Burning Blades
Riding high with the LAPD’s Air Support Division
“Good job, Bob,” says Stevenson as we orbit above the scene like a hawk over its prey.
“Code 4 [everything’s okay]. Thanks, airship,” report the ground units.
Flying among the clouds, Stevenson turns back and asks, “Are you okay?” Yes, I nod, but two and a half hours in, my body is beginning to feel the stress of the dives, turns and rotations.
As we head back to the heliport, I remember Sergeant De Molina telling me that he, along with three other ASD officers, all California National Guard reserves, will replace regular Army forces in Iraq for a one-year stint. I feel for him, but like the Navy surgeons who prepared at nearby “Killer” King-Drew Medical Center and County USC before they were sent to Afghanistan, he’s had the best training. Sadly, we’ve lost more Angelenos to violence in these streets than soldiers in the deserts of Iraq.
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