Remembering Chief Warrant Officers Bryan Andrew Zemek and Derek Joshua Abbott: Fallen Heroes in Mississippi – AI Guest Post

| February 27, 2024

How good is Microsoft Bing’s ChatGPT when generating articles? I pulled up the “copilot” for Microsoft Edge and plugged in some prompts. Out came the below article on the two Soldiers who died in a helicopter crash in Mississippi… Sans APA formatted references.

How did AI do with “writing” the below article? Right on target? Fell short?

By Microsoft Bing and ChatGPT:

Helicopter Crash

On a fateful day during a routine training flight, tragedy struck the skies over Mississippi. Two Army National Guard soldiers lost their lives when their AH-64 Apache helicopter crashed near the small city of Booneville.  The incident occurred on Friday afternoon, leaving the nation mourning the loss of these brave men.

The Fallen Heroes

1. Chief Warrant Officer 4 Bryan Andrew Zemek:

  • Hailing from Oxford, Mississippi, Zemek was an AH-64D Apache Standardization Instructor Pilot with Alpha Company, 1st Battalion, 149th Aviation Regiment.
  • His military awards included the Army Achievement Medal, the Army Commendation Medal with three bronze oak leaf clusters, and the Senior Army Aviator Badge, among others.
  • Zemek’s dedication to service and his role as an instructor pilot made him an invaluable asset to his unit.

2. Chief Warrant Officer 4 Derek Joshua Abbott:

  • Abbott, aged 42, called Fulton, Mississippi, his home.
  • As a Maintenance Test Pilot, he served with Delta Company of the 2nd Battalion, 151st Lakota Medical Evacuation unit.
  • Abbott was a combat veteran who had served in Iraq. His accolades included the Air Medal with Valor, the Iraq Campaign Medal, and the Army Commendation Medal with two bronze oak leaf clusters.
  • His commitment to excellence and his courage in the face of danger exemplified the spirit of our armed forces.

The Tragic Incident

The two soldiers were operating out of the Mississippi National Guard Army Aviation Support Facility 2 in Tupelo when they embarked on a “routine training flight.” However, fate intervened, and their AH-64 Apache helicopter suddenly crashed near Booneville around 2 p.m. local time on that ill-fated Friday.  The cause of the crash remains under investigation, and details are yet to be disclosed.

A Painful Loss

At a press conference, Maj. Gen. Janson D. Boyles, adjutant general of Mississippi, expressed the collective grief: “Our paramount concern at this time is to ensure proper casualty assistance is available to support the surviving family members through this difficult time. The Mississippi National Guard is family. In fact, the National Guard is family.  Our hearts are truly broken at the loss of these two members of our family“.

A Nation Remembers

This tragic incident adds to a somber list of deadly helicopter accidents during training missions. Last year, two U.S. Army Apache helicopters collided in Alaska, claiming the lives of three soldiers. In another heartbreaking incident in Kentucky, two Black Hawk helicopters crashed, resulting in the loss of nine soldiers. These brave men and women put their lives on the line to protect our freedom, and their sacrifice will forever be etched in our hearts.

As we honor the memory of Chief Warrant Officers Bryan Andrew Zemek and Derek Joshua Abbott, we recognize that our debt to them can never be fully repaid. Their service, dedication, and sacrifice remind us of the true cost of freedom. May they rest in peace, and may their families find solace in the gratitude of a grateful nation.

References

Britzky, H., Paget, S., & Razek, R. (2024, February 24). 2 National Guardsmen killed in military helicopter crash in Mississippi. CNN Politics. https://www.cnn.com/2024/02/23/politics/national-guard-helicopter-mississippi/index.html

Flemming, J. (2024, February 25). A devastating day: Mississippi National Guard mourns 2 warrant officers killed in helicopter crash. Stars & Stripes. https://www.stripes.com/branches/army/2024-02-25/mississippi-national-guard-soldiers-crash-identified-13115252.html

Gains, M., & Romero, D. (2024, February 24). Two dead after military helicopter crashes during training flight in Mississippi. NBC News via MSN.
https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/two-dead-after-military-helicopter-crashes-during-training-flight-in-mississippi/ar-BB1iN38C

Stewart, P. & Oatis, J. (2024, February 25). Two Mississippi National Guardsmen dead in military helicopter crash. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/us/us-military-helicopter-crashes-mississippi-during-routine-training-2024-02-23/

Slayton, N. (2024, February 24). 2 Armny National Guard soldiers killed in helicopter crash identified. Task & Purpose. https://taskandpurpose.com/news/mississippi-apache-helicopter-crash-army-national-guar/

Category: Administrative, Army, Army News, Artificial Intelligence, Big Army, Guest Link, Guest Post

6 Comments
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KoB

“Routine training flight…” These tragic deaths are becoming as routine as combat losses to pilots in a war.

Rest Easy, Gentlemen…His Peace bring some measure of His Comfort to the families.

Article is close enough to the articles I read over the weekend on this subject.

Roh-Dog

Rest Easy Gentlemen.

(not a bad for 1s-and-0s)

FuzeVT

God Speed gentlemen.

An aside –
That’s a very interesting picture you have accompanying this article. It seems that the AI here is as good at rendering the stub wings on the Apache as it was doing hands a few months back. Also, it looks like there are some toy soldiers SPIE rigging of the near aircraft. Several others seem to levitating. Give me good ol’ human drawings any day.

Major Tuddy

Rest in peace. 🫡

OAM

My heart aches for the families and friends of those who lose their life training to defend us all. Thank God, truly, we are still producing such men and women in this country. The fact we need them so desperately at this present moment in history makes their loss even more tragic.

Flame me for this, I don’t care but something doesn’t sit right about using AI to generate an article about these tragic deaths. Maybe it has something to do with the awareness the sentiments and expressions of feeling are artificial. Then again, those same words come out of too many human mouths with as much artifice.

I understand the impetus to discuss, dissect and test AI, but not on this topic.