Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth Lewis, a reservist from the 7-158th Aviation Regiment, mans the rear gunner position in one of B company’s Chinook helicopters during a transport mission July 26. Lewis said he hasn’t come close to falling out of the aircraft yet. (Leo Shane III / S&S)
FORWARD OPERATING BASE LAGMAN, Afghanistan — When Spc. Gerald Schlosser called his father to let him know he had been shot through the wrist during a July 7 ambush, the line went silent as his father collected his thoughts.
“Then he told me, ‘Well, you must not have lost enough weight because you weren’t close enough to the ground for them to miss you,’” he said, laughing. “Even my dad is picking on me.”
Now that everyone knows he is all right, Schlosser, a New Jersey native, has been the butt of jokes from the 2nd Battalion 4th Infantry’s Headquarters Company since he returned to camp a few days ago.
The ambush occurred near Shajoy in Zabul province, as the company was patrolling Afghan National Army posts. Three rocket-propelled grenades were fired into the U.S. convoy, two of them igniting Schlosser’s vehicle.
Schlosser was shot as he helped gunner Pvt. Aaron Jolet out of the vehicle, and sustained a concussion that later made him lose consciousness. But before that, he managed to return fire and kill several of the attackers, and with the rest of the company he managed to escape without any life-threatening injuries.
His fellow soldiers admit they respect his courage under fire, but no one is going to let him get a swelled ego over it.
“When those guys made it back to the Humvees, all they could say was, ‘Thank God we don’t have to carry him anymore,’” said Sgt. Maj. Joseph Montour, recalling the firefight with Schlosser and a group of company soldiers. “They weren’t going to drag you any further.”
For his part, Schlosser — who weighs 220 pounds — said he’s anxious to get back out and contribute again. “I feel like I’m worthless back here,” he said.
But his company leader sees it differently. “It’s important that you’re back here with the team,” Montour told him. “Everybody is glad to see you, and that does a lot for these guys.
“We’ll get you back out there soon. But not too soon. Nobody wants to carry you again.”
On top of the worldThere’s the window seat on an aircraft, and then there’s the view that Sgt. 1st Class Kenneth Lewis has.
Lewis — a member of the 7th Battalion, 158th Aviation Regiment’s Company B — is one of dozens of soldiers who spend their days manning the rear gun on the Army’s Chinook helicopters.
That means sitting with his legs dangling off the tailgate of the helicopter as it zips up and down the mountains, leaning over to scan the ground hundreds of feet below.
Ideally, without falling out.
“We haven’t lost anybody yet,” he said, laughing. “No injuries, no falls.”
On noncombat missions he’s allowed to sit in one of the helicopter seats. But the reservist from Kansas City, Mo., said he has hung out the back on so many flights that he doesn’t really even think about the height anymore.
“Honestly, this is just normal, everyday business for us,” he said.
