Kristin Hannah: I’m still not entirely sure how I got the idea to write about a female Black Hawk pilot, but one thing I know for sure is that without the help of Warrant Officer 5 Teresa Burgess, I would have been in a world of hurt. The military was as foreign to me as the face of the moon. Teresa was everything I could hope for in an advisor. She was honest and open and straightforward. More than that, she turned out to be a lot of fun to hang around with, and I am proud to call her a friend. Not long ago, I was fortunate enough to sit down with Teresa and have a nice old-fashioned girl-to-girl chat. I hope you enjoy this small glimpse into her extraordinary world.
How did you become a helicopter pilot?
Teresa Burgess: I visited the career center during my senior year of high school. I found some brochures on joining the Army. My Father was in the Air Force and I thought I would play a joke on him by telling him I joined the Army. After looking at the brochures a little more closely, I saw one was on going to flight school and becoming a Warrant Officer. I really had no interest in college at the time and flying interested me. I had grown up around it. I went to the Army recruiter with my dad, completed all the necessary tests, and was accepted. I attended Basic Training at Fort Dix and then went to Fort Rucker for Warrant Officers candidate school followed by flight school.
KH: Tell me a little bit about what it was like to be a full-time/active-duty soldier and the mother of two boys. Did your kids understand your service? Were they always proud of you?
TB: I was active-duty Army for only a year after the birth of my first child, Matthew. It was hard juggling schedules since my husband was active-duty National Guard. I was in a Medevac unit at the time and we did a lot of shift work, twenty-four hours at a time. I had Andrew, my second son, while I was a “traditional” guardsman—the typical guardsman is known as traditional. That is your “one weekend a month, two weeks in the summer” soldier. Pilots have extra requirements for duty to keep proficient at their flying duties. Luckily I could schedule those based on when I could get childcare. The best part-time job for a stay-at-home mom. I became a full-time Active Guard Reserve, AGR, Soldier when Andrew started school. The timing was perfect. My husband, Bryon, was still AGR and scheduling could still be difficult, but it was much more manageable. We had a lot of support from family and great babysitters—Ruth, Amy, Nicole, Emily, and Katie.
I am not sure it was a matter of my kids understanding my husband’s and my service. It was just our way of life. As they got older, I think they began to understand what it was we did and became increasingly prouder as they understood more.
KH: How did you tell the kids—and your husband—that you were being deployed? What was your greatest fear upon learning of the deployment?
TB: By the time I deployed, Bryon was retired from the National Guard. He worked closely still with the National Guard so he knew it was coming. It was a matter of confirming it when it did become official. He was very supportive. I think my greatest fear was just leaving Bryon to take care of everything. Not that I didn’t think he could do it. I just felt bad leaving him to do everything. The kids were at a stage of life where they played a lot of sports. There was a lot of chauffeuring to do. We were very fortunate to have support from many of the families the kids played ball with.
KH: You reacted very strongly to a sentence in
Home Front
. Jolene says that she wants to go to war, but she doesn’t want to leave her family. What was it about this remark that touched you so deeply? Can you explain how that conflict feels to a woman who is both a soldier and a mother?
TB: You want to go be with your “guys”---the people you have trained with for years. You also want to test yourself and your training. The unit I deployed with has since deployed again. I changed jobs and did not go with them. I felt terribly left out.
When you deploy you are a soldier first—your mission is first. That’s the way it has to be when you are in charge of an aircrew and are being counted on to complete a mission. You don’t want to let anyone down, least of all the ground soldiers who we are there to support.
Leaving your family is another thing altogether. It is something you just do not want to do. You’re the Mom, something that just doesn’t go away. You still want to feel like a part of the family.
KH: How was parenting different when you were in Iraq? How was it the same?
TB: Bryon made most decisions while I was gone. It was hard. I still wanted a say, but I wasn’t there. Bryon and I had been married twenty-three years when I deployed so we knew each other’s parenting styles pretty well. He did a great job. I am very thankful for his support.
KH: Do you think being at war is different somehow for women? If so, how?
TB: I don’t think so. Women, just like men, join for many different reasons, but when it comes down to it they just want to do their job and be part of a team. They want a chance to do their duty just like everyone else.
KH: Can you speak at all about the idea of women in combat?
TB: When I joined, women were not allowed to fly in combat. That changed in 1993. I have no issue with women doing a job as long as they are qualified and can perform the job. I don’t think women should be put in a job just because they are women in order to equal things out.
KH: What was your homecoming like? How easy was it to get back onto the track of your ordinary life?
TB: It was very nice. I came home after a ceremony at the Post. My family had made a nice sign that was hanging in the kitchen. There were lots of flowers. The pitcher of margaritas was pretty good, too. I had commented to Bryon during one of our phone calls after a particularly long hot day in the cockpit that the other pilot and I had been talking about how nice margaritas would have been that day. Bryon remembered that and had them waiting.
