There's no nicer sound than the freedom bird coming in to lift you home. Standing out the back of the Chinook in the frozen Arctic and getting defrosted while breathing in the exhaust fumes was bliss. But the whine of the turbines was a hearing killer; it just seemed to get through any hearing protection you wore.
Back in 07, in a place far, far away. We were due a resupply; as the ROZ controller, I advised the flight (Chinooks & AH) not to approach from the North as this would put them directly over a world of pain. Sure enough, we heard them and then saw them coming in from the North. Sure enough, we see tracer fire heading their way. And there goes the underslung load of all our food, water, and ammunition right into downtown 'Sh*tsville'. That night during the 'stand too', our interpreter started laughing while listening to the ICOM. He says the TB are eating our food and wondering how we can live on this sh*t.