在美国军队服役期间，你最自豪的时刻是什么？
What is your proudest moment serving in the US armed forces?
译文简介
我服役期间最自豪的时刻？有很多。但没有一个与获得勋章或晋升有关。那些都算是相对微不足道的成就。事实上，我最自豪的几件事，甚至让我面临军事法庭的威胁。
正文翻译
Jim Evans PhD-Univ Prof (ret) - USMC nco (Force Recon-Vietnam)
吉姆·埃文斯 哲学博士——大学教授（退休）- 美国海军陆战队士官（越南特种侦察部队）
Originally Answered: What is your proudest moment serving in the US armed forces?
最初回答：在美国军队服役期间，你最自豪的时刻是什么？
Hello, Briana: My proudest moment serving in the U.S. Armed Forces is when I graduated from Marine Corps Boot Camp! On that day I was born a U.S. Marine, and became part of the “Brotherhood!” “What happens to one of us, happens to all of us.” There is no feeling I had ever experienced equal to that moment of ecstasy! That is, until 46 years later when my good friend, and teaching colleague, Joe received the Silver Star for gallantry in action on Hill 881 at Khe Sanh in 1967 during the height of the Vietnam War.
你好，布里亚娜：我在美国军队服役期间最自豪的时刻，是从海军陆战队新兵训练营毕业的那一刻！那一天，我以美国海军陆战队员的身份“重生”，成为了“兄弟情谊”的一份子！“我们中一人遭遇的一切，便是所有人共同的遭遇。” 我从未体验过比那一刻更极致的狂喜！直到46年后，我的好友兼同事乔，因1967年越南战争最激烈时期在溪山881高地的英勇作战被授予银星勋章，我的心境才被再次刷新。
On the day of the award in 2013, Joe said to all of us attending that he was not a hero, that he was doing what any Marine would have done that day were they in his place. I wanted to reach out to Joe from where I was sitting and put my arm around him, and say, “Yes, Joe, this is what Marines do. We’re Brothers. That’s what makes us special. But what you did that day was extraordinary. What you did that day saved Marine’s lives. You were wounded and refused evacuation so you could help Brothers who were wounded worse than you. And, Joe, there is nothing greater that one person can do for another than to sacrifice in order to help him or her keep on living.”
2013年授勋当天，乔对所有到场的人说，他并非英雄，换作任何一名海军陆战队员在当时的情境下，都会做出同样的选择。我坐在座位上，真想伸出手臂搂住他，对他说：“乔，你说得对，这正是海军陆战队员会做的事。我们是兄弟，这正是我们的特别之处。但你那天的所作所为非同寻常，你的行动拯救了其他陆战队员的生命。你自己也受了伤，却拒绝撤离，只为帮助那些伤势比你更重的兄弟。乔，一个人能为另一个人做的最伟大的事，莫过于为帮助对方活下去而做出牺牲。”
On the day of Joe’s award, I had tears in my eyes as I thought of what he did on Hill 881. On the day of his award, I felt the same pride, and ecstasy I had felt when I graduated from Boot Camp!
乔授勋的那天，想到他在881高地的壮举，我热泪盈眶。那一刻，我感受到了与当年从新兵训练营毕业时同样的自豪与狂喜！
“Brothers Forever!”
Semper Fi,
“永远的兄弟！”
永远忠诚！
JE-PhD—Political Science (Political Theory, Economics, History, Mathematics)
吉姆·埃文斯 哲学博士——政治学（政治理论、经济学、历史学、数学专业）
“Old Corps, New Corps, Same Corps”
“旧部队，新部队，本色不变”
Michael Alapaki 10 yrs Navy enlisted. ROTC. 10 yrs Air Force officer.
迈克尔·阿拉帕基 海军服役10年 预备役军官训练团成员 空军军官服役10年
Originally Answered: What is your proudest moment serving in the US armed forces?
最初回答：在美国军队服役期间，你最自豪的时刻是什么？
My proudest moment in the service? Many. And none of them involved getting a medal or a promotion. Those were comparatively minor accomplishments. In fact, a couple of the things I’m most proud of resulted in being threatened with court martial.
我服役期间最自豪的时刻？有很多。但没有一个与获得勋章或晋升有关。那些都算是相对微不足道的成就。事实上，我最自豪的几件事，甚至让我面临军事法庭的威胁。
But here is a moment that was certainly important to someone.
不过，有一个时刻，对某个人来说无疑意义非凡。
When I was a petty officer 2d class (E-5) in the US Navy, the aircraft carrier USS Constellation and the Australian carrier HMAS Melbourne were fighting against each other in a war game. We found them first, so Connie launched an Alpha Strike—a whole bunch of fighter and bomber jets filled the air, zooming at low altitude over the North Pacific near Hawaii, full of bombs and missiles ready to “destroy” the Aussie ship.
我在美国海军担任二级士官（E-5）时，“星座号”航空母舰与澳大利亚“墨尔本号”航空母舰正在进行一场军事演习对抗。我们先发现了对方，于是“星座号”发起了一次阿尔法打击——大批战斗机和轰炸机升空，在夏威夷附近的北太平洋上空低空疾驰，满载炸弹和导弹，随时准备“摧毁”那艘澳大利亚军舰。
I was an electronic intelligence (ELINT) aircrewman. My job was to sit in the back of an EA-3B jet and watch scopes and listen to beeps. We were part of the package.
我是一名电子情报（ELINT）机组人员，工作是坐在EA-3B喷气式飞机的后座，盯着显示屏，听着哔哔声，我们也是这次打击行动的一部分。
PR-03, an EA-3B from VQ-1 squadron attached to USS Constellation. The ELINT operators sit behind the square windows seen just forward of the wing.
PR-03是隶属于“星座号”航空母舰VQ-1中队的一架EA-3B飞机，电子情报操作员坐在机翼前方那排方形窗户的后面。
PR-03是隶属于“星座号”航空母舰VQ-1中队的一架EA-3B飞机，电子情报操作员坐在机翼前方那排方形窗户的后面。
It was a beautiful sight. Although the whole strike package was flying at hundreds of miles per hour, we were all standing still relative to each other. All these jets floating nearly, barely bobbing up and down, just a few hundred feet from each other. It felt like soaring with angels.
那景象十分壮观。尽管整个打击编队的飞行速度达到每小时数百英里，但我们彼此相对静止。所有战机几乎悬停在空中，仅有轻微的上下浮动，彼此间仅相距几百英尺，那种感觉就像与天使一同翱翔。
Just 800 feet over the ocean, our aircraft cabin was warm and humid, since at such low altitude, our air pressurization system would be off.
飞机在距离海面仅800英尺的高度飞行，机舱里温暖而潮湿，因为在如此低的高度，我们的增压系统是关闭的。
Then I smelled something familiar, like old milk gone sour. Being an electronic technician, I knew the smell of a large capacitor that had burst in a power supply of some sort. Then I saw smoke in the cabin. We’d been having the same problem for a couple of days, but the smoke always dissipated before we could find the fire.
这时我闻到一股熟悉的气味，像是变质的牛奶。作为电子技术员，我知道这是某种电源设备中大型电容器爆裂的味道。接着我看到机舱里冒出了烟。这几天我们一直遇到同样的问题，但每次烟都在我们找到火源前就消散了。
I picked up my oxygen mask from the seat next to me and called the ensign through the microphone. Then I pulled out the screwdriver blade from my penknife in the leg of my flight suit. I started to unscrew the starboard panel off the wall, just to the right of the bottom hatch—the main hatch in the floor, which is where we always entered and exited the aircraft. The hatch, when closed, is also the floor between the cockpit up front and the cabin in back, where I and 3 others operated ELINT equipment.
我从旁边的座位拿起氧气面罩，通过麦克风呼叫少尉。然后我从飞行服裤腿里的小刀中抽出螺丝刀，开始拧开机舱右侧的面板——就在底部舱门的右边，那是地板上的主舱门，我们平时都是从这里进出飞机。舱门关闭时，也充当着前排驾驶舱和后排机舱之间的地板，我和另外三名同事就在后排操作电子情报设备。
The entry hatch is just behind the nosewheel.
登机舱门就在前轮的正后方。
登机舱门就在前轮的正后方。
I looked up toward the cockpit just about four feet above me at Stevie, the plane captain, who was sitting on a big square coffee container between the pilot on his left and the navigator on his right, all watching the airshow, when the pilot spoke to him. Stevie said “What?” and the pilot screamed “FIRE!” and pointed at me behind him.
我抬头望向上方约四英尺处的驾驶舱，机长史蒂夫正坐在一个方形的大咖啡罐上，左边是飞行员，右边是导航员，三人都在欣赏着空中的战机编队。这时飞行员对史蒂夫说了些什么，史蒂夫回应“什么？”，飞行员随即大喊“着火了！”，并指向他身后的我。
Stevie leaped off his perch, jumped down four feet onto the bottom hatch and shoved me out of the way. He grabbed the left hand wall panel and ripped it off the wall. There was some smoke left, but it went away.
