A tiny island of about 900 people, Great Inagua sits along the Windward Passage-the strait between Cuba and Haiti-a location that makes it the ideal spot from which to run anti-narcotic-smuggling patrols.
It had taken five years to rebuild this little outpost. As they marched toward the hooches-their four bunk dorms-they passed a newly constructed hangar and a plaque commemorating the old one, destroyed in 2008 by Hurricane Ike. On the ground, the heat enveloped the men like a warm bath as soon as they stepped off the aircraft. The plane banked hard over the landing strip, scaring off the wild donkeys that stray onto the tarmac. A flight mechanic days away from his 32nd birthday, with jug ears and a wide smile, Andrews knew there wasn't much to do with his downtime except go snorkeling and get in some fishing. Likewise, the fourth member of the Jayhawk crew, Joshua Andrews. They were like two-week camping trips that-despite the wildly different terrain-reminded him of growing up outdoors in Nebraska. His co-pilot, 28-year-old Rick Post, also a lieutenant, sat nearby. This would be his first deployment to Great Inagua. At night he'd grill steaks and maybe bake cookies as consolation.Ī few seats over, Dave McCarthy, a 36-year-old helicopter pilot, pressed “play” on a country-music mix-Kenny Chesney, Toby Keith-and leaned his head back. He'd settle for hitting the weights, getting some running in. But a rescue swimmer like Cournia? He'd be lucky if he got his feet wet. The flight mechanics tinkered with whatever it was they tinkered with. The pilots would get to fly their beloved Jayhawks on patrol over the Caribbean. As a member of a four-man helicopter flight team, he always envied the rest of the crew on these deployments.
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