O'Rourke prepares 4th Infantry choppers for battle
BY LELAND ACKER

Chief Warrant Officer Joseph O'Rourke shows off one of the Army's Blackhawk helicopters which was involved in the practice air assault in Cherokee County Wednesday, Jan. 30. Chief Warrant Officer O'Rourke is in charge of training Blackhawk pilots in the 4th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army, which is scheduled to deploy to Iraq later this year. PHOTO: LELAND ACKER

In the War on Terror, U.S. soldiers have to be able to move quickly in and out of combat zones.

That places great importance on the positions of Blackhawk helicopter pilots like Chief Warrant Officer Joseph O'Rourke, who transport troops in and out of hostile areas.

For Chief Warrant Officer O'Rourke, that also includes the responsibility to train other pilots in the company.

"I am the senior trainer in the company," he said after Wednesday's air assault training mission at the Cherokee County Airport. "I train pilots and crew chiefs, collectively like this, or individually. I also deploy. We're scheduled to deploy to Iraq sometime this year."

Chief Warrant Officer O'Rourke's military career began in the U.S. Navy approximately 14 years ago.

Soldiers from the 4th Infantry Division, stationed at Ft. Hood, load up on Blackhawk helicopters during a recent training mission near the Cherokee County Airport. The soldiers were practicing an air assault, a tactic commonly used in Iraq that allows troops to move quickly into hostile areas. The 4th Infantry is scheduled to return to Iraq later this year. PHOTO: LELAND ACKER

"I worked on Seahawks, which is the Navy parallel to the Blackhawks," he said. "It was tough working on those Seahawks then watching them fly away without me."

Chief Warrant Officer O'Rourke has had a passion for flying most of his life.

"I was that kid who was always trying to fly paper airplanes," he said. "When I was eight years old, my father and I flew back from Germany, where he was stationed.

"When we got up above the clouds, I asked him, 'Is this Heaven?' He said, 'No, but it's close.' I thought we'd flown to Heaven."

It was his passion for flying and Blackhawk choppers that attracted Chief Warrant Officer O'Rourke to the U.S. Army.

After four years in the Navy, he began the process of enlisting in the U.S. Army to become a Blackhawk pilot.

"You have to go to flight school and get picked up," he said. "The Army has a strict criteria. You have to pass the Army, flight and physical tests with high marks.

"To be selected, you also have to have six recommendations from officers in the Army."

Among the Army officers who recommended Chief Warrant Officer O'Rourke were the congressman and the mayor of his hometown of Corpus Christi.

"You can interview with them to get the recommendation," he said.

Since being in the U.S. Army, Chief Warrant Officer O'Rourke has carried out 25 air assault missions.

He said discipline got him into the military, flying kept him in it.

"When I was young, I needed the military," he said. "I was skipping classes and chasing girls. Discipline got me into the military, flying kept me in it."

Chief Warrant Officer O'Rourke has served in the military for approximately 14 years.

He, along with the 4th Infantry Division of the U.S. Army, will deploy to Iraq later this year.