Some kids know at an early age what they want to be when they grow up, and veteran Tim Connor was one of them. In about the sixth grade he decided he wanted to become a pilot, and he made it happen. His career in the military was as a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter pilot traveling the world carrying out military, humanitarian and counter narcotics missions.
Connor grew up in a big Navy town, Jacksonville, Fla. Having to milk cows at a large dairy farm in high school cemented his dreams of wanting to fly. He joined the Air Force thinking that would be the place to become a pilot. Instead, he was stationed underground and became what he jokingly calls “a janitor for a nuke.” From 1982 to 1991, he was a Minuteman Missile Facility Specialist doing heating and air conditioning, power generation and security monitoring at a Minuteman III missile silo in Wyoming.
It is unusual to leave the Air Force and go into the Army, but Connor came to realize that was his best chance of becoming a pilot. He applied to Warrant Officer flight training with the Army and was accepted.
“I joined the Army in December 1991, and will finish with almost twenty-seven years in the Army when I retire early next year,” Connor said. “My first assignment with the Army was in Korea and I flew MedEvac helicopters. Next, I was in Georgia flying in support of the Army Ranger School.
“Then I got busy as a maintenance pilot and went to Panama doing nation building exercises, humanitarian relief and counter narcotics before the U.S. handed over the Panama Canal. While in Panama I went to Ecuador on nation building exercises. I followed by doing counter narcotics operations in Colombia and Venezuela. I also did disaster relief after hurricanes in the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Honduras.”
Counter narcotics was dangerous, but with humanitarian aid after hurricanes, a helicopter bringing supplies was always welcome.
“Seeing people with nothing and being able to bring them a little something was good,” Connor said. “It was always nice to see smiles on people’s faces when you landed and started unloading supplies. It was very rewarding.”
It was also sobering to see such widespread destruction. He recalls after Hurricane Mitch in Nicaragua flying over an area where there used to be a big town. After the hurricane, there was nothing because of mudslides.
After Central America, Connor was stationed at Fort Hood, Texas, where he did test flights on helicopters after repairs. Following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, he went back to Korea then returned to Fort Hood. He was deployed to Iraq in 2005.
“After Iraq, I went to Honduras for two years doing more nation building, disaster relief and counter narcotics,” he said. “We would try to deploy to the site where narcotics landed in planes. I went back to Iraq a second time in 2011 as we were closing the war down. Then I went to Germany in March 2012 and was in Afghanistan for a year. I was responsible for all the helicopter safety programs in the country.”
His next tour of duty was 10 months in Germany, then Fort Hood for two years. Following that, he returned to Korea for the third time and this time was in charge of all helicopter maintenance for the Army in Korea.
Connor faced many dangers in his career, and minimized the risk by making sure his helicopter was performing optimally before he took it up. But some things can’t be planned.
“Being shot at, yes, that is not fun,” he said. “Probably the worst thing was the second tour in Iraq with indirect fire where you have mortar rounds that you didn’t know where were going to land. I’ve been lucky in the helicopter in not having anything seriously unexpected.”
The last posting of his career is Fort Riley, Kansas, where he serves as Aviation Safety Officer. Connor will be coming back to Eureka Springs as a retired Chief Warrant Officer 5.
“But my best two titles are husband and papa,” he said. “My family was left behind during deployments. I think throughout my career I have spent at least ten years away from my family. I know my wife, Debra, is happy it’s over, but she’s proud of what I have done. I’m looking forward to the next chapter.”
Connor started his leave Nov. 2, and will be retiring from the military at the end of January after 36 years. He and Debra moved to Eureka Springs from Texas three years ago.
“We came to Eureka Springs for our honeymoon,” Connor said. “She had been here as a teenager and fell in love with it. When we started looking for a place for retirement, it seemed ideal. We bought land and more land and more land and finally built a house.”
In retirement, he is looking forward to helping his wife with a large organic garden, learning more about how to be a beekeeper, doing some deep-sea fishing and having more time to spend with their six kids and 22 grandchildren.
“I’m ready to spend some time with him,” Debra Connor said. “He can’t wait to be home.”
While Vietnam veterans often returned to a hostile climate, Connor said everyone he has met has been very respectful and thankful for his service.
“Every Vietnam Vet I have met, I have thanked,” Connor said. “The lousy treatment they got, the price they paid, has made it much better for the veterans who followed after them. The sacrifice they made resulted in the American public being more appreciative of the military.”