Peter Zoretic

Segment Synopsis: Zoretic talks about growing up in Grandview, OH, his family, and his interests. He details how his interest in flying lead him from an aviation management degree at The Ohio State University to officer candidate school with the Marines.

Keywords: Airplanes--Piloting; Aviation Management; Education; Families; Grandview Heights, OH; Officer specialty; Ohio State University; Quantico Marine Corps Base (Va.)

Subjects: Childhood; College; Family; Officer candidate school

Segment Synopsis: Zoretic discusses the constant evaluation and attrition of Marine Officer Candidate School. He discusses arriving at Quantico for his basic training with his wife and child. Then he focuses on talking about the social aspects of their training, his wife's inclusion, the importance of a strong relationship, and indispensability of adaptation.

Keywords: Adaptability; Air pilots' spouses; Children; Evaluation; Fredericksburg (Va.); Leadership; Marriage; Naval Air Station Pensacola (Fla.); Occupational training, Military; Quantico Marine Corps Base (Va.)

Subjects: Basic training; Emulating success; Officer candidate school; Social aspects of Marine training

Segment Synopsis: Zoretic moved 11 times throughout his career and he talks about what he enjoyed about living in different areas. He describes Marine pilot training which has three levels basic, intermediate, and advanced and takes two years to complete. He graduated from pilot school in 1988 and moved to Tustin, CA for helicopter training.

Keywords: Airplanes--Piloting; Airplanes--Piloting--Ability testing; Hawaii; Helicopter pilots--Training of--United States; Marine Corps Air Station Tustin (Calif.); Pensacola (Fla.); Sikorsky H-53 (Military transport helicopter); Traveling; Washington (D.C.)

Subjects: Helicopter Training; Pilot School; Traveling

Segment Synopsis: Zoretic discusses his posting at Marine Corps Base Hawaii and his deployment as an aircraft commander during Desert Shield/Desert Storm. He describes his time during the Iraq conflict as uneventful since most of his time was spent in transport, but he advanced in rank during this time making Captain.

Keywords: Helicopter pilots--United States; Iraq; Jubail (Saudi Arabia); Kaneohe Bay (Hawaii); Kuwait; MHM-463; Marine Corps Base Hawaii; Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 463; Night flying; Persian Gulf War, 1991; Scud missile

Subjects: Desert Shield; Desert Storm; Hawaii

Segment Synopsis: Zoretic talks about what it like to be a pilot of a Sikorsky heavy-lift helicopter, the most labor intensive airframe used today. He describes the CH-53 Sikorsky as a flying school bus that is constantly trying to shake itself apart. He also discusses the Marine culture at the time of Desert Storm and Desert Shield, and what it was like to be in the cockpit.

Keywords: Airplanes--Cockpits; Black Sheep Squadron (Television program); Helicopters--Piloting; Maintenance; Marine Corps Base Hawaii; Officers' Club; Persian Gulf War, 1991; Practical jokes; Sikorsky H-53 (Military transport helicopter)

Subjects: Being a pilot; Marine culture; Sikorsky CH-53

Segment Synopsis: Zoretic injured his back while setting up shelters and required back surgery. While recovering the Marine Corp sends him to do recruiting in Ohio. Zoretic discusses his two very successful years recruiting, Amphibious Warfare School, and being reassigned to Hawaii. He also relates a story about his helicopter from Desert Storm.

Keywords: Armed Forces--Minorities; Marine Corps Base Hawaii; Ohio State University; Quantico (Va.); Recruiting and enlistment; Tactics; United States. Marine Corps Development and Education Command. Amphibious Warfare School

Subjects: Amphibious Warfare School; Recruiting at OSU; Stationed at Hawaii

Segment Synopsis: Zoretic describes his next steps in advancement, which include a move to Marine Corps Air Station Miramar and learning to fly the Sikorsky CH-53 Echo. The larger version of the CH-53 helicopter he had been flying which includes a second engine and a refueling probe. First he has to escort the newly built USS Bonhomme Richard from Mississippi to San Diego.

