By Skies Magazine | November 7, 2023 Estimated reading time 2 minutes, 44 seconds.
In Episode 26 of the Pilot Project Podcast, Maj Mike Houle — former CC-130H pilot and chief check pilot on the CT-145 King Air, and current deputy lead of the FAcT training detachment team — recalls his time on the Hercules and his experiences in Afghanistan, and how those relate to his Remembrance Day experience.
What is it like to airdrop cargo into a Forward Operating Base in the middle of a firefight? How does it feel to find out you’re going to an active warzone? What is it like to regularly be exposed to rocket attacks? Or to attend dozens of repatriation ceremonies?
For Houle, all these things became part of normal life as he went through seven tours in Afghanistan. Houle has flown cargo all around the world, has instructed students (including me!) to get their wings in the RCAF, and has taught instructors how to do their jobs.
In this episode, Houle shares his adventures in Afghanistan as well as his struggles to process those experiences; he’ll tell us how Remembrance Day has changed for him over the years as a result of his time in Afghanistan, and much more.
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