Army Sgt. First Class (SFC) Joshua Seals, center; Seals’ wife left, Christopher Gibbs, right
SIDNEY — Local pilot and aircraft owner Christopher Gibbs recently shared his Veterans Airlift volunteer experience with Sidney Noon Kiwanis members at the Moose Country Club, Sidney.
Veterans Airlift Command, based in St. Louis Park Minnesota, coordinates private air transportation to US combat-injured veterans for medical or other compassionate purposes through a national network of volunteer aircraft owners and pilots. The services are free to injured veterans and all costs for the flights are borne by the pilot and or aircraft owner.
Gibbs began flying veterans in 2016 after he purchased a cabin-class twin-engine aircraft with the capacity to ferry veterans and their family members. He’s owned other airplanes, but noted with each of those, passengers would have to climb up onto the wing to get in. “This aircraft has capacity for six persons and an ‘airstair’ which allows passengers to simply take a few steps through a cabin door and immediately be seated”, said Gibbs.
In 2016, Gibbs set a goal to perform an average of one veteran flight per year. Over the past seven years, he’s exceeded that goal. He’s flown veterans for treatments and other services to and from Bethesda, Maryland, Detroit, Michigan, Troy, Alabama, Elizabethtown, Kentucky, Virginia, Mansfield, Ohio, Evansville, Indiana, and Atlanta, Woodstock and Savannah, Georgia.
First mission
Gibbs’ first mission in 2016 was to fly Captain Nick Vogt into the Washington DC area for treatment at Bethesda Medical Center Walter Reed. Captain Vogt lost both legs in Afghanistan and was returning to Bethesda for continued treatment. Vogt’s wife and family dog were passengers as well. “Every time a spouse comes along, I can see it in their eyes that these injuries weren’t their original plans for their lives together, but in every instance, these spouses are supportive and right there standing strong for their veteran,” said Gibbs
Ironically, Gibbs and Vogt crossed paths again in July of 2023 when Vogt needed a ride back from Miami University where he was mentoring participants at an Ohio Boy’s State event.
Surreal experience
In November 2022, Gibbs flew to the Washington DC area to pick up Army Sgt. First Class (SFC) Joshua Seals who was severely injured by an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) in 2013. The blast resulted in the loss of his left leg below the knee and damage to his right leg. Seals sustained shrapnel wounds throughout his body and his eardrums were perforated in the blast. Seals was visiting the Fisher House at Walter Reed to have new prosthetics made as his current prosthetics were broken. “When I met Joshua and his wife at the airport, he was carrying his broken prosthetic leg like a piece of luggage, in a very ‘matter of fact’ manner. It was surreal,” said Gibbs.
Not all injuries are visible
Gibbs recalled that some vets have visual injuries while others live with injuries that don’t present themselves physically. Army National Guardsman Lt. Col. (LTC) Daniel “Blake” Settle was one of those cases.
Settle served his country for 29 years and deployed 6 times to Afghanistan, Iraq, and Jordan. During one of his deployments, he was injured by a suicide bomber suffering a Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI) and shrapnel wounds in his left leg. Due to his TBI, he had trouble with his memory and commercial travel was difficult. He needed treatment from the ‘After the Impact’ program at the Eisenhower Center in Ann Arbor, Michigan to begin a new chapter in his life.
Engine trouble
Not all missions go as planned. After picking up Settle from Elizabethtown, Kentucky, and reaching cruising altitude, Gibbs’ engine monitors detected a problem with the left engine. One of the engine cylinders was running excessively cool but was still developing power, which according to Gibbs, indicated either a fuel injection, ignition, or valve problem. Without disturbing Settle, Gibbs made fuel and power adjustments, slowed the plane down, determined there was no safety issue by continuing, and landed just ten minutes late at Willow Run airport in Michigan.
“Airplanes are like farm machinery; they like to break down,” said Gibbs. LTC Settle was never aware of the problem because he slept through the flight, and once on the ground got to his appointment on time. On this flight, Gibbs was accompanied by friends John Lenhart and Dr. Ardash Mani. They rented a car, drove home, and Gibbs returned the next day to repair the engine and flew home.
Appreciative
Gibbs related that every veteran, family member, or service dog he’s flown has been more than humble and appreciative of the service Veterans Airlift provides. While Gibbs said he’s always appreciative of the veteran’s kindness, he remains humbled by the notion that it’s all of us as civilians who should be most appreciative of their service, not the other way around.
Gibbs dedicated his Kiwanis presentation to his friend, and Vietnam veteran Chuck Crayon who passed away on Jan. 6. “Flying is the least I can do for these veterans and I’m sure my friend Chuck approved,” said Gibbs.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Captions for pics:
NickVogt.jpg – Chris Gibbs, left, Army Captain Nick Vogt, right
JoshuaSeals.jpg – Army Sgt. First Class (SFC) Joshua Seals, center; Seals’ wife left, Christopher Gibbs, right
BlakeSettle.jpg – John Lenhart, left; Christopher Gibbs, second from left; Army National Guardsman Lt. Col. Daniel “Blake” Settle, second from right; Dr. Ardash Mani, right.
