William Zirzow
“BZ”
Commanding officer during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom. Hundreds of combat flights, and one very close call.
Zirzow (center) with his crew, Kandahar
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ASEC
ORIGIN
Flying Was the Only Way He Could Afford It
Zirzow’s path started in college, where a friend’s father flew for the airlines. The only way he could afford flight lessons himself was through the Navy, so that’s the route he took, commissioning through Aviation Officer Candidate School in Pensacola.
His grandfather, an aviation enthusiast, had taken him on his first flight in a small airplane years earlier. That was the introduction. The Navy was the plan to make it a career.
THE DRAW
Shot At Over Iraq
“The view is amazing. You have a mostly unobstructed view as far as the eye can see.”
As a Commanding Officer during Operation Enduring Freedom and Operation Iraqi Freedom, Zirzow flew hundreds of combat flights. One stands out from the rest: getting shot at by a surface-to-air missile over Iraq.
Zirzow in the cockpit
What people don’t realize about flying is how much of it happens on the ground. You train and study every day for the worst case, because when the worst case shows up, there’s no time to look it up.
AT ASEC
Walked a Mile in Their Shoes
Zirzow says relating to what the warfighter experiences daily comes naturally, and it shows up in the details: being detail-oriented, willing to put in extra effort, and knowing how to work as part of a team.
CLOSING
Go For It
Zirzow wants ASEC’s customers to know the quality of the people behind the work. Most of the company’s pilots and aircrew are weapons school graduates who think past the current mission.
“Go for it!! Best journey ever!!”
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