Photo By Sgt. 1st Class Michael Davis | A UH-60 Black Hawk, flown by U.S. Army Soldiers from 29th Combat Aviation Brigade,...... read more read more
EDGEWOOD, Md. – Soldiers of the 231st Chemical Company linked up with the 29th Combat Aviation Brigade to conduct rotary-wing chemical reconnaissance and decontamination operations at Weide Army Heliport, Aberdeen Proving Ground-Edgewood Area, and Lauderick Creek Training Site from April 4-6.
The purpose of the event was to provide realistic training to the 231st and the 29th CAB, developing a positive relationship between the two units and building Soldier morale. The training was also aimed at familiarizing Soldiers with the non-standard decontamination procedures, which included demonstrating the capabilities, as well as cross-training.
“Today our focus was to be carried out in a helicopter to where the enemy chemical attack happened,” said Staff Sgt. Shayla Honablew, a RECON squad leader in the 231st Chem. Co.
“We had troops go out with their chemical equipment and locate any hazardous chemicals, or biological (hazards), or anything that can harm the civilians in the area; while there is a team in the rear that waits to DECON the troops when they come back to make sure that the troops didn’t run into any contaminants along with the aircraft.”
Honablew said the Soldiers used basic Army skills like giving a situation report, performing a 360-degree perimeter check for security, and communicating effectively using a single channel ground and airborne radio system (SINCGARS).
“It’s good to know tactically how to get in and out of an aircraft and do different movement techniques during a tactical operation,” said 1st Lt. Jeffrey Braden, operations officer with the 231st Chem. Co.
Some of the 231st Soldiers said they enjoyed the training and thought it went well.
“It went pretty smoothly, a lot smoother than what I expected,” said Spc. Christopher Wise, a chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) specialist with the 231st Chem. Co.
“This unit is a lot more versatile than what it once was,” Wise added. “We’ve managed to hit the ground running this year, especially with our new chain of command.”
First Lt. Kristofer Baumgartner, 231st Chem. Co. commander, expressed great enthusiasm toward providing training for his Soldiers.
“The unit is in the available year of the Army force generation cycle,” Baumgartner said.
Generally, when Army National Guard units come back from a deployment, they are given a certain amount of time to recuperate. After that time is over, those specific units fall back into a window or a year of being deployable, otherwise known as the Army force generation cycle.
“While we’re in this available year, our training focus is on our collective tasks, which utilizes the entire company in a way that they would perform during a deployment,” Baumgartner said. “This training accomplishes that requirement and allows my Soldiers to get motivating training with aviation units that they would not normally receive.”
This is the first time the 231st Chem. Co. has worked with rotary-wing aircraft.
“We’re very grateful to the 29th CAB for their support and their willingness to help us train in this environment,” Baumgartner said.
The 231st Chem. Co. Soldiers said they appreciate the training they conducted.
“I give a lot of credit to our new commander, because he’s stepping out and taking us outside the box of what we normally do to push us and make us utilize all that we have to complete our mission,” Honablew said. “It’s really been awesome, [and] morale has gone up. I mean how many people get to say that they got the chance to fly around in the helicopter to perform their mission? Usually you walk or you’re bused to your [training].”
Another aspect of the training that was beneficial to the Soldiers was that they were able to cross-train on proficiencies in their military occupational specialties.
“As a 74 delta (74D) you’re taught RECON and DECON, but when you get to your unit, you’re broken up into solely DECON or RECON,” Honablew said. “This is cross-training for everyone, so that some days if we’re short DECON personnel we’re going to need RECON to help out.”
Honablew said it is important for the CBRN Soldiers to know their jobs as a whole and not just some of it.
“These are great learning points; this is real life,” said Braden. “We’re not just sitting around at home station simulating the training, but we’re out here actually doing it.”
| Date Taken: | 04.05.2014 |
| Date Posted: | 04.09.2014 11:38 |
| Story ID: | 125104 |
| Location: | MD, US |
| Web Views: | 197 |
| Downloads: | 0 |
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