史蒂夫立刻从座位上跳下来，纵身四英尺落到底部舱门上，一把将我推开。他抓住左侧的壁板，猛地将其从墙上扯了下来。残留的少许烟雾随之散去。
He started looking at the electrical components there. I said, no, I think the smoke is coming from the right side, but the air circulation changed when you ripped the panel off the wall. He turned around and looked at the right side panel and disappeared.
他开始检查那里的电子元件。我告诉他“不对，烟雾应该是从右侧来的，只是你扯掉左侧壁板后，空气流通变了”。他转过身看向右侧的面板，然后突然消失了。
Poof! He was gone.
噗的一下！他就不见了。
The hatch had opened and he fell through the open hatch toward the ocean below. I reached down and grabbed his survival vest with both hands at his shoulders and pulled up hard. It was slow going. I am not a big guy. I was a little shrimpy guy and Stevie was pretty much exactly my size, maybe 130 pounds soaking wet, with 20 pounds of gear on. I stood straight and pulled him up like I was lifting 150 pounds of dead weight all the up until his head was level with mine and he got his footing on the floor around the sides of the hatch.
舱门突然打开，史蒂夫顺着敞开的舱门朝下方的大海坠去。我立刻伸手，双手抓住他救生背心的肩部位置，用力往上拉。这过程十分艰难，我本身个子不高，身形瘦小，而史蒂夫和我体型差不多，就算浑身湿透也只有约130磅，再加上20磅的装备，总重相当于我在提拉150磅的重物。我站直身体使劲往上拽，直到他的头部与我平齐，他才在舱门周围的地板上站稳了脚跟。
We looked down. The hatch was slowly swaying in the breeze, opening, closing, opening, closing. We could see blue ocean below.
我们往下看去，舱门在气流中慢慢晃动，开了又关，关了又开，下方湛蓝的大海清晰可见。
Stevie turned and started buttoning down the panels with his screwdriver while I stood next to him with one hand holding his gear in case he slipped. Then he reached down, grabbed the hatch handle, pulled the hatch closed and twisted the handle to lock it. Then I let go of him and sat down.
史蒂夫转过身，用螺丝刀把刚才扯下来的面板重新固定好，我站在他旁边，一只手扶住他的装备以防他滑倒。之后他弯腰抓住舱门把手，将舱门关上并拧动把手锁死。我这才松开手，坐回了自己的座位。
I looked up at him. He put his screwdriver back in the leg pocket of his flight suit and looked down at me in my seat. We were both shaking. I started laughing nervously. He started crying from the stress. Just a little. He was visibly shaking all over. I went into uproarious laughter and he wiped his tears and regained his composure. Then he went back to his station up with the pilot and navigator, and I let out a deep breath and looked back out the window at the slow motion dance of angels, bombs, missiles, fighters and bombers headed to destroy the “enemy,” every one of them totally oblivious to one young plane captain nearly dropping to his death.
我抬头看向他，他把螺丝刀放回飞行服裤腿的口袋里，低头看着坐在座位上的我。我们俩都在发抖，我紧张地笑了起来，他则因为压力流下了几滴眼泪，浑身的颤抖肉眼可见。我忍不住捧腹大笑，他擦了擦眼泪，渐渐平复了情绪，然后回到驾驶舱里飞行员和导航员身边的岗位。我深吸一口气，再次望向窗外，那些战机、炸弹、导弹仍像天使跳着慢舞般，朝着“敌人”飞去，却没人知道，刚才有一位年轻机长差点坠入海中丧命。
That’s how I met Stevie. He promised to buy me a beer for saving his life. But when we pulled into Pearl Harbor, we discovered the drinking age was 21 and he wasn’t.
这就是我和史蒂夫相识的经过。他为了感谢我救了他的命，答应要请我喝啤酒。可当我们抵达珍珠港时，才发现当地的饮酒年龄限制是21岁，而他还没到这个年纪。
The problems: First, a safety pin had rusted through. Second, at low altitude without pressurization, the air-filled rubber gasket around the hatch was deflated. Third, somebody apparently kicked the handle counter-clockwise, or it vibrated open.
事故原因有三点：一是安全销已经完全生锈断裂；二是低空飞行时增压系统关闭，舱门周围充气橡胶密封垫失压；三是显然有人逆时针踢到了舱门把手，或者是震动导致门自行打开。
EPILOGUE
后记
Nearly a decade later, while I was a civilian attending university in Orlando, Stevie somehow found me and called me up from his home in Chicago, where he worked tossing bags at the airport. He thanked me once again for saving his life. Afterward, I joined the Air Force, went back overseas, and haven’t seen or heard of him since.
将近十年后，我以平民身份在奥兰多上大学时，史蒂夫不知通过什么方式找到了我，从他芝加哥的家中给我打了电话。那时他在芝加哥机场从事行李搬运工作，在电话里再次感谢我当年救了他。那之后，我加入了空军，再次前往海外，从此就再也没有他的消息了。
Stevie, if you’re reading this, thanks for shoving me out of the way. You saved MY life.
史蒂夫，如果你正在读这篇文章，谢谢你当初把我推开，是你救了我。
upxe: Steve read this story and contacted me from across the country. Looking forward to meeting him again, perhaps at an air museum where our EA-3B aircraft is on display.
更新：史蒂夫看到了这个故事，从美国另一端联系到了我。我很期待能和他再次见面，或许会在那家陈列着我们当年驾驶的EA-3B飞机的航空博物馆里。
Robert Wills Former Chief Warrant Officer Four, Interrogator at U.S. Army (1989–2015)
罗伯特·威尔斯 前四级准尉 美国陆军审讯官（1989–2015年任职）
Originally Answered: What is your proudest moment serving in the US armed forces?
最初回答：在美国军队服役期间，你最自豪的时刻是什么？
While assigned to the 101st Division, I deployed to Kosovo with the 1st Armor Division in 99–00 as the Senior Interrogator, I was in the mess hall when I ran into my commander- Captain Finch. He looked down.
我当时隶属于第101空降师，1999至2000年间以高级审讯官的身份跟随第1装甲师部署到科索沃。一天我在食堂里遇到了我的指挥官芬奇上尉，他神色沮丧地低着头。
“What’s up, Sir?” I asked.
“I lost a Humvee,” he said.
That’s a pretty serious, career ending kind of deal- losing an uparmored Humvee. I figured he meant it was stolen. “Who took it?”
“No one took it, it got stuck up at the GSZ and the engineers are going to blow it up because we can’t get it back down because they’ve already blown the road leading up to it.”
“长官，出什么事了？”我问道。
“我弄丢了一辆悍马，”他说。
弄丢一辆装甲悍马可是件非常严重的事，严重到足以终结职业生涯。我以为他是说悍马被偷了，于是问：“谁把它开走了？”
“没人开走，它陷在停火线区域了。工兵打算把它炸掉，因为通往那里的路已经被他们炸毁，我们根本没法把车弄下来。”
That was a problem for a 1AD soldier, but not a 101st Division soldier. “Just sling load it out. Easy.” I said.
“We can’t do that, Chief.” He said.
“Yeah, but I can and I’ve got four of my troops with me. We do it all the time. I’ll head over to the motorpool and get it worked out.”
这对第1装甲师的人来说是个难题，但对第101空降师的人来说不是。“直接用直升机吊运出来就行，很简单，”我说。
“我们做不到啊，准尉，”他回应道。
“但我能做到，我还带了四名手下，我们经常做这种事。我现在就去车场安排好这件事。”
He didn’t look relieved so he didn’t think I could get it done.
So I went to the Motorpool and talked to the Chief there- I needed another M1113 (uparmored so it weighed as much as the stuck one) with a winch mounted on it. He said “Yeah, sure I can have that by COB.”
他看起来并没有松口气，显然不相信我能办成这件事。
于是我去了车场，跟那里的负责人沟通——我需要另一辆M1113装甲悍马，它的重量得和陷住的那辆一样，而且要装有绞车。他说：“没问题，肯定能在工作日结束前给你准备好。”
Then I drove out to the airfield to talk to the Air Ops folks. They had Chinooks so I knew they could pick up a Hummer. “Hey, you guys have any sling legs with you?”
One issue down.
“In the Conex we do.”
Issues two and three down.
一个问题解决了。
接着我开车去了机场，找空中作战部门的人沟通。他们有奇努克直升机，所以我知道他们能吊起悍马。“嘿，你们这儿有吊索吗？”
“集装箱里有。”
第二个和第三个问题也解决了。
So I arranged for two Chinooks for a 0900 dustoff.
Then later that day, I called back to Campbell to the Saboloski Air Assault School. “Hey there, this is Chief Wills, Senior Interrogator for the 101st. I’m in Kosovo and I need to slingload a M1113. What’s the lix count for that?” I asked.
