On Thursday night, April 13th, former United States Army aviator Bob Allen will speak at WACO about a training operation in the middle-east while working for Bell Helicopter. Mr. Allen will speak about the origins and implementation of this partnership in the Middle-East, and talk about its internal problems and eventual downfall.
Bob Allen flew both airplanes and helicopters during his nearly seven years of active service. Upon completion of flight school, Bob served as a Warrant Officer during his first tour in Vietnam before receiving a direct commission to First Lieutenant after returning to Ft. Rucker, Alabama. He was assigned to the Standards and Instructor Training division and became a Standards Instructor Pilot. Prior to returning to Vietnam again, Bob was qualified in the AH-1G Cobra attack helicopter and given a promotion to Captain. While his first tour of flying in Vietnam was in the Delta, his second tour included northern III Corps and southern II Corps. Bob spent the balance of his active service at Ft. Rucker, where he trained Instructor pilots in aerial tactics and nap-of-earth flying techniques. During his last year of active service, Bob was recruited by Bell Helicopter to join their International division in the middle- east and to help them develop the aerial tactics and gunnery phase of their training operation. This will be the subject of his speech at WACO.
Parking and admission are free and open to the public. The lecture is scheduled to last one hour with a time for questions to follow. It will be held in the Willis Wing of the WACO Air Museum at 1865 South County Road 25A in Troy, OH. . Donations will be accepted to benefit the WACO Historical Society. For questions, please call 937-335-9226 or visit www.wacoairmuseum.org.