Annapolis pilot serving country in Afghanistan

Flying a few hundred feet over the desolate terrain of Southern Afghanistan, 1st Lt. Caleb Van Dyken, 25, of Annapolis continues the war on terror started almost five years ago.

On Sept. 15, Lt. Van Dyken, an Army pilot of a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter, was awarded the Army Service Metal for flying in combat. Besides flying Black Hawks, Lt. Van Dyken is the Operations Officer for Bravo Company, 3158 AVN of Task Force Storm at Kandahar Airfield. The job requires that Lt. Van Dyken manages the pilots and flight schedule for 3158 AVN.

Lt. Van Dyken often flies general support missions to Forward Operating Bases (FOBS) around the...