于是我安排了两架奇努克直升机，在早上9点执行救援任务。
当天晚些时候，我给坎贝尔基地的萨博洛斯基空中突击学校打了电话。“喂，我是威尔斯准尉，第101空降师的高级审讯官。我现在在科索沃，需要吊运一辆M1113装甲悍马，吊索的链节数应该怎么算？”我问道。
Thirty minutes later, I had the lix count for the sling legs- you needed to know how much lixs in the chain needed to be secured to keep the vehicle level when it was picked up. I didn’t want to ‘trial and error’ it. But they are THE folks when it comes to slingloading.
“Hells yes, Chief! Give us a thirty minutes and call us back!”
Issue four down.
“没问题，准尉！给我们30分钟，之后再打过来！”
30分钟后，我拿到了吊索的链节数——必须知道固定多少个链节，才能让车辆被吊起时保持水平，我可不想靠“试错”来摸索。而在吊运这方面，他们绝对是行家。
第四个问题也解决了。
So I went to Captain Finch. “Hey sir, I got a 10,000 winch going onto another M1113. Air is going to slingload that in, pull out the stuck Hummer, and then we’ll slingload them both back out. Birds take off at 0900, so I’m heading out at 0730 so I can set up an LZ.”
He was agog.
于是我去找芬奇上尉：“长官，我已经协调好了一辆装有10000磅绞车的M1113装甲悍马。直升机将把它吊运到现场，把陷住的悍马拖出来，然后再把两辆车一起吊走。直升机早上9点起飞，所以我7点半出发去设置着陆区。”
他惊呆了。
That next morning, it all went to plan- my troops and I hiked up the hill (we tried to get the Hummer back on the road but it had slid down an embankment), I set up an LZ using my VS-17 panel that was always in my helment and let the birds know- “Orange LZ” when they got close. They slingloaded in the first hummer, drove it down the hill, yanked the other back onto the road, both drove to the LZ I had set up, we rigged the second one up and both flew off. Me and my guys walked back down the hill, mission accomplished.
That night, I made a grounding rod out of a tent peg, some radio wire, and a broom handle.
那天晚上，我用一根帐篷桩、几根无线电电线和一根扫帚柄做了一根接地棒。
第二天早上，一切都按计划进行——我和手下徒步上山（我们本来想把陷住的悍马推回路上，但它已经滑到了路堤下面），我用头盔里常备的VS-17信号板设置了着陆区，等直升机靠近时通知他们“橙色着陆区”。他们把第一辆悍马吊运到现场，开车下山把另一辆拖回路面，两辆车都开到了我设置的着陆区，我们固定好第二辆车后，直升机便载着两辆车飞走了。我和手下步行下山，任务圆满完成。
I got the entire thing on video and when I got home, I showed it to the folks at the Air Assault school. They were ecstatic that their training was used in a real world, saving equipment mission. Love those guys.
PS- I didn’t even get an AAM for the mission from the 1AD. I hate those guys.
我把整个过程都录了下来，回家后拿给空中突击学校的人看。他们得知自己的训练内容能用到真实的装备救援任务中，都非常兴奋。我真喜欢那些人。
附言：第1装甲师甚至没给我颁发陆军成就勋章来表彰这次任务。我真讨厌那些人。
Thom Beran Former GySgt at U.S. Marine Corps (1981–1997)
汤姆·贝兰 前美国海军陆战队枪炮军士（1981–1997年任职）
I am sure you will think it is a pretty brave moment. If is not. I was at a level of communications that allowed me access to a phone call back to the states. While in Saudi for the first Gulf war. One day a Infantry SSGT showed up at my communications van. Asked are you Sgt Beran? I said yeah whats up? He had driven two hours back to the rear with a LCPL who had received a message from the Red cross that his pregnant wife was having a difficult delivery that could kill her and the baby. I said being him in. We called around found the right hospital and found out that the baby had been born and both were fine. I was even able to get his wife on the phone and left him alone in the van for 15 minutes to talk to his wife. Dude came out and asked me if I need anything. I told him stay alive to raise that boy. He gave me a bro hug and left. I have no idea who he was or what happened to him. I just know I made him and his wife happy for 15 minutes.
我敢肯定你会觉得这是个很英勇的时刻，但其实不是。第一次海湾战争期间我在沙特，当时我的通讯权限允许我拨打回美国的电话。有一天，一名步兵上士来到我的通讯车旁，问我是不是贝兰中士，我回应“是我，有什么事吗？”他开了两个小时车回到后方，身边跟着一名下士——这名下士收到了红十字会的消息，他怀孕的妻子分娩困难，母子都有生命危险。我让他把下士带进来，我们四处打电话找到了对应的医院，得知孩子已经顺利出生，母子平安。我还设法联系上了他的妻子，让他单独在通讯车里和妻子聊了15分钟。他出来后问我需要什么帮忙，我告诉他“好好活着，把孩子抚养长大”。他给了我一个兄弟般的拥抱后就离开了。我至今不知道他是谁，后来怎么样了，我只知道，我让他和他的妻子开心了15分钟。
Devon Stavrowsky Former Army SF Medic, Cal Guard Officer, Retired Cop (1968–2005)
德文·斯塔夫罗斯基 前陆军特种部队医护兵 加州国民警卫队军官 退休警察（1968–2005年任职）
Originally Answered: What is your proudest moment serving in the US armed forces?
最初回答：在美国军队服役期间，你最自豪的时刻是什么？
My personal proudest moment was a really simple thing, actually. It came as a newly-commissioned second lieutenant, who had refused to allow command authority to charge one of my troops for damage done to a deuce-and-a half. The troop had assured me he hadn’t done the damage, and it was a troop who I knew well enough to entrust my life-to. If he had done it, he’d have admitted it to me. He swore he hadn’t, and I told my commander I believed him and wasn’t going to allow him to be charged.
其实我个人最自豪的时刻非常简单。那时我刚被任命为少尉，拒绝让指挥部门以损坏一辆两吨半卡车为由起诉我的一名士兵。这名士兵向我保证他没有造成损坏，而我对他足够了解，甚至可以把生命托付给他。如果真是他做的，他一定会向我承认。他发誓自己是无辜的，我也告诉指挥官我相信他，不会允许他被起诉。
I ended up with heels locked in front of a Brigadier General and two Full Birds who told me there was no question he was going to pay for it, and I’d better get that through my head. I told them no, sir, he’s not. He didn’t do it. They asked how I knew that. I told them I knew to a certainty because he had told me he didn’t, and I knew he wouldn’t lie to me. They told me they were skeptical, and I told them he was a soldier who I trusted with my life. I further told them that he was my troop, and if they could order me to charge him, but if they did that, I would be the one who actually paid the charges…. not him.
最后我立正站在一名准将和两名上校面前，他们告诉我，这名士兵必须为此负责，让我最好认清现实。我回应道“长官，不，他不用负责，他没做过这件事”。他们问我怎么确定，我告诉他们我绝对肯定，因为他说自己没做，而我知道他不会对我撒谎。他们表示怀疑，我则告诉他们，这是一名我愿意托付生命的士兵。我还说，他是我的部下，他们可以命令我起诉他，但如果真要这么做，实际承担责任的人会是我，而不是他。
They dismissed me and dropped the charges altogether. And I can’t remember ever feeling better….. just about something as stupid as having done the right thing. And that troop remained loyal to me for life as a result.
他们让我离开了，并且彻底撤销了指控。我不记得自己有过比那更舒畅的感觉——仅仅是因为做了正确的事，哪怕在外人看来这很“愚蠢”。而那位士兵也因此一辈子都对我忠心耿耿。
Jess Rawls Enlisted as a Private, retired as Lieutenant Colonel.
杰斯・罗尔斯 以列兵身份入伍 以中校军衔退休
One of my proudest moments was when I soloed in a helicopter while in the Army’s Warrant Officer Flight Program. It was an amazing feeling, almost beyond descxtion.. As I recall students received ten hours of dual instruction with an Instructor Pilot (IP) and we were supposed to solo by the end of those ten hours. If we failed to solo within those allotted flying hours we faced being eliminated from the program, or being recycled to the following Warrant Officer Candidate (WOC) company (there were four companies at the time, 1966). My main problem was trying to land the TH-55 training helicopter as smoothly as the IP did. When the helicopter was about 2–3 feet above the ground it would encounter a cushion of air created by the downwash of the rotor blades. The little helicopter would bounce around on that layer of air until I finally lowered the collective enough to land. The IP didn’t offer any corrective actions, he just sat there and let me struggle with trying to land.
我最自豪的时刻之一，是在美国陆军准尉飞行项目中首次独自驾驶直升机的时候。那种感觉太奇妙了，几乎难以用语言形容。据我回忆，学员们会接受 10 小时的飞行教官（IP）双人指导，并且需要在这 10 小时结束前完成单飞。如果没能在规定的飞行时长内单飞，我们要么会被淘汰出项目，要么会被分流到下一批准尉候选人（WOC）连（1966 年当时共有四个连）。我的主要问题是，始终难以像飞行教官那样平稳降落 TH-55 训练直升机。当直升机距离地面约 2 到 3 英尺时，会遇到旋翼下洗气流形成的空气垫，这架小型直升机就会在那层空气上颠簸不定，直到我最终把总距杆压到足够低才能着陆。而我的飞行教官没有提供任何纠正指导，只是坐在旁边，看着我艰难地尝试降落。
Well, I failed to solo so I was faced with elimination or being recycled. I don’t recall how long it was that I had to wait to be informed on my future in the program or lack thereof. I was sweating bullets because I certainly didn’t want to be washed-out of the program. I didn’t want to disappoint my family, especially my wife of less than a year. One evening I was told to report to our Tactical Officer, the chief warrant officer that supervised our section of warrant officer candidates. It was with some dread that I walked down to his office from my shared room in the billets.
