I remember the very first time I met Harley in the Hangar.  I walked up to introduce myself to him and he immediately snapped to the position of parade rest so fast and with such enthusiasm that it scared me.  I told him to relax because I just wanted to introduce myself and he smiled big and said “All freaking Cav, sir”.  I have spent many nights working with Harley and getting to know him, from his all night rave music in the crew chief office to his sleeping in the hangar waiting for the aircraft to land from a mission.  I also met, through stories, Sarah, his wife and Korey, his son.  I remember thinking how awesome it was to see his love and pride in his family. 

     Harley never allowed himself to get wrapped up in the complaining process that many of us find ourselves doing.  He would of course let his opinion be known, but always in a professional manner and would always continue the mission at hand while stating “ALL FREAKING CAV”.  Of course if you knew Harley you know that on occasion he used a different adjective than I just used. 

     Harley grew up in the face of adversity and never allowed that adversity to leave him feeling sorry for himself.  Harley joined a carnival as a teenager and could always get the troop laughing by telling stories of his experiences.  Of course as all good cavalrymen do the rest of the Troop would poke fun at Harley about bearded ladies and midgets.  Harley would then explain to us how stupid we were because bearded ladies and midgets were in the circus not the carnival, like we were supposed to know that. 

     Harley was always striving to better himself.  He was constantly reading self-improvement books like “How to earn 10,000 a month for the rest of your life”, hoping to better provide for his family.  Harley was also in the process of submitting a Warrant Officer packet, hoping one day to achieve the title of Warrant Officer and Aviator, which, on occasion many of us take for granted.  

     Harley Miller came to this unit and constantly strived to be the best.  He never liked being compared to other soldiers, only the standard.  Harley always tried to achieve the standard and I, as well as those who knew him, would say on most occasions the standard needed to keep up with Harley, not the other way around.  Of course like all of us sitting here today he would on occasion try to get away with the “little” things.  I remember when he was caught driving a Humvee without a Kevlar by our First Sergeant who, just hours earlier had spoke about the importance of being in the correct uniform.  Later that night, I saw him sitting at his bunk reading a book wearing his Kevlar.   You see I had to pass his bunk every night to get to mine.  When I asked him why he was wearing it he simply smiled and said that he had made a mistake and was being reminded how important it was to wear the appropriate uniform even if it appeared that no one was watching.  I remember thinking as I walked away that he had not called it a punishment and had not complained that he was being treated unfairly by the First Sergeant. 

     Harley prided himself more than any crew chief I have ever met on his ability to take care of his aircraft.  One time before a flight one of our pilots went to another crew chief to ask them to fix something on his aircraft.  It was something small and relatively insignificant like a tie strap or a weapons pylon or the windows needed to be wiped off.  However, later that night Harley approached that pilot, visibly upset, and asked why he had not found him to fix his aircraft.  He continued to say that if in the future something was wrong with his aircraft, could he please let him know because it was his responsibility to fix it, no one else’s.  Personally, I will never forget the first time I flew aircraft 96-00030, as Harley Miller’s aircraft.  When I went to the aircraft there was 2 bottles of water in each seat along with a breakfast bar and a muffin.  When I asked him who these were for he looked at me like I was crazy, as if this was the standard, and replied “Sir, those are for you and the other pilot, please be safe, and see you when you return.”  Of course, like any good Warrant Officer I told him yes, that was the standard but next time could I get a diet coke.  Of course it is not the standard and is just another example of how prideful Harley was of his aircraft and those who flew it.

     I could stand up here and list occasion after occasion in which Harley has had a positive impact on the people that knew him.  Instead I would like to read you an excerpt from an essay that Harley was preparing for Major General Olsen’s essay contest on Commitment.  Harley’s words are as follows:

True commitment to something requires integrity, honesty, and good moral fiber.  It isn’t easy.  If commitment were easy than the rewards could not possibly be so great.  I am rewarded every day for the commitment I have for the things that are the most important to me.  My God has blessed me for my commitment to him.  My country has rewarded me with the unparalleled freedom that many people are not fortunate enough to receive.  I have a beautiful wife and son waiting at home for me because I am committed to them and I am rewarded throughout my life for my commitment to maintaining my values.  If I had to sum up what commitment means to me in one sentence it would read as follows “Commitment is the courage that pushes us to drive on in the face of adversity and defeat.”

     I believe with all my heart that if Harley were here right now he would not understand our sorrow.  He died being committed to his God, Committed to his country, Committed to his values, and most importantly committed to his wife Sarah and his son Korey.  Harley was very proud of what he was doing and I am sure he would ask us all to attempt to live by his definition of commitment and would sign off with a loud and thunderous “ALL Freaking CAV”.