Combat Story (Ep 2): JT Snow AH-64 Apache Pilot & Standardization Instructor Pilot

Video Description

Join our weekly Combat Check-In Newsletter (www.combatstory.com/newsletter) to get a short email from Ryan for people who love and support our veterans, service members, and their families. It has info on a significant event in military and/or intel history, a funny military joke, an update on a current event I'm following, something I'm doing that week in my life, a book I'm reading, a look at an upcoming interview, a reflection on a past episode and more! This is the Combat Story of JT Snow, a long time AH-64 Apache gun pilot. JT is a Chief Warrant Officer 4 (Retired) who flew over 5,000 flight hours, including 2,000 hours in combat across four deployments: two to Iraq and two to Afghanistan. From the cockpit, he supported conventional and U.S. and coalition special operations forces during intense engagements, often pioneering new tactics and technologies to lethal effect. He finished his career as a Task Force (Battalion) Standardizations Pilot (SP) during two year-long combat deployments, where he was the Task Force's senior Pilot responsible for the standardization and execution of combat operations for all assigned to the Task Force, which included OH58D, CH47F, UH60L and AH64D aircraft. JT's children followed in his footsteps, including fighting from inside the cockpit as the next generation of aviator. #veteran #pilot #apache #gunpilot #AH64 #armyaviation 0:00 Intro 3:13 - Flight school and aircraft selection. 4:16 - Why fly guns? 32:28 - Not a Good Day to Die. 38:38 - Aviation as an inherently dangerous job. 41:44 - Getting ahead of the aircraft. 47:03 - Description of JT’s first flight in combat in Samara. 55:35 - What’s going on in a gun pilot's mind after his first engagement. 56:47 - Toughest deployment and engagement was Afghanistan in Wardak. 1:01:58 - “Only time I’ve ever been scared in the cockpit.” 1:04:06 - Ground forces took an RPG to the face. 1:06:20 - F-15 popping flares without coordination at 700’. 1:16:52 - Good luck charms. 1:18:24 - Being the family member at home. 1:24:38 - Would you do it all again?