Da Lat, Vietnam. 1968. Final approach in a C-130 A model. I'm "wedged" in the right para door. Co pilot was a fighter pilot during WW II, was grounded for some medical, then modern science "cured him" he's making the landing, next to him in the left seat is a Stan Eval Senior Pilot (think top gun).
Wheels touch and suddenly we're pitched sideways to the strip. We slid off the runway, down onto the grass. "I'm gonna die" kept repeating somewhere in my mind. The Lockheed design did not provide for sliding sideways at 100 mph+.
I hear the props come out of reverse and into max throttle. The girl shudders, gets a little air, touches the strip straight and then we're airborn again. I wasn't sure if I had indeed died and this was hell, or this surrealistic, insane luck was really reality.
Long story short, Mr. fighter pilot yanked the throttles back into reverse, all except for one. This asymetric thrust sent us spinning sideways. Stan Eval grabbed the control, throttles to the wall, heavy rudder, a 2 million dollar airship saved along with 5 shaky crew and one very cool top gun.
One a deadly liability, the other a saviour.
Whew,
Sarg
One more reason I specialized bringing aircraft down in pieces. It is only a FUBAR if you miss...
As for discussing "stuff" with the brain pickers, generally speaking they are trained not to ask specifics. Many of us have been to places and done things that they have "No need to know" details like location, time frame, orders, who was in command, etc. The way I handle situations like that is I treat the shrinks just like I would treat Joe Blow Schmuckatelli at the pub: I give them a sea story that hides the stuff they do not need to know and insert the important bits that pertain to my issues and treatment.
Example from a while back:
I did some "work" in and around Columbia and Peru. Ain't no records because that is just not the way things were done in those days. Hell, it is hard enough trying to explain how a surface sailor ended up on shore NOT drinking and whoring...
I still have some issues from then. I need to discuss them but cannot/do not want to talk about what when and where.
"So, what happened Sludge? How'd that side of your face get turned all zombie mush?"
" Bar fight in Cartagena. Cuts got infected thanks to tropical weather and water hours underway. Rest is obvious."
That is just one of the versions I use. He has no need to know I was only in Cartagena for drinking and whoring or that it wasn't cuts that got infected and scarred me up, but he knows it was related to violence and either I am lying and do not want to tell the truth or I am being so truthful he can focus on something else rather than details that really don't have shit to do with why I'm twitchy.
Then again, that is the hard, somewhat dishonest way. I totally get it some folks cannot go that route. In those cases I suggest the generally generic and perfectly legit reply of "Thats something I am not permitted to discuss Doc."
Good shrinks will leave it at that. Lousy shrinks push the point and you walk out and request a different one.
