Army Guard Warrant Officer Brian Smith, a Latham Resident, Takes His "Final Flight" As He Retires

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Chief Warrant Officer 5 Brian Smith is greated following his final flight as a New York Army National Guard helicopter pilot on May 22, 2013.

LATHAM, NY (05/23/2013)(readMedia)-- New York Army National Guard Chief Warrant Officer 5 Brian Smith capped a 40 year career in the Army and Army National Guard on Wednesday, May 22, when he made his last flight as an Army helicopter pilot.

Smith, the state Army Aviation Logistics Officer, and a pilot since 1983, took off on his traditional "final flight" from the Army Aviation Flight Facility at Albany International Airport at 10:30 a.m. When he returned at 11:40 a.m. after a trip up over Sacandaga Reservoir, he hovered the UH-60 Blackhawk under two streams of water being sprayed by Albany Airport crash trucks and was greeted by a long line of family, friends, and co-workers.

First, however, he had to undergo the traditional "wet down": where fellow aviators sprayed him with beer in a salute to his last mission as a military pilot.

Smith, a Latham resident, joined served in the Army from 1973 to 1975. He joined the New York Army National Guard in 1976 and became a warrant officer and helicopter pilot in 1983. He has been serving as a full-time member of the New York Army National Guard.

During his 40 year career he deployed to Bosnia in 1997  and served in Iraq in 2004-2005. He also played a key role in organizing aviation support for New York Army National Guard responses to many state emergencies including Tropical Storm Lee in 2011 and Hurricane Sandy in 2012.

Smith and his wife Rhonda have two grown children-- Army National Guard Sgt. Anthony Smith and Marisa Keppler-- and two grandchildren.

His last day in uniform will be May 31.

During his career Smith accumulated more than 3885 hours behind the controls of different Army helicopters.

Smith has played a key role in the New York Army National Guard's aviation maintenance program for the last 30 years,said Major Paul Bailie.

Smith was the chief maintenance officer at the Army Guard's Albany flight facility and then transitioned into overseeing aircraft maintenance for the statewide network of three flight facilities, Bailie said. "He was the lynch pin that held things together."

Smith's decision to retire, while the right thing for him means a loss for the New York Army National Guard, said Col. Mark Burke, the New York State Aviation Officer.

Smith trained many people and knew many people, Burke said. "He was a mainstay for the whole program, " he added.

For Smith, his final flight was bittersweet and not that much different from his first time in the cockpit.

"I still had butterflies on take-off just like I did back in 1983 when I went to flight school," Smith said. "It was a great flight. I am going to miss it."