like a realy tough tribe. I would like to see what happens when the Cheyenne Dog soldiers meet the Norse Berserkers on and even ground with the same weapons.
The US Navy also used the names of Indian tribes for smaller ships.
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Tugs were named after ‘tribes’
Submarines after fish
Ammo Ships after Volcanoes
Phibs after Counties
Carriers after battles
Cruisers after cities
Battleships after States.
A ‘salt’ could hear the name of a ship and know EXACTLY what it was
Nice and simple then the POLs got involved.
Like anything else, the Schiff hit the fan
Today most anything bigger than a rowboat is a ‘Battleship’ in the eyes of the press/general public, about like anything bigger than a cap pistol is an AR15, SUVs jump curbs and run down pedestrians etc etc
helicopters will scalp you in a heartbeat if you don’t maintain a certain distance during certain circumstances...
The Fukawe tribe?
There are 1001 ways to get hardcore grunts to puke in their steel pot! I found that in the first few seconds after liftoff was the optimum time to ply those ways. It was all in good fun, for the Crew anyway.
Yep. I have had the pleasure of flying the UH-1, OH-58, UH-60 and The AH-64. I even have a couple of front seat hours in the AH-1 Cobra. Flown around in and jumped out of plenty of CH-47s, but never sat at the controls. My time ran out.... Always wanted to fly the MD-80, which is essentially the modern version of the OH-6. A very nimble and survivable bird in a crash sequence..
Sure do miss turning JP8 into noise and beating the air into submission..
A/C said his intercom would cut out during high speed nose-down attacks, so I said "show me". He did and it was a FUN RIDE!
I live near an Army base now and about 5 years ago I heard my last UH-1 'wop-wop' overhead, never to be seen here again. Now it's only those blasted Blackhawks, no more 2 rotor blade Huey sounds. 😢😢
Where the Fukawe?
It was originally designated HU-1 Iroquois from which the nickname “huey” comes from.
You said it. Waiting at the LZ as an eagle flight lands as a group. The Hueys all flaring for a landing and the music of the blades is deafening, you feel the ground shake and your insides quivering to the beat of the rotors. Yep, those were the days that being an Air Mobile Infantryman existed. Is it weird to sometimes miss them ?.
Nothing like that sound...
I admired you infantrymen, I know when you heard that distant helicopter coming in to take you back to base was the best sound ever!
Vietnam and it's sounds will live with us forever.
The UH-1s were built by Bell, not Hughes.
The 2nd Seminole War in Florida happened in 1835-42, and the 3rd occurred in 1855-58.
Both were after the IL-WI war in 1832 and both East of the Mississippi R.
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