My parents had come in from out of town and some neighbors had made dinner for us. It was very nice.
KH: In what ways did your tour in Iraq change you? Your marriage? Your family?
TB: At first I think it is hard on every marriage. There are a lot of adjustments to make. Bryon or one of the kids would mention an event or people they had met while I was gone and I would have no idea what they were talking about.
KH: How did your husband handle being the parent at home? Were routines changed when you returned?
TB: Bryon did great. Some routines I am sure changed when I left in order to suit his routines better. It helped that Matthew got his driver’s license while I was gone. He probably ran more errands and played chauffeur to his brother more than most sixteen-year-olds.
KH: Your husband was in the military also, and a pilot. Do you think that helped make your deployment go more smoothly?
TB: Yes and no. It made it easier to talk to him about what was going on; he understood the lingo and the mission. Then again, he understood the mission and what could happen.
KH: Tell me what it feels like to fly a Black Hawk in peacetime…and in wartime.
TB: In peacetime you are training, practicing, and honing your skills. In war you get to apply those skills. If you hone your flying skills and knowledge in peacetime it becomes second nature in war.
Of course flying in the Pacific Northwest is great. It is beautiful and we have many different environments to train in: mountains, desert, beaches, and cities. The flowering plum trees are beautiful from the air.
TB: How do you feel when people call you a hero?
KH: Uncomfortable. I am not a hero. The guys on the ground are. I am there to make their job easier.
Greek Culinary Tradition:
A few interesting facts…
Greek Recipes:
To the Zarkades family matriarch, Mila, food is love. And this is a story about love, and all of the ways we show it. Discovering, tasting, and experiencing Greek food is truly a joy for me to share with my readers.
Spanakorizo
Serves 6–8
This Greek spinach and rice pilaf is bright and full of promise yet hearty enough for cool evenings. It’s often likened to a Greek risotto, creamy and starchy but without the constant stirring required by its Italian counterpart. It’s sentimental Greek comfort food, and healthy to boot!
- Heat ¼ cup of olive oil in the bottom of a large pot.
- Add onion and garlic, and sauté for about 5 minutes.
- Add dill weed and cooked rice.
- Add package of chopped spinach. Be sure to thaw it first.
- Add the lemon juice and salt to taste.
- Slowly add ¼ cup of olive oil and stir.
- Add tomato paste (about a tablespoon at a time) and stir.
- Keep stirring until it looks and tastes delicious!
Finikia
Yields about 5-dozen cookies
This cookie is made of almonds, coated in a honey syrup, and sprinkled with crushed almonds. They’re particularly delicious if combined with a mug of steaming tea, a big comfy chair, and a good book.
For cookies:
For syrup:
Cookies
- Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) and grease cookie sheets.
- In a large bowl, cream together the butter, superfine sugar, and orange zest.
- Gradually mix in the oil and beat until light and fluffy.
- Combine the flour, semolina, baking powder, cinnamon, and cloves; beat into the fluffy mixture alternately with the orange juice.
- As the mixture thickens, turn out onto a floured board and knead into a firm dough.
- Pinch off tablespoonfuls of dough and form them into balls or ovals. Place cookies 2 inches apart onto the prepared cookie sheets.
- Bake for 25 minutes, or until golden. Cool on baking sheets until room temperature.
Syrup
- In a medium saucepan over medium heat, combine the water, white sugar, honey, cinnamon stick, and lemon juice.
- Bring to a boil and boil for 10 minutes.
- Remove the cinnamon stick. While the mixture is boiling hot, dip the cookies in one at a time, making sure to cover them completely.
- Place them on a wire rack to dry and sprinkle with walnuts. Place paper under the rack to catch the drips.
- Keep finished cookies in a sealed container at room temperature.
Keftedes
Yields about 25 meatballs
This fried meatball—with its unique flavor provided by the herbs—is a versatile dish that can be served in many ways: on a platter of
mezedes
---small plates of food served in Greece with ouzo that are often compared to tapas---with pasta, or as a main meal with salad,
tzatziki
, and chips.
Keftedes
are especially good when served with a little bit of
mizithra
, a traditional Greek cheese, grated on top. That’s the Greek way!
For meatballs:
For sauce:
Meatballs
- Mix all ingredients together and form the meatballs.
- Heat olive oil on medium heat in a skillet.
- BRIEFLY fry the meatballs, about 20-30 seconds on each side.
- Set meatballs aside.
Sauce
- In the same pan you used to fry the meatballs, sauté the onion and garlic.
- Add salt, cinnamon sticks, and cloves.
- Add tomato sauce and tomato paste.
- Bring all of the ingredients to a low boil for about 5 minutes or until it’s all blended.
- Add the apple cider vinegar and water. Sauce will be thin. This is normal!
- Return the meatballs to the pan. Cover. Cook on medium heat, stirring occasionally, for 45 minutes.
- Uncover and cook for 15 more minutes. Serve with the pasta of your choice.