结果我没能按时完成单飞，面临着淘汰或分流的局面。我不记得过了多久才收到通知，告知我在这个项目中的去留。那段时间我紧张得要命，因为我绝对不想被淘汰，也不想让家人失望，尤其是我结婚还不到一年的妻子。一天晚上，我接到通知，要去见我们的战术军官 —— 也就是负责监管我们这批准尉候选人的四级准尉。我怀着几分忐忑，从营房的集体宿舍走到了他的办公室。
I knocked on the door and reported to the Chief. I can’t recall if he started with some minor chit-chat, or if he cut to the heart of the matter. He told me that I would be recycled to the WOC company that was several weeks behind ours in the training cycle. I was relieved and extremely happy with that news.
我敲了敲门，向准尉报到。我不记得他是先聊了些无关紧要的话，还是直接切入了正题。他告诉我，我会被分流到训练进度比我们晚几周的另一批准尉候选人连。听到这个消息，我松了一口气，心里无比高兴。
I had to move my gear and uniforms to the new company to which I was assigned, but it was close to my “old’ company. It was an easy move, except when I had to report to the chief warrant officer in charge of the new section to which I had been assigned. He wasn’t overly happy to see me, and he told me as much. His welcoming remark: You didn’t make it as 1st WOC; I don’t see how you’ll make it here.” Wow, thanks a lot for that warm welcome and the encouragement, Chief. With that kind of encouragement I should sail through the remainder of the program.
我得把我的装备和制服搬到被分配的新连队，但新连队离我原来的连队很近，搬起来不算麻烦。唯一不顺的是，当我向新连队的主管四级准尉报到时，他见到我明显不太高兴，而且也直白地表达了这一点。他的 “欢迎辞” 是：“你在第一批准尉候选人连都没成功，我不觉得你在这里能行。” 哇，准尉，真是太感谢你这番热烈的欢迎和鼓励了。有这样的 “鼓励”，我想必能顺利完成后续的训练吧。
I was assigned a new IP, which made all the difference in the world to me. I flew with Dan, a civilian contractor, and he saw my problem on the first flight. He promptly set about correcting it so I be able to solo. We had flown to a stage field on that first flight. That’s where students/IPs could work on things that needed improvement. After we landed, Dan hovered us away from the runway so we could work on my landing technique.
之后我被分配到了一位新的飞行教官，这对我来说简直是天壤之别。我的新教官丹是一名文职承包商，他在第一次带飞时就发现了我的问题，并且立刻着手帮我纠正，好让我能顺利单飞。第一次飞行时，我们飞到了一个练习机场 —— 那是学员和飞行教官专门用来练习需要改进的技能的地方。着陆后，丹操控直升机悬停着离开了跑道，专门帮我练习降落技巧。
He had the controls, brought the helicopter up to a 3-foot hover and said, “Watch what I do.” I watched. He lowered the collective without pausing until it hit the stop and couldn’t be lowered any further. The helicopter landed without dancing around on the air cushion of rotorwash. He said, “I want you to land just like that; you won’t break the helicopter.” I took the controls, brought the helicopter up to a 3-foot hover, stabilized it for a few seconds, then I lowered the collective in a smooth movement until it hit the stop. The helicopter descended without stopping on that cushion of air created by the rotorwash. Man, that was easy. We repeated that maneuver several times….and my landing problem was solved in one flight with an excellent IP.
他接过操纵杆，将直升机升至3英尺高度悬停，然后说：“看好我怎么做。”我仔细观察着。他毫不犹豫地向下推总距杆，直到推杆触底再也推不动为止。直升机稳稳着陆，没有在旋翼气流形成的气垫上晃来晃去。他说：“我要你就像这样着陆，不会把直升机弄坏的。”我接过操纵杆，将直升机升至3英尺高度悬停，稳定了几秒钟后，平稳地向下推总距杆，直到推杆触底。直升机径直下降，没有在旋翼气流形成的气垫上停留。天哪，原来这么简单。我们反复练习了好几次这个动作……在一位出色的飞行教官（IP）的指导下，仅仅一个飞行课时，我的着陆问题就解决了。
I soloed after one more flight with Dan. He was satisfied with all my other maneuvers. Then on our second flight together we flew to one of the stage fields. Dan had me hovered off the landing lane onto a grassy area near a building where students waiting to fly were located. He told me to take the helicopter three times around the stage-field in a closed traffic pattern and then hover back to this spot and pick him up. He asked me if I had any questions; I didn’t.
又和丹一起飞了一个课时后，我迎来了首次单飞。丹对我其他所有飞行动作都很满意。之后在我们一起飞行的第二个课时，我们飞往了一个阶段性训练机场。丹让我把直升机从着陆跑道悬停到一栋建筑附近的草地上，那里有等待飞行训练的学员。他让我驾驶直升机按照闭合航线在训练机场上空飞三圈，然后再悬停回这个位置接他。他问我有没有疑问，我回答没有。
Dan
丹
He was a flight instructor (IP) who guided the author in helicopter flight training and assessed the author's ability to confirm that he was eligible for solo flight.
Dan climbed out of the helicopter and for the very first time I was in a helicopter all by myself with engine running and the rotor blades whirling overhead. It was an exciting moment. I’m sure my heart rate had accelerated considerably. I wasn’t scared, just excited about the occasion.
他是指导作者进行直升机飞行训练的飞行教官（IP），通过评估作者的飞行能力，确认其具备单飞资格。
丹从直升机上下来，这是我第一次独自待在直升机里，发动机在运转，旋翼叶片在头顶飞速旋转。那是个令人激动的时刻，我敢肯定自己的心跳速度大大加快了。我没有害怕，只是为这个时刻感到兴奋。
I made the three circuits around the stage-field in closed traffic, hovered back to pick up Dan. He got in the helicopter, congratulated me and then told me to go sit in some bleachers because he had to fly with another student. I got out of the aircraft and fairly floated over to the bleachers. What an exciting moment in my fledgling Army career.
我按照闭合航线在训练机场上空飞了三圈，然后悬停回原地接丹。他登上直升机后向我表示祝贺，接着让我去看台上坐着等，因为他还要带另一名学员飞行。我走出直升机，脚步轻快得仿佛飘着一样走向看台。在我刚刚起步的军旅生涯中，这真是一个无比激动的时刻。
Those of us students that flew out to the stage-field got to ride an Army bus back to Fort Wolters. I didn’t care because I was replaying the events of my solo in my head. The bus made a detour and stopped at a local motel. In my excitement about soloing I had forgotten an old, old tradition concerning what happens to pilots after they solo. In some places they had a piece of their shirt cut out of the back as a souvenir. In the Warrant Officer Flight Program newly soloed pilots got thrown into a pool. Several of my classmates grabbed me while other classmates grabbed several other guys that had also soloed that morning,hustled us off the bus and then carried us to the motel’s swimming pool.
我们这些飞往训练机场的学员要乘坐军用巴士返回沃尔特斯堡。我满脑子都在回放单飞时的情景，根本没心思在意其他事。巴士绕了个道，在当地一家汽车旅馆前停了下来。由于单飞的兴奋劲儿，我忘了一个由来已久的传统——飞行员首次单飞后会经历的“仪式”。在有些地方，人们会剪下飞行员衬衫的后片作为纪念；而在准尉飞行培训项目中，刚完成首次单飞的飞行员会被扔进泳池里。几个同学一把抓住我，其他同学则抓住了当天早上同样完成单飞的另外几个人，我们被匆匆推下巴士，然后被抬到了那家汽车旅馆的泳池边。
Did I mention it was January and it was cold in Texas that day. Some of my mates grabbed me by the wrists, other grabbed my ankles, stretched me out and started swinging me back and forth for momentum….then flung me out into the pool as far as they could. I tried to stay out of the water, but gravity being what it is, I wasn’t successful and came down in some very cold water. I got out of the pool as quickly as I could, but I was thoroughly soaked and miserable. As I recall I ended up with a cold, but I didn’t care because I had soloed.
我有没有说过，那天是一月份，德克萨斯州特别冷。有些同伴抓住我的手腕，另一些人抓住我的脚踝，把我平举起来来回摆动以积攒力气……然后尽全力把我扔向泳池远处。我努力想躲开水面，但重力终究无法抗拒，我还是没能幸免，掉进了冰冷的水里。我尽快爬出泳池，浑身湿透，冷得难受。我记得最后还感冒了，但我一点也不在乎，因为我完成了首次单飞。
I’ve had other proud moments during my twenty-six years in the Army; soloing was just one of the first moments.
