It’s Blackhawks for N. Andover Native
By Erik Milster
WASHINGTON, Nov. 23 – Being drenched in sweat is something 2 nd Lt. Geoffrey Leonard, 24, has grown accustom to in the last four months.
A native of North Andover, Mass., Leonard is enrolled in the Army’s Aviation training program at Fort Rucker Army Base in southern Alabama. He is part of a select group taking a nine-month program to learn the techniques of flying combat helicopters, including the Blackhawk.
After a six-mile run Leonard said his simple grey t-shirt bearing “ARMY” across the chest could be rung out, prompting him to recount his first impression of Alabama: “Like the hottest sauna ever.”
Leonard began the flight training program in early June 2004, a year after graduating from the University of Massachusetts-Amherst. He recalls how even the moonlit nights were hot and humid.
“Almost every day I get up at 4 a.m., hoping maybe it will be cool out,” he said recently. “No such luck. . I step outside everyday and I am soaked within a minute. It is even worse when we are in our full gear, boots and all.”
By the time most people are waking up for breakfast, Leonard and his fellow officers have already arrived at the airfield ready for the morning briefing.
While the heat and humidity have taken their toll, it is the rigid schedule of flight training and studying that has most affected Leonard.
After ten weeks of training on flight simulators and smaller helicopters, Leonard now spends around four hours a day inside the cockpits of the Blackhawk. Along with a senior instructor, Leonard tries to learn the techniques of a seasoned Army pilot. Leonard has logged hundreds of hours in various simulators and helicopters since arriving at Ft. Rucker, but nothing compares to the Blackhawk.
After a grueling morning of flying-where “the seats of the Blackhawk are really good crash worthy seats, but they are not Lazy-Boy,” said Leonard – the afternoon is spent in class and physical training. Three-hour classes, and six-mile runs are not uncommon. This training is harsh, but Leonard said he does not mind. He even laughs a little while admitting that while his conditioning has never been better, he is exhausted. “In this program you have to be both a world-class sprinter and a marathon runner at the same time,” he said.
Even after 12- to 14-hour days that include flight simulator training, regular physical fitness tests, and extensive academic studying, Leonard is still absorbed in flight school, unable to step away for a minute.
“Someone told me that flight school was like having a firehose of information turned on you at full strength,” said Leonard. “By the time I am finished around 6 p.m., I still have to study for upcoming exams, polish my boots, as well as the simple things like laundry and keeping in touch with my family.”
Moving to Alabama was not the easiest transition for a boy born and raised in the Northeast. “When I heard that I was going to Alabama, I remember thinking, ‘Isn’t there a flight school somewhere in New England?’” Leonard said. The only times he had left New England was for family trips and Army training. His longest time away from his home region was a month-long Army training at Fort Knox, Ky.,. during the summer of 2001.
“While I wished I could have stayed close to family and friends, I knew Ft. Rucker was my only shot at flying,” said Leonard. Since 1973, when the Army consolidated its flight training program at Ft. Rucker, the base has since become the promised land for any young solider with dreams of flying Army green.
However, Leonard has not entirely abandoned the Northeast. “It was amazing to see the Red Sox’s wild run to the World Series not only because I am a huge fan, but seeing them on TV gave me a small window to see home,” he said. “Those games helped when I missed home.”
While at the University of Massachusetts the ROTC program was just one important aspect of Leonard’s life, though some time in his junior year, his roommates christened him “Army Geoff, or AG for short,” in response to his growing dedication. Now, flight training at Ft. Rucker has become his entire life.
One aspect of his active duty training that Leonard is reluctant to talk about is his prospect of being sent to the Middle East. “I am not going to go any time soon, but going there is inevitable. Within a couple of years, I’ll be over there,” said Leonard.
Even though Leonard has been passionately involved in the Army since his freshman year in college, it took a few years before he figured out his role in the military. “I loved being in ROTC at UMass,” he said. “It was a great introduction to all the military has to offer. But the more I learned the more I began leaning towards flying.”
Leonard recalls his days at UMass and before that at North Andover High School, where his interest in the Army grew daily. “From the time I was a senior in high school until my senior year at UMass, I noticed myself becoming not only more interested in the possibilities of a career in the Army, but more enthusiastic about the idea of flying helicopters,” he said. During his senior year, Leonard said he began to ask senior officers about flying in the Army. After hard work and dedication, Leonard was accepted to the flight school at Ft. Rucker.
Friends of Leonard’s back home in Massachusetts have seen a change in the young soldier. “I remember Geoff in college and he was always interested in his ROTC classes. But now I talk to him and he just has this new level of excitement I have never seen before,” said North Andover resident Kenneth Jenkins, who has been friends with Geoff since UMass. “It is remarkable how much effort, fighting that grueling schedule, he is putting in to fulfill his dream of flying.”
With only four months of training left, Leonard said he is looking forward to the future, much as he did during his senior year of college.
“When this program is done, my future is wide open,” he said. “This has been the best experience of my life. But for anyone interested in attending flight school here is a word of advice: Be prepared to get no sleep, and make sure to bring plenty of dry t-shirts.”
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