Skies of Iraq to be 40th CAB territory

Photo By Darriel Swatts | Soldiers from the 40th Combat Aviation Brigade board a plane in Fresno, Calif., bound for Fort Hood, Texas, where they will train for two months before departing for their year long mission in Iraq.  

FORT HOOD, TX, UNITED STATES

12.01.2010

Story by 1st Lt. Jason Sweeney 

40th Combat Aviation Brigade

FORT HOOD, Texas – The news cameras were rolling as 136 Fresno-based National guardsmen prepared to board a Texas-bound plane and head off on a year long mission in support of Operation New Dawn.

“It’s going to be tough,” a choked up Jeremy Cates told a KSEE 24 news crew as he said goodbye to his wife of three months, Sgt. 1st Class Renee Cates.

Sgt. 1st Class Cates and her fellow soldiers of the 40th Combat Aviation Brigade’s headquarters company landed Dec. 1 at Fort Hood, Texas where they and four aviation battalions have commenced pre-deployment training. The units are expected to complete the training in late January when they will depart for Iraq.

Once in theater, the 40th Combat Aviation Brigade will coalesce into an aerial force of more than 200 aircraft and over 3,000 soldiers hailing from 22 states. The brigade consists of seven battalions, two of which—the 640th Aviation Support Battalion and the 1-140th Aviation (Air Assault)—call California home.

It will be the largest National Guard combat aviation brigade ever assembled in a combat environment, with forces operating throughout the entire theater.

The 40th CAB—call sign Task Force Condor— is set to provide full-spectrum aviation operations over the skies of Iraq for much of 2011. Air assets include AH-64 Apaches, CH-47 Chinooks, UH-60 Black Hawks, OH-58 Kiowas, unmanned aerial systems and fixed wing aircraft that will do everything from medevac to transport to force protection for the duration of the deployment.

The Combat Aviation Brigade, 1st Infantry Division, based out of Fort Riley, Kan., is handing off the mission to the 40th CAB.

“The deployment of the 40th Combat Aviation Brigade, Task Force Condor, has tremendous significance as it is the first mobilization of the CAB HQ since its activation 25 years ago,” said Col. Mitchell Medigovich, commander of the 40th CAB. “Mobilizing nearly 1,100-plus California Army National Guard soldiers simultaneously from company to brigade level required tremendous energy and cooperation of all entities.”

Some have called the 40th CAB’s deployment historic due to the enormity of the mission and the fact that the brigade will be responsible for air operations during a crucial drawdown phase that is expected to close the book on seven years of hard-fought warfare. Also notable is the unique make-up of the CAB, which brings together National Guard, Army Reserve and active duty units.

“Overseeing hundreds of helicopters and thousands of soldiers and undertaking some of the most critical mission sets today is daunting, challenging and very rewarding,” Medigovich said. “Task Force Condor has aggressively trained for the mission and is up to the challenge.”

Before the 40th CAB’s headquarters company left Fresno for Texas, a Yellow Ribbon farewell ceremony was held Nov. 28 at the Clovis Veterans Memorial Building in Clovis, Calif. At the event, the band played, the colors were cased and the berets worn in garrison were replaced with patrol caps. Sgt. 1st Class David Coss, the 40th CAB's readiness non-commissioned officer, thanked family and friends in attendance for their support.

“You have stood shoulder to shoulder with us during these difficult and often trying times, and in many cases shouldered burdens that would normally have been ours alone,” Coss said.

Maj. Gen. John Harrel , deputy adjutant general, California Army National Guard, set the tone for the mission by recalling the accomplishments of Baron Friedrich Von Steuben who transformed a ragtag collection of Revolutionary War militiamen into a professional fighting force.

“We’re there to do what he did here,” Harrel said.

• Date Taken: 12.01.2010
• Date Posted: 03.30.2011 10:58
• Story ID: 67986
• Location: FORT HOOD, TX, US