在我二十六年的军旅生涯中，还经历过其他值得骄傲的时刻，而首次单飞只是其中最早的一个。
吉姆·埃文斯 哲学博士——大学教授（退休）- 美国海军陆战队士官（越南特种侦察部队）
Originally Answered: What is your proudest moment serving in the US armed forces?
最初回答：在美国军队服役期间，你最自豪的时刻是什么？
Hello, Briana: My proudest moment serving in the U.S. Armed Forces is when I graduated from Marine Corps Boot Camp! On that day I was born a U.S. Marine, and became part of the “Brotherhood!” “What happens to one of us, happens to all of us.” There is no feeling I had ever experienced equal to that moment of ecstasy! That is, until 46 years later when my good friend, and teaching colleague, Joe received the Silver Star for gallantry in action on Hill 881 at Khe Sanh in 1967 during the height of the Vietnam War.
你好，布里亚娜：我在美国军队服役期间最自豪的时刻，是从海军陆战队新兵训练营毕业的那一刻！那一天，我以美国海军陆战队员的身份“重生”，成为了“兄弟情谊”的一份子！“我们中一人遭遇的一切，便是所有人共同的遭遇。” 我从未体验过比那一刻更极致的狂喜！直到46年后，我的好友兼同事乔，因1967年越南战争最激烈时期在溪山881高地的英勇作战被授予银星勋章，我的心境才被再次刷新。
On the day of the award in 2013, Joe said to all of us attending that he was not a hero, that he was doing what any Marine would have done that day were they in his place. I wanted to reach out to Joe from where I was sitting and put my arm around him, and say, “Yes, Joe, this is what Marines do. We’re Brothers. That’s what makes us special. But what you did that day was extraordinary. What you did that day saved Marine’s lives. You were wounded and refused evacuation so you could help Brothers who were wounded worse than you. And, Joe, there is nothing greater that one person can do for another than to sacrifice in order to help him or her keep on living.”
2013年授勋当天，乔对所有到场的人说，他并非英雄，换作任何一名海军陆战队员在当时的情境下，都会做出同样的选择。我坐在座位上，真想伸出手臂搂住他，对他说：“乔，你说得对，这正是海军陆战队员会做的事。我们是兄弟，这正是我们的特别之处。但你那天的所作所为非同寻常，你的行动拯救了其他陆战队员的生命。你自己也受了伤，却拒绝撤离，只为帮助那些伤势比你更重的兄弟。乔，一个人能为另一个人做的最伟大的事，莫过于为帮助对方活下去而做出牺牲。”
On the day of Joe’s award, I had tears in my eyes as I thought of what he did on Hill 881. On the day of his award, I felt the same pride, and ecstasy I had felt when I graduated from Boot Camp!
乔授勋的那天，想到他在881高地的壮举，我热泪盈眶。那一刻，我感受到了与当年从新兵训练营毕业时同样的自豪与狂喜！
“Brothers Forever!”
Semper Fi,
“永远的兄弟！”
永远忠诚！
JE-PhD—Political Science (Political Theory, Economics, History, Mathematics)
吉姆·埃文斯 哲学博士——政治学（政治理论、经济学、历史学、数学专业）
“Old Corps, New Corps, Same Corps”
“旧部队，新部队，本色不变”
Michael Alapaki 10 yrs Navy enlisted. ROTC. 10 yrs Air Force officer.
迈克尔·阿拉帕基 海军服役10年 预备役军官训练团成员 空军军官服役10年
Originally Answered: What is your proudest moment serving in the US armed forces?
最初回答：在美国军队服役期间，你最自豪的时刻是什么？
My proudest moment in the service? Many. And none of them involved getting a medal or a promotion. Those were comparatively minor accomplishments. In fact, a couple of the things I’m most proud of resulted in being threatened with court martial.
我服役期间最自豪的时刻？有很多。但没有一个与获得勋章或晋升有关。那些都算是相对微不足道的成就。事实上，我最自豪的几件事，甚至让我面临军事法庭的威胁。
But here is a moment that was certainly important to someone.
不过，有一个时刻，对某个人来说无疑意义非凡。
When I was a petty officer 2d class (E-5) in the US Navy, the aircraft carrier USS Constellation and the Australian carrier HMAS Melbourne were fighting against each other in a war game. We found them first, so Connie launched an Alpha Strike—a whole bunch of fighter and bomber jets filled the air, zooming at low altitude over the North Pacific near Hawaii, full of bombs and missiles ready to “destroy” the Aussie ship.
我在美国海军担任二级士官（E-5）时，“星座号”航空母舰与澳大利亚“墨尔本号”航空母舰正在进行一场军事演习对抗。我们先发现了对方，于是“星座号”发起了一次阿尔法打击——大批战斗机和轰炸机升空，在夏威夷附近的北太平洋上空低空疾驰，满载炸弹和导弹，随时准备“摧毁”那艘澳大利亚军舰。
I was an electronic intelligence (ELINT) aircrewman. My job was to sit in the back of an EA-3B jet and watch scopes and listen to beeps. We were part of the package.
我是一名电子情报（ELINT）机组人员，工作是坐在EA-3B喷气式飞机的后座，盯着显示屏，听着哔哔声，我们也是这次打击行动的一部分。
PR-03, an EA-3B from VQ-1 squadron attached to USS Constellation. The ELINT operators sit behind the square windows seen just forward of the wing.
PR-03是隶属于“星座号”航空母舰VQ-1中队的一架EA-3B飞机，电子情报操作员坐在机翼前方那排方形窗户的后面。
PR-03是隶属于“星座号”航空母舰VQ-1中队的一架EA-3B飞机，电子情报操作员坐在机翼前方那排方形窗户的后面。
It was a beautiful sight. Although the whole strike package was flying at hundreds of miles per hour, we were all standing still relative to each other. All these jets floating nearly, barely bobbing up and down, just a few hundred feet from each other. It felt like soaring with angels.
那景象十分壮观。尽管整个打击编队的飞行速度达到每小时数百英里，但我们彼此相对静止。所有战机几乎悬停在空中，仅有轻微的上下浮动，彼此间仅相距几百英尺，那种感觉就像与天使一同翱翔。
Just 800 feet over the ocean, our aircraft cabin was warm and humid, since at such low altitude, our air pressurization system would be off.
飞机在距离海面仅800英尺的高度飞行，机舱里温暖而潮湿，因为在如此低的高度，我们的增压系统是关闭的。
Then I smelled something familiar, like old milk gone sour. Being an electronic technician, I knew the smell of a large capacitor that had burst in a power supply of some sort. Then I saw smoke in the cabin. We’d been having the same problem for a couple of days, but the smoke always dissipated before we could find the fire.
这时我闻到一股熟悉的气味，像是变质的牛奶。作为电子技术员，我知道这是某种电源设备中大型电容器爆裂的味道。接着我看到机舱里冒出了烟。这几天我们一直遇到同样的问题，但每次烟都在我们找到火源前就消散了。
I picked up my oxygen mask from the seat next to me and called the ensign through the microphone. Then I pulled out the screwdriver blade from my penknife in the leg of my flight suit. I started to unscrew the starboard panel off the wall, just to the right of the bottom hatch—the main hatch in the floor, which is where we always entered and exited the aircraft. The hatch, when closed, is also the floor between the cockpit up front and the cabin in back, where I and 3 others operated ELINT equipment.
我从旁边的座位拿起氧气面罩，通过麦克风呼叫少尉。然后我从飞行服裤腿里的小刀中抽出螺丝刀，开始拧开机舱右侧的面板——就在底部舱门的右边，那是地板上的主舱门，我们平时都是从这里进出飞机。舱门关闭时，也充当着前排驾驶舱和后排机舱之间的地板，我和另外三名同事就在后排操作电子情报设备。
The entry hatch is just behind the nosewheel.
登机舱门就在前轮的正后方。
登机舱门就在前轮的正后方。
I looked up toward the cockpit just about four feet above me at Stevie, the plane captain, who was sitting on a big square coffee container between the pilot on his left and the navigator on his right, all watching the airshow, when the pilot spoke to him. Stevie said “What?” and the pilot screamed “FIRE!” and pointed at me behind him.
我抬头望向上方约四英尺处的驾驶舱，机长史蒂夫正坐在一个方形的大咖啡罐上，左边是飞行员，右边是导航员，三人都在欣赏着空中的战机编队。这时飞行员对史蒂夫说了些什么，史蒂夫回应“什么？”，飞行员随即大喊“着火了！”，并指向他身后的我。
Stevie leaped off his perch, jumped down four feet onto the bottom hatch and shoved me out of the way. He grabbed the left hand wall panel and ripped it off the wall. There was some smoke left, but it went away.
史蒂夫立刻从座位上跳下来，纵身四英尺落到底部舱门上，一把将我推开。他抓住左侧的壁板，猛地将其从墙上扯了下来。残留的少许烟雾随之散去。
He started looking at the electrical components there. I said, no, I think the smoke is coming from the right side, but the air circulation changed when you ripped the panel off the wall. He turned around and looked at the right side panel and disappeared.
