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Enlisted navigators in the Corps.

Griz882

Frightening children with the Griz-O-Copter!
pilot
Contributor
Referring to the comment from ChcukMK23 above about Jack Grinstead: He (from HT-18) and I (from HT-8) (along with about 6 other guys) were the initial cadre of IPs selected to stand up the HITU in 1990-91. That patch he shows as his avatar was actually designed by Jack, MAJ Pat Bennet (the new OIC), myself, and other plank owners of the unit. It doesn't really mean anything except that movie was really popular at the time and we considered ourselves sort of renegades from the HTs. We even gave out copies of movie to each new IP as they headed off to the HTs until we ran out. Before the HITU, all new IP training was done via "inter-squadron" flights and took forever to get through as the new guy was always last priority to get done. So the HITU was born in an old abandoned hangar somewhere on south field between the HTs and the boondocks. I think the contractor used it for storage or something and they gave us the upstairs office spaces to work out of. It was a long walk to maintenance to check out a helo! But we did have a ping-pong table to amuse ourselves with on weather days. Jack was an icon within the HTs and his life experiences and invaluable knowledge about how to "really" fly a helicopter made him a most admired pilot and a venerable figure in the HITU. Man, he was old then to all of us young LTs and CAPTs who made up the new HITU. It was good to have him around though. And he was a blast to be around. The last time I saw Jack was in my front yard in about 1992. My next door neighbor was involved in a really horrific car crash in Milton on one of the those country back-roads one night. He was hurt very badly to the point where he couldn't take care of his yard. He was a member of the church Jack attended. Jack and I took turns cutting the guys grass until I separated from the Navy (for a while) in 1992. The last thing Jack said to me was "I got it" (in typical Jack-fashion) regarding caring for the guys yard by himself. No mission was ever above him or beneath him.
I recall Jack from my student days in the HTs…always had a quick joke or funny comment for us kids.
 
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