Chinook support keeps RC-East missions flowing

Photo By Sgt. Cody Barber | After a mission the CH-47F Chinooks stop for refueling at Forward Operating Base Fenty, Afghanistan, March 1. Most of the missions the Chinook crews run are resupply mission to bring food, water and ammunition to the troops in the most isolated parts of Afghanistan where ground forces are incapable of reaching.  

FORWARD OPERATING BASE FENTY, AFGHANISTAN

03.01.2012

Courtesy Story

82nd Combat Aviation Brigade

By U.S. Army Spc. Cody Barber,
RC-East PAO

NANGARHAR PROVINCE, Afghanistan – When the soldiers in the most remote places of Afghanistan start to run out of water, food or ammunition, they can expect the sound of blades cutting through air to be their savior.

CH-47F Chinook pilots and crew members with Task Force Saber, 82nd Combat Aviation Brigade, run various operations in support of the mission and coalition forces in Afghanistan such as combat resupply, passenger transportation and air assaults.

U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 William Haynes, native of Elizabethtown, Ky., and a Chinook pilot, said that one of the most important missions they do is resupply.

“We spend most of our time doing resupply missions supporting all of RC-East (Regional Command-East),” said Haynes. “We do a lot of resupply of food and ammunition; those are the two big things we move around the battlefield right now.”

In total, the Chinook pilots on Forward Operating Base Fenty have flown more than 980 tons of cargo, moved in excess of 8,000 personnel and have flown more than 1,200 hours since the fall of 2011.

The importance of resupplying troops can’t be stressed enough, Haynes added. Sometimes ground forces are unable to reach the soldiers in the field and that’s where the helicopters come in.

“A lot of observation posts or FOBs have no other way to receive supplies,” said Haynes. “We are able to get into the mountains and support the troops in the isolated places.”

Being able to fly also takes away the risk for ground troops because they don’t have to risk the threat of improvised explosive devices and it also requires fewer assets to support the mission, said Haynes.

“For us, it’s a lot safer to go wherever support is needed then it is for trucks and ground convoys.” said Haynes. “We can get to places a lot faster and more efficiently and we can take a more direct route and get it done quicker.”

The Chinooks can hold more than 30 passengers on average, making it ideal for transporting troops around Afghanistan while helping out with missions that require large drop-offs.

“We add a lot of strength to the fight,” said U.S. Army Chief Warrant Officer 2 Marlon Stewarg of Saint Catherine, Jamaica, a Chinook pilot with Task Force Saber. “A lot of these air assaults missions go into places that are high in elevation and between valleys. We can put combat ready troops on the back of each Chinook and drop them off in any location quickly.”

While the lumbering Chinooks don’t gain a lot of mainstream attention like attack aircraft such as the Apache and Kiowa, their crews find purpose in what they do.

“We’re a big part of the mission,” said U.S. Army Sgt. Steffen Wittbrodt, native of Marlette, Mich., a Chinook crew chief. “We want to continue pushing forward and supporting the soldiers that go out to get the bad guys.”

• Date Taken: 03.01.2012
• Date Posted: 03.11.2012 07:41
• Story ID: 85059
• Location: FORWARD OPERATING BASE FENTY, AF