Keywords: Adoption; Amphibious assault ships; Families; Ingalls Shipbuilding; Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (Calif.); Pascagoula River (Miss.); San Diego (Calif.); Sikorsky HH-3E (Search and rescue helicopter); USS Bonhomme Richard (LHD-6); United States. Navy

Subjects: First Shipboard Deployment; Life at Miramar

Segment Synopsis: Zoretic discusses his scheduled deployment on the USS Peleliu. During this deployment they spend time training on night flying in Perth, Australia, they supply humanitarian relief supplies to East Timor, and learn of the 9/11 attacks.

Keywords: 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit; Amphibious assault ships; International Forces East Timor; Naval aviation; Perth (W.A.); Royal Australian Air Force; September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001; Timor-Leste; USS Peleliu (LHA-5); United States. Navy

Subjects: 9/11; East Timor Relief; Night Flying in Perth Australia

Segment Synopsis: Zoretic describes being assigned to the long-range development of Camp Rhino. This is a tactic that the Marine Corp supported, inserting from the sea and setting up a secure base for continued action, but had never had attempted. He also discusses their insertion into Kandahār in early 2002 and transporting prisoners.

Keywords: 15th Marine Expeditionary Unit; 26th Marine Expeditionary Unit; Afghanistan; Arabian Sea; Bin Laden, Osama, 1957-2011; Camp Rhino; Hercules (Turboprop transports); Kandahār (Afghanistan); Prisoner of war; September 11 Terrorist Attacks, 2001; Sikorsky H-53 E (Search and rescue helicopter); Tactics; Tora Bora, Battle of, Afghanistan, 2001; USS Peleliu

Subjects: Developing Camp Rhino; Insertion into Kandahār; Picking up Prisoners; Proving Tactics

Segment Synopsis: Zoretic returns from Afghanistan and is promoted to Lieutenant Colonel. He gets to go on a tiger cruise with his son. A tiger cruise is where family are invited to travel on a Navy ship and observe daily life while traveling to port. He discusses his role as an N5 planner, the process of offloading troops and equipment using vehicles like the landing craft air cushion(LCAC), and the expectations for the United States time in Iraq.

Keywords: Camp Patriot; Crisis and Conflict Analysis Team (Institute of Strategic Studies); Dolphins; Iraq; Kuwait; Lighterage; Military planning; N5 Plans and Projects Department; Naval Base San Diego; Shinseki, Eric K.; United States. Navy; War in Iraq

Subjects: Joint Logistics/N5 Planner - Offloading; Permanence of Presence in Iraq; Tiger Cruise

Segment Synopsis: Zoretic discusses his dream-job commanding helicopter squadron 465, training to get his soldiers low-light level qualified, and being stationed in Okinawa. He relates some of his experiences during his 2004 deployment to Iraq where his squadron was responsible for heavy lift missions for the western half of the country.

Keywords: Afghanistan; Al Asad Airbase; Anbār (Iraq : Province); Boxer (Aircraft carrier); Marine Corps Air Station Miramar (Calif.); Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 465 (HMH-465); Night vision devices; Okinawa-shi (Japan); Sikorsky H-53 (Military transport helicopter); Women soldiers

Subjects: Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 465; Missions in Iraq

Segment Synopsis: Zoretic discusses his last mission of tsunami relief in Thailand. He also discusses his very busy retirement from the military during which he works for Mediflight, returns to Iraq as a civilian contractor with AAR Airlift, and pilots Monarch I for Children's Hospital.

Keywords: Children's Hospital (Columbus, Ohio); Forward Operating Base Salerno; Forward Operating Base Shank; Helicopter ambulances; Sikorsky helicopters; Thailand

Subjects: Military Retirement; Tsunami Relief

Segment Synopsis: Zoretic talks about some of the changes he saw in military culture during his career including: women's roles, military ethos, and the all-volunteer force.

