Is Literally Hosed Down By His Wife And Friends Following His Final Flight

Army Maj. Gen. Anthony Crutchfield got hosed ... quite literally ... last week. But the commander of the Army's Aviation Center for Excellence at Fort Rucker in Alabama welcomed the traditional send-off after completing his final flight in an Apache helicopter as commanding general.

The water blast from a fire hose was directed at Maj. Gen. Crutchfield (pictured) by his wife and friends ... in an Army tradition for commanding generals on completion of their final flight. He was later doused with champagne by soldiers during the celebration Friday.

The Dothan (AL) Eagle reports that Crutchfield said his training kicked in as soon as the aircraft left the ground, and it didn't really occur to him that it was his final flight as commander until the skids once again touched the ground. "When I’m flying, the only thing that’s on my mind is flying that helicopter,” Crutchfield said. “Nothing else can be on your mind. I was trained as a lieutenant here that you can never take your mind off flying when you’re in the cockpit of an aircraft. If you think about anything but flying, bad things happen. Gravity will catch up and the ground will spite thee. When I landed, I got here and saw (everyone), I was thinking about how sad it is that I’m leaving.”

Crutchfield was accompanied on his final flight by Cheif Warrant Officer of the Aviation Branch Mike Reese. Crutchfield will next be Chief of Staff for the U.S. Pacific Command at Camp H.M. Smith in Hawaii.

FMI: www.army.mil