“Please, Lord, Don’t Let Me F*** This Up”: From Army Aviation To Coast Guard Search And Rescue

Jeff Vajda was born in Chicago, but when he was two, his parents moved to Miami, Florida. As a boy, he was interested in history and loved being outdoors. He enjoyed riding his bike, spending time at the beach, and being active in Boy Scouts. He played the trumpet in his high school band, and at West Point he continued to be active in the Spirit Band. He liked the leadership opportunities in high school JROTC and thought, “Maybe the military is for me.” Arriving at West Point on R-Day, he remembers getting his head shaved. He also had the opportunity to see his father once more if he successfully memorized a piece of knowledge, which motivated him. He enjoyed field training, and especially liked the introduction to all the branches during Buckner summer. He struggled academically, but successfully navigated STAP (Summer Term Academic Program) several times. Once he got into his major, international relations, his grades improved. He did well physically and enjoyed intramural rugby. He recalls cutting the cake and repeatedly messing it up in the mess hall. He remembers getting hours, but walking fast impressed the OC (Officer in Charge), who released him early. Staring at Patton’s statue from the library motivated him to work hard, and the result was that upon graduation he commissioned into Aviation branch. At flight school, he roomed with one of his West Point roommates, Will Pearson. Many of his instructors were Vietnam Veterans, and he liked listening to their firsthand stories. He also noticed that many of the Hueys he trained on bore patches from bullet holes. On his first solo flight, he developed a prayer he frequently repeated to himself: “Please Lord, don’t let me F*** this up.” His first assignment was Hunter Army Airfield, where he was assigned as an Assistant S1 in the 24th CAB (Combat Aviation Brigade), which had recently returned from the Gulf War. He received a lot of coaching from his Brigade Commander and the NCOs. Next, he took over a platoon in 1st Battalion, 24th Aviation Regiment, flying a scout OH-58 to find targets for AH-64 Apaches. He learned lessons from his Soldiers, NCOs, and Warrant Officers. As Army Aviation was changing under ARI (Aviation Restructuring Initiative), he had not transitioned to a new airframe yet, and volunteered for an individual assignment to Haiti. He supported the 25th Infantry Division and multinational forces providing a secure environment for the Haitians as a J3 aviation officer. Returning from Haiti, he served as the Executive Officer for HHC, 1st Battalion, 24th Aviation. He then volunteered for the Air Defense Artillery advanced course, and he enjoyed learning about aspects of air defense while sharing aviation techniques with the ADA officers. In 1996, he reported to Ft. Rucker, Alabama, for the Chinook transition course before reporting to B Company, 2nd Battalion, 52nd Aviation in Korea, where he served as a Company Executive Officer. At Rucker, he was briefly introduced to the woman he later married, and in Korea he began to get to know her better. When she extended in Korea, Jeff knew that they would get married. One key mission his company was tasked with was conducting evacuations south of the DMZ in the event of a North Korean invasion. Next, he took command of HHC, 2nd Battalion, 52nd Aviation, a job he found very satisfying. In 1999, he returned to Ft. Rucker to serve as a document writer and instructor, writing Heavy Lift and Air Traffic Services doctrine. At this point in his career, he was selected as an Arabic language FAO, and when the Army could not guarantee that he and his wife would be co-located (even on the same continent), he chose to leave the Army and transitioned to the Coast Guard. He was close to pinning on Major, but when he transitioned as a Captain (O3), he entered the Coast Guard as an O2. He was assigned to fly the HH65 Dolphin, which he considers “a little underpowered,” especially for the missions assigned to it in the Coast Guard. Part of his training included learning to land on ships, and he remarks that some of the landing pads on Coast Guard vessels are barely big enough for the helicopter. He was assigned to the New Orleans Coast Guard Station, performing primarily Search and Rescue missions, and he describes some of his more memorable rescues. He then transferred to the Miami Coast Guard Station, which is considerably larger than the New Orleans station. He had just arrived in Miami and had not yet had his familiarization flight when Hurricane Katrina devastated the Gulf Coast and New Orleans. Jeff volunteered to return to New Orleans to conduct Search and Rescue operations, and immediately flew to Louisiana. In the space of three weeks, his detachment conducted 807 rescues. He describes the conditions he flew in, with helicopters from all branches of the service flying in a densely packed airspace without much coordination. It was a dangerous but critically necessary mission. His first rescue was at night, with the neighborhood below him full of flashlights people were using to get the attention of the rescue helicopters. One man had lit a small grill on his roof, and Jeff’s crew was drawn to the bright blaze to make their first rescue. Returning to Miami, his mission was primarily law enforcement, interdicting drugs and combatting illegal immigration. During his time flying for the Coast Guard, there were no armed helicopters in the inventory. He recalls one mission where Coast Guard cutters were trying to stop a drug-running cigarette boat. Jeff’s helicopter joined the chase and executed a high-speed low pass over the drug boat to get its attention. The problem then became one of getting the boat to stop. Asking the crew for suggestions, one crew member suggested holding a broom handle out the door like a gun. That ruse worked long enough for a cutter to catch up and make the apprehension. In 2009, Jeff transferred to Washington D.C. to lead the Coast Guard’s Unmanned Aircraft System Platform program after being medically grounded due to ocular migraines. He built that program “from scratch,” and today UAVs are a key asset in the Coast Guard inventory. His final assignment was at the Air Marine Operation Center at March Air Force Base, where he worked with Customs and Border Protection for three years until his retirement in 2021 as a Commander. At the end of the interview, he reflects on what his service in the Army and Coast Guard means to him, as well as his thoughts about West Point, noting that the Academy was “a springboard to do what I did” and made him “who I am.”