CSM (R) Gary Plotnick

CSM (R) Gary Plotnick sat down with me for Heroes I Know. Fifty-three minutes. Leadership. Paratroopers. Jumpmasters. Engineering and more.

Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Born 1969. Delayed entry January 1987. Seventeen. Graduated June. Basic in August. Engineer. Trailblazer program. Private doing what he was told.

Korea first. Bridge crew. That is where he learned the craft. Then Benning. Desert Shield. Desert Storm. Eight or nine Scuds. The sides of the building warping. People running around gas gas gas. He said we cannot call timeout. We are not going to catch a Scud standing still.

Twenty-two he ETS'd. Thought the Army was easy. Did not see the potential. Came back. Volunteered for airborne while they were deactivating. Already qualified from Benning. Echo Battery. Detainee ops. Colonel Underhill. Half the battery into Bravo and Charlie. The slideshow is still here. The conversation is the story. Thank you, Sergeant Major. That is why we hit record. Get the story on tape before we are too old or too sick to tell it.