Still Providing a Lift:

Still
Providing a Lift: Former Blackhawk Crew Chief Gives Back to Veterans’ Groups
Story by Stephen Prudhomme

As one of two
crew chiefs on a Blackhawk flight during combat, Joe Higgins was charged with
protecting the crew by manning the guns. During peace times, he helped
transport military leaders and VIPs.

The Pooler
resident left the Army 16 years ago, but he remains connected to the military
through his involvement with a number of service organizations.

Military Career

Higgins, 47,
is a native of Chicago who joined the Army in 1993 right after graduating from
high school.

“My
grandfather served during World War II,” Higgins said. “He was a retired
senator who was larger than life. I wanted to be just like him.”

Higgins said
he scored pretty high on the military aptitude test and, following a suggestion
from his recruiter, signed up to be a Blackhawk crew chief.

“I had never
flown before,” Higgins said, “but it sounded like a cool job.”

After training
at Fort Eustis, VA, where he learned everything about the Blackhawk as a
maintainer, Higgins embarked on a flight odyssey that included deployments to
Kuwait, Bosnia and Iraq. As it turned out, Iraq would be his last deployment
and one of his most challenging.

Higgins was
sent to Kuwait in August 2002 for a six-month deployment. Initially, he helped
take military commanders and celebrities to different camps. On Christmas Day,
he recalled, his passengers were taking part in a USO tour. All was not
peaceful and festive behind the scenes, however. Higgins said he noticed troop
movement that included the arrival of the entire 3rd Infantry Division from
Fort Stewart.

“You could see
the buildup,” Higgins said.

The increase
in military culminated with a push toward Baghdad that started March 20, 2003,
one month after Higgins was slated to come back home. Instead of returning to
his home base of Hunter Army Airfield and Alpha Company, 2-3 Aviation Regiment,
Higgins and his crew—a day after the start of the invasion—were evacuating
casualties, transporting injured Iraqi citizens to hospitals, flying division
and brigade commanders around so they could coordinate troop movement and
resupplying tank units with food, water and ammo.

Higgins said
he took fire on occasion and lost six friends after their aircraft went down
during the battle of Karbala Gap.

Higgins and
his crew finally arrived at Baghdad airport and the first person they saw was
TV anchor Ted Koppel, who was doing an interview. “It was crazy to see him
there,” Higgins said.

Once American
tanks secured the city, Higgins and his flight crew remained busy. Along with
resupplying the troops and flying leaders around, they dropped leaflets from
the air that advised Iraqi citizens to stay indoors because the Americans had
arrived and they weren’t there to hurt them.

Higgins said
it was really hot in the day and cold at night. Though surrounded by danger, he
said instincts replaced the fear once he boarded his aircraft and he discovered
all his training had paid off.

“My No. 1
priority was the crew and two pilots,” Higgins said. “If I kept the two pilots
alive, they would keep me alive.”

Re-Entering Civilian Life

Nearly a year
after his deployment had begun—having contributed to a successful
invasion,—Higgins received orders to return home. With almost 10 years in the
Army, he decided not to reenlist.

“The last
deployment really affected my son,” Higgins said. “I didn’t know how many more
times I’d be deployed. It was time to leave active duty.”

Higgins made
the smoothest of transitions by getting a job as an Army contractor doing
aircraft maintenance at Hunter Army Airfield. “I was working on the same
aircraft in the same hangar as when I was in the Army,” Higgins said.

He also had
the opportunity to make up for lost time with his son by coaching his son’s
football team at the Pooler Recreation Center but had to initially keep his
distance. “He’d have a panic attack when he saw me,” Higgins said. “He had to
get used to me being around again.”

The
“reintegration with family” continued as Higgins coached football and
basketball teams his son played on in middle school and high school as well as
at the recreational level.

In 2016, with
his family life going well and working as a salesman for LKQ, Higgins attended
an American Legion barbecue in Thunderbolt. That led to him joining Post 184
and subsequently becoming an executive board member and commander elect.

Higgins didn’t
stop there. He is the youngest ever elected chairman of the Veterans Council of
Chatham County, serves as chaplain of VFW Post 4392 and Sons of the American
Legion Squadron 184, and is a member of the Society of 40/8, 8th Air Force
Historical Society and the Society of the 3rd Infantry Division. He also was
named delegate for the Veterans Council through the American Legion.

On Memorial
Day, at the Museum of the Mighty 8th Air Force Museum, he helped put up 26,000
American flags to honor those who died from the Mighty 8th and was one of four
volunteers reading off their names during a ceremony that lasted four hours.

“These organizations
all share the same thing—veterans who put on a uniform and fought for their
country,” Higgins said. “It gives you the camaraderie back. I love it. Although
I’m dealing with PTSD from what I saw and did, I’ve got all my limbs. I enjoy
leading the organizations and taking them forward, providing veterans with a
support system.”