Soldier celebrates Army birthday by helping the Afghan army

BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AFGHANISTAN

06.14.2010

Story by Spc. Monica K. Guthrie 

Combined Joint Task Force 101

BAGRAM AIRFIELD, Afghanistan – As U.S. Army Soldiers throughout the world celebrated the 235th birthday of the Army with ceremonies and cake, one Soldier in Afghanistan spent this holiday in a UH-60 Black Hawk with seven Afghan soldiers.

Newly-promoted U.S. Army Sgt. Lance Grubb, a crew chief with Company A, Task Force Knighthawk, 3rd Combat Aviation Brigade, TF Falcon, from Baton Rouge, La., was conducting in-flight instruction June 14 as an instructor for the Afghan National Security Forces’ Crew Chief Academy.

“Being able to do this after I just got promoted to sergeant; it instills in me that I am an NCO now,” said Grubb. “There’s more responsibility that comes with the job, and this is an experience that a lot of people don’t get to have. It’s a privilege to teach the Afghan army how to do what we do so that we can all be safe.”

During the in-flight instruction, their second flight so far, the five Afghan National Army Air Corps crew chiefs and two flight medics sat in the back of the Black Hawk connected through headsets.

“In this flight, they were pretending to be the aircraft’s crew chiefs,” said Grubb. “(In a previous flight) I made the calls, but today we had a role reversal. They told me what needed to be done and made the calls, and I evaluated them. This showed what they do and don’t understand. This showed me where they are in the learning process so I know what we need to go over.”

During the academy, the students are taught crew chief responsibilities such as how to communicate clearly and consistently with their pilots.

After the flight, the group returned to their classroom to conduct an after action review and discuss what went well and how they can improve. For many of the students, the flight showed how much they needed to learn to become proficient, said ANA Air Corps Pvt. Abdul Malik, one of the flight medics participating in the academy.

“On this flight, I learned that it is our job to control the aircraft and to have quality communication with the pilots,” said Malik. “When we took off I didn’t know we had two helicopters. I didn’t see them. I learned that you have to watch for them. That’s the main thing I learned as a crew chief. You have to watch out; your eyes have to always be open.”

The academy is one of a series of academies within the TF Falcon Combined Action Program, which includes the Afghan National Security Forces Air Assault Academy, Flight Medic Academy and the Close Combat Attack Academy.

• Date Taken: 06.14.2010
• Date Posted: 06.15.2010 09:21
• Story ID: 51413
• Location: BAGRAM AIR FIELD, AF