VILSECK AIRFIELD, Germany - As the 2nd Cavalry Regiment continues the reset phase of its calendar, troopers from Nomad’s Shadow platoon took to the air this week for some unmanned aerial systems flight time at the Vilseck Airfield on Rose Barracks.

Reset is a six-month process that restores a recently deployed unit to a level of equipment and personnel readiness and allows it to train for future missions.

“We are here to conduct validations on our new equipment,” said Chief Warrant Officer 2 Edward Balli. “We have a lot of new soldiers coming into the unit as well as a lot of new equipment they aren’t familiar with so this training is very important in terms of mission readiness.”

During their training, soldiers were instructed in all aspects of conducting unmanned aerial reconnaissance operations. This included how to fuel the aircraft as well as prepare the launch site. Operators honed their flying skills by conducting simulation exercises from inside the mobile ground control stations.

“Basically a lot of our guys are coming back from Afghanistan and the rest are fresh from the school house,” said Staff Sgt. Agelio Aquino, platoon sergeant for Shadow. “They are learning how to fly the aircraft again with all of the new upgrades.”

According to Aquino, the unmanned aerial vehicle field is continually growing and expanding. Upgrades to the aircraft are being developed on a consistent basis, which allow the operators to provide more and more surveillance capabilities to the soldiers in the field.

“We keep opening more and more doors,” said Aquino, “which allows us to help units out more and more.”

As the technology develops more and more the Dragoons of Shadow Platoon will continue to train and hone their abilities to provide their fellow soldiers the best in UAV support.