Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Billy Curl

[MORTARDUDE]

http://www.gomemphis.com/mca/america...837071,00.html Army Chief Warrant Officer 3 Billy Curl
By Laura Coleman Noeth
noeth@gomemphis.com
March 25, 2003

Age: 36

Hometown: Tupelo, Miss.

Unit: N Troop/43rd Army Cavalry Regiment, Fort Carson, Colo.

Duty: Kiowa Warrior helicopter pilot

Deployed: Activated from the Mississippi National Guard in January, heading to Iraq within 10 days


He colored with his toddlers, then after embracing his wife for yet another goodbye, Billy Curl Monday boarded a plane to take him back to his base to Colorado and, within days, to the heart of the war in Iraq.

Before Curl left Tupelo, Miss., he arranged for someone to cut the grass and tend the pool and take care of his pipes in the winter.

And today, back at Fort Carson, he'll continue training rookie helicopter pilots to deal with situations they're likely to encounter in Iraq.

Within 10 days, he'll be on his way to central Iraq.

Curl is among 22 pilots from the Mississippi National Guard activated in January to fill a need the Army had for experienced pilots of the highly specialized Kiowa Warrior helicopter.

They scattered to several bases after that activation, and many are already in Kuwait or Iraq.

The Kiowa Warrior helicopters are equipped with Hellfire missiles, .50-caliber machineguns and Stinger air-to-air missiles.

"We'll be providing forward security for the ground elements," he said. "We're the first in and the last out."

It was a tough blow to the pilots when they learned they wouldn't be flying together, Curl said. They're not even flying their own equipment, instead using choppers at their bases.

"We're the highest time-trained Kiowa unit in the entire armed forces," Curl said, adding that the pilots have an average of more than 3,000 hours of flying experience.

Curl started out as a mortician, working with Brantley Funeral Home in Olive Branch and Memphis Funeral Home. He also owned a business that transported bodies for funeral homes.

But, in 2000, he took a full-time position with the Guard and sold his business. He's been with the Guard 18 years.

On Monday, during a layover at Memphis International Airport, Curl compared this goodbye with the one at the National Guard Armory last month.

"It was more emotional this time," he said, "because we know we won't be coming home for a year."

The Curls expressed gratitude for the support they're getting from friends and family, as well as his former funeral home co-workers.

The pilots' wives have formed a support group and help each other out, Freda Curl said.

The Curls have three children: Gabrielle, 17, Abby, 3 and Brandon, 2.

Monday's airport goodbye was more difficult than the last one, Freda Curl said.

"I support the war and I support our President, but it gets a little personal when it's your husband. I just pray for his safe return."