25th CAB partners with Air Force for exercise

Photo By Staff Sgt. Tramel Garrett | A 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, 25th Infantry Division, UH-60 Black Hawk, prepares to land with Airmen from a simulated downed Air Force aircraft Sept. 12 at Kaneohe Bay, Hawaii. The 25th CAB partnered with the 154th Wing as part of a training exercise, which was part of a joint operation entitled Wing Warrior Day. (U.S. Army photo by Staff Sgt. Tramel Garrett, 25th ID Public Affairs)  

SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, HI, UNITED STATES

09.16.2014

Story by Staff Sgt. Tramel Garrett 

25th Infantry Division   

SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, HAWAII – “I will never leave a fallen comrade.”

This is the final sentence in the Warrior Ethos, instilled in every Soldier in the U.S. Army. Its focus is never leaving someone behind on the battlefield or in a garrison environment. By the same token, personnel recovery is a significant mission that keeps this philosophy in mind.

Soldiers assigned to the 25th Combat Aviation Brigade, 25th Infantry Division were able to hone their personnel recovery skills while assisting the Airmen of 154th Wing, Hawaii Air National Guard stationed at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, in a joint training exercise Sept. 12.

The exercise entitled “Wing Warrior Day” partnered the Air Force, 25th CAB and U.S. Marine Corps to simulate a personnel recovery, which is an effort to recover and return U.S. military personnel, who are isolated, missing, detained or captured. For this particular mission, 25th CAB Soldiers were tasked with rescuing Airmen from a downed Air Force aircraft.

“This is one of the most important missions that we do. Saving our own and getting them out of harm’s way is very important to us,” said 1st Lt. Jennifer Parson, platoon leader for Charlie Company, 2nd Attack Helicopter Battalion, 25th Aviation Regiment, 25th CAB.

Soldiers provided area reconnaissance, area security and downed aircrew extraction.

“We are in a really unique situation here in Hawaii. We have the Army, Air Force, Navy and Marines,” said Maj. Grady Green, chief of Wing Weapons and Tactics, 154th Wing. “This gives us an excellent chance to learn from one another.”

Additionally, this exercise also resolved communication issues among the services, in the midst of the differences of standard operating procedures.

“This was our first joint operation, and we wanted to practice in peacetime to prepare for war,” said Maj. Mute Nash, an F-22 pilot with the 154th Wing. “This is how we find kinks in the system and fix it.”

This essential training could be the difference between life and death in a theater of war. Furthermore, when Soldiers are proficient in this task, it will lead to a high level of success.

“From the planning to the actual scenario made this training realistic,” said Parsons. “In a deployed environment, we could possibly work together.”

Currently, the 25th ID and the 154th Wing are in the planning process to consider working together on future quarterly or semi-annual training.

“This partnership, relationship, team building exercise we compose now in the peacetime, will be vital as we move forward to future operations,” said Green.

• Date Taken: 09.16.2014
• Date Posted: 09.18.2014 19:48
• Story ID: 142639
• Location: SCHOFIELD BARRACKS, HI, US