Michael Eitniear - Army Strong Stories

Out of the Blue and Into the Black

Michael Eitniear — Wed, 09 Jun 2010 02:11:00 GMT

By: Michael Eitniear
No more is this phrase more true than when you are performing a night stand off jump (High Altitude High Opening) or HAHO. This is a highly technical insertion technique performed by highly trained and skilled Special Operations Soldiers allowing them to fly to an intended target. Before you make a HAHO jump you must first clear the airspace up to the altitude in which you are going to make your jump. The last thing you need as a non powered wing pilot is a commuter airplane flying through...read more

Airborne All The Way

Michael Eitniear — Tue, 01 Jun 2010 08:19:00 GMT

By: Michael Eitniear
As a young boy I was always fascinated with planes and birds. Imagine being able to fly like a bird, or a plane. I spent a lot of time climbing trees and swinging from old ropes tied from the large oak limbs in the woods just behind our house. On occasion I would lose my grip on the rope and send myself ripping through the saplings and underbrush coming to a halt soundly on the ground. Well being the curious kid I was my friends and I decided to try out some theories on sustained flight from...read more

Significant Emotional Events in Life

Michael Eitniear — Tue, 25 May 2010 07:05:00 GMT

By: Michael Eitniear
It is said that our lives are shaped by significant emotional events that challenge the very spirit within each of us. How we deal with these events build character, confidence, and personal courage. The courage to push through things that you may not have thought possible, either physically or mentally. This story is of an event that tested my limits... I was sitting in a room full of fellow Soldiers getting a briefing from our training NCO, when he stated to the group that we had a slot...read more

Last act as a Soldier in the Army

Michael Eitniear — Tue, 25 May 2010 05:35:00 GMT

By: Michael Eitniear
21 May 2010, United States Army Parachute Team Headquarters 1000 hours... As the skies above Fort Bragg were filled with red smoke trailing from the Soldiers jumping the distinctive Army colors of Black and Gold opening a Special Ceremony off Butner Road at the Headquarters of the United States Army Parachute Team, the winds of change were upon us. Why all the fan fare, people gathering around the Headquarters, Flags lining the Sidewalks, chairs neatly placed in...read more

Transition

Michael Eitniear — Wed, 19 May 2010 22:33:00 GMT

By: Michael Eitniear
As a young man growing up in Daytona Beach, Florida I stood at a cross road in my life deciding what I was going to do with my life. Like most people my age I made no preparations for life after High School. I took the ASVAB test just to get out of my English class for a few hours. I guess I did well as I recieved several post cards from the Marine Corps and the Army. They were prompty cast away as junk mail, surely I was going to go on to bigger and better things in life,...read more