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OTC inducts veteran ABN tester into Hall of Fame by Heather Graham-Ashley, Sentinel News Editor
Veteran airborne
operations tester retired Command Sgt. Maj. Pete
Morakon was inducted into the U.S. Army
Operational Test Command Hall of Fame Friday
during a ceremony at West Fort Hood that also
was broadcast via video teleconference to the
airborne and Special Forces testers at Fort
Bragg, North Carolina.
“Today, we have the great honor of celebrating the 21st annual Operational Test Command Hall of Fame induction ceremony,” OTC Commanding General Brig. Gen. Scott Spellmon said. “Each year, we strive to highlight the significant accomplishments in the history of OTC by recognizing the best of its talented workforce over the years.” The Hall of Fame, which inducted its first class in Oct. 4, 1994, has served to honor Soldiers and civilians who have been recognized for their commitment in putting the best possible equipment and systems into the hands of Soldiers in the field. Morakon is the 35th inductee into the hall of honor that includes members such as the late retired Maj. Gen. Stewart Meyer and former III Corps and Fort Hood commander retired Gen. Robert Shoemaker, as well as Maj. Henry Wayne, who conducted the first Army operational test, the Army Camel Corps. Morakon, who dedicated more than 55 years of combined military and civilian service, served as a civilian test officer for OTC’s Airborne and Special Operations Test Directorate at Fort Bragg. He planned, executed and reported on more than 40 operational tests, to include static-line parachuting systems and military free-fall parachute systems. Morakon also conducted weapon certification for airborne operations and jump procedure validation for various aircraft. His time with OTC followed 30 years of service in the military that saw overseas deployments to Korea, Vietnam and Germany before he retired in 1980 as a command sergeant major. He returned to service in 1984 as a civilian airborne operations test officer with OTC. Spellmon reviewed Morakon’s experiences in the Army and with OTC. At 14, Morakon decided he wanted to become a paratrooper after seeing his brother-in-law wearing his 11th Airborne patch on his uniform. Morakon enlisted in the Army following his high school graduation. He served as a squad leader in the Korean War and was a combat veteran by age 20. He returned from Korea as a staff sergeant and was honorably discharged. Following a variety of blue-collar plant and factory jobs back home in Pennsylvania, Morakon re-enlisted as a private. “He says the Army was the only career that never bored him,” Spellmon said. During his second enlistment, Morakon realized his dream of becoming a paratrooper, serving with several airborne and Special Forces units. While at OTC, he tested new parachutes and certified aircraft for personnel and cargo delivery. Spellmon said it was interesting to hear Morakon’s stories about what testing was like in the airborne community a few years ago. The general said the testing experience in the past is similar to the experience today. “What he wrestled with over his 25-year career isn’t a whole lot different from what our test officers and NCOs and civilians are wrestling with today,” Spellmon said. “We just have a few more tools today to help us along the way.” For Morakon, though, many of the challenges he faced occurred thousands of feet in the air, the OTC commander said. Morakon continued free-fall and static-line jumps into his 60s and 70s, Spellmon said. After fracturing his leg following a jump, Morakon was concerned the test director would no longer allow him to jump, but after receiving a clean bill of health, he passed all requirements and continued to jump, making his last jump in 2009 at age 78, the general said. “Today, sergeant major will tell you he still misses the sky and the butterflies you get before you’re about to jump,” Spellmon added. Morakon retired from OTC in 2009 at 78 and lives in Fayetteville, N.C. After the presentation of the plaque that now hangs on the wall of the test command’s Hall of Fame, Morakon was grateful, but said the honor belongs to the all of the workers at the test directorate. “It couldn’t have been done by me alone,” he said. “This is an honor for everybody I worked with for 25 years.”
Source: Fort Hood
Sentinel,
October 9, 2014 |
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