他开始检查那里的电子元件。我告诉他“不对，烟雾应该是从右侧来的，只是你扯掉左侧壁板后，空气流通变了”。他转过身看向右侧的面板，然后突然消失了。
Poof! He was gone.
噗的一下！他就不见了。
The hatch had opened and he fell through the open hatch toward the ocean below. I reached down and grabbed his survival vest with both hands at his shoulders and pulled up hard. It was slow going. I am not a big guy. I was a little shrimpy guy and Stevie was pretty much exactly my size, maybe 130 pounds soaking wet, with 20 pounds of gear on. I stood straight and pulled him up like I was lifting 150 pounds of dead weight all the up until his head was level with mine and he got his footing on the floor around the sides of the hatch.
舱门突然打开，史蒂夫顺着敞开的舱门朝下方的大海坠去。我立刻伸手，双手抓住他救生背心的肩部位置，用力往上拉。这过程十分艰难，我本身个子不高，身形瘦小，而史蒂夫和我体型差不多，就算浑身湿透也只有约130磅，再加上20磅的装备，总重相当于我在提拉150磅的重物。我站直身体使劲往上拽，直到他的头部与我平齐，他才在舱门周围的地板上站稳了脚跟。
We looked down. The hatch was slowly swaying in the breeze, opening, closing, opening, closing. We could see blue ocean below.
我们往下看去，舱门在气流中慢慢晃动，开了又关，关了又开，下方湛蓝的大海清晰可见。
Stevie turned and started buttoning down the panels with his screwdriver while I stood next to him with one hand holding his gear in case he slipped. Then he reached down, grabbed the hatch handle, pulled the hatch closed and twisted the handle to lock it. Then I let go of him and sat down.
史蒂夫转过身，用螺丝刀把刚才扯下来的面板重新固定好，我站在他旁边，一只手扶住他的装备以防他滑倒。之后他弯腰抓住舱门把手，将舱门关上并拧动把手锁死。我这才松开手，坐回了自己的座位。
I looked up at him. He put his screwdriver back in the leg pocket of his flight suit and looked down at me in my seat. We were both shaking. I started laughing nervously. He started crying from the stress. Just a little. He was visibly shaking all over. I went into uproarious laughter and he wiped his tears and regained his composure. Then he went back to his station up with the pilot and navigator, and I let out a deep breath and looked back out the window at the slow motion dance of angels, bombs, missiles, fighters and bombers headed to destroy the “enemy,” every one of them totally oblivious to one young plane captain nearly dropping to his death.
我抬头看向他，他把螺丝刀放回飞行服裤腿的口袋里，低头看着坐在座位上的我。我们俩都在发抖，我紧张地笑了起来，他则因为压力流下了几滴眼泪，浑身的颤抖肉眼可见。我忍不住捧腹大笑，他擦了擦眼泪，渐渐平复了情绪，然后回到驾驶舱里飞行员和导航员身边的岗位。我深吸一口气，再次望向窗外，那些战机、炸弹、导弹仍像天使跳着慢舞般，朝着“敌人”飞去，却没人知道，刚才有一位年轻机长差点坠入海中丧命。
That’s how I met Stevie. He promised to buy me a beer for saving his life. But when we pulled into Pearl Harbor, we discovered the drinking age was 21 and he wasn’t.
这就是我和史蒂夫相识的经过。他为了感谢我救了他的命，答应要请我喝啤酒。可当我们抵达珍珠港时，才发现当地的饮酒年龄限制是21岁，而他还没到这个年纪。
The problems: First, a safety pin had rusted through. Second, at low altitude without pressurization, the air-filled rubber gasket around the hatch was deflated. Third, somebody apparently kicked the handle counter-clockwise, or it vibrated open.
事故原因有三点：一是安全销已经完全生锈断裂；二是低空飞行时增压系统关闭，舱门周围充气橡胶密封垫失压；三是显然有人逆时针踢到了舱门把手，或者是震动导致门自行打开。
EPILOGUE
后记
Nearly a decade later, while I was a civilian attending university in Orlando, Stevie somehow found me and called me up from his home in Chicago, where he worked tossing bags at the airport. He thanked me once again for saving his life. Afterward, I joined the Air Force, went back overseas, and haven’t seen or heard of him since.
将近十年后，我以平民身份在奥兰多上大学时，史蒂夫不知通过什么方式找到了我，从他芝加哥的家中给我打了电话。那时他在芝加哥机场从事行李搬运工作，在电话里再次感谢我当年救了他。那之后，我加入了空军，再次前往海外，从此就再也没有他的消息了。
Stevie, if you’re reading this, thanks for shoving me out of the way. You saved MY life.
史蒂夫，如果你正在读这篇文章，谢谢你当初把我推开，是你救了我。
upxe: Steve read this story and contacted me from across the country. Looking forward to meeting him again, perhaps at an air museum where our EA-3B aircraft is on display.
更新：史蒂夫看到了这个故事，从美国另一端联系到了我。我很期待能和他再次见面，或许会在那家陈列着我们当年驾驶的EA-3B飞机的航空博物馆里。
Robert Wills Former Chief Warrant Officer Four, Interrogator at U.S. Army (1989–2015)
罗伯特·威尔斯 前四级准尉 美国陆军审讯官（1989–2015年任职）
Originally Answered: What is your proudest moment serving in the US armed forces?
最初回答：在美国军队服役期间，你最自豪的时刻是什么？
While assigned to the 101st Division, I deployed to Kosovo with the 1st Armor Division in 99–00 as the Senior Interrogator, I was in the mess hall when I ran into my commander- Captain Finch. He looked down.
我当时隶属于第101空降师，1999至2000年间以高级审讯官的身份跟随第1装甲师部署到科索沃。一天我在食堂里遇到了我的指挥官芬奇上尉，他神色沮丧地低着头。
“What’s up, Sir?” I asked.
“I lost a Humvee,” he said.
That’s a pretty serious, career ending kind of deal- losing an uparmored Humvee. I figured he meant it was stolen. “Who took it?”
“No one took it, it got stuck up at the GSZ and the engineers are going to blow it up because we can’t get it back down because they’ve already blown the road leading up to it.”
“长官，出什么事了？”我问道。
“我弄丢了一辆悍马，”他说。
弄丢一辆装甲悍马可是件非常严重的事，严重到足以终结职业生涯。我以为他是说悍马被偷了，于是问：“谁把它开走了？”
“没人开走，它陷在停火线区域了。工兵打算把它炸掉，因为通往那里的路已经被他们炸毁，我们根本没法把车弄下来。”
That was a problem for a 1AD soldier, but not a 101st Division soldier. “Just sling load it out. Easy.” I said.
“We can’t do that, Chief.” He said.
“Yeah, but I can and I’ve got four of my troops with me. We do it all the time. I’ll head over to the motorpool and get it worked out.”
这对第1装甲师的人来说是个难题，但对第101空降师的人来说不是。“直接用直升机吊运出来就行，很简单，”我说。
“我们做不到啊，准尉，”他回应道。
“但我能做到，我还带了四名手下，我们经常做这种事。我现在就去车场安排好这件事。”
He didn’t look relieved so he didn’t think I could get it done.
So I went to the Motorpool and talked to the Chief there- I needed another M1113 (uparmored so it weighed as much as the stuck one) with a winch mounted on it. He said “Yeah, sure I can have that by COB.”
他看起来并没有松口气，显然不相信我能办成这件事。
于是我去了车场，跟那里的负责人沟通——我需要另一辆M1113装甲悍马，它的重量得和陷住的那辆一样，而且要装有绞车。他说：“没问题，肯定能在工作日结束前给你准备好。”
Then I drove out to the airfield to talk to the Air Ops folks. They had Chinooks so I knew they could pick up a Hummer. “Hey, you guys have any sling legs with you?”
One issue down.
“In the Conex we do.”
Issues two and three down.
一个问题解决了。
接着我开车去了机场，找空中作战部门的人沟通。他们有奇努克直升机，所以我知道他们能吊起悍马。“嘿，你们这儿有吊索吗？”
“集装箱里有。”
第二个和第三个问题也解决了。
So I arranged for two Chinooks for a 0900 dustoff.
Then later that day, I called back to Campbell to the Saboloski Air Assault School. “Hey there, this is Chief Wills, Senior Interrogator for the 101st. I’m in Kosovo and I need to slingload a M1113. What’s the lix count for that?” I asked.
于是我安排了两架奇努克直升机，在早上9点执行救援任务。
当天晚些时候，我给坎贝尔基地的萨博洛斯基空中突击学校打了电话。“喂，我是威尔斯准尉，第101空降师的高级审讯官。我现在在科索沃，需要吊运一辆M1113装甲悍马，吊索的链节数应该怎么算？”我问道。
Thirty minutes later, I had the lix count for the sling legs- you needed to know how much lixs in the chain needed to be secured to keep the vehicle level when it was picked up. I didn’t want to ‘trial and error’ it. But they are THE folks when it comes to slingloading.
