Deployed Flight and Sometimes Eternity

By Ronnie Smith

This ebook is a collection of poems describing experiences of military missions spanning 25 years of flying in the US Air Force; flown to Africa, Antarctica, war torn Bosnia, and other places around the world. It casts spiritual light onto the graphics of military flying. The poems underscore the fact that there is a bright seam to life in not o

• Language: English
• Publisher: Plenus Gratia Publications
• Release date: Dec 19, 2020
• ISBN: 9780998046556

Ronnie Smith

Ronnie is an avid outdoorsman. He is a gifted game caller. He is even pretty good with his natural voice. He worked for Drury Outdoors back in the mid 1990’s. He has harvested turkeys in 8 different states. He has a distinct way in which he takes a story and pulls principles out of it to apply to everyday living. Ronnie has spoken to men’s groups and churches all over the USA and in 7 foreign countries. He has been married to Delana since July 11th 1998. They have 5 children and reside in rural Lyons, GA. He has been the President of Ronnie Smith Ministries, Inc. since 2000. He continues to write, hunt, and speak upon invitation. He also has a weekly podcast entitled Rooted in the Word. www.ronniesmith.org

Book preview

Introduction

The military forces of the United States execute a program of flying that exceeds the scope of any other nation. It is very dynamic all told, and its success depends on a number of exterior pillars of support. The civilian defense sector combines with the organic maintenance, logistics, and support branches of each service, to help the operators execute the mission of a diverse U.S. capability. That said, it was extremely gratifying to serve and fly with our allies and friends of foreign services many, many times.

After flying for roughly 25 years in the Air Force from a number of different bases and flying wings, I wanted to capture a tiny fraction of the inspirational experiences. There were often subtle miracles, and sometimes dog days, which eventually led to contentment of a completed task. What was that life like in toto? It spanned a large part of the globe, all seven continents, in the only aircraft I flew, the C-130 Hercules. That turned out to be a blessing for a navigator in a wartime, peacetime, and polar mission. It was like a marriage. I loved it and it was challenging. Many of these poems can be seen as snapshots into the mission-life of this sector of the Air Force.

The journey of military men and women starts with an oath. My particular road started in a Cold War. 1982. Sometimes wars that weren’t official wars. These played out in Central America, in the early days of Bosnia, and later when units deployed supporting the drug cartel interdictions. We Americans served at home and abroad in