“Chambersburg Area Senior High School graduate has last flight as Army pilot” |
| Chambersburg Area Senior High School graduate has last flight as Army pilot Posted: 21 Nov 2010 12:44 AM PST CHAMBERSBURG -- A 1985 graduate of Chambersburg Area Senior High School got hosed down recently following a flight in Alabama. The hose-down was part of a military tradition to honor Chief Warrant Officer 4 Mark Mata who retired recently after 21 years of military service. After making his final flight as an Army pilot, he was greeted with the hose. At the time of his retirement, Mata worked as a subject matter expert for the Utility Helicopters Project Office in Huntsville, Ala., which includes being a test pilot. "The military was a conduit for bettering my career," he said. "It offered me opportunities I would not have had in civilian life." Mata, 43, now lives in Huntsville with his wife, Amy Ellen Mata, and their children: Ayrton, 12, and Nikki, 9. The retired military pilot is the son of Betty Campos of Chambersburg, and the late Raymond Mata. His wife's parents, Robert and Ina Shriner, live in Chambersburg. Ina said she is proud of Mata and wanted the community to know about his achievements. While a student at CASHS, Mata played basketball and football, and ran track. He said he became interested in the military when he studied to become a pilot. After completing his studies at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona Beach, Fla., where he earned a bachelor of science degree in aeronautical science, Mata became a pilot. For a while after college, he worked as a civilian pilot. In 1990, he started his military career. After going through basic training in Army, he entered the U.S. Army Warrant Officer Candidate School and Flight School. He soon qualified in the UH-1 and the UH-60 A/LM Black Hawk helicopters.As he looked back over his years of service, Mata said there are many things that stand out. One highlight was during the time he served as the track chief for the UH-60 Test Pilot Course at Fort Rucker. In that position, which he held for two years, he was the supervisor of the test pilot course, he said. Mata did two tours in Iraq. It was an experience that helped to shape his perspective about challenges. "When people say they're having a bad day, I like to say, 'If they're not shooting at you, you're probably having a pretty good day,'" he said. "I try to keep things in perspective." Mata said that what he will miss most about his career can be described in one word: soldiers. "The biggest reason is that I've been with them so long. I've been in combat for 30 months. The soldier is what makes the Army." Mata said there are some things that civilians can't understand about soldiers unless they have actually been in the military. During his 21 years of service, Mata earned many medals and awards, including the Master Aviators Badge, Bronze Star Medal, the Meritorious Service Medal, the Air Medal, the Army Commendation Medal, the Army Achievement Medal Good Conduct Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, and the Iraq Campaign Medal, among others. Throughout his entire career, Mata has lived by two words: duty and honor. "Without honor, you don't have anything," he said. Although now retired, Mata said he is fortunate to be working in the same job he had before retirement. Whereas he previously worked as a subject matter expert, he now works as a senior aviation analyst. Mata said he changed titles, but the responsibilities stayed the same. "It feels great," he said. "I retired from the military, and the very next day, I went back to work as a civilian contractor for the government. In 60 days I'll be working as a government employee. So I didn't really retire." Mata chuckled about his current job. "I didn't even move my desk," he said. They hired me right back. I'm working at the same desk I had before retirement." ---------- Roscoe Barnes III can be reached at 262-4762 or rbarnes@publicopinionnews.com. This entry passed through the Full-Text RSS service — if this is your content and you're reading it on someone else's site, please read our FAQ page at fivefilters.org/content-only/faq.php |
| You are subscribed to email updates from Content Keyword RSS To stop receiving these emails, you may unsubscribe now. | Email delivery powered by Google |
| Google Inc., 20 West Kinzie, Chicago IL USA 60610 | |
0 comments:
Post a Comment