The Chief’s Last Flight for the Montana National Guard
This guy is about as Montana as it gets. A rodeo cowboy. An Army Ranger. And a helicopter pilot who fights fire for his day job. This guy and his family has had to Ranger Up and Cowboy Up on more than one occasion.
Chief Warrant Officer 5 Tal Williams took his final blackhawk helicopter flight with the Montana Army National Guard last week. For those who don't know- CW5 is as high up as it goes when it comes to warrant officer ranks. Your veteran friends and friends in the military will jokingly refer to a CW5 as a "unicorn" because they are so rare to come across.
Tal first joined the US Army back in 1983, nearly 40 years ago. He also serves as a pilot for the Montana Department of Natural Resources and Conservation (DNRC) for his normal day job. Shortly after joining the Army back in 1983, he became an Army Ranger and served with the 3rd Ranger Battallion. He's deployed multiple times to the Middle East, and also had a deployment to El Salvador.
You aviators out there may appreciate his flight stats:
Civilian flight hour experience: 6,020 total hours flown in MT205(UH1H), Bell 206 jet ranger, and 305 flight hours in single engine fixed wing Cessna 182, 182RG, 210
Military flight hour experience: Qualified in the OH58 A-C, AH1S, UH1H, UH60A/L
4,350 total hours,
1,050 NVG
1,200 combat/eminent threat
Big thanks to CW5 Tal Williams, his wife Wendy, and their whole family for their courage and sacrifice over all these years.
Here's a photo of Tal and his wife Wendy after his final flight for the Montana National Guard. (Tal will continue serving the State of Montana as a DNRC helicopter pilot)
LOOK: 100 years of American military history