Deployed Flight and Sometimes Eternity

Deployed Flight and Sometimes Eternity

A military aviator flew across the hemispheres spanning a 30-year career; life, love, combat, patriotism, and intense comradeship weaves this anthem about what it meant to serve. From the famine-ridden deserts of Somalia to the war torn tenements of Bosnia and Herzegovina, to the ice caps of the polar regions and more, the planet-scape inspired Colonel Ronnie Smith to write from the heart. And herein he shares the poignant, the humor, the elegance, the tragic, and the sacredness of the human experience in uniform. In 'Deployed Flight and Sometimes Eternity, ' Ronnie Smith engaged all my senses at once. Through his brilliant imagery, staccato rhythm, and deployment of poetic styles, I joined Ronnie on C-130 missions across the globe. Transported out of myself, I tasted red Honduran dust clouds, inhaled thick Camel-laden Somali air, and witnessed ancient beasts rising from Antarctic tombs. His commitment to storytelling airlifted the mundane into the transcendent. Through his poetic skill, this collection of poems pays beautiful homage to his airplanes, missions, austere airfields, and of course his fellow airmen. (Brigadier General Ed Vaughan, USAF)