“Hells yes, Chief! Give us a thirty minutes and call us back!”
Issue four down.
“没问题，准尉！给我们30分钟，之后再打过来！”
30分钟后，我拿到了吊索的链节数——必须知道固定多少个链节，才能让车辆被吊起时保持水平，我可不想靠“试错”来摸索。而在吊运这方面，他们绝对是行家。
第四个问题也解决了。
So I went to Captain Finch. “Hey sir, I got a 10,000 winch going onto another M1113. Air is going to slingload that in, pull out the stuck Hummer, and then we’ll slingload them both back out. Birds take off at 0900, so I’m heading out at 0730 so I can set up an LZ.”
He was agog.
于是我去找芬奇上尉：“长官，我已经协调好了一辆装有10000磅绞车的M1113装甲悍马。直升机将把它吊运到现场，把陷住的悍马拖出来，然后再把两辆车一起吊走。直升机早上9点起飞，所以我7点半出发去设置着陆区。”
他惊呆了。
That next morning, it all went to plan- my troops and I hiked up the hill (we tried to get the Hummer back on the road but it had slid down an embankment), I set up an LZ using my VS-17 panel that was always in my helment and let the birds know- “Orange LZ” when they got close. They slingloaded in the first hummer, drove it down the hill, yanked the other back onto the road, both drove to the LZ I had set up, we rigged the second one up and both flew off. Me and my guys walked back down the hill, mission accomplished.
That night, I made a grounding rod out of a tent peg, some radio wire, and a broom handle.
那天晚上，我用一根帐篷桩、几根无线电电线和一根扫帚柄做了一根接地棒。
第二天早上，一切都按计划进行——我和手下徒步上山（我们本来想把陷住的悍马推回路上，但它已经滑到了路堤下面），我用头盔里常备的VS-17信号板设置了着陆区，等直升机靠近时通知他们“橙色着陆区”。他们把第一辆悍马吊运到现场，开车下山把另一辆拖回路面，两辆车都开到了我设置的着陆区，我们固定好第二辆车后，直升机便载着两辆车飞走了。我和手下步行下山，任务圆满完成。
I got the entire thing on video and when I got home, I showed it to the folks at the Air Assault school. They were ecstatic that their training was used in a real world, saving equipment mission. Love those guys.
PS- I didn’t even get an AAM for the mission from the 1AD. I hate those guys.
我把整个过程都录了下来，回家后拿给空中突击学校的人看。他们得知自己的训练内容能用到真实的装备救援任务中，都非常兴奋。我真喜欢那些人。
附言：第1装甲师甚至没给我颁发陆军成就勋章来表彰这次任务。我真讨厌那些人。
Thom Beran Former GySgt at U.S. Marine Corps (1981–1997)
汤姆·贝兰 前美国海军陆战队枪炮军士（1981–1997年任职）
I am sure you will think it is a pretty brave moment. If is not. I was at a level of communications that allowed me access to a phone call back to the states. While in Saudi for the first Gulf war. One day a Infantry SSGT showed up at my communications van. Asked are you Sgt Beran? I said yeah whats up? He had driven two hours back to the rear with a LCPL who had received a message from the Red cross that his pregnant wife was having a difficult delivery that could kill her and the baby. I said being him in. We called around found the right hospital and found out that the baby had been born and both were fine. I was even able to get his wife on the phone and left him alone in the van for 15 minutes to talk to his wife. Dude came out and asked me if I need anything. I told him stay alive to raise that boy. He gave me a bro hug and left. I have no idea who he was or what happened to him. I just know I made him and his wife happy for 15 minutes.
我敢肯定你会觉得这是个很英勇的时刻，但其实不是。第一次海湾战争期间我在沙特，当时我的通讯权限允许我拨打回美国的电话。有一天，一名步兵上士来到我的通讯车旁，问我是不是贝兰中士，我回应“是我，有什么事吗？”他开了两个小时车回到后方，身边跟着一名下士——这名下士收到了红十字会的消息，他怀孕的妻子分娩困难，母子都有生命危险。我让他把下士带进来，我们四处打电话找到了对应的医院，得知孩子已经顺利出生，母子平安。我还设法联系上了他的妻子，让他单独在通讯车里和妻子聊了15分钟。他出来后问我需要什么帮忙，我告诉他“好好活着，把孩子抚养长大”。他给了我一个兄弟般的拥抱后就离开了。我至今不知道他是谁，后来怎么样了，我只知道，我让他和他的妻子开心了15分钟。
Devon Stavrowsky Former Army SF Medic, Cal Guard Officer, Retired Cop (1968–2005)
德文·斯塔夫罗斯基 前陆军特种部队医护兵 加州国民警卫队军官 退休警察（1968–2005年任职）
Originally Answered: What is your proudest moment serving in the US armed forces?
最初回答：在美国军队服役期间，你最自豪的时刻是什么？
My personal proudest moment was a really simple thing, actually. It came as a newly-commissioned second lieutenant, who had refused to allow command authority to charge one of my troops for damage done to a deuce-and-a half. The troop had assured me he hadn’t done the damage, and it was a troop who I knew well enough to entrust my life-to. If he had done it, he’d have admitted it to me. He swore he hadn’t, and I told my commander I believed him and wasn’t going to allow him to be charged.
其实我个人最自豪的时刻非常简单。那时我刚被任命为少尉，拒绝让指挥部门以损坏一辆两吨半卡车为由起诉我的一名士兵。这名士兵向我保证他没有造成损坏，而我对他足够了解，甚至可以把生命托付给他。如果真是他做的，他一定会向我承认。他发誓自己是无辜的，我也告诉指挥官我相信他，不会允许他被起诉。
I ended up with heels locked in front of a Brigadier General and two Full Birds who told me there was no question he was going to pay for it, and I’d better get that through my head. I told them no, sir, he’s not. He didn’t do it. They asked how I knew that. I told them I knew to a certainty because he had told me he didn’t, and I knew he wouldn’t lie to me. They told me they were skeptical, and I told them he was a soldier who I trusted with my life. I further told them that he was my troop, and if they could order me to charge him, but if they did that, I would be the one who actually paid the charges…. not him.
最后我立正站在一名准将和两名上校面前，他们告诉我，这名士兵必须为此负责，让我最好认清现实。我回应道“长官，不，他不用负责，他没做过这件事”。他们问我怎么确定，我告诉他们我绝对肯定，因为他说自己没做，而我知道他不会对我撒谎。他们表示怀疑，我则告诉他们，这是一名我愿意托付生命的士兵。我还说，他是我的部下，他们可以命令我起诉他，但如果真要这么做，实际承担责任的人会是我，而不是他。
They dismissed me and dropped the charges altogether. And I can’t remember ever feeling better….. just about something as stupid as having done the right thing. And that troop remained loyal to me for life as a result.
他们让我离开了，并且彻底撤销了指控。我不记得自己有过比那更舒畅的感觉——仅仅是因为做了正确的事，哪怕在外人看来这很“愚蠢”。而那位士兵也因此一辈子都对我忠心耿耿。
Jess Rawls Enlisted as a Private, retired as Lieutenant Colonel.
杰斯・罗尔斯 以列兵身份入伍 以中校军衔退休
One of my proudest moments was when I soloed in a helicopter while in the Army’s Warrant Officer Flight Program. It was an amazing feeling, almost beyond descxtion.. As I recall students received ten hours of dual instruction with an Instructor Pilot (IP) and we were supposed to solo by the end of those ten hours. If we failed to solo within those allotted flying hours we faced being eliminated from the program, or being recycled to the following Warrant Officer Candidate (WOC) company (there were four companies at the time, 1966). My main problem was trying to land the TH-55 training helicopter as smoothly as the IP did. When the helicopter was about 2–3 feet above the ground it would encounter a cushion of air created by the downwash of the rotor blades. The little helicopter would bounce around on that layer of air until I finally lowered the collective enough to land. The IP didn’t offer any corrective actions, he just sat there and let me struggle with trying to land.
我最自豪的时刻之一，是在美国陆军准尉飞行项目中首次独自驾驶直升机的时候。那种感觉太奇妙了，几乎难以用语言形容。据我回忆，学员们会接受 10 小时的飞行教官（IP）双人指导，并且需要在这 10 小时结束前完成单飞。如果没能在规定的飞行时长内单飞，我们要么会被淘汰出项目，要么会被分流到下一批准尉候选人（WOC）连（1966 年当时共有四个连）。我的主要问题是，始终难以像飞行教官那样平稳降落 TH-55 训练直升机。当直升机距离地面约 2 到 3 英尺时，会遇到旋翼下洗气流形成的空气垫，这架小型直升机就会在那层空气上颠簸不定，直到我最终把总距杆压到足够低才能着陆。而我的飞行教官没有提供任何纠正指导，只是坐在旁边，看着我艰难地尝试降落。
Well, I failed to solo so I was faced with elimination or being recycled. I don’t recall how long it was that I had to wait to be informed on my future in the program or lack thereof. I was sweating bullets because I certainly didn’t want to be washed-out of the program. I didn’t want to disappoint my family, especially my wife of less than a year. One evening I was told to report to our Tactical Officer, the chief warrant officer that supervised our section of warrant officer candidates. It was with some dread that I walked down to his office from my shared room in the billets.
