There are a few other things you may want to consider (if you are still working on this piece).
If the chopper is piloted by the Army, 9 out of 10 the pilot and co-pilot will be warrant officers. You have about two branch officers being picked up to be a pilot every year, compared to the 30 to 40 warrants that graduate every month or so. If you are running a Huey (old) or Blackhawk (replaced (or replacing) the Huey) you will also have a crew chief. The crew chief will also be anywhere from a specialist (SPC) to staff sgt (SSG), although they can go several grades in either direction. These crew chiefs are very good at what they do, and good at the little details of what they do.
Pilots. The Branch Officers are referred to as Sir, and can range from 2nd Lieutenant (2LT) to Captain (CPT). The warrants are another thing entirely. They can be referred to as Chief, providing they are past the grade of CW2-CW5. Now if they are Warrant Officer 1 (WO1), they are either Sir, or Mr. Lastname. Pilots are a bit laid back... oh, and cocky. They may not like to be addressed as Sir, because it could assume to the casual observer that they are affiliated to the Branch Officers... not a good thing for those who are aware of the rich history of the Warrant Officer Corps.
Now, I am not a pilot, but I have jumped out of several of their Hueys and Blackhawks. I don't believe they like to be called Chief; they prefer the Mr. appellation rather than the Sir or Chief. Mr. can be used from WO1 - CW5. The technical warrants go for the chief appellation as it infers someone who knows what is going on... in a technical field. IMO (I am a Tech Warrant).
One last thing before I wrap this up. If you decide to place a WO1 in the chair, and you have to address him, it is common for other military people to address them as Chief, even though he/her has not earned that distinction. It is something that is kind of a given, even though many Wobbly Ones try to correct those who do refer to them as Chief. I guess it is habit.
Now if you decide to place a WO in your bird, and need to know whether they prefer the Mr., or Chief, or Sir (as they are a different breed from the Techs), let me know and I will ask one of my pilot buddies.
One last thing, if retained by the CIA to do some overt op, there are usually some heavy hands involved, and as a result the pilots and the crew chiefs will not be “green”. They should have some brass on the collar.
Shoot, one last thing. It’s a Warrant thing, but most of us address each other on a first name basis. The crew chief would no doubt be in tight with the pilots and thus be on a first name basis with them. The others outside that sphere will most likely not be in the same clique.
Hope this helps, or rather, hope you still need the information.
