We are pleased to host our aviation detachment from Jacksonville, Florida, Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron (HITRON). We have a crew of five aboard for the duration of our deployment. Each of our new crewmembers tells a little of himself in this section.

LCDR Richard Hancock, senior aviator and mission commander: My hometown growing up was Virginia Beach, VA. I enlisted in the CG Reserves in 1990 and, after graduating from Old Dominion in ’93, was commissioned in the Coast Guard in 1994. After graduating flight school I flew HH65's in Miami for five years where I deployed on just about every white hull with a flight deck on the east coast. After Miami I served as a T-34 flight instructor for VT-6 in Pensacola, FL. I have been assigned to HITRON since Feb ‘04 and loving it; I have been very fortunate to serve aboard some great cutters. I am married to my high school sweetheart and we have two children, Travis and Payton. I am very proud to be a part of the United States military and I am very eager to catch some bad guys with the help of the men and women of the MORGENTHAU.

LTJG Bryon Mace, co-pilot: I am originally from Lakeville, MN. I began my military career at a small engineering school in New York. Following graduation in 1996, I attended flight school at Fort Rucker, AL, where I graduated in December of 1997 as an AH-64A Apache pilot. I was immediately sent to Korea as a platoon leader for a year tour, followed by a two year assignment as a platoon leader and admin officer at the 101st ABD DIV, Fort Campbell, KY. I then attended more schooling, as well as the transition to the AH-64D Longbow Apache. I was assigned to a newly formed Longbow unit at Fort Hood, TX, where I spent nine months as the assistant operations officer, prior to moving the unit to Illesheim, Germany. I assumed command of a Longbow Troop in December of 2002 and deployed my Troop to Kuwait in February of 2003 for the build up and subsequent operations into Iraq in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. Following redeployment to Germany in February of 2004, I relinquished command and moved to Grafenwoher, Germany where I managed the US Army Europe’s pre-command courses for Company, Battalion, and Brigade Commanders. I left the Army and Europe in July of 2005 for HITRON – Jacksonville. My wonderful wife, also from Minnesota, is named Jody. We have one beautiful 13 month old daughter, Abbigael.

AMT2 Solomon Moreno, flight mech and gunner: I go by “MO” and I am from a small town west of San Antonio, Uvalde, Texas. I am a huge Dallas Cowboys fan and I am happy to see the Horns finally seal the deal and win the big one. I have been married 7 years and my wife's name is Christina. We have 2 dogs, a black lab named Dallas, and a beagle mix named Dora. I have been in the CG for about seven years. I started on a 180’ out of Cape May from March ‘99 to August ’99. From there I went to Station Sabine Pass, Tx from Aug ‘99 to Jan ‘00. I was then transferred to CGAS Clearwater for my airman training, went to AMT “A” school in Tulsa OK and came back to the Air Sta in Jan01. In Dec02 I was promoted to 2nd Class Petty officer and shortly there after I completed my Flight Mechanic syllabus. In Clearwater I also did many deployments with OPBAT in the Caribbean locating and stopping migrants and go-fasts. At Clearwater I received an Achievement Letter for finding 8 lost kayakers and hoisting 2 to safety after they had been blown off course and in frigid waters for days. I have enjoyed the SAR [search and rescue] aspect of my job very much. From seeing all the good things that the CG did in New Orleans, I can say with pride that I am a Coastie. This past July I transferred to HITRON, so this is my first HITRON deployment. I am excited to be here and can’t wait to put my training to work. I am here to kick some butt and chew bubble gum, I am all out of bubble gum.

AET2 Nghiep Trang, flight mech and gunner: I'm originally from Detroit, Michigan, but now I am a resident of Florida. I have been in the Coast Guard for nearly 8 1/2 years. I was stationed on the Coast Guard Cutter Storis in Kodiak, Alaska, and also at Coast Guard Air Station (CGAS) Kodiak, CGAS Miami and CGAS Jacksonville. So far as a HITRON gunner, I have shot at one go-fast while I was deployed aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Legare. I'm married and have two dogs.

Fred Nichols: I'm the civilian contractor for the Hitron program in Jacksonville and for this deployment I'm the mechanic for the MH-68A Strayray (the Augusta 109e). I been with this program for over a year now. I live in Jacksonville, Florida. I’m retired from the U.S. Navy, having served 20 years as a helicopter mechanic, mainly on the Navy’s H-60s. I’m married with three teenagers.