结果我没能按时完成单飞，面临着淘汰或分流的局面。我不记得过了多久才收到通知，告知我在这个项目中的去留。那段时间我紧张得要命，因为我绝对不想被淘汰，也不想让家人失望，尤其是我结婚还不到一年的妻子。一天晚上，我接到通知，要去见我们的战术军官 —— 也就是负责监管我们这批准尉候选人的四级准尉。我怀着几分忐忑，从营房的集体宿舍走到了他的办公室。
I knocked on the door and reported to the Chief. I can’t recall if he started with some minor chit-chat, or if he cut to the heart of the matter. He told me that I would be recycled to the WOC company that was several weeks behind ours in the training cycle. I was relieved and extremely happy with that news.
我敲了敲门，向准尉报到。我不记得他是先聊了些无关紧要的话，还是直接切入了正题。他告诉我，我会被分流到训练进度比我们晚几周的另一批准尉候选人连。听到这个消息，我松了一口气，心里无比高兴。
I had to move my gear and uniforms to the new company to which I was assigned, but it was close to my “old’ company. It was an easy move, except when I had to report to the chief warrant officer in charge of the new section to which I had been assigned. He wasn’t overly happy to see me, and he told me as much. His welcoming remark: You didn’t make it as 1st WOC; I don’t see how you’ll make it here.” Wow, thanks a lot for that warm welcome and the encouragement, Chief. With that kind of encouragement I should sail through the remainder of the program.
我得把我的装备和制服搬到被分配的新连队，但新连队离我原来的连队很近，搬起来不算麻烦。唯一不顺的是，当我向新连队的主管四级准尉报到时，他见到我明显不太高兴，而且也直白地表达了这一点。他的 “欢迎辞” 是：“你在第一批准尉候选人连都没成功，我不觉得你在这里能行。” 哇，准尉，真是太感谢你这番热烈的欢迎和鼓励了。有这样的 “鼓励”，我想必能顺利完成后续的训练吧。
I was assigned a new IP, which made all the difference in the world to me. I flew with Dan, a civilian contractor, and he saw my problem on the first flight. He promptly set about correcting it so I be able to solo. We had flown to a stage field on that first flight. That’s where students/IPs could work on things that needed improvement. After we landed, Dan hovered us away from the runway so we could work on my landing technique.
之后我被分配到了一位新的飞行教官，这对我来说简直是天壤之别。我的新教官丹是一名文职承包商，他在第一次带飞时就发现了我的问题，并且立刻着手帮我纠正，好让我能顺利单飞。第一次飞行时，我们飞到了一个练习机场 —— 那是学员和飞行教官专门用来练习需要改进的技能的地方。着陆后，丹操控直升机悬停着离开了跑道，专门帮我练习降落技巧。
He had the controls, brought the helicopter up to a 3-foot hover and said, “Watch what I do.” I watched. He lowered the collective without pausing until it hit the stop and couldn’t be lowered any further. The helicopter landed without dancing around on the air cushion of rotorwash. He said, “I want you to land just like that; you won’t break the helicopter.” I took the controls, brought the helicopter up to a 3-foot hover, stabilized it for a few seconds, then I lowered the collective in a smooth movement until it hit the stop. The helicopter descended without stopping on that cushion of air created by the rotorwash. Man, that was easy. We repeated that maneuver several times….and my landing problem was solved in one flight with an excellent IP.
他接过操纵杆，将直升机升至3英尺高度悬停，然后说：“看好我怎么做。”我仔细观察着。他毫不犹豫地向下推总距杆，直到推杆触底再也推不动为止。直升机稳稳着陆，没有在旋翼气流形成的气垫上晃来晃去。他说：“我要你就像这样着陆，不会把直升机弄坏的。”我接过操纵杆，将直升机升至3英尺高度悬停，稳定了几秒钟后，平稳地向下推总距杆，直到推杆触底。直升机径直下降，没有在旋翼气流形成的气垫上停留。天哪，原来这么简单。我们反复练习了好几次这个动作……在一位出色的飞行教官（IP）的指导下，仅仅一个飞行课时，我的着陆问题就解决了。
I soloed after one more flight with Dan. He was satisfied with all my other maneuvers. Then on our second flight together we flew to one of the stage fields. Dan had me hovered off the landing lane onto a grassy area near a building where students waiting to fly were located. He told me to take the helicopter three times around the stage-field in a closed traffic pattern and then hover back to this spot and pick him up. He asked me if I had any questions; I didn’t.
又和丹一起飞了一个课时后，我迎来了首次单飞。丹对我其他所有飞行动作都很满意。之后在我们一起飞行的第二个课时，我们飞往了一个阶段性训练机场。丹让我把直升机从着陆跑道悬停到一栋建筑附近的草地上，那里有等待飞行训练的学员。他让我驾驶直升机按照闭合航线在训练机场上空飞三圈，然后再悬停回这个位置接他。他问我有没有疑问，我回答没有。
Dan
丹
He was a flight instructor (IP) who guided the author in helicopter flight training and assessed the author's ability to confirm that he was eligible for solo flight.
Dan climbed out of the helicopter and for the very first time I was in a helicopter all by myself with engine running and the rotor blades whirling overhead. It was an exciting moment. I’m sure my heart rate had accelerated considerably. I wasn’t scared, just excited about the occasion.
他是指导作者进行直升机飞行训练的飞行教官（IP），通过评估作者的飞行能力，确认其具备单飞资格。
丹从直升机上下来，这是我第一次独自待在直升机里，发动机在运转，旋翼叶片在头顶飞速旋转。那是个令人激动的时刻，我敢肯定自己的心跳速度大大加快了。我没有害怕，只是为这个时刻感到兴奋。
I made the three circuits around the stage-field in closed traffic, hovered back to pick up Dan. He got in the helicopter, congratulated me and then told me to go sit in some bleachers because he had to fly with another student. I got out of the aircraft and fairly floated over to the bleachers. What an exciting moment in my fledgling Army career.
我按照闭合航线在训练机场上空飞了三圈，然后悬停回原地接丹。他登上直升机后向我表示祝贺，接着让我去看台上坐着等，因为他还要带另一名学员飞行。我走出直升机，脚步轻快得仿佛飘着一样走向看台。在我刚刚起步的军旅生涯中，这真是一个无比激动的时刻。
Those of us students that flew out to the stage-field got to ride an Army bus back to Fort Wolters. I didn’t care because I was replaying the events of my solo in my head. The bus made a detour and stopped at a local motel. In my excitement about soloing I had forgotten an old, old tradition concerning what happens to pilots after they solo. In some places they had a piece of their shirt cut out of the back as a souvenir. In the Warrant Officer Flight Program newly soloed pilots got thrown into a pool. Several of my classmates grabbed me while other classmates grabbed several other guys that had also soloed that morning,hustled us off the bus and then carried us to the motel’s swimming pool.
我们这些飞往训练机场的学员要乘坐军用巴士返回沃尔特斯堡。我满脑子都在回放单飞时的情景，根本没心思在意其他事。巴士绕了个道，在当地一家汽车旅馆前停了下来。由于单飞的兴奋劲儿，我忘了一个由来已久的传统——飞行员首次单飞后会经历的“仪式”。在有些地方，人们会剪下飞行员衬衫的后片作为纪念；而在准尉飞行培训项目中，刚完成首次单飞的飞行员会被扔进泳池里。几个同学一把抓住我，其他同学则抓住了当天早上同样完成单飞的另外几个人，我们被匆匆推下巴士，然后被抬到了那家汽车旅馆的泳池边。
Did I mention it was January and it was cold in Texas that day. Some of my mates grabbed me by the wrists, other grabbed my ankles, stretched me out and started swinging me back and forth for momentum….then flung me out into the pool as far as they could. I tried to stay out of the water, but gravity being what it is, I wasn’t successful and came down in some very cold water. I got out of the pool as quickly as I could, but I was thoroughly soaked and miserable. As I recall I ended up with a cold, but I didn’t care because I had soloed.
我有没有说过，那天是一月份，德克萨斯州特别冷。有些同伴抓住我的手腕，另一些人抓住我的脚踝，把我平举起来来回摆动以积攒力气……然后尽全力把我扔向泳池远处。我努力想躲开水面，但重力终究无法抗拒，我还是没能幸免，掉进了冰冷的水里。我尽快爬出泳池，浑身湿透，冷得难受。我记得最后还感冒了，但我一点也不在乎，因为我完成了首次单飞。
I’ve had other proud moments during my twenty-six years in the Army; soloing was just one of the first moments.
在我二十六年的军旅生涯中，还经历过其他值得骄傲的时刻，而首次单飞只是其中最早的一个。
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