It might be a post hoc explanation, but I’ve read that the practice of using tribal names for Army aircraft stems from the importance of Fort Sill in the early years of Army Aviation. It makes sense, I guess; I spent a week or so in Fort Sill once and the only things I really remember about it are that there were a lot of Indians and that it smelled like cow####.
If you look at the career of Phil Sheridan you have someone who participated in the Civil War, Reconstruction, and the Indian Wars and with Nelson Miles you have someone who participated in the Civil War, Indian Wars, and the invasion and occupation of Puerto Rico. Just with those two there’s a lot of grist for the mill. It would be nice to think there was some institutional memory of them.
Bookmarks