Keywords: Military service, Voluntary; Tailhook Scandal, 1991-1993; Women soldiers

Subjects: Military Culture; Women in the Marines

Segment Synopsis: Zoretic describes what it is like to fly at night using night vision. He discusses how you learn to be comfortable with the limitations imposed by night vision and that the entire crew has to be comfortable, not just the pilot. He talks about an accident at Kaneohe Bay during night flying training, the costs of service, and how the military has changed since Korea and Vietnam.

Keywords: Accident victims; Depth perception; Helicopter pilots--Training of; Kaneohe Bay (Hawaii)Korean War, 1950-1953; Night vision; Vietnam War, 1961-1975; Visual acuity; War casualties

Subjects: Casualties in the Military; Flying at Night

Segment Synopsis: Zoretic discusses the mistakes made by the military when they tried to work with inadequate resources.

Keywords: Iraq War, 2003-2011; Rumsfeld, Donald, 1932-; War on Terror

Subjects: Inadequate Support; Smaller Military Presence

Segment Synopsis: Zoretic discusses his perceptions of the military strategy in Iraq in 2004 and how things might have been better. He relates a story about transporting casualties and how his unit responded to the realities of war. He raises questions about the goals of the military in 2016.

Keywords: Abu Ghraib Prison; Al Asad Airbase; Anbār (Iraq : Province); Counterinsurgency; Iraq War, 2003-2011; Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 465 (HMH-465); MiG-17 (Jet fighter plane); Military intelligence; Morgues

Subjects: Military Strategy

Segment Synopsis: Zoretic talks a little about contract flying in Afghanistan.

Keywords: AAR CORP.; Forward Operating Base Chapman; Mi-17 (Helicopter); Wages

Subjects: Contract Flying

Segment Synopsis: Zoretic talks about deployment cycles, comparing his to previous generations where people were not deployed or burned out after a short time. He also discusses his current retirement, the tolls of being away from home for eight out of twenty years, and what he is doing now.

Keywords: Association of Naval Aviation (U.S.); Command and Staff College (U.S.); Families; Fort Leavenworth (Kan.); Hunting; MILVETS; Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center (U.S.); Navy League of the United States; Physical training; Vietnam War, 1961-1975; Waterboarding

Subjects: Deployment Cycles; Retirement

Segment Synopsis: Zoretic discusses some of the things he would have done differently in his career, including focusing more on his education. He relates the stories of getting gas from the CIA at gunpoint and retrieving a downed Black Hawk helicopter in Afghanistan in 2001.

Keywords: 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment (Airborne); Afghanistan; Black Hawk (Military transport helicopter)--Accidents; Building; Camp Rhino; Education; Hercules (Turboprop transports); Islāmābād (Pakistan); Kitty Hawk (Aircraft carrier); Leadership; Sikorsky H-53 (Military transport helicopter); Student; Taliban; USS Peleliu (LHA-5); V-22 Osprey (Transport plane)

Subjects: Advice; Getting Fuel at Gunpoint; Retrieving and Downed Black Hawk

Segment Synopsis: Zoretic discusses the importance and benefits of military service. The changes in perception of civic duty and personal importance are making military service less appealing.

Keywords: Civic eduction; Military jobs

Subjects: The importance of military service

Partial Transcript: Former military contributing

Segment Synopsis: According to Zoretic 80% of military contractors are former soldiers themselves. He describes who the average military contractor is, why they are there, and the pros and cons of life as a contractor.

Keywords: AAR Corp.; Blackwater USA; Helicopter pilots--Training of; Hindu Kush-Himalayan Region; Moyock (N.C.); Outsourcing; Rumsfeld, Donald, 1932-; Transportation; Wages

Subjects: Military Contractors

Segment Synopsis: Zoretic share his view on modern veterans and the increase role of the all-volunteer force. He talks about the Marines of Lima Company and how their job was made harder by the use of coalition forces. He concludes by talking about the changes he has seen in the military since he enlisted.

Keywords: Ḥadīthah (Iraq); Lima (Ohio); Marines; National guard; Soldiers; Training

Subjects: Lima Company; Modern Veterans; Reservists